Stories by Jon Brodkin

IBM: After 30 years, PC going the way of the vacuum tube and typewriter

Thirty years ago, IBM created the first personal computer running Microsoft's MS-DOS. Today, IBM and Microsoft seem to have very different views on the future of the PC.

By Jon Brodkin | 11 August, 2011 08:17

Tags: smartphone, Office365, PC, IBM, iPhone, bing, Android, Skpe, iPad, Apple, Microsoft, Xbox, Components, tablets, Commodore Windows

IBM: The PC is the new mainframe

"The PC is dead!" We've heard that message a lot since the birth of Apple's iPad, but when one of the creators of IBM's first PC added his voice to the chorus, people took notice.

By Jon Brodkin | 20 August, 2011 06:45

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, PC, IBM, Windows, hardware systems, tablets, software, Data Center, operating systems, iPad, Apple, Microsoft

Android developers face legal hurdles in license compliance

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Developers who make apps for Android have a lot more to worry about than just building great software.

By Jon Brodkin | 19 August, 2011 06:27

Tags: open source, Linux, consumer electronics, Google, Black Duck Software, smartphones, Android, software, non-Windows, operating systems

On Linux's 20th anniversary, recounting past slights from Microsoft

The mythical "year of the Linux desktop" still hasn't come, and may never, but on the 20th anniversary of Linux the free operating system's proponents threw a party to celebrate its success and scoff at past attacks launched by Microsoft, its biggest rival.

By Jon Brodkin | 18 August, 2011 05:50

Tags: Linux, applications, Microsoft, software, non-Windows, operating systems

Motorola Mobility is by far Google's biggest acquisition ever

Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility is far and away Google's biggest-ever purchase -- in fact, it's greater than Google's next 10 biggest acquisitions combined and only its third above a billion dollars.

By Jon Brodkin | 16 August, 2011 04:49

Tags: business issues, Motorola, Networking, wireless, smartphones, Android, acquisitions, DoubleClick, mergers, corporate issues, consumer electronics, Google

The epic unpopularity of Windows smartphones

Pop quiz: Can you name every smartphone platform that's more popular than Windows Phone 7? Go on. We dare you.

By Jon Brodkin | 12 August, 2011 03:38

Tags: consumer electronics, symbian, Networking, Microsoft, wireless, smartphones, iPhone, Android, windows phone 7, Apple

After 30 years, IBM says PC going way of vacuum tube and typewriter

Thirty years ago, IBM created the first personal computer running Microsoft's MS-DOS. Today, IBM and Microsoft seem to have very different views on the future of the PC.

By Jon Brodkin | 11 August, 2011 07:30

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, IBM PC, PC, IBM, Windows, hardware systems, tablets, software, Lenovo, Data Center, operating systems, iPad, Microsoft

VMware backpedals on price changes after customer criticism

After criticism over new restrictions on the amount of virtual memory customers can deploy before having to buy new licenses, VMware has boosted the limits on virtual RAM so high that most customers should not be negatively affected.

By Jon Brodkin | 05 August, 2011 03:37

Tags: ram, VMware, hardware systems, Data Center, VMware vSphere, virtualization, vSphere, memory

Google accuses Microsoft, Oracle, Apple of "hostile" patent campaign

Google's chief legal officer today accused rivals Microsoft, Oracle and Apple of "a hostile, organized campaign against Android ... waged through bogus patents."

By Jon Brodkin | 04 August, 2011 07:45

Tags: consumer electronics, Google, Microsoft, Networking, Android, wireless, smartphones, software, Oracle, Apple

Apple to have one OS for Macs and iPads by 2016, analyst predicts

With Microsoft trumpeting the idea that PCs and tablets should run the same operating system and have all the same capabilities, will Apple go down the same road?

By Jon Brodkin | 04 August, 2011 05:45

Tags: telecommunication, applications, ios, Windows, hardware systems, tablets, software, mobile, operating systems, iPad, Apple, Microsoft, Mobile OSes

Internet Explorer gains among Windows 7 users, despite Microsoft's overall losses

Microsoft's long and steady decline in browser market share continued in July, but there is one bright spot for Redmond: Among Windows 7 PC owners, Internet Explorer is gaining, albeit only slightly.

By Jon Brodkin | 02 August, 2011 03:41

Tags: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Windows, software, Windows 7, operating systems, mozilla

Android Trojan records phone calls

A new Android Trojan is capable of recording phone conversations, according to a CA security researcher.

By Jon Brodkin | 02 August, 2011 07:29

Tags: Networking, wireless, Android, software, anti-malware, malware, cybercrime, consumer electronics, Google, security, mobile security, smartphones, legal

Google founders were talked out of ignoring user email

In Google's early days, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin argued that answering email complaints would be a waste of time, and that Googlers should fix problems behind the scenes without interacting directly with users, according to a former Google employee who wrote a book about his time at the company.

By Jon Brodkin | 20 July, 2011 06:47

Tags: business issues, corporate issues, personnel, Google, software

Microsoft struggles to get Hyper-V drivers in Linux kernel

Microsoft isn't exactly dumping Windows for Linux, but it has become one of the busiest contributors to the Linux kernel. Microsoft's attempt to get Hyper-V drivers into the Linux kernel has taken longer than expected, having begun in July 2009, so Microsoft is apparently trying to speed up the process.

By Jon Brodkin | 19 July, 2011 05:44

Tags: open source, Linux, application development, Microsoft, programming, Windows, software, non-Windows, operating systems

Microsoft previews Windows 8, Skype/Lync; bashes competition

Microsoft's annual partner conference last week featured previews of the Windows 8 server and desktop operating systems, talk of integration between Skype and Lync, and a barrage of insults aimed at the company's competitors.

By Jon Brodkin | 15 July, 2011 05:40

Tags: applications, IBM, Microsoft, Windows, software, operating systems, Oracle, VMware, Apple, skype, Google

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