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Sixty one CD-ROMS for every man, woman, and child on Earth That's the amount of global data humankind stored on devices of every kind in 2007 -- 295 exabytes, or 80 times more information per person than exists in the historic Library of Alexandria, Egypt, according to a study published in the journal Science. ...

Nokia and Microsoft have banded together to fight Apple and Android. On Friday morning, Nokia announced it will partner with Microsoft, adopting the Windows Phone 7 operating system for its smartphones. In the past, Nokia has equipped its phones with its own software platform, Symbian, and a new one, MeeGo, was in development Earlier in the week, i...

Research In Motion has been attempting -- unsuccessfully, for the most part -- to keep details about its forthcoming tablet, PlayBook, under wraps. Despite its best efforts, news of its pricing, availability -- and now, the surprising possibility that it will run Android apps -- has steadily made its way into the market.

Given what they are and where they have been, there's little logical reason for Microsoft not dominating the mobile smartphone computing landscape. And it should have been a done-deal in many global major markets at least four years ago The only reason that Microsoft is now partnering with Nokia on mobile -- clearly not the client giant's first and...

When the concept of "cloud computing" first began to gain attention within the technology industry, I have to admit that I was convinced that it was one of the worst terms ever created. What's harder to get your arms, or head, around than a cloud? Talk about an amorphous idea Don't get me wrong. I have thoroughly believed in the functional potentia...

Lyris has upgraded its on-premises version of its email marketing application, ListManager 11. This product is the counterpart to its cloud-based version -- a more robust application that includes such features as specific database support There are four major upgrades to ListManager 11, Brennan Carlson, VP of product management, told CRM Buyer -- ...

Google has added new near-field communications (NFC) capabilities to Android 2.3, aka "Gingerbread," via a small feature release, version 2.3.3 NFC lets consumers use their mobile devices make purchases and exchange data with other devices, among other things....

Dell earlier this week announced plans to offer a business-ready Windows 7 tablet with a 10-inch screen later this year Whether or not Windows 7 in its current form is a suitable operating system for tablets remains to be seen. HP last year waffled between offering a Slate tablet running Windows 7 and putting out its own webOS device. It finally co...

Back in the mid-2000s, "Guitar Hero" was a smash, and imitators such as "Rock Band" soon joined it in the gaming stratosphere. However, in a fourth-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday, Activision Blizzard pulled the plug on its once-innovative game, "due to continued declines in the music genre." The company is also dropped plans for a pl...

It was deja vu for President Barack Obama and the Federal Communications Commission, as both executive branch representatives unveiled broad plans this week to expand broadband access In June 2010, the White House ordered billions of dollars from government spectrum auctions to build new public safety networks. Obama revisited the idea Thursday wit...

Worldwide mobile device sales translated into 1.6 billion new units in the hands of consumers in 2010 -- an eye-popping 31.8 percent increase from 2009, according to new figures from Gartner. The firm found also that smartphone sales were up 72.1 percent from 2009, accounting for 19 percent of total mobile device sales in 2010. Worldwide mobile ph...

Watch today as Verizon Wireless sells its first Apple iPhone: The media will change its focus from writing positive stories to negative stories. Over the next several days and weeks, we will read startling pieces about what is going wrong. This is the same news we have been so thrilled with over the last few weeks. So why the change -- and how long will it last?...

Part 1 of this series explores the markets and industries surrounding polymers in computing. Part 2 investigates electroactive polymers For more than a decade, polymer memory devices (PMDs) have lingered in the queue of novel organic candidates for "next-generation" computer data-storage-and-retrieval chip technology. ...

Rocket and space shuttle contractors are orbiting U.S. space agency NASA, searching for the future of space flight through contracts that would privatize key missions. After the Space Shuttle Program completes its final flight this year, United Space Alliance (USA) -- the Boeing-Lockheed-Martin joint venture presently charged with shuttle operat...

HP on Wednesday unveiled its long-awaited webOS tablet as well as two smartphones running the mobile operating system at an event in San Francisco ...

A leaked internal memo written by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, circulating in press reports, indicates major changes are in the works for the company; an official announcement is expected Friday. Elop's memo lays out Nokia's major problems, comparing its current situation to that of a man standing on a burning oil platform.

In 1998, Congress enacted the Internet Tax Freedom Act, effectively banning sales taxes on sales on the Internet (the Ban), with some exceptions. Its purpose was to encourage and foster the growth of Internet business. Internet sales totaled an estimated US$155 billion in 2010 and will reach about $250 billion in 2011, according to Forrester. Gi...

What a week that was. I am still digging out from two snowstorms and dealing with bone-chilling cold, and so are friends across the country, except in the Bay Area, which only makes me envious Perhaps none were as adversely affected as people on the LSD (that's Lake Shore Drive for out-of-towners) in Chicago. I take solace in two forms: one, pitc...

Tracking files you open and edit day-by-day for quick retrieval is a computer feature that should be a built-in part of the Linux desktop but isn't yet. The GNOME Activity Journal attempts to fill that void. It has potential to improve productivity but needs more growth to be really useful ...

While thinking about the hoopla that's sure to accompany the long-awaited release of the Verizon iPhone later this week, one question kept popping into my head: Is Microsoft missing out on the mobile computing movement? The company that popularized the graphical user interface, thus making personal computers accessible to the masses, has yet to d...