October e-tail sales almost flat year on year
U.S. online retail sales recorded their smallest growth in October since comScore began tracking this market in 2001, a signal that this holiday season is shaping up to be a very tough one for e-tailers across the board.
Microsoft drops OneCare antivirus product
Two years after trying to build a consumer antivirus business, Microsoft has decide to throw in the towel.
Branch office security, traffic management get a lift
Cymtec is announcing reporting and threat-protection upgrades to its network monitoring, analysis and enforcement appliance to give better visibility of network traffic and boost network performance.
IBM buy targets server consolidation
IBM's newest acquisition lets applications run on multiple platforms even if they were designed for a single type of microprocessor and operating system.
Researchers getting the lead out of electronics
Researchers at the University of Maryland say they have discovered a material to replace lead, a potential environmental hazard, in electronics products.
Foundry's 'out' option in Brocade deal is almost up
Eleven days after it was allowed to do so, Foundry Networks has until Friday to seek or consider offers from buyers other than Brocade Communications.
Spansion claims iPods violate flash patents in suit against Samsung
Patent lawsuit seeks to ban sale of iPods, BlackBerries and more flash-based devices.
Hi-Tech Shirts Link Social Networks to the Real World
You see an interesting girl at the bar. Before you approach her, you take a quick snapshot of her with your phone, and -- within seconds -- get automatically connected to her Facebook page to find out her favorite song, or to see if she's even single.
New Firefox app lets users pimp their browsers
Mozilla Tuesday unveiled a Web application that speeds Firefox customization by offering users several sets of pre-selected add-ons.
Struggling Sun faces difficult choices about future
Bad times just keep getting worse at Sun Microsystems, and the vendor may face hard choices about which parts of its business to keep and which to shed.
Marple for iPhone
One of my favorite things about the iPhone and the App Store is the plethora of inexpensive time-killers available. For just a dollar or two--and oftentimes for free--I can download an entertaining game that will keep me occupied while waiting in line or taking the train to the office. For the past month or so, my favorite such diversion has been the logic game Marple. According to its developer, Marple was inspired by the Palm OS game Hercule, although Marple takes advantage of the iPhone's touchscreen to offer far better graphics and a better interface.
Google to archive 10 million Life magazine photos
Google Tuesday said it plans to archive as many as 10 million photos from Life magazine's archives dating back to the 1750s - many which have never been published before.
A Techie Holiday Wish List
Hands-free solutions, retro-inspired keyboards, and more.
Make Virtualization Work Better Across the WAN
IT departments can reap enormous benefits from virtualizing applications and implementing Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (VDI). However, the management and cost savings of virtualization can be lost if performance is so bad that it hampers productivity, as can happen when virtual applications and desktops are delivered across a Wide Area Network (WAN).
Hosting firm takedown bags 500,000 bots
The shutdown last week of a U.S.-based Web hosting company crippled more than 500,000 bots, or compromised computers, which no longer are able to receive commands from criminals, a security researcher said Tuesday.
Srizbi botnet flounders after McColo shutdown
Large numbers of infected computers have been searching in vain for the Srizbi botnet disrupted by the disconnection of ISP McColo a week ago, a security vendor has found.
Windows HPC hits top 10 among supercomputers
Microsoft on Tuesday hit another high-performance computing milestone by placing its server for the first time in the top 10 on the list of the Top 500 super computers as judged by Top500.org.
Virtualization infiltrates midsize companies
Systems management vendor Kace polls some 519 IT professionals and learns virtualization isn't just for enterprise shops anymore.
Cybersecurity is focus of new University of Texas start-up incubator
The University of Texas at San Antonio Tuesday announced a technology incubator aimed at fostering IT security-based start-ups within the state.
Google's Schmidt: Innovation must come first
The U.S. government needs to pump billions of dollars into alternative energy efforts, broadband infrastructure and research in an effort to rebuild the nation's economy, Google's CEO said Tuesday.
Silverlight, for real this time
Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash and Flex and several other RIA (rich Internet application) and AJAX frameworks, Silverlight arrived with a flourish just over one year ago. Silverlight 1.0 (see my October 2007 review) manipulated its multimedia-savvy, WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) user interface using JavaScript. Silverlight 1.1, which added support for compiled .Net languages and supported more of the .Net API, was available at that time only as an alpha test.
Amazon debuts content delivery network service
Amazon has launched a hosted content-delivery network (CDN) service that it first announced in a preliminary test version two months ago.
Measuring Web application response time: Meet the client
Server-side response time says your Web application is blazing fast; but if you're not measuring the client you're missing the full picture. Learn how to fill in the blanks by capturing and logging end user events.
Uganda Telecom introduces voice SMS
Uganda Telecom has taken out a full-page ad in local newspapers to introduce a voice SMS (Short Message Service) offering to its more than 1.5 million users.
National Geographic launches Games division
National Geographic Global Media on Tuesday announced the launch of National Geographic Games (NGG), a new business unit that is creating games for multiple platforms, including the Mac and iPhone.
MacWireless 200 Mbps Powerline Network Adapter
Before I dive into the review of MacWireless's 200 Mbps Powerline Network Adapter, I need to clarify something about the device. Despite the company's name, the Powerline is not a wireless network device in any way, shape, or form. It requires wires--electrical wires, to be specific. The Powerline uses the electrical wiring in your home to provide network access from room to room. It's a nice alternative to Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet network, and it works well for tasks like sharing printers, transferring and sharing files between computers, and playing networked games, among other things.
Artist Wants Cyborg Webcam Eye
Sometimes people use technology such as artificial limbs to regain capabilities that they have lost. San Francisco artist Tanya Vlach lost her left eye in a 2005 car accident. Since then she has used a prosthetic eye, but now she wants something more.
ExpanDrive 1.3.1
Since the early days of Mac OS X, the Finder has offered support for FTP, letting you work with FTP servers in the Finder as if they were any other file server. You just open the Connect To Server dialog (Go: Connect To Server) and enter the server info in the format ftp://username:password@server.
Clearstream to build WiMax networks in Uganda
Clearstream Uganda is set to commence operations, having received a license to provide infrastructure broadband and telephony services nationwide, according to a notice in local newspapers.
FreeMind 0.8.1
Looking for a mind mapping application that packs a powerful punch, takes it easy on your wallet, and is a dream to use, even for a novice? FreeMind 0.8.1 will get you two-thirds of the way there.
Add a staffing firm to your job search arsenal
Today's turbulent economy has made job search efforts more challenging -- and nerve-racking -- for those in IT.
CA to discuss 'Mainframe 2.0'
CA is expected to announce a product and services initiative titled "Mainframe 2.0" on Tuesday at its CA World 2008 conference in Las Vegas.
Starhome launches prepaid roaming service in Africa
Starhome, a mobile phone roaming services provider, has launched its Prepaid Anywhere service in Africa to take advantage of the continent's high rate of prepaid subscribers, which stands at 90 percent to 95 percent.
CA unveils simplified suite, SaaS portfolio
CA hosts its CA World 2008 conference in Las Vegas, attracting some 5,000 attendees and announcing a slew of software upgrades across its IT service management, identity and access management, project management and data center automation suites.
Google Voice Search App for iPhone Now Live
After days of anticipation and complaints from cranky bloggers about the App Store approval process, Google's voice search for iPhone is out! The verdict? Pretty good, but not perfect. Unfortunately, for reprobates like myself who own a cPhone (c for crap) instead of the iPhone we can only look on in envy at the iPhone elect, so let's see what they're saying.
Customize Microsoft Word 2007 for Maximum Efficiency
Microsoft Word has endured many changes over the years. Depending upon whom you ask, some of the changes have been for the better; others, not so much. Throughout all the variations, however, one factor has remained constant: Microsoft has not always made the best choices in choosing some of the default settings.
Citrix buys high-def video conferencing player
Citrix has bought Vapps, a provider of high-definition voice conferencing services geared for businesses and service providers.
Analysts: New Yahoo CEO must shed assets for better focus
Whoever takes embattled Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang's place will need to pare the former Web sweetheart's services to effectively compete in a market where it is under siege from Google and multiple social media players for online advertising, analysts say.
Apple, Google work on iPhone voice recognition
As soon as I gave Google's updated Google Mobile app for the iPhone (iTunes link) a trial run today, the first thing that struck me was how well Google had implemented the new voice recognition feature, both in terms of its user interface and in how well it worked.
Comcast cranks up bandwidth speed
Comcast high-speed Internet customers in parts of Oregon and Southwest Washington will have a much-faster option starting in December. The cable provider is rolling out its Extreme 50 service, which has download speeds of up to 50Mbps.