Software News
Microsoft System Center 2012 overhauls licensing, focuses on apps
Microsoft has formally shipped System Center 2012 management platform, adding features that create application-centric views of corporate infrastructure and - just as important - implementing a new licensing scheme designed to capitalize on customers' frustration with the leading competitor, VMware.
Extensis launches Suitcase Fusion 4 font manager
For design pros who need to keep tabs on their font collections, and who are constantly on the lookout for fresh fonts for new projects, Extensis has announced the availability of Suitcase Fusion 4, a brand new version of its professional font manager.
Google Earth Adds Balloon, Kite Imagery
Google has added balloon and kite imagery to Google Earth to complement its satellite and aerial images. The high-resolution imagery comes from The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, which shared the results from its grass-roots mapping work with Google.
Google shares lessons learned as early software-defined network adopter
During his keynote speech at the Open Networking Summit in Santa Clara on Tuesday, Google executive Urs Holzle detailed the company's work with software-defined networking (SDN) from its earliest stages.
Windows RT tablets will add to the BYOD nightmare
If supporting iPads makes IT pros lose sleep at night, the Windows 8 tablet edition won't be any better.
Draw Something adds undo, picture sharing, and chat
Now you can more easily mock or applaud your friends' artwork in Draw Something. An update to the hugely popular doodling game released Wednesday introduced several much-requested features, including an in-game chat option, the ability to share your drawings, and an undo feature.
Red Hat's reaction to Microsoft's open-source spinoff: Welcome! (mostly)
The news that Microsoft's new Open Technologies unit would be spun off from the company and dedicated to advancing its interests in the open-source market drew a mostly positive response from Red Hat this morning.
Read It Later renamed Pocket, eliminates price tag, and adds features
Perhaps the only way to ensure you read every story about one of those iOS apps for deferred reading of long-form Web content is to use one of those very apps to keep track of all the stories. The latest news comes not from Instapaper or Readability, but rather, the app formerly known as Read It Later: The developers of the app announced Tuesday that they've officially renamed it Pocket, eliminated its price tag, and released an update with new features, too.
Microsoft details four versions of Windows 8
Microsoft has given formal names to the four versions of Windows 8 -- Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise and Windows RT.
Unzip almost any archive file
I recently downloaded a zip archive of freely-distributed MP3 files. But when I double-clicked it to decompress it, all I got was a .cpgz file (an archive file in the CPIO format). Double-clicking that file just created the zip file again, and thus I was stuck in an endless loop
Twitter unveils patent policy meant to give its employees more rights
Twitter on Tuesday unveiled a proposed patent assignment framework that seeks to give employees who create works more protection over how their inventions are used.
Microsoft – carefully – edges closer to the open-source community
Despite a rocky historical relationship with the open-source community, Microsoft's recent decision to create a specialized Open Technologies spinoff is the latest phase of its recent rapprochement with the open world -- as well as a canny defensive measure.
Research lab extends host-based cyber sensor project to open source
A Department of Energy (DOE) lab is taking research done to develop a host-based security sensor and open-sourcing the software to encourage community feedback and participation.
Apple offers standalone Flashback removal tool
Still stressed about the Flashback Trojan horse, that insidious bit of Mac malware that has infected hundreds of thousands of computers? Late Friday, Apple released the creatively-named Flashback Malware Removal Tool, which the company says "removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware."
ISACA refreshes best practices for IT shops
Enterprise IT departments can look to the new COBIT 5 framework for governance and management best practices, according to ISACA, a global nonprofit IT industry group.