Stories by Jon Brodkin

Google's next frontier: Television

Google is coming to your television set. The Web search giant is hiring a team of software engineers to develop products for television and is building a sales team that will secure advertising for Google's TV offerings. Google's intentions are made clear in a series of job advertisements posted on its career Web site.

AJAX tool allows apps in browser windows to interact

Laszlo Systems, a maker of Asynchronous JavaScript + XML technologies, has released a new framework that makes it easier for developers to place multiple applications in a single browser window and have the applications interact with each other, company officials said this week.

WebEx customers: Cisco buy could spur innovation

Three executives who use WebEx's online collaboration services say the financial backing of Cisco, which is set to acquire the company for US$3.2 billion, may help WebEx expand an already impressive product line that includes Web conferencing and remote access technologies.

Oracle's Hyperion may lead to more BI acquisitions

Analysts expect Oracle's purchase of business intelligence software vendor Hyperion Solutions will lead to more takeovers in this space, with Business Objects and Cognos the most likely targets of companies looking to expand through acquisition.

Storm virus infects blogs and other Web postings

A new version of the Storm e-mail virus is populating blogs and online bulletin boards with links directing people to a Web site that is propagating the worm, representing a new mode of attack for hackers seeking financial gain, according to a security vendor that became aware of the virus Monday night.

High heat may not harm disk drives

Temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit may not be damaging to disk drives, according to new research by Google engineers which casts doubt on previous findings linking heat to elevated failure rates.

Product uses Google Maps to provide IT systems updates

The satellite imaging power of Google Maps is being used to give IT managers a birds-eye view of their facilities and Internet connections in a security information management product developed by start-up FireScope.

E-commerce satisfaction hits near-record level

With Barnes & Noble and Amazon leading the way, customer satisfaction with e-commerce in the United States has reached near-record levels, according to American Customer Satisfaction Index survey results released Tuesday. Online businesses continue to satisfy consumers at a significantly higher rate than "offline" businesses and services, the survey found.

Security tops managed service investment priorities

Security is the top investment organizations plan to make this year in managed services, with storage, backup and disaster recovery coming in second place, according to survey results released this month by CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association.

Google Desktop flaw put users' personal files at risk

Google has fixed a security flaw in the company's desktop search product that could have let hackers take control of a personal computer, but the security company that discovered the flaw says the design of the Google application could lead to similar threats in the future.

LINUXWORLD - Speakers talk security, regulatory compliance

The first step in protecting your enterprise is figuring out how to destroy it. That's the approach to security taken by Jonathan Clemens, manager of enterprise security oversight at Intel. He recommends that companies conduct wargames to find their biggest weaknesses.

Speech recognition will change the way you drive

Someday soon, you might find yourself behind the steering wheel of your car and you'll want to dial your phone, find out where the nearest Starbucks is, change the music you are listening to and adjust your heat or air conditioning. And you will be able to do all of this with nothing but the power of your own voice.

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