TecTrends

######## Article ###### ###### ###### Google#;s Wave remains in beta, but a large beta, with an additional ###,### people being invited to participate in the test pool. The author is a bit jealous of them. According to Wave

######## Article New corporate deals are boosting investor confidence in the economy. Acquisitions by Xerox Corp. and Abbott Laboratories have pushed shares of technology companies and drug makers higher. These acquisition deals have also caused similar buying or acquisition trends

######## Article Innovative nanotubes made from carbon-nanotube powered springs have the potential of providing battery-free energy storage, as illustrated by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among other teams. Springs can store mechanical energy indefinitely

######## Article ###### Recently, San Francisco city dispatched the first letter through Zumbox, a secure email service. The Zumbox secure mail service enables senders to contact recipients online by using their street address, which email does not do. If the

######## Article ###### ###### ###### Enterprise CIOs largely stayed on the sidelines of the last big Microsoft Windows upgrade, from Windows XP to Vista, and few of them regretted it. As the author bluntly notes, #;No one ever got fired

######## Article ###### ###### ###### GlobalCIO column author Bob Evans has a business proposal for Steve Jobs of Apple, and even has the inevitable name for it, the iCloud. In Evans#; vision the iCloud is #;an enterprise mobility cloud service

######## Article ###### In a marketplace crowded with gadgets, consumer electronics firms have to struggle to get noticed. Minor improvements to existing products don#;t draw attention; it takes something new and dramatic to create excitement. Panasonic, which ranks ##th

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### In their three-year competition for music lovers#; ears, Microsoft#;s Zune has been left in the dust by the Apple iPod. The Zune is attractively designed and favorably priced, and has a fairly

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### An innovative user interface shown for Intel#;s Moblin mobile Linux software illustrates some of the same flair of the iPhone and the Palm Pre, as Intel#;s most recent

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Music is how Apple put itself back in the game in the last decade, with the iPod and iTunes, a fact Apple celebrated by featuring singer Norah Jones at an early September event

######## Article Most large, well known firms spend heavily on advertising and marketing to promote their brand, but Amazon has been a notable exception. Instead it has invested its money in technology, building up its website and distribution system, and

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### In acquiring Perot Systems, Dell is making a gamble that it can broaden its hardware-centric base into integration and virtualization, while managing the fusion of two quite different corporate cultures. The two firms

######## Article ###### Frequent news stories about lost or stolen laptops brimming with sensitive data are a reminder to organizations that protecting data residing on portable hard drives is a crucial security concern. The best way of safeguarding this data

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### A recent product analysis consisted of Portelligent#;s evaluation of Eye-Fi#;s share, a Wi-Fi-enabled Secure Digital (SD) card that makes it simple and affordable to add Wi-Fi

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Consumers are understandably confused because there is a flood of products targeting the territory between laptops and mobile phones: mini-notebooks, e-books, netbooks, mobile Internet devices, smartphones, smartbooks, tablet PCs, and

######## Article ###### ###### When the federal government announced an interest in cloud computing, Google was there and waiting, with an offer to provide cloud services specifically tailored to the needs of federal agencies. Google won#;t be the last

######## Article Poor countries have benefited significantly from mobile phones, and a second round is now on the horizon. In ####, Mary Wokhwale was one of the first ## women in Uganda to become #;village phone#; operators, and the great

######## Article Providing mobile services in a developing country differs significantly from doing so in the developed world, so network operators are reducing costs in innovative ways to increase access to new users. For starters, increasing access is difficult because

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Innovative new uses for mobile phones could propel another wave of development--for example, by providing agricultural, market, and health information, as well as mobile banking--especially in rural areas previously

######## Article Now that mobile-phone access is becoming universal in scope, the next task is to do the same for the Internet. Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union--a body established in #### to regulate international

######## Article ###### Mobile phones were initially considered a plaything of the wealthy, but numerous things have come together to not only make mobile phones more accessible to poorer people, particularly via rapid growth over the past few years, but

######## Article ###### Now that mobile phones have transformed lives in poor countries, mobile money could potentially have an even bigger effect. Mobile phones have evolved from toys of the wealthy to tools of financial empowerment, in just a few

######## Article Since Japan emerged as a manufacturing exporter in the ####s, the country has made great strides in the quality of its manufacturing and has become a powerful force in electronics, automobile manufacturing, and other industries, and China now

######## Article Yahoo! has recently announced a $### million campaign, which would portray the company as an online spot where personally relevant content would be available for users. The company also plans to project it as a place where advertisers

######## Article Dell#;s plan to acquire information technology services provider Perot Systems Corp. for $#.# billion is its attempt to catch up with its major rivals. The acquisition deal--the biggest ever deal ever struck by Dell--is

######## Article ###### ###### ###### Google Voice, a call management service currently under test, is likely to be scrutinized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which apparently is trying to reconcile rotary phone era regulations for BlackBerrys and iPhones. The

######## Article ###### Programs developed for smartphones and global positioning system units alert drivers about school zones, spots where police cite speeders, and spots that have cameras that monitor red-light runners. Trapster, a smartphone app, allows users to share

######## Article A group of programmers and statisticians recently claimed the $# million reward offered by Netflix to improve the movie recommendation software it uses. According to Reed Hastings, chief executive of the company, the improvements proposed by the prize

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### High-powered netbooks are beginning to be used as corporate computing devices. Lightweight netbooks with very light OSes and restricted disk space and RAM are more akin to smartphones. Netbooks with more

######## Article Previously, conventional wisdom said that investors should steer clear of technology companies that did too many mergers and acquisitions, but over the last decade, shareholder value has been increased as a result of the acquisitiveness of a group

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### The Dell Latitude E####, a light and thin notebook, can meet general-purpose computing requirements of traveling business people. The notebook is a good system for midrange users

######## Article Cisco Systems has acquired Tidal Software, a company that provides server scheduling and monitoring programs, and Pure Digital, a flip camcorder maker. These acquisitions have spurred activities in the technology merger and acquisition (M&A) business. Cisco, rather

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### Google is using the profits earned in its classified web ads business to develop remarkable new services like the Google Voice. Google Voice, just like Google Earth and Gmail, offers useful features at no

######## Article ###### ###### ###### When Oracle CEO Larry Ellison introduced the latest version of the firm#;s high end Exadata database and storage appliance, it had a conspicuous label reading #;Oracle-Sun.#; The joint effort shows that Oracle and

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### After having its buggy software exploited by hackers in recent years, Microsoft has made significant strides in protecting its systems against attacks, and now the company is moving to the next level by

######## Article Earl Lewis, CE of Flir Systems, is enthusiastic about future opportunities for mass-marketing infrared (IR) cameras. Flir Systems is a leader in the infrared camera market. Lewis is positive that the price of infrared cameras will greatly

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### Ratification of the IEEE ###.##n Wi-Fi networking standard is expected to further boost the challenge posed by WLAN to Ethernet. The new standard has resulted from a complete rewrite of the ####

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### The new office productivity suite OpenGoo is designed to offer online collaboration benefits like that offered by Google Apps. OpenGoo#;s source code has been distributed through an open source license and could be

######## Article ###### ###### The Internet Information Services (IIS) web server comes with new products developed by Microsoft. IIS was a security nightmare nine years back when it was exploited regularly by dangerous viruses and worms. However, starting with version

######## Article ###### ###### ###### Social-network smartphones might be the new thing, Motorola hopes, now that the company is betting on new mobile devices designed for Twitter-types in an attempt to reverse its declining fortunes. A harsh reaction

######## Article Enterprises are adopting mobile devices, making it possible for salespeople and other mobile workers to have a wealth of information at their fingertips. But mobile information technology is not yet realizing its full potential to deliver not just

######## Article ###### ###### Google may have stolen a march on Microsoft by announcing its intention to develop versions of Google Apps specially tailored to the needs of the federal government, just as Microsoft is rolling out the beta version

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Snow Leopard, the most recent version of Mac OS X from Apple, enables users to perform common computer tasks faster. The new Mac OS X ##.# version is also more compact. For

######## Article Many of the trends in media and marketing that will unfold in upcoming months are already apparent, as weaker media sectors will keep being remade, there will be surprising stability among the largest players, a bright line will

######## Article Firms are treating social media much as they once treated the Internet. They see a social media presence as something they might want to have, or perhaps they believe they should have one, but they have not yet

######## Article Mark Mathis, founder of Confluence Energy, has built Colorado#;s first wood pellet mill. The mill makes wood pellets from dead trees. This biomass is used as fuel in pellet stoves to generate energy to heat homes. Confluence

######## Article ###### ###### The IEEE ratified its latest Wi-Fi standard, ###.##n in September, after seven years of development and nearly a year after the new standard was initially slated for adoption. Called WLAN Enhancements for Higher Throughput

######## Article ###### ###### ###### The Marine Corps has prohibited its personnel from using social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, citing security reasons. Such a ban by the Marine Corps would hinder information sharing and hence demoralize troop

######## Article Los Gatos-based startup HDI hopes to help shape the emerging market of #-D TV. #-D TV could soon be a common sight, thanks to the fall in high-definition TVs prices. Sony and Panasonic plan

######## Article To try to increase earnings without putting more people on the payroll, companies are embracing the innovative yet controversial data-driven system known as Six Sigma, which aims to thoroughly decrease production defects in everything from marketing to

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Opera web browser#;s Version ## offers innovative features, the most important of which could be the Turbo mode. While operating in this mode, Opera uses compression technology in an attempt to improve

######## Article ###### A planning group at a large enterprise thought that they were saving money by replacing all the firm#;s printers with #;multifunction devices#; (MFDs), which act as printers and copiers, and automatically call for help via the

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### The MyTouch #G from T-Mobile with Google#;s Android OS is an incremental improvement over the G# launched last year. The major difference between the MyTouch #G and

######## Article ###### ###### ###### After years when Microsoft reigned unchallenged in the world of business productivity suites, the Web-based Google Docs suite is starting to take root in the business world, not only with small firms but large

######## Article Global Electronic Trading Co. (Getco), a new generation tech-savvy trader, is using technology-based innovations to turn financial markets more efficient. Getco is making a fortune through its high frequency trading. The company currently purchases and sells

######## Article An increasing number of corporate clients are fretting about Oracle#;s high prices and hardball tactics, as CEO Larry Ellison attempts to expand the company#;s reach into hardware. Over the last few years, Oracle has been on

######## Article ###### ###### British companies Quest International, a small manufacturer of equipment utilized for sanitizing the air in nursing homes and hospitals, and BAE Systems, a defense and aerospace firm, have recently announced that they have succeeded in adapting

######## Article InnoCentive believes that sharing problems helps in solving problems. InnoCentive was conceived by three scientists from Eli Lilly in ####. Three years later, InnoCentive was spun off to form an independent company. InnoCentive follows a simple idea that

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### Google is trying new methods to encourage innovation. The company organizes regular meetings during which its employees suggest new ideas to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page

######## Article Leading package delivery company FedEx is optimistic about its future. Though its profit dipped ## percent in the first quarter of ####, FedEx says it sees signs of the economy beginning to stabilize. According to the Commerce Department

######## Article Amazon.com is focusing on expanding its private-label business in an effort to emerge as a general retailer, moving away from its online bookstore image. The e-commerce company sells Pinzon, a bamboo cutting board, as part

######## Article ###### ###### Palm has forecasted lower sales of its Pre smartphone for the current fiscal quarter. Industry analysts say the limited number of carrier partners and stiff competition are factors responsible for the projected decline, despite the successful

######## Article Intel plans to expand its product line beyond microprocessors. It plans to manufacture chips--based on its new production technology--to target new markets. According to Intel, its latest production process would manufacture chips of circuit dimensions ##

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Apple has launched iTunes #, the ninth version of iTunes for organizing, playing, and buying music and videos--not only on iPods or iPhones, but also on computers. The new iTunes software

######## Article ###### ###### Even legal professionals have started exploring and using social networking platforms for business expansion and development. It is not very clear how useful social media can be for legal professionals. According to Maria-Christina Zajac, account

######## Article The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has a team of software privacy investigators who follow confidential leads provided by IT employees or IT managers. These confidential leads related to software piracy in organizations are reported to the BSA through

######## Article Walt Disney#;s acquisition of Marvel Entertainment for $# billion would pressurize Time Warner and other media firms to look for similar options. Media giant Time Warner holds cash assets worth about $# million. With its current focus

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Sony Corp.#;s recent deal with Google to pre-install the Chrome browser on its Vaio PCs will boost Google#;s browser business. This move comes a year after Google had launched its

######## Article ###### In the future, robots that perform dull and dangerous tasks will be in demand. To make consumer robots ubiquitous, further advancements in robotics technologies have to be realized. For one, faster real-time system response will be

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### The latest N### smartphone of Nokia has failed to impress the smartphone industry and does not come close to the iPhone from Apple. The OS

######## Article ###### ###### The U.S. government has recently announced a combined military/civilian agency purchase of satellite communications services for commercial applications. Kevin Gallo, program manager at the U.S. General Services Administration, expects the demand for commercial

######## Article ###### Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia Corp., believes Nokia would emerge as a mobile solutions provider. Leading handset maker Nokia is now reorganizing its operations and is planning to launch netbooks soon. IT industry observers say Nokia

######## Article HP and printing specialist RR Donnelley announced last week that they have teamed up to develop new digital printing techniques for inkjet digital presses. Such presses are faster than other types of digital presses, produce quality print results

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### IBM has recently announced a road map along with upgrades for its Lotus Symphony suite, projecting it as an alternative to Microsoft Office#;s productivity tools

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### Chip manufacturers are racing to meet the requirements of smartphone vendors by developing more accurate and robust touchscreen technologies with faster response times and reduced power consumption. Cypress Semiconductor

######## Article Improved mobile network speeds will enhance mobile data speeds, and in turn, greatly impact the use of mobile telehealth devices that enable doctors to remotely monitor the conditions of their patients. According to a study recently released by

######## Article ###### Heavy use of smartphones often pose problems for carriers like AT&T. For example, the iPhone was popular with web-addicted attendees at the SouthWest film, music, and interactive festival held in Texas in early ####. The

######## Article At the annual international conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society in Minneapolis, Yongmin Kim, professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington, described his work related to an ultrasound system that would detect coronary

######## Article Search marketing optimization grows enormously in complexity when it must meet the needs of a large enterprise such as Cisco Systems, with ##,### employees and a product range calling for scores or even hundreds of potential landing

######## Article Gordon Bell, at age ## a giant of computer science, wears a digital camera around his neck that records whenever he enters another room. He also records his phone conversations, and scans any scrap of paper worth saving

######## Article ###### ###### ###### ###### Business to business (b-to-b) marketers are starting to explore iPhone apps as a marketing tool. As with other Internet developments such as blogs and podcasts, the first wave of iPhone apps was

######## Article ###### The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game developed by Harmonix in collaboration with Apple Corps, the music company of the Beatles, was recently unveiled to the public. The game would be distributed by MTV. In the

######## Article Video used as direct mail has proved to be an effective marketing tool for Midwest Employers#; Casualty Co., a workplace and workman#;s comp insurance firm. MECC#;s challenge, says executive marketing VP Steven Link, was to make

######## Article Medtronic Inc. has commenced trials of a brain implant device in monkeys. The implant automatically senses and responds to brain waves. Initial tests conducted by Medtronic provide a new understanding of the working of the brain. Medtronic has

######## Article Companies like Cisco Systems and Procter & Gamble are making use of collaborative tools to tap ideas of online experts from the World Wide Web. These multinational companies are providing their managers with a multitude of options, which range

######## Article ###### Cellphones having digital cameras are complex microprocessor systems with intricate functionality, which is often distributed among the system#;s software and hardware components. For instance, a good amount of image processing functionality is built into CMOS image

######## Article Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Zipcar, a car-sharing service firm, has persuaded many urban youngsters to share cars. Scott Griffith, CEO of Zipcar, is among the ###,### members who use the company#;s cars for moving around. At

######## Article ###### Technologies like smart grids, WiMax, and social networks are expected to completely transform city life. A better connected city with smart grids, sustainable data centers, and well-extended wireless access is within reach. For example, cities like

######## Article ###### ###### ###### The PC industry hopes the October #### launch of Windows # operating system (OS) would revive the growth of the industry. Brian Blair, an analyst at equity research firm Wedge Partners, says the resultant growth

######## Article ###### A growing number of grieving relatives and friends of deceased people tap into the Web to relive memories of their beloved ones by accessing the websites and blogs used by the deceased individuals in the past. As

######## Article Keerti Rathore and his team of researchers from Texas A&M University have developed a genetic engineering technique for removing a toxin from cottonseed. Cottonseeds are rich in protein. A powerful toxin called gossypol present in the cottonseed

######## Article ###### The future of the Web is difficult to predict, according to experts. According to Leonard Kleinrock, a computer scientist belonging to the team that linked--back in Sept ####--two computers in the University of California in

######## Article ###### ###### ###### Creating interest about space exploration and robotics engineering seems to be the agenda of most of the recent educational projects initiated in the field of robotics. For example, Google#;s Lunar X Prize, a $##

######## Article Search, whether paid or organic, can be an effective lead-generation tool. The great potential of search lies in the fact that searchers #;self-qualify#; themselves, flagging what stage they are at in the buying process by the

######## Article Researchers Larry Kwak and Douglas Schwartzentruber, along with their research team at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), have conducted two separate trials to test the significance of using vaccines to treat cancer patients. The researchers started their separate

######## Article ###### ###### ###### Security experts are planning to employ hack victims as well as other computer users for hunting down hackers. Rowan Trollope, senior vice-president for consumer products with Symantec, a leading developer of antivirus software, says

######## Article Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have recently demonstrated prototypes of robotic fish made of flexible polymers. These robofish incorporate microprocessor controllers. Taking design cues from modern prosthetic limbs, MIT researchers decreased the number of moving components

######## Article The recent bid by food giant Kraft for chocolate firm Cadbury may mark the start of a revival in acquisitions and merger activity, which had fallen through the floor since last year#;s financial crisis and the ensuing

######## Article Invisible ink has a long history going back at least to ancient Rome, and any number of schoolkids have learned how to write invisible messages using lemon juice. But what about the opposite process--ink that is initially

######## Article NASA#;s budget woes, along with the impending retirement of the Space Shuttle, may provide an orbital boost for a new private space industry dedicated to providing cheaper access to space. President Obama appointed an independent commission to