Computer Software

July 1, 2009

Mozilla's Crowdsourcing Mystique

There's a cool new video player in the Firefox Web browser that Mozilla released on June 30. But the onscreen buttons used to control it are too small for some ...

July 1, 2009

Creating Order from Chaos with Evernote

When he parks his car, author Timothy Ferriss snaps a photo of the nearest cross streets with his camera phone. In business meetings, he'll often take pictures of ...

June 30, 2009

Apple's HTTP Adaptive Video Streaming in Action

When Apple (AAPL) upgraded its iPhone operating system in June, it included some highly prominent and loudly demanded features, like search and copy & paste. But the ...

June 30, 2009

The Latest App: Smartphone Interpreters

Uncle Sam may soon get a little diplomatic help from the iPhone and BlackBerry. On June 30, an Egyptian company specializing in translation software released a tool ...

June 28, 2009

Microsoft's Hohm: First in the Azure Cloud

Microsoft's energy management tool, Hohm, which launched this week, is a clear play to help consumers conserve energy. Log into the Hohm web site, enter your ZIP code ...

June 25, 2009

Big Software Plans for Amazon's Kindle?

Giant online retailer Amazon.com may be plotting a broader foray into software for smartphones. The company already offers a handful of mobile applications. One lets ...

June 24, 2009

Oracle's Earnings: A Good Omen for Tech?

Wall Street took heart from a report showing better-than-expected earnings from Oracle (ORCL), the Silicon Valley software giant. Technology stocks have been on a roll...

June 17, 2009

Windows 7: Another Reason to Dread the Holidays

It's not even summer yet and if you're like me you're already dreading the holidays. I've never been a big fan of the holiday season, and this year is going to be ...

June 5, 2009

Intel-WindRiver: What the Merger Means

Clearly defined lines between the software and hardware worlds are getting fuzzier. The most recent evidence came on June 4, when Intel, the world's largest maker of ...

June 4, 2009

Mobile Apps' Brush with Greatness

To the iPhone's extensive résumé, add magazine cover illustration. Artist Jorge Colombo recently drew widespread attention for creating the image for The New Yorker's ...

June 3, 2009

Apple, Google Consider App-Sharing Tools

These days, downloading software applications for a smartphone is a breeze. But good luck trying to share that fun game or handy work-productivity tool with someone ...

June 2, 2009

Palm: Likely to Stumble with Pre

On June 6, Palm (PALM) will release the Pre, a smartphone many hope will fuel a resurgence of a company long since fallen from grace. But numerous miscalculations and ...

June 1, 2009

Microsoft Moves onto Nintendo's Motion Turf

Microsoft wants to beat Nintendo at its own game. Nintendo revolutionized the $30 billion gaming industry with a console that lets people use body movement in their ...

June 1, 2009

U.S. Corporations Size Up Their Carbon Footprints

Like many companies, Coca-Cola (KO) wants to cut its carbon footprint. The soft-drink maker has pledged to eliminate 2 million tons of CO2 emissions from its ...

May 17, 2009

Will the iPhone Grab the Lead in Games?

Last week, I got a visit from the CEO of a company that makes games for the iPhone. It was a revelation. Shervin Pishevar, CEO of Social Gaming Network, showed me a ...

May 14, 2009

What's Holding Back Google Apps?

When Google (GOOG) announced a foray into business software two years ago, it touted General Electric (GE) as one of its trophy accounts. GE had begun using ...

May 4, 2009

Smartphone Apps: Businesses Should Pass

A few things I'm not going to do in 2009: I'm not refitting my house for solar. I'm not going to buy an electric car. And no matter how much my daughter pleads with ...

May 4, 2009

Companies Shed Initial Resistance to iPhone

Michael Loo didn't want to become an iPhone user at first. "I really fought it quite hard," he says. As vice-president for global IT at telecom equipment vendor Avaya,...

April 28, 2009

Symbian: Beyond Smartphones

It's soul-searching time at Symbian. The smartphone operating system lost 15 percentage points of market share last year to competitors including Apple (AAPL) and ...

April 23, 2009

Oracle's Sun Deal: A Closer Look

Oracle's Apr. 20 conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss its $7.4 billion buyout of Sun Microsystems (JAVA) was a straightforward affair. Oracle (ORCL) ...

April 23, 2009

Need an Answer? Ask Aardvark

The last time you looked for something on the Web, chances are, you typed a request into a Google search bar to find it. If people like Max Ventilla have their way, ...

April 23, 2009

Microsoft's Downbeat Outlook

There was little optimism in remarks by Microsoft (MSFT) executives when they reported fiscal third-quarter results on Apr. 23. Chipmaker Intel (INTC) had said the PC ...

April 21, 2009

What Oracle Sees in Sun

Over the past 13 years, Sun Microsystems' Java language has become one of the computer industry's best known brands—and underappreciated assets. The tension ...

April 20, 2009

Pushing the Envelope of 3D

Shanna Tellerman and the business she founded stand out in an economy where venture funding is hard to come by. In March the 28-year-old entrepreneur's startup closed ...

April 20, 2009

Oracle Agrees to Buy Sun for $7.4 Billion

In a move that will reshape how many companies buy high-end hardware and the software running it, Oracle (ORCL) has agreed to buy Sun Microsystems (JAVA) for $9.50 per...