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Blockbuster, the company that once reigned atop the video rental business, announced Thursday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This may be its last chance at surviving in an industry in which consumers increasingly are gravitating toward services that enable instant access to movies on PCs and other devices Blockbuster outlin...

Once more, with feeling Microsoft has launched a program to reward users of its search engine, Bing. The program awards points for searches conducted with the engine. The points can be later traded for products, services or charitable contributions....

Cloud computing and Fusion Apps were the major points of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's keynote speech at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 on Wednesday Ellison also took several swipes at Salesforce.com and its CEO, Marc Benioff....

I recently spoke at a Windstream meeting and helped them think about the changing industry and what's coming next. Preparing for that speech opened my eyes to how fast this company -- and, in fact, the entire industry sector -- is changing. Windstream and CenturyLink are in the process of transforming themselves from two of the lesser known tier-t...

The term "cloud computing" has inspired a lot of thought, energy, ideas and enthusiasm. It's also sparked a lot of head-scratching, brow-furrowing and definition-debating. You might think that after several years of the concept being in the forefront of thought around business computing, this might have resolved itself and there would be a single,...

Website developers and localization experts who help ready international websites in multiple languages know that the quality of source content is a major factor of success in website translation and localization -- but often they just have to work with whatever source content comes through the door. In the past few years, we have started to coun...

Netflix said Wednesday that it has launched its video-streaming-only service for Canada, a plan it first publicly revealed last July At CAD$7.99 (US$7.76) a month for unlimited streaming, the service is more than a dollar cheaper than the most inexpensive U.S. unlimited streaming option, which goes for US$8.99 and includes unlimited one-at-a-time D...

American consumers seem to be generally happier with their recent computer purchases lately than in years past, but it appears buyers of some brands are happier than others ...

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion will likely introduce a new operating system along with a tablet PC, known informally as the "BlackPad," when its developer conference opens on Monday in San Francisco. The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek have leaked details about the upcoming tablet over the last few weeks. The BlackPad is expected to become available by the end of this year, perhaps as early as November...

Twitter was hit by what's called an "onMouseOver" attack this week that affected thousands of users The attack exploited a security flaw in Twitter, Bob Lord, a member of the site's security team, wrote on the company's blog. Users dubbed the hole the "onMouseOver" flaw because the first attack turned tweets different colors and brought up a popup ...

The Texas Comptroller's Office recently made revisions to its sales tax rules that could ensnare many companies that merely use computer servers ("servers") located in Texas, requiring them to collect the state's sales tax on sales to customers there. In 1992, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Quill Corp v. North Dakota that a state can onl...

I don't know how much Oracle spends on research and development each year. I know the biggest piece is being spent on CRM these days, something that warms my heart. The R&D number is in the billions of dollars, and though I cannot confirm it easily, the number seven seems about it. Judging by the turnout and the number and quality of sessions available at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco this week, the billions buy a lot, and they are well-spent...

Typically, we use computers to help us track our information and organize our data. Most everything else involves the computer functions related to accessing and processing all that information ...

Real-life Scenario: A Fortune 100 company decided to revamp its Information Technology (IT) application landscape as part of its business strategy to improve profitability. The company embarked on a mission to realize the vision, and a large business and IT transformation initiative was under way. It was a massive undertaking, requiring hundreds o...

Working with data and the cloud were the topics of choice for keynote speeches delivered by Intel and Oracle executives at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 on Tuesday "I'm going to talk about harnessing the data footprint in terms of delivering services to IT users and consumers -- but more importantly, businesses -- to make data more portable, more personabl...

Tech circles are buzzing about a pilot project Intel is trying out atselect Best Buy stores, initially brought to light by Engadget. Intel is apparently marketing a US$50 "upgrade" card for the PentiumG6951 dual-core LGA1156 Clarkdale processor that powers the GatewaySX2841-09e The card offers the consumer a chance to boost the PC'sperformance from...

Texas-based wireless provider MetroPCS announced Monday that it has turned on the first LTE network in the U.S., beating upmarket rivals Verizon and AT&T in deploying what is widely expected to be the next generation of wireless network technology The company also announced a new Samsung LTE-enabled phone designed to feature LTE's advantages in car...

Monday's announcement that Oracle and HP have settled the lawsuit triggered by Oracle's hiring of former HP CEO Mark Hurd may seem surprising, given that the suit was filed just two weeks ago. However, there are many reasons both companies would want to end this battle now HP filed the suit September 6, the day after Oracle announced it had named H...

IT conferences come in all shapes and sizes, with participants ranging from tens of thousands of general technology enthusiasts to mere hundreds of professionals with highly specialized skills. Intel's annual Developer Forum (IDF) is relatively small compared to CES and Oracle OpenWorld, but attendees include the crucial partners who create and bring to market innovative new products based on Intel's silicon...

Oracle will issue the first release of its next-generation Fusion applications in the first quarter of 2011, company CEO Larry Ellison has announced It took the database giant five years to integrate the "best features" of PeopleSoft, Siebel and its own E-business suite. Oracle purchased PeopleSoft in 2004 and Siebel in 2005....