Datamation Staff

Computerworld: Earlier, Microsoft promised to unveil a Windows 8 Release Preview the first week of June, but it looks like the software will become available today instead. On Wednesday, Microsoft briefly posted a blog post announcing the early release. Microsoft has not announced when the final version of Windows 8 will become available. Many analysts […]

SFGate: In an interview at the All Things D conference, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced that his company will launch a cloud computing suite next week. “We’re announcing on June 6 the general availability of the Oracle Cloud,” Ellison said. “So for the first time, you’re going to have the complete ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) […]

eWeek: New reports from IDC and Gartner say that most server manufacturers struggled in the first quarter. According to IDC, worldwide server shipments rose 2.7 percent, but revenues declined 2.4 percent. Gartner reported similar numbers: server shipments climbed 1.5 percent while revenues dropped 1.8 percent. The leading server manufacturers–HP, IBM, Dell and Oracle–experienced revenue declines […]

PCMag: Dell has taken the wraps off a major update of its Latitude business laptops and its OptiPlex business desktops. The new systems all include the latest Intel processors. The Latitude models also now feature improved battery life, the StrikeZone shock absorber, enhanced security, integrated graphics technology and optional SSD hard drives. The OptiPlex PCs […]

Computerworld: This week, Fedora unveiled Fedora 17, an update to the community version of the Red Hat Linux operating system. Although Fedora and Red Hat are generally very similar, the new Fedora release includes several features that aren’t in Red Hat yet, such as a new version of the OpenStack cloud computing platform. In addition, […]

Wired: As part of its ongoing efforts to convince enterprises and small businesses that its cloud-based office productivity suite is secure, Google has announced that Google Apps has been certified as compliant with the ISO 27001 standard. Previously, the company has announced that the service passed SSAE 16 Type II and ISAE 3402 Type II […]

InformationWeek: Google has unveiled a major update to its Chrome operating system, along with two new devices that run the OS. Chrome OS R19 offers a more traditional desktop interface, along with built-in Google Drive integration. The two new devices running the updated OS — the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 and the Samsung Chromebox […]

ZDNet: In the very near future, most new Windows PCs could come with Skype pre-installed. Microsoft has provided some manufacturers with a Skype OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK), along with “instructions on how to silently install Skype for your customers.” Microsoft recently purchased Skype for $8.5 billion. The company has been working to integrate Skype into […]

TechCrunch: In its newly released Visual Networking Index (VNI), Cisco predicts that IP traffic will climb from 369 exabytes in 2011 to 1.3 zettabytes in 2016. In other words, 2016’s network traffic will exceed the cumulative traffic from 1984 and 2012. The reason Cisco expects so much traffic growth is the proliferation of devices. By […]

The New York Times: Several anonymous sources say that Facebook is working on its third attempt to build a smartphone. The company has already hired several former iPhone and iPad engineers, and Facebook has reportedly formed a partnership with HTC to create a smartphone codenamed “Buffy.” While those plans continue, the sources say the social […]

ZDNet: A new report from market research firm Gartner says that more employers are monitoring their employees’ social networking activities for security reasons. It predicts that by 2015, 60 percent of firms will have programs in place to monitor staff activities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and similar sites. While the reported noted the potential […]

Wired: Security researchers from Kaspersky Lab say they have discovered a complex piece of cyber-espionage malware infecting systems in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, the Israeli Occupied Territories, and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa countries. The researchers say the malware, known as “Flame,” may have been created by the same people behind […]