Stories by John Blau

Nokia plays to win mobile-gaming market share

Nokia has tweaked its mobile gaming strategy, transforming its less-than-successful N-Gage device into a software platform and enlisting the support of several games publishers to deliver popular content.

Hackers to target mobile banking, study says

This year could see a sharp rise in hacker attacks on Internet-enabled smart phones as a number of new banking and payment initiatives enter the mobile channel, a research group warned Monday.

Internet TV plans could blur bandwidth picture

Users whose ISP has a strict monthly limit on bandwidth usage may be forced to turn away from the new peer-to-peer TV streaming offering planned by the founders of VoIP provider Skype.

Software AG: The XML - oops - SOA company

Software AG has built a global customer base over 35 years by being an early mover in a couple of major technology trends. The company introduced one of the first databases, Adabas, in the 1970s, a platform-independent computer language, Natural, in the 1980s and an XML (Extensible Markup Language) server, Tamino, in the 1990s.

Open source start-ups speak out

Entrepreneurs attending a recent forum in Germany showed how they plan to use clever open source products — commercially — to compete with proprietary software companies.

Microsoft trains Colombian ex-paramilitaries ... in ICT

Former paramilitary fighters in Colombia may be able to shoot a gun far better than they can fire off an email, but that could change soon thanks to a new programme — partly funded by Microsoft — that aims to train the ex-combatants to use computers.

IBM embraces open community approach

How could an IT company with sales of more than US$90 billion ever be interested in software essentially available for free?, asked Adam Jollans, open source strategy manager at IBM, at a conference Tuesday. "Because we see huge business opportunities," he said.

Mobile TV standard race gains momentum

Switzerland has joined a growing list of European countries testing a broadcast mobile TV service based on technology that is widely supported by operators but currently hindered by a lack of available spectrum.

Electronic watermarks used to police downloads

A German company is offering MP3 files for download, unencumbered by DRM (digital rights management). Instead, Akuma discourages copying by adding a unique “watermark” to each download.

E-payment market could become oligopoly, study says

The ever-growing popularity of shopping on the Internet has created a budding market for online payment services, but one that will be dominated by a handful of key players, according to a report published Tuesday by the German subsidiary of the consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

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