InformationWeek CIO Central News

U.S. Court Mulls Standard For Business Method Patents

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:40:41 EDT

A U.S. appeals court heard arguments Thursday over whether a patent should have been issued for a method to reduce the risk of sudden changes in energy costs.

ID Theft Monitoring Services: What You Need To Know

Fri, 9 May 2008 04:00:00 EDT

Fee-based services say they'll protect your identity, privacy, credit, name, and more. Find out what they can and can not do -- and learn what you can do to defend yourself.

Activist Investor Carl Icahn Ups Motorola Stake, But Skips Annual Meeting

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:16:00 EDT

Investor Carl Icahn put his wallet where his mouth is and increased his stake in the company from 6.4% to 7.6%.

FBI Withdraws Probe Of Wayback Machine Users

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:40:00 EDT

The settlement stems from a lawsuit claiming the FBI's request for information about the Internet Archive's Web library violated the First Amendment.

TorrentSpy Ordered To Pay $110 Million In Piracy Case

Thu, 8 May 2008 14:54:00 EDT

The Motion Picture Association of America announced that it won a permanent injunction against the site for distribution of pirated video.

Cablevision To Launch Wireless Broadband Network

Thu, 8 May 2008 10:53:15 EDT

Cablevision Systems plans to build a wireless broadband network to serve its subscribers in the New York area.

Nokia Says To Sell 35 Million GPS Phones In 2008

Thu, 8 May 2008 10:44:43 EDT

Nokia, the world's top cell phone maker, expects to sell 35 million Global Positioning System equipped phones this year, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Embarcadero Buys CodeGear

Thu, 8 May 2008 09:18:00 EDT

The price for CodeGear, the business unit of Borland that offers software development tools, is $23 million.

Think Over Data's Value When Deciding What To Store

Thu, 8 May 2008 09:00:00 EDT

A report from the Society of Information Management says it is just as important to figure out what data you can throw out as it is to decide what to store.

Congressman Seeks Second Life Ban In Schools, Libraries

Wed, 7 May 2008 15:49:00 EDT

Illinois' Mark Kirk hopes to quash online sex predators lurking around the virtual world by reviving the 2006 Deleting Online Predators Act.

World Of Warcraft's Legal War To Defend Copyrights Heats Up

Wed, 7 May 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Advocacy group Public Knowledge claims Blizzard's use of copyright infringement laws to crack down on MDY's Glide automation software is outrageous.

Another Google Executive Joins Facebook

Tue, 6 May 2008 18:54:00 EDT

Eliot Schrage joins several other former Googlers at Facebook, including Sheryl Sandberg, who left her job as Google's VP of global online sales and operations.

IBM Launches Program To Attract More Hispanics Into Technology Jobs

Tue, 6 May 2008 15:13:00 EDT

IBM hosted a summit this week to harness and share best practices for recruiting the growing Hispanic population into scientific, technology, engineering, and math careers.

Yahoo Shares Up On Hope Of Talks, Google Deal

Tue, 6 May 2008 14:30:41 EDT

Yahoo investors latched on to hopes the company would resume talks with Microsoft or soon forge a deal with Google, sending shares up 6 percent Tuesday.

'Terrorists' Legal Team' Sues Abu Ghraib Contractors

Tue, 6 May 2008 14:18:00 EDT

The Center for Constitutional Rights alleges tech outsourcers at the Iraqi prison committed torture and other war crimes during a civilian interrogation.

Qwest Switches From Sprint To Verizon For Cell Phone Service

Tue, 6 May 2008 12:37:00 EDT

The deal is a blow to Sprint Nextel, which had been supplying the service to Qwest customers after the company sold off its own wireless service a few years ago.

Sprint Explores Selling Nextel Unit, Other Options

Tue, 6 May 2008 10:55:00 EDT

A wave of suitors, possible partners, and investors have been talking with the struggling Sprint, the third largest U.S. cell phone provider.

FCC Caps Subsidies For Rural Wireless Expansion

Mon, 5 May 2008 16:43:00 EDT

The FCC is limiting payments through its Universal Service Fund that are used to expand services into rural areas.

Ballmer: Microsoft's Web Strategy Doesn't Stop With Yahoo

Mon, 5 May 2008 15:20:00 EDT

Microsoft will continue to improve search relevance, build out its own advertising platform, invest in engineering for the Web, and pursue partnerships around the world.

With Microsoft Out, All Eyes On Yahoo CEO Yang

Mon, 5 May 2008 14:01:00 EDT

Just two days after Microsoft pulled out of merger talks, Yahoo's stock dropped more than 15%, erasing roughly $6.5 billion in market value.

Report: T-Mobile Considers Sprint Acquisition

Mon, 5 May 2008 12:47:00 EDT

Such a deal would leapfrog rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless to create the largest cell phone service provider in the U.S.

Chicago High School Students Test For IT Certification

Mon, 5 May 2008 12:07:00 EDT

CompTIA helps nearly 500 students get up to speed on computer support and networking hardware, protocols, and services.

Nine Inch Nails Offers Free Album Online

Mon, 5 May 2008 11:04:00 EDT

Nine Inch Nails is offering The Slip in a variety of digital formats and plans to make it available on CDs and vinyl in a few months.

Microsoft Yanks Yahoo Bid

Sat, 3 May 2008 21:14:00 EDT

"After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in withdrawing the $44.6 Billion bid.

Down To Business: Let Go Of The Past And Embrace Change

Sat, 3 May 2008 00:00:10 EDT

It can be unsettling, but those who seek out change will find that it creates more career paths than it cuts off.

CIO Values: Michael Fuqua, Senior VP, Global IS, Global Crossing

Sat, 3 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

''Believe in and demonstrate IT as a business enabler and don't avoid risks.''

AOL, Yahoo, RealNetworks Suffer Setback In Music Licensing Fees

Fri, 2 May 2008 16:22:00 EDT

ASCAP estimates that the court's formula would lead to a total payment of $100 million from the three companies.

Wikipedia Battles Literary Agent Over Negative Comments

Fri, 2 May 2008 15:25:00 EDT

While many sites add user-generated content to enhance user experience, Wikipedia relies almost entirely on posts from contributors.

AT&T Launches Mobile TV Service For Cell Phones

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:43:00 EDT

The AT&T service will be available 58 markets and give customers access to more than 150 programs from a variety of TV networks, cable channels, and exclusive content providers.

IBM To Launch Web-Based Application Market

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:13:00 EDT

IBM's Blue Business Platform will feature a mix of business applications and services aimed primarily at small- and mid-sized companies.

Amazon Sues New York State Over Online Sales Tax Law

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:02:00 EDT

The company argues that it should not be subject to New York taxes because it lacks a physical presence in the state.

IBM CEO Palmisano Says New Trends Will Spur Old Company

Thu, 1 May 2008 19:10:00 EDT

In addition to data centers, IBM expects to capitalize on the 3 billion people joining the middle class in the next 20 years.

Warez Site Operator Sentenced To 30 Months

Thu, 1 May 2008 15:38:00 EDT

Prosecutors said David Fish's sentencing is linked to the largest and most successful global criminal enforcement actions ever taken against organized piracy.

Interop: Virtualization Is Top Monitoring Challenge, Survey Shows

Thu, 1 May 2008 13:51:00 EDT

The job of network professionals is becoming more complex, as engineers increasingly deal with WAN optimization and virtualization, a NetQoS exec said.

Craigslist Blanched As eBay Eyed Marriage, Says Lawsuit

Thu, 1 May 2008 12:56:29 EDT

Web classifieds leader Craigslist sought a divorce, while online auction giant eBay proposed a formal marriage, according to court papers unsealed Wednesday that detail a testy four-year relationship.

Tech Entrepreneurs Older, More Educated Than Stereotype

Thu, 1 May 2008 12:36:00 EDT

The study also found the 45% of the tech startups were established in the state where American technology entrepreneurs received their education.

Faster iPhone Expected, Price Cut Predicted

Thu, 1 May 2008 11:52:00 EDT

Fortune magazine reports that AT&T is planning to cut $200 from the price of the low-end iPhone.

Microsoft's Board Fails To Decide On Yahoo

Thu, 1 May 2008 09:00:18 EDT

Microsoft's board met Wednesday to discuss its stand-off with Yahoo over its $41.8 billion takeover bid, but failed to reach a decision on what to do next, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Ex-Nortel VPs Settle Fraud Charges

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:14:16 EDT

The executives have agreed to each pay $75,000 plus disgorgements, the SEC said Wednesday.

Interop: Miercom Launches 'Certified Green' Testing Program

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:19:00 EDT

Cisco switches are the first products to receive the energy- and environment-friendly designation.

Judge Rejects RIAA's Music Copyright Infringement, Distribution Claims

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:05:00 EDT

Merely making copies of music available does not equal distribution, or primary copyright infringement, the judge said.

McKinsey: Measure Data Center Efficiency Like Car Fuel Efficiency

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:45:00 EDT

The report recommends companies adopt a new metric called Corporate Average Data Efficiency (CADE) that combines both IT and facilities costs to monitor energy use.

SAS Institute Unveils Software To Help Companies Go Green

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:00:00 EDT

SAS pitches the software as providing a proactive approach to assessing green efforts, before businesses are forced to by new laws or environmentally conscious customers.

Interop: SaaS Is A Key Driver Behind Upswing In Innovation

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:56:00 EDT

McKinsey & Company's Abhijit Dubey said software as a service is becoming mainstream within the IT industry, particularly among small and midsize companies.

Interop: Prof. Prahalad Says IT Matters More Than Ever

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT

The business guru told an Interop audience that technology lets companies achieve greater flexibility and customization while lowering unit costs.

CinemaNow To Offer Movie Orders Via Cell Phone

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:21:04 EDT

Privately held digital entertainment provider CinemaNow said Tuesday that U.S. consumers would be able to use their cell phones to view movie trailers and order full-length movies.

EU Approves Oracle's Purchase Of BEA Systems

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:05:51 EDT

Oracle, the world's third-largest software maker, gained permission from European regulators on Tuesday to buy BEA Systems for $8.5 billion.

Sony Pictures Uses 'Green Power' For Data Center

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Sony Pictures Entertainment is the first customer of data center operator 365 Main to sign up for a new reusable energy program.

Interop: Microsoft Goes Green With Efficient Code, Employee Bus Line

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:29:00 EDT

Microsoft plans to work more closely with independent software developers to help them build applications that don't draw CPU cycles unnecessarily.

Verizon's Earnings Jump Thanks To Wireless Growth

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:38:00 EDT

Verizon Wireless unit recorded 1.5 million net customer additions, and Verizon's FiOS TV service signed up 263,000 net new customers.