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PCLinuxOS is as close as a distro can get to masking all the technical things that scare people away from the Linux OS.It makes installing and using the distro beginner-level easy. That says a lot for attracting both new and experienced users....

One of the great things about Twitter is the ability to keep abreast of what's happening. Whether it's local news, influential tweeters or buddies, you can quickly get a snapshot of what's going on that matters to you I've written before about how to get breaking news on Twitter, but the approach I discussed there requires the user's intervention.

Microsoft is ending its controversial practice of using stack ranking to evaluate its employees Instead, the company is changing its performance review program "to better align with the goals of our One Microsoft strategy," wrote Lisa Brummel, the company's executive vice president of human resources, in an internal memo reportedly sent to Microsof...

Netflix has refreshed its user interface for game consoles, smart TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray players, striving toward a unified user experience across all devices The company, which has more than 40 million subscribers, created the new look specifically for larger screens. The interface presents browsers with three large images for each movie a...

After months of buildup, the launch of Sony's PlayStation 4 video game console is now just a day away The US$399 console will go on sale at 12 a.m. on Friday, and Sony predicts that sales will exceed 3 million by the end of the year. While preorders will likely dominate the first day transactions, Sony has announced that it is ready with a steady s...

There's a campaign afoot to put a 3D printer in every school in America. MakerBot -- along with education crowdsourcer DonorsChoose.org, America Makes and Autodesk -- on Tuesday announced MakerBot Academy. Individuals and businesses can contribute money to the initiative through DonorsChoose.org. The funds will be used to award MakerBot Academy bu...

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots -- this is a real thing -- has implored the United Nations to use this week's talks in Geneva to ban the development of fully autonomous weapons -- aka, killer robots Hearkening to the plot of Terminator 2, the group said that such weapons would be able to select and engage targets without human intervention....

The next six years will see smartphone subscriptions triple and LTE network deployment make large strides in North America, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report The report, published Monday, details the ongoing evolution of the wireless industry. Mobile subscriptions are expected to increase from 6.3 billion in 2012 to 9.3 billion in 20...

Companies across the IT sector are in favor of improving the U.S. patent system and generally support efforts in Congress to improve patent protection. However, not all IT companies are in favor of specific proposals to improve the patent process. A current example is a patent reform bill recently introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives A m...

I had an interesting conversation last week with Eric Berridge, CEO of Bluewolf, about a new report his company sponsored, "The State of Salesforce." This is the second year that Bluewolf has compiled this report. Researchers from MIT's Sloan School interviewed hundreds of Salesforce customers to learn about their attitudes, opinions and future...

Vendor lock-in has been such a standard part of enterprise IT over the years that it often goes unnoticed and unquestioned. Recently, however, that lock-in mentality has followed enterprises to the clouds One might not think that vendor lock-in would exist for those who use open-source software or open-cloud solutions. Think again: Unless you take ...

Robotic instruments that could be programmed to play music, respond to human musicians, and even improvise were a source of fascination for Steven Kemper during his graduate student days at the University of Virginia, where he studied music composition and computer technology. To bring to life his machine music vision, Kemper and colleagues Scott...

Google Glass will soon allow users to hear as well as see through the augmented-reality eyewear thanks to new audio capabilities the company announced on Tuesday. A new set of features will allow users to scan playlists, search for songs and -- with the addition of stereo earbuds, also due in the coming weeks from Google -- listen to music in high...

The upgraded Roomba robot vacuum cleaner promises to make consumers' lives a little easier The iRobot Roomba 880, which is now available in North America, features the new AeroForce Extractor system. Its brushless extractors counter rotate, lift dirt, break down debris, and require less maintenance, according to iRobot. The accelerated airflow betw...

Facebook has joined the GSM Association, according to a Monday report in FierceWireless, making plain its heightened interest in mobile and wireless GSMA is a group made up of mobile operators and other technology companies interested in standardizing and promoting the GSM cellular system. Nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators are members, as ...

Flipboard on Monday launched an e-commerce initiative that lets both consumers and brands create online product catalogs Consumers can browse online commerce platforms for their favorite products, and then add them to their personal catalog. In addition to serving as a convenient central storage area for their most desired goods, the catalog can se...

Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service are partnering in a pilot project to deliver packages to Amazon customers on Sundays. The offering will start this week to customers in New York and Los Angeles but will eventually roll out to other parts of the U.S. next year, including Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix The service is aimed at Amazon Prime...

The CRM case for tablets is quite clear: Workers are more mobile than ever and need to be able to access their systems on the go. Ditto customers and the workers who service them while on the go. Tablets are more robust tools than smartphones and allow for even greater functionality Somehow overlooked in this business case, though, is the productiv...

If you think about the failings of existing game controls next time you're playing, you might come up with touch feedback -- the game's tactile responses to your actions. ...

Google's mobile operating system Android has been a whipping boy for some segments of the security community, but the latest version of the software may begin to rehabilitate its reputation Android 4.4, or KitKat, contains a number of new and improved features that are garnering the praise of malware fighters. They include improved implementation o...