Stories by Juan Carlos Perez

A Nook deal Microsoft and Barnes & Noble struck with much fanfare less than three years ago has deflated, after failing to achieve its lofty goals in the e-reader market.

Throngs of Google Apps customers are demanding access to Inbox, so the company is scrambling to release a version of this new email app for the workplace communication and productivity suite.

In time for the holiday shopping season, Microsoft has refined how Office 365 handles bulk promotional emails from vendors like Amazon, eBay and Macy's.

To get employees more involved in securing their Apps accounts, Google has tried to simplify how they monitor log-in activity and configure security settings.

Apple has come out with a second beta of Mac OS X Yosemite for developers, but it's not clear whether this latest build will address the WiFi problems that continue to affect an undetermined but apparently substantial number of users.

The biggest headcount reduction in Microsoft's history was driven by a need to invest in new technologies rather than the company's bottom line, according to an advisor to CEO Satya Nadella.

Cisco will package and deliver enterprise collaboration capabilities via a mobile and Web app built to replicate the ease of use of consumer software but designed for ad hoc, workplace team interaction.

Well, that took longer than expected. Although Microsoft began bundling Yammer with Office 365 shortly after acquiring the enterprise social networking (ESN) startup in mid-2012, users so far have had to log in separately to both suites, an inconvenience that will soon end.

Microsoft plans to beef up Active Directory's security with machine learning technology from a startup it has acquired.

Microsoft has added touchpad gestures, fine-tuned OneDrive syncing and revamped the feedback app in the latest build of Windows 10 Technical Preview, released Wednesday to testers on the OS's delivery fast track.

As it seeks differentiation with collaboration, workflow and document management features, Box has revamped its iOS app and Web interface to simplify how users and IT administrators interact with files kept in its cloud storage service.

By unlocking core edit functions in its free Office apps for iOS and, later, Android, Microsoft is trying to close out pesky rivals in the mobile market and lure new subscribers to Office 365.

Microsoft has unlocked a set of authoring and editing features for the free versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint available for iPhone and iPad, and soon will do the same for Android tablets and Android smartphones. However, a number of capabilities remain available only to users who subscribe to Office 365.

Microsoft, reluctant for many years to port Office to rival platforms like iOS and Android, changed course little over a year ago and is now doubling down on its cross-platform effort.

A new Chrome extension adds a desktop application launcher to Google Drive, as Google tries to bridge the interoperability gap between local software and its cloud services.