News

Alternative offshore model emerging in India

New research suggests that for many tasks, simple outsourcing can be more cost-efficient for a company than the common practice of setting up a captive center

Defining the phrase open source

Microsoft’s patent claims jar open-source backers

Latest move could reinforce perception that Microsoft is a bully, researcher says

Songwriters help launch new copyright group

Copyright Alliance will push the U.S. Congress to pass and enforce strong copyright protection laws

Oracle looks to raise PLM profile with Agile purchase

Oracle is wagering that product lifecycle management will become more critical to IT customers

Hilf: Microsoft won’t sue over Linux, for now

Interview: General manager of platform strategy discusses the effects of Microsoft's Linux patent claims

Estonia recovers from massive denial-of-service attack

Postings on Web sites indicate Russian hackers may be involved in the attacks

Investment firms to buy Acxiom for $3 billion

Customer information management company also sells a vast database of U.S. consumer information for marketing campaigns

Google Korea to censor search results

Google Korea to introduce an age-verification system to its search engine

Fujitsu shows off latest color e-paper screens

Electronic paper technology has improved to the point where Fujitsu is exploring its commercial use in displays

India warns visa issue could have wider impacts

India commerce minister says U.S. Senate investigation in H-1B could negatively impact other trade issues between the two countries

Is IT blocking SOA?

Clock ticking for Optimus Maximus keyboard

Russian designer is set to begin preorders for the fully customizable $1,564 keyboard

Secunia: Firefox users more likely to install patches

Secunia report found that 28 percent of all programs on PCs it scanned were not fully updated

Patent overhaul bill moves forward in Congress

Subcommittee approves reform bill despite concerns it would allow a nearly unlimited window for patents to be challenged

Not your father’s mashup

Teqlo promises to take Web 2.0 applications to the next level by automating the sequencing of events in mashups

Oracle buys stake in IP management company

Company buys a minority stake in Sophoi, which makes the Intellectual Property Licensing Suite to manage and license content like TV shows and magazine articles

HP has strong PC, software sales, but Q2 profit dips

Operating profits are up 27 percent and revenue is up 13 percent from last year, but net profit is down 7 percent

Microsoft tweaks Patch Tuesday advance notification

The company will flesh out its vague Advanced Notification Alerts to include info on which programs and versions are being patched and the maximum severity rating

Small tech firms oppose patent reform bill

More than 100 organizations, including many small IT companies, feel the proposed patent reform tilts the playing field in favor of large corporations

Microsoft patent claims complicated by GPLv3

The latest General Public License is expected to be approved in the next few months, and its patent-safety provision may further muddy the Microsoft patent issue

MS Research project solves mobile touch screen problems

To compete with Apple's iPhone functionality, Microsoft wants to say goodbye to the stylus

Google moves to ‘universal’ search

Seeking to eliminate the use of different engines for the same query, the search giant plans to collate results from other engines

BT plans to be 100 percent SOA by ’09

UK Telco's plans prompt IT shakeup

Testing of faster Wi-Fi standard to start in June

The testing comes almost two years before the final ratification of the standard, leaving some enterprises unsure if they will immediately move to adopt it

Microsoft shifts Patch Tuesday procedures

Microsoft is tweaking some elements of its security update process in an attempt to respond to customer demands for more comprehensive information regarding software patches before and after they are released.

Mac Office, Office 2007 now get along

New stopgap file converter supports one-way conversion from Word 2007's Open XML file format into rich text

Google mulls tighter link between Gmail and Docs

The company seeks deeper, more meaningful integration between its Web email service and it shosted productivity apps to amplify its advantages over Microsoft Office

Microsoft, IBM and tactical weapons of choice

Gates christens Longhorn Windows Server 2008

Microsoft chairman also touts Vista in his last appearance at WinHEC before he becomes a part-time employee

Symantec sues distributors for alleged fake software

Symantec's software piracy suits ask for damages totaling more than $55 million

FTC bars company from selling Web-design franchises

Settlement calls for Netvertise to return $160,000 to customers and refrain from selling franchises

Oracle, SAP agree to time extension in lawsuit

Both sides get an extension to prepare for their contentious trade-secrets suit

Vodafone, RealNetworks partner as Sony exits

RealNetworks to buy Sony NetServices and offer mobile music streaming to users of Vodafone's Live portal

New York says Dell defrauded PC buyers

Dell denies the charges that it used fraud and false advertising to increase profits on PC sales

Amazon preps DRM-free music store

Pressure from Apple, Microsoft, and now Amazon could prompt other major labels to follow in EMI Music's footsteps

Microsoft campus mystery lives on

Pranks, jokes revolving around the mysterious building seven at Microsoft's Redmond campus may live on thanks to building planners

More expert opinions on disk drives reliability

Sony’s sales, profits jump

Sony achieves record sales despite the PS3 console missing its target

Assembling strong IT units

Hands on with Fujitsu’s pocket-size convertible UMPC

First impressions: A lightweight machine that can handle most demands of its target users but is missing features such as Bluetooth

IBM targets health care market with grid computing

Big Blue unveils system that uses grid computing to store and retrieve medical images and other records

Yahoo remakes mapping site

Yahoo debuts new mapping platform that makes the service faster and more accurate

Millions disconnected by NTT broadband outage

Cause of one the largest outages in Japan in years is still being investigated

Spyware hunter probes larger market flaws

Ben Edelman earned his reputation battling adware vendors such as 180 Solutions and Claria. Now he's looking to the future and the goal of unbreakable markets that are immune to scams

Scammers gaming YouTube ratings for profit

Spyware researcher says scammers are inflating the popularity of videos on YouTube and other sharing sites, often as a lure to Web sites loaded with malicious programs

Provilla plugs enterprise data leaks

Startup targets leaks on PDAs, smartphones, laptops

Mozilla service opens up mobile Web

The experimental service allows users to store online content on a remote server for later access via cell phone

IBM contractor loses employee data

Data tapes containing sensitive information on current and former IBM employees were lost during transit by a third-party vendor, a situation IBM is calling inadvertent

IBM pitches the efficiency of agile programming

Presentation at the Academy of Technology Conference covers iterative development methodology that favors more frequent release cycles of less comprehensive updates