Robert J. Mullins

Microsoft is going to make the latest version of its Dynamics AX 2012 enterprise resource planning (ERP) product available Dec. 1 for managing large-scale global companies. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Release 2 offers multiple new ERP features for companies in four key sectors, including manufacturing, retail, the public sector and professional services. “These very different […]

Cisco Systems has added support for the open source Hadoop big data framework in the latest version of its Tidal Enterprise Scheduler, which is software that automates some of the processes involved in operating a big data analytics system. Cisco and other vendors made product announcements at a Hadoop conference Oct. 23-25 in New York. […]

Microsoft has introduced new terms of service for its free online services such as email, instant messaging and search that broadens its rights to mine data across different platforms. The terms of service, made public Oct. 19, allow Microsoft to collect user data from one service, such as Windows Live Messenger, and use it to […]

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that the company she has been piloting since July is doing a strategic reassessment, including fixing its broken mobile strategy, and is progressing to a brighter future as a reinvigorated consumer Internet company. Mayer says her “top priority” is to rebuild Yahoo’s mobile strategy in which the company has “underinvested” […]

Big data is going to have a big impact on IT spending globally as the Gartner research firm forecasts that it is going to create a demand for 4.4 million big data-related jobs globally, 1.9 million of them in the United States. Gartner forecasts total IT spending to rise by 3.8 percent in 2013 to […]

Microsoft has invited reporters to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco Oct. 29 for the official launch of the Windows Phone 8 operating system for smartphones, along with devices from Nokia and other smartphone makers that will run the new OS. The launch event follows by just three days Microsoft’s launch of the […]

Although Microsoft has irritated some of its OEM partners by introducing its own Surface tablet computer, that hasn’t stopped them from developing a huge number of their own products running the new Windows 8 operating system. During a conference call Oct. 18 to discuss Microsoft’s financial results for its fiscal first quarter that ended Sept. […]

Samsung is going to begin selling a notebook computer running Google’s Chrome operating system that is powered by an ARM processor, features an 11.6-inch screen, battery life of 6.5 hours and carries a list price of $249. Google unveiled the Samsung Chromebook at an event in San Francisco Oct. 18. Bearing a resemblance to the […]

Microsoft has disclosed that it has completed the acquisition of MarketingPilot, a provider of integrated marketing solutions and that the company said will be incorporated into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM software package that implements customer relationship management programs. MarketingPilot solutions “allow organizations to better understand their customers, manage and streamline marketing operations, and create automated […]

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—There was a lot of talk at the Storage Network World conference here about how steadily falling prices for solid state drives and Flash memory threaten the viability of hard disk drives in the computer industry. While breakout sessions on SSD and Flash memory technology dominated the schedule during the conference Oct. 16-19, […]

A check with Microsoft’s supply chain partners in Asia indicates that the production of Windows 8-based devices will briefly surge this fall before tapering off, with sustained high volume production unlikely to kick in until the second half of 2013, according to industry analysts. Cautious adoption of Windows 8 by businesses is the likely reason […]

Microsoft has finally revealed pricing for the Surface tablet computers that will go on sale Oct. 26 but are available for online preorder now, starting at $499, a price in line with that of Apple’s iPad, the king of the tablet hill. Microsoft on Oct. 16 posted on its Website specifications and pricing for the […]