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Starbucks and Yahoo announced Wednesday the launch of Starbucks Digital Network. The network goes live immediately in Starbucks' 6,800 U.S. company-operated stores, presenting a collection of hand-picked news, entertainment, lifestyle and local content developed for laptops, tablets and smartphones....

Windows 7 is the fastest-selling operating system in Microsoft's -- or any vendor's -- history. It has also been one of the most stable, reliable and secure releases in the company's history. Microsoft's financials and balance sheet over the last several quarters are pure gold. The question must be...

Global corporate spending on IT is entering a new cycle, characterized by lackluster or modest growth and, at the same time, new opportunities with new technologies. So said research firm Gartner at its annual Symposium/ITxpo, held this week in Orlando, Fla. From a 30,000-foot view, the growth story...

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it will combine its Office productivity Web apps suite and integrated Shareport, Exchange and Lync services into a monthly package service beginning next year. The service, called "Office 365," is a significant step-up from the Web-based productivity apps Microsoft p...

Ray Ozzie is out as chief software architect at Microsoft, opening a big void through which analysts are tossing innumerable opinions regarding what the departure means for the company. Ozzie's role was frequently seen as being Bill Gates' successor as the company's visionary technologist, a foil to...

The IT industry purely loves "innovation," especially when it is steeped in a bit of controversy, and last November's announcement of Cisco, EMC and VMware's VCE coalition set enough tongues wagging to cause a minor blip in Silicon Valley's Richter scale readings. Why so? First, because the effort o...

Many of the most popular applications on Facebook have been transmitting identifying information -- names of users and, in some cases, the names of their friends -- to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, according to The Wall Street Journal. Developers are not permitted to disclos...

As companies turn to cloud computing for its benefits -- including economies of scale and increased productivity -- concerns often arise around security. The idea of storing critical business data on a third-party server to which multiple tenants have access could be fraught with danger if not prope...

Over the last few months, several news articles have reported on the collection and use of information gathered from consumers as they visit certain websites, often without their knowledge and consent. These reports have attracted the attention of Congress and may result in legislation governing the...

AOL is considering a play to take over Yahoo, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The deal is being discussed among AOL and a number of private equity firms, including the Blackstone Group, unnamed sources told the paper. Yahoo shares soared this week on the rumored possibilities; they...

The new Internet is full of extraordinary companies that looked at the market from a different angle and created entirely new approaches to the changing Web. Zynga, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and 1-800-Flowers.com have all seen and seized the massive opportunity of a new Internet driven by social net...

By mixing and matching the elements of its competitors' mobile ecosystems, Microsoft hopes its new smartphone software will succeed where its past efforts failed. Windows Phone 7 will have a walled app store and interface with computers through desktop software created for Microsoft's Zune media pl...

Motorola has been struggling for years to recapture its greatness. Suddenly, it seems to be on the right track, thanks to working with Google's Android operating system and Verizon Wireless. There are so many issues to consider, but the main question today is what are Motorola's plans for the next f...

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to propose rules Thursday that will require wireless phone carriers to alert customers by voice or text message when they have reached their monthly usage limits. The FCC wants carriers to send this alert before customers incur extra charges. At the ...

A week after Logitech rolled out the first standalone box running Google TV, Sony has revealed four new HDTVs and a Blu-ray player powered by the system. The TVs range from 24 to 46 inches and include a RF-based QWERTY keypad remote with a mouse built in, as does the Blu-ray player, a $400 device. T...