Datamation Staff

eWeek: A new report from PwC says that global spending on cyber-security will hit $60 billion this year, and it will grow 10 percent per year for the next three to five years. Investment deals in the cyber-security industry have topped $22 billion since 2008. “Against the backdrop of heightened awareness of hacks and deliberate […]

Wired: Last month, reports surfaced that an Illinois water system may have been infiltrated by Russian hackers who caused a pump to burn out. In reality, the incident had much more mundane origins. The water pump just burnt out on its own. And the suspicious log in from a Russian IP address was a contractor […]

ITProPortal: Despite the smartphone’s battery problems, 77 percent of iPhone 4S owners told ChangeWave Research that they are “very satisfied” with their phones. Only 2 percent of those surveyed said they were “very unsatisfied” or “somewhat unsatisfied” with their purchase. Favorite iPhone 4S features included Siri (49 percent), ease of use (39 percent) and the […]

AP: Cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks have decided to partner with Verizon Wireless instead of pursuing their plans to offer their own wireless services. The three companies will sell their wireless licenses to Verizon for $3.6 million, a 64 percent profit over the purchase price. In addition, the three cable […]

The Industry Standard: New research from staffing firm Foote and Partners shows that while the IT job market remains strong, the salary premium for IT certifications is at its lowest point in 12 years. Firm partner Bill Reynolds says part of the reason for the decline is due to a rise in technical jobs that […]

eWeek: According to new research from IHS, China’s Lenovo is now the second largest PC manufacturer in the world, surpassing Dell. In the third quarter, Lenovo shipped 12.5 million systems, a 14.5 percent percent increase. HP remained in first place, with 16.2 million PCs shipped. Dell slipped to third, with 11.2 million shipments. In fourth […]

Dark Reading: Recently, security researchers have been complaining that Oracle has been too slow to patch its database software, leaving customers vulnerable to attacks. “I would say easy fixes get done pretty quickly, within three to six months, but things that are harder and need some changes in architecture or have an impact on customers […]

DigiTimes: The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) says that the semiconductor manufacturing industry is poised to set a new record this year, hitting $302 billion in annual revenue. That would be the first time the industry has crossed the $300 billion mark. However, it would only represent 1.3 percent growth over 2010, which was an […]

The Telegraph: App developer Trevor Eckhart says that Carrier IQ software, which is installed on many Android smartphones, is secretly tracking and transmitting user data a. In an online video, Eckhart shows the software tracking every keystroke on his phone, as well as all incoming and outgoing text messages and location data, and sending it […]

VentureBeat: Cisco has released a report which predicts that global cloud computing traffic will grow from 30 exabytes (EBs) in 2010 to 1.6 zettabytes (ZBs) in 2015, a 12-fold increase. The company also believes data center traffic in general will increase 4-fold, from 1.1 ZBs in 2010 to an estimated 4.8 ZBs in 2015. By […]

All Things D: New data from comScore shows that online shoppers spent $1.25 billion on Cyber Monday. That tops last year’s record of $1.028 billion by 22 percent. IBM, which also includes mobile purchases in its report, says that online sales actually increased by 33 percent. November online sales have already surpassed $15 billion.   […]

Wall Street Journal: Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached a settlement agreement relating to charges stemming from December 2009 changes to Facebook’s privacy practices. Under the terms of the deal, Facebook has agreed to tell the truth about the privacy of user information, to get user approval before it changes the way […]