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Information technology leaders in the U.S. government have been promoting cloud technologies for more than a year. In December 2010, the federal chief information officer launched an IT reform plan that required agencies to start adopting cloud technologies. At the time, some agencies had already implemented cloud solutions, and since then many others have initiated cloud programs...

It's extremely important to wear helmets when riding motorcycles, according to Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, but that's not just her personal opinion -- it's based on clear facts about what happens in the case of a crash "We know from research that every time a state repeals its motorcycle helmet laws, there's a...

Reports are circulating that CNN is finalizing a US$200 million deal to acquire the social news and technology website Mashable CNN has been looking to match CBS' acquisition of Cnet for at least three years, said Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group, but network officials were unable to reach an agreement on a property until now.

While developments such as the Arab Spring show the power of the Internet, there remain news blackouts, harassment of bloggers, and even attempts to shut down social media in several nations. This is one of the key findings of Reporters Without Borders, which released its annual "Enemies of the Internet" report on Monday, listing countries that curtail access to the Web and freedom of expression.

Although it seems there is an app for everything nowadays, new research indicates mobile shopping is one area in which consumers prefer retailers' websites over dedicated smartphone apps. Although the recent Nielsen report found users generally spend more time with mobile apps rather than sites, the process can turn off some consumers, according t...

Google+ chief Vic Gundotra sat down with Guy Kawasaki, cofounder of Alltop.com and founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures, at this year's SXSW convention. The topic at hand: how Google+ plans to remain afloat in the hotly competitive online social network space When Google+ launched over the summer, it quickly picked up millions of follower...

Yammer announced an impressive $85 million financing recently. You can get the details here You might already know that Yammer provides enterprise social networks, the kind of collaborative spaces that enable employees to "swarm" on issues to achieve resolution or deal with a customer issue, for instance. Yammer claims that more than 85 percent o...

Over the years, I've watched company after company lose its invaluable edge because executives critical to its success moved on, or died, and didn't pass on critical skills. Only IBM really made a massive effort not to screw this up, and even it eventually forgot, forcing a massive reset -- which almost caused it to fail -- in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

Nearly 80 percent of organizations have experienced a data breach in the last two years due to employee negligence or maliciousness That was one of the findings in a study released last week by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by antivirus software maker Trend Micro....

OK, it's time to officially close the book on the 2011 holiday retail season and to shift our attention forward to 2012. For me personally, what makes it difficult to stop looking back are the new trends that emerged that will forever change holiday shopping. By now you know the story: Mobile made its mark, with 11 percent of online sales in Decemb...

"Kony 2012," 30-minute online video spotlighting the atrocities of Joseph Kony, head of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, has garnered support around the globe for his removal. In 2005, Kony was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, after decades of brutal actions against people -- children in particular -- in se...

There is no question that Google is the dominant player in the search engine arena, and a new survey released Friday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 83 percent of U.S. search engine users rated Google as their preferred search engine, despite concerns about the company's data-collection and advertising practices About two-thi...

Facebook is rolling out yet another feature to keep members engaged with the site for as long as possible. Called "Interest Lists," Facebook touts it as a way for users to create their own personalized newspapers with special sections -- or feeds -- on topics that matter the most to them.

I recently read an article in USA Today about the escalating concerns within a widening array of organizations over the growing security risks associated with today's social networks My sense is the article was prompted by the annual RSA Conference that was taking place the same week, bringing thousands of security professionals and vendors togethe...

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a team in the National Hockey League, which means their revenue stream thrives -- or dies -- on how well they can sell tickets. The team has an extensive and sophisticated sales operation that fields nearly 300 calls per day....

The ultra-cheap Linux computer on a circuit board has its roots in the classroom. But the bare-bones computer, dubbed "Raspberry Pi," has potential to teach industrial embedded programmers some new tricks Raspberry Pi, a US$35 credit-card-sized computer sold without keyboard or monitor, runs several Linux distros and can hook up to a mouse, keyboar...

The Privacy Shell Game, Part 1 The White House has proposed a consumer privacy bill of rights, a step that could result in new laws regarding what companies can do with information about their online customers and users. Privacy advocates are cautiously optimistic, though some fear the result will be laws rendered toothless by lobbyists....

Now is a good time to be a startup looking for funding, suggests the Halo Report, which provides data and identifies trends affecting early stage entrepreneurs and investors. Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights collaborated in the development of the report Most notable among its findings: The median round size for angel gr...

Solar flares -- clouds of charged particles and plasma from the sun -- have hit Earth, according to the National Weather Service ...

Pandora reported a 62 percent increase year-over-year in active users for its fiscal fourth-quarter, which ended Jan. 31, along with a 74 percent increase in advertising revenue and a 99 percent rise in listening hours. However, those gains were accompanied by increases in royalty payments the online radio provider had to pay to content owners, an...