Articles by

You can thank Google for raising your online customers' search expectations through the roof. The 900-lb. gorilla of Internet search delivers such quality results -- in just tenths of a second, as the results page tells you -- that online shoppers won't settle for anything less than blindingly fast search results from the e-commerce sites they visit...

It's remarkable that in today's high-tech communications environment, businesses are discovering that many contact centers continue to operate at suboptimal levels. Case in point: One financial services company has managed to turn "press zero to talk to a human" into not just a selling point but a major advertising campaign While some great leaps i...

I can hear the complaints already: If you read one more geeky media type going on about how Web 2.0 is helping transform the news from a lecture into a conversation, you'll fire off an angry e-mail or toxic, troll-worthy comment accusing me of trafficking in trendy new media cliches If you do, then I thank you for helping to illustrate the point of...

As the video game industry begins to ramp up for the holiday season, Microsoft announced Wednesday that it has cut the price of its line of Xbox 360 gaming consoles. The new pricing, which goes into effect Friday, starts at US$199 for the low-end console, the Xbox 360 Arcade model, down from $279 For consumers, the golden price for a gaming platfor...

Google's newly released Chrome browser is facing a backlash over its data collection and privacy practices. The company has already revised its end user license agreement following widespread concerns. Now, new worries are being raised about the browser's all-purpose Omnibox and how closely Google may be monitoring what is typed into it Chrome drew...

HP announced a slew of new products on Wednesday designed to make the deployment of a virtualized solution a greater value for businesses. More than 8 out of 10 companies have implemented virtualization projects, but most anticipate that just 25 percent of their IT environment will be virtualized by 2010, according to HP-sponsored research HP's vir...

Today's consumer is smarter than yesterday's consumer, and with the technology available to make educated purchasing decisions efficiently and quickly, Web-savvy buyers are making the most of the tools they have at their disposal. Online reviews are permeating the Web in all shapes and sizes, from reviews of a local pizza shop to posted commentary on a new piece of software. Consumer-generated content is the new word-of-mouth advertising, and its increase in popularity is attributable to the simplicity with which reviews can be posted on virtually anything.

Last week, SugarCRM made version 5.1 generally available. With its beta release earlier this year, the open source CRM provider broke new ground, providing innovations in business intelligence and an intriguing mobile app for the BlackBerry and the iPhone. These features are deservedly being called "big ticket" items, says Martin Schneider, SugarC...

On Aug. 13, 2008, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision in the much-watched case Jacobsen v. Katzer, No. 2008-1001 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 13, 2008), which turned on whether violating an open source licensing agreement should be considered copyright infringement It is important for companies to be aware of the implications o...

Schools, libraries, corporations and government agencies have their picks of programs that restrict user access to networks, impose usage privileges, and prohibit time-hogging distractions such as games, instant messaging and peer-to-peer file-sharing applications. In that category, Faronics' Anti-Executable 3.0, which allows a computer to run app...

Gannett has increased its stake in CareerBuilder, acquiring another 10 percent of the Web site from the Tribune Company for US$135 million. Gannett now has a 50.8 percent controlling interest in the site. Other stakeholders are the Tribune, now with 30.8 percent, The McClatchy Company, with 14.4 percent, and Microsoft, with 4 percent....

The digital video recorder (DVR) has become a must-have appliance, according to a survey released by NDS, a digital pay TV technology solution provider. More than 70 percent of consumers who currently own a DVR told surveyors that they could not live without it. Researchers queried more than 1,000 DVR owners in Australia, Italy, the UK and the U.S

IBM is increasing its arsenal against hackers with a new beefed-up blade server. The IBM BladeCenter PN41, announced this week, combines Deep Packet Inspection technology from CloudShield with IBM's other protection platforms to create a powerhouse against attacks The system is designed specifically to better protect against denial-of-service attac...

Just days before the release of the much delayed and long-anticipated "Spore" -- the latest endeavor of "The Sims" creator Will Wright -- gaming publisher Electronic Arts has enlisted the help of some Hollywood and technology heavyweights EA will add the celebrity critters to the Sporepedia, a catalog of all the creatures users have created and pub...

Another front may be opening in the battle for mobile platform supremacy. Microsoft is rumored to be planning to launch its own mobile application store -- a rumor that began after some bloggers, including Mike Elgan at ComputerWorld, talked up an ad Microsoft apparently ran seeking talent to assist in the endeavor The ad was eventually taken down,...

This is an interesting time of year for me, mostly because there's so much to watch. I call it "analyst season," not so much because of anything I do, but because the big guys tend to publish a lot of new reports documenting their view of the pecking order. Like everyone else, I will be publishing some new research this month as well, though I won't be ranking vendors this time...

Part 1 of this two-part feature examines how fuel cell technology works and reviews the applications that have already been developed or are being researched using fuel cells. Part 2 looks at one of the most promising applications -- hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars -- and the problems holding back the technology As energy prices -- crude oil, gasol...

Google is adding a video-sharing application called "Google Video for Business" to its Google Apps suite. It is designed to be a channel for companies to communicate internally with their employees. There are a number of use cases for the Software as a Service application, according to Google: It can be used for training; for making corporate anno...

Sony will launch a new version of its PlayStation Portable (PSP) this fall in Japan, the company announced Tuesday. The PSP-3000, which Sony debuted in August, features a new high contrast LCD screen and built-in microphone The revamped handheld gaming device also offers twice the memory of previous models, 4 GB, and boasts improved graphics. Sony ...

Google is getting into the browser game with its first beta release of Chrome. The long-rumored open source project is scheduled to become available to users in 100 countries Tuesday, starting a new battle for loyalty within the Internet Explorer and Firefox user bases Chrome boasts a slew of features designed to improve stability and speed. The qu...