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Computer programmer and author John Graham-Cumming is trying to raise at least Pounds 500,000 (US$800,000) to build a working version of Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine ...

As companies increasingly 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 properly planned and executed. As a result, security of data is often a top concern for organizations considering adopting a cloud infrastructure...

Businesses decide to invest in enterprise resource planning systems for a number of reasons, but it all boils down to one main benefit: profits. ERP systems streamline data processes and eliminate waste to create the most efficient company possible, leaving more room to get things done and turn a healthy profit. There's no shame in admitting that a business is revenue-driven, and that ERP is designed to hike revenues even higher than many businesses thought possible. With the right ERP system, a good business can become a great business...

With U.S. citizens getting shot on U.S. borders -- and the folks investigating them literally losing their heads, with Facebook and Twitter friends using location information to determine when your home is vacant and available for looting, and with the U.S. being named as botnet capital of the world, I expect we all are feeling less than secure at the moment. ...

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 these practices. In addition, the Chairman of the Fe...

U.S. teenagers are sending or receiving an average of 3,339 text messages a month, more than six every hour they're awake, according to a study released Thursday by Nielsen. Teen girls aged 13 to 17 were the most-active users, receiving 4,050 texts per month. Teen boys outpaced other male age groups, receiving an average of 2,539 texts per month ...

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.

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 networks, applications and mobile devices. Paradoxic...

Bantam Live principal John Rourkeremembers well one of the first glimpses the tech industry got of what was possible with real-time activity streams for the corporate environment. He was sharing the stage with a Salesforce.com executive at an industry event focusing on that subject in 2009. They weren't talking about Salesforce.com's now popular Chatter networking application, though. Rather, the center of attention was Bantam Live -- a social CRM and collaboration app whose backbone is its activity feed.

A researcher in a robotics lab in Slovenia has reportedly been using humans as punching bags to find out the limits on how hard and fast a robot can move if it collides with people Borut Povse persuaded six male colleagues to let a modified production-line robot hit their arms up to 18 times with different amounts of force using either a sharp or b...

Facebook and Bing have teamed up in a move that could bring a touch more sociability to online search Facebook users will see Web pages their friends like popping up when they launch a Bing search while logged into the social networking site. Further, when Facebook users search for their friends on Bing, people with whom they have Facebook friends ...

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 player -- practices similar to Apple's iPhone busines...

Microsoft announced a new price point for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2011 at Convergence 2010 Europe, which kicked off Thursday in London. When it is generally released at the beginning of next year, it will be available for US$34 per user, per month, for the first 12 months of service That price seriously undercuts the competition, according t...

RightNow Technologies certainly has come a long way in the last 10 years, and the company used its industry influencers day in Colorado Springs this week to remind us. I saw the day as a marker of a turning point in the company's development, a time when it said to the world, "The first phase of life is over, now let us tell you what's in store n...

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 few years, and what are the chances it could be on the verge of a longer-term recovery?...

Intel plans to pull out all the stops to conquer the tablet PC market, CEO Paul Otellini announced this week Intel will use all of the assets at its disposal to win this segment, he said. Intel will offer tablets running Meego, the operating system that's a melding of its and Nokia's technologies. It will also pursue Android and Microsoft Windows, ...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 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 Thursday meeting, FCC Chairman Julius ...

Facebook has unveiled new measures to keep members secure when they log into its site One is a temporary password; another is letting people sign out of Facebook remotely. Finally, it will also now regularly prompt members to update their security information....

A week after Logitech rolled out the first standalone box runningGoogle TV, Sony has revealed four new HDTVs and a Blu-ray playerpowered by the system ...

Part 1 of this three-part series discusses the promise cloud computing holds for federal agencies to drastically cut costs while boosting performance and improving services. Part 2 explores the current governmental strategies for achieving broad-based adoption of cloud services The allure of utilizing the latest advance in information technology -...