Opinion

JXCore’s new trick: Convert Node.js projects into self-running apps

Newest beta of the JXCore fork of Node.js lets users compile Node applications and dependent modules into deliverables

Software testers balk at ISO 29119 standards proposal

The ISO wants to standardize software testing, but it's encountering pushback from testers and is unlikely to get uptake in large companies

Microsoft Azure dips into the NoSQL pool

New Azure DocumentDB service offers SQL-like transactions with NoSQL-like unstructured data, but SQL Server-like transactions

Docker 1.2 punches up security, day-to-day management

The popular Docker app-container project tweaks its feature set, but far bigger changes are waiting in the wings

Dark skies hang over midtier cloud providers

Top cloud vendors have the cash to grow their dominance, and small fry can align to a top provider. But those in between?

Walmart’s investment in open source isn’t cheap

While proprietary vendors want us to focus on price, innovators focus on the flexibility and business value of open source

So long, iOS — jailbreakers have found their home: Android

Jailbreakers deserve the malware infections they get, which is why they're moving to Android's 'malware is the norm' world

Republicans to FCC: Don’t force municipal broadband on us

Republicans decry the FCC's tentative plans to reverse laws prohibiting municipal broadband networks, citing states' rights

Video: Meet the most connected man in the world

Google Glass and a smartwatch? Mere child's play to Chris Dancy

What I wish I’d known starting out as a programmer

Young programmers don't generally seek advice from aging coders. Fine — but for once, sit down, shut up, and listen in

Oracle works both sides of the SQL/NoSQL street

While continuing to push SQL, Oracle makes accommodations for newer technologies, including NoSQL and JSON

PostgreSQL ramps up its NoSQL game

New developer kit for PostgreSQL eases access to the open source database's recently introduced NoSQL features

Good news from HP: It could be worse

No new layoffs, no new buckets of red ink, and strong corporate PC sales show that HP may have stopped sinking

Five ways Docker is taking over the world

Docker is more than a fad — it's a real-deal technology finding widespread adoption and creating its own ecosystem

Fifth Surface Pro 3 patch in two months still doesn’t address the big problems

Nobody seems to know why Microsoft has quietly released yet another firmware update for its troubled Surface Pro 3 tablet

How to solve Java’s security problem

Bringing application security natively into the JVM can provide stronger, faster, more accurate protection against dangerous vulnerabilities

Ballmer exits Microsoft board — stock market nods approval

Ballmer's departure had to happen someday, but the news came so abruptly that many were caught flatfooted

Google’s Docker tool taps Apache Mesos for cluster management

Mesosphere is integrating with Google's Kubernates to bring cluster management technology to Google Cloud Platform

In Microsoft’s cloud quest, some will get left behind

Risk of 'technical drift' is especially pernicious when your vendor appears to support the cloud but is only paying lip service

Are you experienced? Not for this IT job

Good luck to the IT manager and assistant separating fact from fiction as they try to fill a networking position

C++14 is done — here’s what’s new

ISO draft international standard for latest version of C++ has been approved and expands on features introduced in C++11

Does government finally grok open source?

New GitHub data suggests that governments are finally all in on open source, but the truth may be a little less sexy

Pay up: The free ride is over for corporate BYOD

Some companies saw BYOD as a way to make employees pay to do their job, but a court ruling may end that abuse

Wyoming, a cloud leader? Take notes, America

Don't think of Wyoming as a special case — citizens of all states would benefit from government's cloud shift

Revealed! How to become a tech wunderkind in 1,286 easy steps

Love PowerPoint? Love winners? Then you'll love Ryan Allis' 1,286-slide deck on getting ahead in Silicon Valley and in life

Python puts its print on multitouch apps with Kivy

The Kivy library is based on cross-platform OpenGL, so native apps can run on iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, and OS X

Microsoft’s new approach to Windows updates is all marketing sizzle no steak

Microsoft has declared Patch Tuesday shall henceforth be called 'Update Tuesday' as a nod to new 'more nimble' Windows update policy

Microsoft yanks botched Black Tuesday patches KB 2982791, KB 2970228, KB 2975719, and KB 2975331

Microsoft recommends that users uninstall last week's update — even if their machines are working fine

Famo.us lines up mobile-app wrapper for September release

The wrapper service will allow Famo.us apps to be distributed in Google Play and the Apple App Store

Get ready for Windows 9

The iPhone 6 may not hog the spotlight for long. Windows is still the workhorse of the business world — and Windows 9 is coming sooner than you think

Systemd: Harbinger of the Linux apocalypse

It might not be the end of the world, but the design of systemd and the attitudes of its developers have been counterproductive

Stroustrup: Why the 35-year-old C++ still dominates ‘real’ dev

Users find fix for botched KB 2982791 and KB 2970228 Windows update

Microsoft has yet to pull the bad patch, respond to support cases, offer an explanation — or even acknowledge the BSOD Stop 0x050 problem

Choosing a cloud provider? Follow the happy employees

Look at employee satisfaction numbers when you're choosing a cloud provider — happy employees do better work

The iPhone and iPad may be losing their enterprise luster

Android's improvements are magnifying IT's frustrations with iOS and providing a viable alternative for real-world deployments

Stroustrup: Why the 35-year-old C++ still dominates ‘real’ dev

C++ inventor details the language's latest changes and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors

Smarter than Siri: Viv promises a truly intelligent assistant

AI's promise has been dangled for decades, but a startup founded by the creators of Siri may be poised to finally deliver

How to crack an open source community

Want to contribute to an open source project? Here are the main reasons you'll struggle — and some tips to help you persevere

Blue Screen Stop 0x050 error reported for systems installing KB2976897, KB2982791, and KB2970228

Two Microsoft kernel-mode driver updates are triggering BSOD error message on some Windows systems

With Hadoop HBase, Splice Machine breathes new life into old RDBMS

Wait, don't they have SQL databases for that? Splice Machine mashes up scalability of Hadoop with RDBMS transactionality

At last, Intel has mobile chips to reckon with

The smaller 'Broadwell' chips with 3D transistors will finally give Intel a leg up in its battle with ARM

Primed for mobile development, Mono upgrade focuses on performance

Mono 3.6.0, intended for Linux but picked up by mobile app developers, boosts performance and cuts memory usage

Black Tuesday: Microsoft offers massive IE patch rollup but no ActiveX blocks

Initial reports also include puzzling behavior for some Start menu Taskbars, patches for some Surface tablets, and an underwhelming Win 8.1 'Update 2'

A do-nothing CFO gets the upgrade he deserves

A CFO more interested in golf than in work gets the biggest, baddest machine IT can provide — but don't look under the hood

Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant could well come to Windows 9

It could be a race between Apple and Microsoft as to who gets a voice assistant on the desktop first

The 3 ways the Internet of things will unfold

The three key segments of the real IoT are on different paths, so don't think of them as one entity

Caution: Cloud brokers may not deliver what you expect

The multicloud approach can simplify management of disparate clouds, but it won't give you portability

Apple’s Swift falls back to earth after initial surge

Apple's programming language dips in popularity after strong start, but is expected to even out in coming months

McAfee sideshow eclipses Defcon’s real security breakthroughs

The security pioneer's appearance at Defcon highlighted the best and worst impulses of the hacker community

Get real: Oracle is strengthening — not killing — Java

While the company has done its share of bungling, it has put Java on a progressive track