News

DIY Internet of things: The ultimate maker project

Update: Microsoft pushes firmware fix to more Surface Pro 2 owners

'Looks like the problem is fixed,' says one user referring to battery, sleep/hibernate glitches

Java’s security dilemma: Old, vulnerable versions won’t go away

There's no easy solution for older versions of Java

Fon working with Qualcomm to expand Wi-Fi hotspots

The free Wi-Fi aggregator has also received new funding from the chip maker as well as from Google and Deutsche Telekom

Spammers buy Google Chrome extensions and turn them into adware

Two developers who sold their popular Chrome extensions saw them misused for aggressive advertising

Update: SAP expects revenue of $30 billion by 2017, driven by cloud

The company saw a dip in software revenue as its cloud business grew in the fourth quarter

Two coders closely tied to Target-related malware, security firm says

At least six more U.S. retailers have been compromised by the BlackPOS malware, according to security company IntelCrawler

Intel expects to reduce workforce by 5 percent this year

Company plans to cut staff by about 5,400 employees, as it sees the PC market stabilizing but a year of flat sales ahead

Full text of Obama’s intelligence directive regarding NSA reforms

Here is the official presidential directive and a fact sheet on the details of the new policy

Will DuckDuckGo eventually destroy Google in search?

Today in Open Source: DuckDuckGo gains more users as privacy concerns mount. Plus: An exhaustive list of Open Source software, and the Ubuntu phone may be delayed until 2015

Oracle builds a bridge to Salesforce.com with new adapter

The adapter allows organizations to synchronize Salesforce.com and on-premises applications

Obama proposes changes to NSA surveillance

President calls for change but stopped short of major changes advocated by his own surveillance review panel and civil liberties groups

New API will simplify Google Drive integration with Android apps, says Google

The Google Drive Android API lets apps combine local and cloud-based storage

Researchers aim to revolutionize 3D printing, global manufacturing

Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientists are researching additive manufacturing techniques such as building multiple materials into the same product

Acer reports Q4 loss, executives agree to salary cut

Senior execs took a 30 percent pay cut as the struggling PC maker wrote off $43 million related to raw materials inventory and other costs

New China-developed OS takes aim at Android, Windows

Fueled by concern over secret U.S. surveillance programs, makers of the Linux-based COS want to break the U.S. hold on China's software market

Target credit card data was sent to server in Russia

The data was quietly moved around on Target's network before it was sent to a U.S. server, and then to Russia

IBM pumps $1.2 billion into global cloud data centers

IBM will build 15 new data centers, giving the company a total of 40 around the globe for cloud services

New API will simplify Google Drive integration with Android apps, says Google

The Google Drive Android API lets apps combine local and cloud-based storage

IBM updates all-flash storage array to complement X6 servers

The FlashSystem 840, building on last year's 820, will fit a petabyte of storage in a rack with low latency

Java gives Android development an edge

Android's popularity rests in part on the large base of developers already coding in Java

Is CentOS ready for the Linux desktop?

Today in Open Source: Should you use CentOS on the desktop? Plus: Linux and the Nest Labs acquisition by Google, and the openSUSE forums are online again

A mobile app reality check: Few paid apps make money

The big money from mobile apps is coming from in-app advertising and app-enabled purchasing of goods and services, Gartner says

IBM X series servers now pack flash into speedy DIMM slots

IBM will offer its next-generation X servers in both four-socket and eight-socket configurations

Cisco fixes remote access vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Access Control System

Flaws in the network access control product can give attackers access to administrative functions, Cisco said

Snapchat, Bitly, and Kik Messenger targeted by spammers

Bitly is working with Symantec to clean up malicious links, the result of API keys left visible on the Web

Security startup Impermium joining Google

Google expects Impermium to fit in with Google's own expertise in countering spam and abuse

New Fujitsu Labs tech can do batch searches of encrypted data

Method based on public-key encryption uses homomorphic encryption to batch-search 16,000 characters per second using any search term

Yahoo fires COO Henrique de Castro

A replacement has not been named; tensions with CEO cited

Twitter now requires encrypted API communication

Third party Twitter apps must now converse with Twitter through the SSL protocol

Google Drive gets an activity stream

Users will see a list of actions taken by colleagues on their files and folders

Starbucks caught storing mobile passwords in clear text

In a case of convenience trumping security, Starbucks has been storing passwords for its mobile-payment app, along with geolocation data, in clear text

Chrome feature cuts mobile data used by up to half, Google says

The new versions of Chrome for Mobile will be available in the next few days

New Blackphone promises secure communications and privacy

The device is the creation of smartphone manufacturer Geeksphone and encrypted communications provider Silent Circle

Intel puts Fab 42 in Arizona on hold

In 2011 the chip maker announced plans to spend $5 billion on the new Fab 42 chip manufacturing facility

Senators question recommended changes to NSA surveillance

Members of a review panel say their recommendations would not hurt legitimate terrorism investigations

Spammers target Google hospitality listings

The listings for Marriott, Hilton, Holiday Inn and many other hotels were modified to redirect to what appear to be a hotel bookings site

Kanye West sues Amazon, others in massive digital currency smackdown

Efforts to launch the digital currency Coinye appear to be abandoned

How to securely get started using SDN

Though some might argue that it's inherently insecure, SDN has changed for the better in recent years, allowing it to be implemented securely

Court strikes down Net neutrality: What’s next?

The FCC has several options, but many of them aren't likely to prevail

Patent troll MPHJ will repay all New York licensees in settlement with state

A settlement with a notorious patent troll should serve as a warning to other companies, said the New York State Attorney General

Appeals court strikes down FCC’s Net neutrality rule

The court says the agency doesn't have the authority to regulate broadband; the FCC says it may appeal

Google boosts patents in 2013 but IBM still dominates

Google remains ahead of Apple in patent awards

Is the PaaS market as we know it dying?

IaaS and SaaS companies putting the squeeze on PaaS vendors

Target hackers have more data than they can sell

Those cyber criminals who stole the data appear to be keeping a low profile on underground forums

New SDK from Coinbase and BitMonet enables bitcoin-friendly Android apps

A new SDK lets Android developers easily accept bitcoin payments in their apps

Ex-Oracle salesman claims complaining about wage discrimination got him fired

An Oracle sales director allegedly said a lower salary offer was 'good money for an Indian,' according to a new lawsuit

Google buys smart thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion

Google stands to gain a massive stream of new data about people's daily habits

Nginx woos the enterprise with new commercial Web server software release

Nginx Plus offers more ways to route traffic among multiple Java components

Mobile apps no pot of gold for developers

Just a small fraction of consumer mobile apps will bring financial success to their developers by 2018