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Microsoft announced plans Monday at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles to launch a large-scale cloud computing initiative that could drastically change the way it develops and sells software Cloud computing, an emerging trend in the technology industry, employs vast computer and server networks to deliver and host applications an...

When Nintendo announced its upcoming releases in July at the E3 Conference, one of the most intriguing games for me was "Wii Music." The game's description as something that "makes it easy for people to jam to tunes, even if they don't know anything about music" appealed to the frustrated musician in me However, I could not see how Nintendo was go...

Cable television provider Cox Communications plans to roll out its own cellular network some time in 2009 in an effort to take market share from telephone companies and wireless operators The Atlanta-based company has already spent US$550 million to acquire wireless spectrum so it can offer cellular service to its customers. That spectrum covers At...

The scenarios jump right out of a Brad Thor or Vince Flynn technothriller novel: Terrorists, using the microblogging service Twitter in conjunction with Google Maps, cell phone video and global positioning system technology, stage an ambush on troops in Iraq or coordinate an attack in an American city. Another terrorist uses Twitter and cell phone video to help remotely detonate a bomb. Yet another terrorist strikes up a Twitter conversation with a U.S. soldier to elicit valuable information...

I've never been big on global positioning satellite (GPS) devices. Even though I'm a technophile, it just seemed like one gadget too many. What was wrong with using a map? Unless you're someone whose job demands you travel to locations with which you're not familiar, most people go to generally the same places daily -- work, grocery store, friends and family, mall, and other frequently visited locations...

The job of the modern Web site is more important and more difficult than ever, especially when it comes to a multichannel sales strategy. Visitors arrive at your Web site through a variety of online channels: pay-per-click (PPC) and organic search, e-mail offers and print ads. Once there, they need to fulfill the objective of acting upon a promotion, or buying a specific product...

Sure, Web-based chat applications on your site represent a leap in customer service and sales technology. But let's not forget that the brick-and-mortar standards still apply. If an end user is comfortable and finds your online rep trustworthy and predictive of his or her needs, the opportunities increase exponentially Managing the conversation int...

I can remember the day, way back, when the U.S. was the most important market in the world and companies from all over fought to build a presence and establish themselves here. Our politicians have creatively fixed that advantage, and now China is the place to be. According to projections, the Chinese market will eclipse the U.S. and the European markets combined by 2015 -- and that has a lot of folks fighting to become the major technology player in that future China...

"SOA transition" is buzz term growing in popularity among IT managers, especially when they meet with corporate boardroom residents. Businesses are transitioning into service-oriented architecture by tapping into the increasing number of SOA products software makers are creating to meet this new interest However, for the uninitiated, SOA can be jus...

Samsung reported a steep drop in Q3 profits with the release of its quarterly earnings report. Profits fell 44.4 percent compared with a year earlier -- a number that, not surprisingly, sent the company's share price tumbling by 14 percent. Net income for the quarter was 1.22 trillion won, or US$863 million. Although some product lines performed r...

The vote is set for Nov. 4, and the activism is approaching historic -- some say hysteric -- levels. Phone calls, e-mails and press releases are flying in attempts to sway opinions; there are charges and countercharges of questionable political tactics and quotes taken out of context, along with a little name-calling McCain vs. Obama? Try the Natio...

Amazon announced Thursday general availability of its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), part of the Internet retailer's Web service offerings. Launched in beta 26 months ago, the service provides a resizable compute capacity to businesses with varying server needs "The appealing thing about EC2 is that instead of buying a server, you pay for it by the h...

Microsoft reported better-than-expected financial results Thursday but also warned that the economic downturn will cut into top-line revenue and profits for its current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2009 For the first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, Microsoft reported US$4.37 billion in earnings, up 2 percent from $4.28 billion during the same pe...

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has slammed the door on Google. The search engine giant was trying to buy a local online advertising company, Zao Begun, but FAS regulators decided to block the deal. Google first announced its intent to acquire the Russian company, which is owned by Rambler Media, in July. Zao Begun's search and cont...

Caution: Just because your company has a payment card industry (PCI)compliance certificate, don't assume your data is perfectly safe and secure. Youcan still suffer a breach That's the lesson recently learned by retail clothing company Forever21. Company officials posted a notice onthe company's Web site last month telling customers of a data breac...

In today's challenging economy and ultra-competitive marketplace, businesses simply can't afford customer churn; retention, engagement and overall experience are more important than ever. That's why business leaders are increasingly adopting and integrating the latest customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise feedback management (EFM) applications to achieve a more thorough understanding of their customer base. While CRM tells the business executive "what" customers have done, EFM uncovers "why" customers act a certain way.

A customer is visiting your e-commerce Web site. She's decided to do more online shopping this holiday season to save on gasoline and find the lowest prices. She's using a Mac running Safari, but your site is optimized for Internet Explorer (IE) 7 and your development budget is mainly focused on preparing for IE 8. She selects a few products and heads for the shopping cart, but the "checkout" button isn't available. Frustrated, she's off to another site. You've lost the sale...

Microsoft rushed out an emergency security patch for its Windows operating system Thursday in the hope of heading off a potentially crippling hack attack to nearly a billion Windows-powered PCs Normally, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant addresses bugs and security flaws through the issue of so-called software "patches" on the second Tuesday ...

Comcast announced late Wednesday that it will launch faster broadband Internet service speeds over the next few weeks to more than 10 million homes and businesses The new service will give Comcast subscribers access to speeds of up to 50 megabits per second in parts of New England, Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and St. Paul, and New Jersey....

Rackspace Hosting has significantly expanded its cloud computing offering with the acquisition of two companies and the inking of two new partnership deals. These moves have fundamentally reshaped Rackspace's cloud computing capabilities, prompting the company to rebrand its existing hosting and storage services. Slicehost and Jungle Disk are the ...