N.J. mayor arrested on hacking, conspiracy charges

The mayor of West New York, New Jersey, was arrested together with his son on Thursday, for allegedly hacking into a website that criticized him and his administration.
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Minn. executive branch picks Microsoft to improve email, collaboration

The Executive Branch of the Minnesota state government uses cloud-hosted Microsoft email and collaboration software, first as part of BPOS and later, Office 365.

GAO: U.S. gov't IT reform slower than claimed

The efforts of President Barack Obama's administration to streamline and improve the government's IT systems aren't proceeding as quickly as officials have suggested, a federal auditor said Thursday.

Obama orders agencies to optimize Web content for mobile

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered all major government agencies to make two key services available on mobile phones within a year, in an effort to embrace a growing trend toward Web surfing on mobile devices.

Education group: Schools need 100Mbps per 1,000 broadband users

U.S. schools will need broadband networks capable of speeds of 100Mbps for very 1,000 students and staff members by the 2014-15 academic year, according to the State Educational Technology Directors Association.

Public-sector cloud computing: The good, the bad and the ugly

From California and Utah to Ohio, Massachusetts and Maine, state and local governments are using the cloud to update antiquated systems, but the hurdles are high.

No big shift to the cloud for unified communications and collaboration

The 2012 IDG Enterprise Unified Communications and Collaboration survey highlights the uptick in adoption and investments. Insider (registration required)

Cloud computing gains in federal government

The federal government may not be renowned for its operational speed or agility, and certainly IT is no exception, but federal agency CIOs and their employees have gradually been warming to the new model of cloud computing, according to a panel of industry executives speaking at a conference on Wednesday.

Grading the Tech Policy Makers: A First Quarter Recap

It's been a busy 2012 on the Hill. As legislators and policymakers grapple with an array of issues central to the policy agendas of companies in the technology industry, CIO.com takes stock of how Washington has moved on intellectual property, cybersecurity, privacy and spectrum in the first quarter of 2012.

Top-paying industries for IT

Use data from Computerworld's 2012 Salary Survey to compare IT salaries across a sampling of industries and job titles.

Cool cop tech: 5 new technologies helping police fight crime

Not without controversy, police departments are turning to an array of tech devices including gunshot detection systems and eye-in-the-sky drones to investigate and solve cases.

Out with SOPA, in with cloud

Count us among the critics of SOPA and PIPA, the two ill-conceived bills that were intended to protect American firms against copyright infringement by foreign websites.

10 IT news stories to expect in 2012

Well, we erred in our 2011 predictions in not repeating a 2010 forecast that Carol Bartz would be ousted as Yahoo CEO -- it was bound to happen, we just called that one too early. Then again, we also predicted last year that Oracle would buy Salesforce.com and have decided not to repeat ourselves this year, so we'll see if we were just ahead on that one, too. Meanwhile, these are our predictions for the next 12 months:

15 top quotes of 2011

As another year draws to a close, we look back on the IT-related comments that stuck with us.

NASA prepares for Mars Rover launch: Here's how you can watch

On Friday, at 10:25 am Eastern, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission will rocket into the sky on a 191-foot-tall Atlas V rocket and begin its mission to Mars. NASA is making its final preparations for the first launch opportunity, and tweeters are preparing for a two-day launch tweetup.

On the front line against the next Stuxnet

Last year's Stuxnet worm showed that the machines that run our industrial systems can be brought down with a cyberattack. Meet the people who will get the call when the next big worm strikes.

Are certifications less crucial for healthcare IT jobs?

As regulatory requirements push healthcare organizations to roll out new technology, CIOs, CTOs and other managers see more value in some certifications than others. But they're also looking for 'hybrid IT employees' who can translate technology into business value.