software - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• With post-PC era comes real OS competition

  Which OS the IT staff at United will use is a question that will be answered in time, but the mere fact that it can investigate all three client device operating systems is a major change for corporate IT.

• Gartner's Top 10 tech trends for 2013

  The arrival of Windows 8 makes "mobile device battles" Gartner's top technology trend for next year.

• 10 things you can get from Windows 8 that Windows 7 just doesn't have

  Microsoft's radical shift to touch-centric computing in Windows 8 is far from the only difference between the new operating system and its predecessor.

• Windows XP: Pros and cons of not upgrading

  Windows XP users, your favorite operating system is a decade old, and if you're still using it, you're not cool anymore, at least according to Microsoft. That's the software giant's recent take on its aging OS, which is still more popular than Vista or Windows 7 worldwide. Microsoft is hoping the final cadre of users hanging on to XP will start to dump it and move to the more modern Windows 7.

• Guide: How to sync your PC, smartphone, and tablet

  A few years ago businesspeople carried a laptop on the road, used a desktop PC in the office, and worked on another PC at home. Maybe they had a BlackBerry, too--but only if they were real big shots.

• Patent madness! A timeline of the Android patent wars

  History may look at Android as the tech industry's Helen of Troy: The OS that launched a thousand suits.

• Chinese developers take a bite of the Apple

  If you've ever gone to Apple's mobile app store and purchased games like High Noon, Gamebox1 or Doodletruck, then you've downloaded an app from the burgeoning Chinese software development community.

• Why IT won't like Mac OS X Lion Server

  Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Server adds innovative features and a new low price tag, but cuts in services and the elimination of advanced GUI administration tools may force some enterprise departments to think twice about the role of Mac servers on their networks.

• 5 features iOS needs, in order to sway me from Android

  With Apple preparing to talk about the future of iOS at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and the rumor mill churning, it's time for an old tradition: the iPhone feature wish list.

• Enterprise collaboration: 4 ways to achieve more

  A new report from Forrester Research finds that while businesses continue to adopt <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/598122">enterprise collaboration tools</a> in 2011, they're not seeing a wide range of benefits from them.

• Android vs. iOS vs. Windows Phone

  The past year has been a remarkable one for smartphones, with the meteoric rise of Google's Android OS, the restart of Microsoft's mobile strategy with its much-ballyhooed release of Windows Phone 7 and the continuing success of Apple's iPhone, buoyed by its new availability to Verizon subscribers. Never has there been so much choice in the smartphone market. As a result, hype and overstatement have been the order of the day.

• Tablet cameras: iPad 2 vs. Xoom vs. Galaxy Tab

  Odds are, if you ask anyone waiting in line for an iPad 2, they'll list plenty of reasons why they're lusting after Apple's latest camera(s)-equipped tablet.

• Android Honeycomb: Powerful, but not perfect

  Honeycomb is a whole different beast from the Android we've come to know. While previous versions of Google's mobile operating system were built for smartphones, Honeycomb -- also known as Android 3.0 -- is the first to be designed specifically for tablet-size devices. And seeing it in action, it certainly shows.

• How DRM could ensure cloud security

  Yet another survey is indicating that security is a big issue for those intending to take up cloud computing.

• Microsoft Word alternatives: Wordsmiths, rejoice!

  Microsoft Word is ubiquitous: It's the standard word processor in most places of business, and it often ends up installed on home PCs due to compatibility and familiarity. It isn't the only choice, however. Whether your main concern is price, complexity, specialized functionality, system footprint, or some combination of the above, you might have many reasons to look beyond Word.