Desktop Apps Topic Center

Read the latest news, reviews, opinions and in-depth analysis about desktop applications

Facebook designing network fabric to meet massive performance needs

With more than a billion monthly active users, it's easy to imagine that most of the data travelling over Facebook's networks is delivering photos, status updates and "likes" to its end users, but that's far from the case.
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Twitter buys Spindle to thread in location discovery tools

Twitter has bought Spindle, a search technology company that informs users about what's happening with local businesses and organizations around them.

Report: Microsoft and Nokia talked acquisition

Microsoft and cellphone maker Nokia were in advanced talks about an acquisition of the Finnish company's device business, but the discussions have broken down, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Financial servies firm figures out how to do social safely

The freewheeling flow of information on public social media sites may cause many people in conservative, highly regulated industries such as financial services to shudder. But one Canadian firm has taken the plunge, believing its employees can use social tools in a safe and ultimately profitable way.

Microsoft launches security bounty programs for Windows 8.1 and IE 11 Preview

Microsoft will pay security researchers for finding and reporting vulnerabilities in the preview version of IE11, for finding novel techniques to bypass exploit mitigations present in Windows 8.1 or later versions and for coming up with new ideas to fend off exploits.

Sony pulls PS3 update after complaints it bricks consoles

Sony's gaming division pulled its latest firmware update for the PlayStation 3 Wednesday, after widespread reports that installing it could render the console useless.

Microsoft Dynamics ERP software now available on the Azure cloud

Microsoft is upping the stakes in the growing market for cloud-based ERP, with its Dynamics GP 2013 and NAV 2013 products now available for deployment on its Azure service.

Feedly starts moving users to homespun RSS service as Google Reader death looms

Feedly said Monday that it has started migrating its users to its own back-end RSS infrastructure two weeks before Google is to pull the plug on its Reader service.

Internet Society urges transparency in intellectual property discussions

Greater transparency, as well as respect for the Internet's open architecture and multi-stakeholder participation, are needed to help guide discussions around intellectual property policy on the Internet, according to the Internet Society.

Facebook to announce mysterious new product next week

Facebook appears to have a new product up its sleeve that it will unveil next week at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

Prism doesn't have CIOs in a panic -- yet

Revelations over the U.S. National Security Agency's Prism surveillance program have much of the general public in uproar, but in terms of the controversy's impact to enterprise IT, some CIOs have measured, albeit watchful, reactions.

How to Export Your Google Reader Account

If you use Google Reader, you must say goodbye to the service on July 1. Here are step-by-step instructions for exporting your information to use with another RSS service.

10 stars of 'cross-platformity'

At work or play, these 10 applications can be used across a variety of platforms.

3 reasons why criminals exploit social networks (and tips to avoid getting scammed)

The popularity and influence of social media continues to increase at lightning speed, and recent events bear evidence to the impact -- both positive and negative --this medium presents. As the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing unfolded, millions of people turned to social media for information, and government officials and law enforcement used it to keep the public informed and solicit their help.

Salesforce.com aims for next $1 billion business with ExactTarget buy

Salesforce.com's pending US$2.5 billion purchase of marketing software vendor ExactTarget will help it develop a new $1 billion annual revenue stream and set the company on a clear strategic course for the foreseeable future, according to Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.

10 surprising things from my 20 years with Network World

Yep, I've been writing for Network World for 20 years and a lot has happened in that time ... here are 10 of the most surprising

Google Glass not to allow face recognition for now

Google will not allow face recognition on its Glass wearable computer for now, until there are strong privacy protections.

The hidden dark side of today's hottest tech trends

New technologies and new IT strategies are here to solve all your problems -- except the ones they create

How to Import Your Tumblr Blog into WordPress

While Yahoo's acquisition of blogging site Tumblr will make a handful of people very happy, others are not convinced. Here's how to import your posts from Tumblr to WordPress.

Google's next act: Diversify and conquer

Center stage at this year's Google I/O was a company honing its vision for a future beyond search