Microsoft to add privacy features to IE8
Microsoft on Monday described some new privacy features that will come with IE8, the next release of its browser. The features are designed to make it easier for people to delete and control information about their Web browsing history.
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is icing, and more cake
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 (VS08) Service Pack 1 (SP1) took eight months to arrive. Considering the capabilities that have been added, eight months might not seem so long. In some ways, SP1 feels like the completion of what Visual Studio 2008 was supposed to be. It's certainly not just the collection of bug fixes that you'd expect from the term "service pack."
What a Verizon-Google deal would mean for mobile search engines
With Google reportedly poised to strike a deal to become Verizon's default mobile search engine, many Verizon subscribers may be wondering what's in it for them.
NYTimes for iPhone
News junkies have good reason to rejoice over the NYTimes app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Say what you will about the New York Times, it remains one of the finest newspapers in the United States. Unlike many old media institutions, the Times recognized early on the need to embrace new media innovation. The newspaper's Web site is one of the most popular on the Internet, attracting about 13 million readers a month. The Times' AvantGo portal was speedy and popular with users. It was only natural, then, that the Times would develop a free application for the iPhone and iPod touch that extends its online brand further.
Cybersecurity lacking in Africa, official says
Africa will not realize the benefits of IT without improvements in cybersecurity, the secretary general of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said today.
PGP upgrades encryption wares
PGP is upgrading three of its products to give security policymakers greater flexibility when working with its encryption technology.
802.11n rate of adoption unprecedented, study finds
Controller-based, pervasive wireless LANs are quickly become a standard feature of enterprise networks, according to a new study by BT North America.
AIM for iPhone
One of the most frequently voiced complaints about the iPhone since its introduction last year has been a lack of instant messaging support. There are plenty of workarounds, to be sure, but they ranged from potentially expensive (like using the iPhone's SMS system) to slow (web-based applications) to illicit (clients that ran on jailbroken phones).
Ci73 Wired Mouse
With the exception of Apple's now-defunct single-button mouse, input devices don't get much simpler than the Kensington Ci73 Wired Mouse. It has two buttons and a scroll wheel. That's it, folks--you can go home now.
Career watch
Q&A
Information overload
CIO Jeff Saper drives a hybrid car, favors service providers that use alternative energy and has launched many green IT initiatives at his strategic communications firm, Robinson Lerer & Montgomery LLC in New York. But he's also concerned about a type of pollution that even Al Gore has yet to tackle: digital pollution.
Sanyo to debut entry-level full high-def projector at IFA
Sanyo Electric is bringing full high-definition video to the entry level of the projector market with its PLV-Z700 that launches in Berlin this week at the IFA consumer electronics show.
IT industry anchors African sports
On Aug. 29, the Kenyan Olympic team will receive 14.5 million shillings (US$215,000) from President Mwai Kibaki, and mobile phone operator Safaricom is one of the main sponsors.
Infosys plans to acquire UK services company
Indian outsourcer Infosys Technologies said Monday that it has agreed to terms for a recommended cash offer for Axon Group, a vendor in the U.K. of consultancy and services around software from SAP.
African mobile provider introduces three call services
Zain Sierra Leone announced on Friday the launch of three services for its subscribers under the provision of Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD).
Olympic tech's winners and losers
The flame is extinguished, and as such the games of the 2008 Olympics are closed. While the medal count is now final, a few awards have yet to be given out: those for the winners and losers when it came to technology at the games.
Cocktail recipe apps for the iPhone
"Cocktails are now so numerous," the journalist H.L. Mencken wrote 60 years ago, "that no bartender, however talented, can remember how to make all of them, or even half of them." Mencken added, "No man short of a giant could try them all, and nine-tenths of them, I believe, would hardly be worth trying." This from a man who once hired a mathematician to calculate how many drinks could be mixed from a well-stocked bar. The answer: 17,864,392,788. "We tried 273 at random," Mencken reported, "and found all of them good."
Telecom tower construction may be suspended
African countries including Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia may soon suspend telecommunication tower construction following allegations that mobile companies are erecting towers in sensitive areas, posing health and environmental risks.
Mozilla Firefox browser gets security boost
Carnegie-Mellon University announces "Perspectives" security add-on for Mozilla Firefox to boost browser security.
AMD sells digital TV business to Broadcom
Advanced Micro Devices has agreed to sell its digital television business to Broadcom for $192.8 million, as the chip maker fights to return to profitability, the companies announced Monday.
Logitech MX 1100 Cordless Laser mouse
Logitech recently released the MX 1100 Cordless Laser mouse. This US$80 mouse for righties uses the 2.4GHz wireless spectrum, and has six buttons, a quick-change tracking button, and a scroll wheel.
Citrix puts virtualization spin on flagship application delivery software
Citrix revamps its application delivery technology after renaming flagship product.
Zambia migrates to digital technology
The Zambian government has ordered that all television stations in the country migrate from analog modulated radio frequency technology to digital format in order to catch up with global broadcasting technology.
Tariffs eliminated on IT goods in African trade zone
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has launched a Free Trade Area, which will see the abolition of customs duty on 85 percent of ICT and other products produced in the region.
Microsoft completes Small Business Server 2008, preps for November launch
Microsoft Friday said it has completed development on Small Business Server 2008 and that the software will hit its targeted ship date of Nov. 12.
African telecoms refuse to share infrastructure
MTN and Zain Zambia have refused to share infrastructure in a quest to expand to rural areas of Zambia, claiming it would be difficult to maintain quality assurance.
Indian outsourcer launches skills program at Kenya BPO
An Indian call and contact center has launched the LiveBean Scholarship Program for contact center professionals in Kenya.
Netflix: Hardware flaw caused shipping mess
A hardware component caused the problem that seriously disrupted Netflix's ability to mail out DVDs for several days this month.
Sony Ericsson adds DRM free music to mobile content store
Sony Ericsson relaunched its mobile content store PlayNow on Monday, renaming it PlayNow Arena and promoting music without the DRM (digital rights management) technology some stores use to prevent copying or sharing of songs.
Gartner sees chip industry slowing
Slower consumer spending on electronics will slow semiconductor market growth this year, a Gartner analyst said Monday -- but the market researcher will likely leave its chip market forecast for 2008 little changed when it publishes an update this week.
Time working against AMD's asset-light plans
The clock is ticking for Advanced Micro Devices.
Nigeria's Metro Digital copyright dispute headed for court
In the wake of copyright infringement claims and subsequent raids by government operatives on Metro Digital, the company has denied all piracy charges and is bringing several lawsuits against the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the country's chief enforcer of copyright laws.
20 ways to survive a layoff
Tips for getting back on your feet and into the IT job market from someone who's been there and back
Adtran switches on SMBs
Adtran rolled out a series of Ethernet switches for the SMB market that are more power efficient, higher density and Wi-Fi "friendly" than previous generation platforms.
Open source still looking to shake off concerns
Although open source software has gained a place in enterprise networks alongside proprietary software, it can't seem to shake doubts about security and intellectual-property issues that have long dogged the movement.
20 ways to survive a layoff
On Feb. 20, IT manager and Network World columnist Ron Nutter was called into his boss's office and told he was being let go - that day. Once the initial shock wore off, Nutter launched an aggressive search for new employment. Over the next 76 days, Nutter applied for 85 jobs, and had 16 interviews before landing a new position. Now that he has had some time to reflect on the experience, Nutter offers these 20 tips for surviving a layoff.