Business

Patch Tuesday for January 2012 was released this week by Microsoft and includes seven updates designed to fix eight Windows security vulnerabilities. One patch in particular fixes a serious Windows Media Player exploit. The flaw could allow a hacker ... to take remote control of a PC running Windows. For those who don't follow Microsoft security news, Patch Tuesday refers to the second Tuesday of every month -- the day on which the Redmond-based firm normally releases a series of software updates intended to fix known problems in its various programs. The majority of patches are usually for ... (view more)

A new app for Apple's iPad will allow users to run Windows applications, including Microsoft Office. The Windows applications are available via OnLive, an online digital media distribution service. The Windows environment and applications don't run ... on the user's own iPad; instead, they are available through streaming services from OnLive's cloud computing platform , which is a form of centralized computing . Though the iPad user doesn't have a physical keyboard and mouse, they are able to use genuine Windows 7 controls specially designed by Microsoft for tablet computers accessing the Windows ... (view more)

Twitter has accused Google of fixing its search results to boost to its own social networking service, Google+. Twitter says the move produces results that don't accurately reflect the latest news. The dispute involves search engines (like Google) ... that once merely scanned and indexed static web pages, but now factor in a variety of sources, including online networking posts. In the past, Google included Twitter posts in its main search results, including messages that had been re-tweeted (reposted) frequently. Unlike Google's main results list, this "Real-time search" would regularly refresh ... (view more)

Sir Jonathan Ive, who is Apple's senior vice president of Industrial Design and a man Steve Jobs once described as his "spiritual partner," has been made a Knight Commander of the British Empire. Ive, who was born in London, England, has worked at ... Apple, based in Cupertino, California, for nearly twenty years. In 1996, he was promoted to lead Apple's design team. There he played a key role in the development of the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone. According to many observers, Ive can be credited with helping Apple to establish its current reputation as the source of some of the tech industry's ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced it will include two single-button options in Windows 8 to help users cope with a serious computer crash. Both will reinstall Windows, including one option that allows users to retain some data. The buttons will be accessible ... within normal Windows operations. But if problems with Windows 8 become serious enough that a user can't get into the operating system, the two new system recovery buttons will also be available in Windows RE (recovery environment). The recovery environment is a standalone menu that PCs can load even when they aren't able to boot the full Windows ... (view more)

German automaker Volkswagen has agreed to ease the pressures on some of their employees by not forwarding emails to their BlackBerry handsets outside of work hours. The change toward a better work-and-life balance was negotiated by trade unions, but ... will not affect non-unionized workers or those working in countries other than Germany. Under the agreement, Volkswagen will reconfigure its email servers, which currently make sure all emails go straight to staff on the phones, even if they aren't currently logged in to a work-provided PC. The switch will mean that email messages will be sent out ... (view more)

Walter Isaacson's written biography of Steve Jobs is arguably one of the most popular non-fiction books of this past holiday season. It's no surprise, then, that others are searching for more ways to profit from Jobs' rampant popularity. Just months ... after his untimely death, a new action figure that appears eerily reminiscent of Jobs is receiving mixed reviews from thoroughly creeped-out observers in the tech industry. The action figure, manufactured by the Chinese firm "In Icons," is twelve inches tall and showcases all of the famous Steve Jobs trademarks, including his New Balance ... (view more)

Microsoft will soon introduce its own social networking site, according to industry observers. Called 'So.cl' (pronounced "social"), the new service is designed to appeal to US-based college students. So.cl is part of a movement on many US ... university campuses to offer courses that investigate the rapid rise of online social media. It is designed to target a very specific niche market: post-secondary students looking to share research and information across various institutions. Students can create or join "video parties" for face-to-face interaction, or they can decide to share their content ... (view more)

In a recent interview with a European newspaper, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt let slip that his company is planning to manufacture its very own tablet PC, with a release date pegged about six months from now. Although Google's Android ... mobile operating system (OS) is currently running on a number of tablets manufactured by other hardware companies (including Motorola and Lenovo), until now Google has not positioned itself as the manufacturer. The report comes after Schmidt's interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. During the exchange, the prominent chairman revealed ... (view more)

Google has renewed its deal to be the default search engine for the Firefox browser, providing Mozilla a major financial boost. But some suggest Microsoft bargained for that same slot, and ponder the implications for the search market. Google's ... contract for Firefox's default search engine position was worth $89 million in 2009 and $103 million in 2010, about 85 per cent of Mozilla's revenue. Experts believe Mozilla's other licensing deals, grants, and donations from users would produce nowhere near enough income to keep the browser well supported and updated. That may explain why it is asking ... (view more)