Channel Insider Staff

 (Reuters) – Google Inc plans to build a super-fast Internet network for up to half a million people, a project that could pressure telecommunications companies to loosen their control of Web access in the United States. The Internet company has locked horns with the likes of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc over the issue […]

(Reuters) – Netezza Corp, a small maker of database computers, is teaming up with Japan’s NEC Corp to take on Oracle Corp in the market for database computers. The tie-up comes partly in response to Oracle’s purchase of Sun Microsystems, which puts the world’s No. 3 software maker in the hardware business for the first […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Online retailer Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has bought a New York technology company that provides touch-screen technology that could bolster its Kindle electronic reader, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a person briefed on the deal. The staff of Touchco, which was incubated at New York University’s Media Research Lab, […]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When Apple Inc unveiled its iPad last month, one crucial detail almost got drowned out in the hoopla: the new tablet computer will be powered by an in-house chip called the A4. While Apple likely will not market the chip publicly, analysts say the new processor underscores how rival chip designs […]

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp posted a bigger-than-expected 60 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by strong sales of Windows 7, and said it expected business technology spending to recover this year. The world’s biggest software maker said on Thursday that net profit came to $6.7 billion, or 74 cents per share, for its fiscal second […]

(Reuters) – Every second a critical infrastructure supplier has been a target of a cyberattack, a survey of security software firm McAfee showed on Thursday. Hackers frequently succeed in attacking businesses, security experts say, but companies rarely disclose the breaches because they are afraid of damaging their reputations and encouraging criminals. This made Google’s statement […]

(Reuters) – Technology distributors, often seen as a barometer of IT spending, should meet or surpass Wall Street projections when they report quarterly results, fueling hopes of a broader recovery in the sector. Ingram Micro, Avnet Inc, Arrow Electronics — which distribute products of technology bellwethers IBM, Apple and Hewlett-Packard — are seen returning to […]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Oracle, which earlier in the day closed its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems following nine months of thorny legal exercises, Jan. 27 explained to the media how it is morphing the creator of Java, Solaris and the Zettabyte File Server and its 27,600 employees into its own database-driven world. Oracle […]

In December, the Computing Technology Industry Association decided lifetime A+, Network+ and Security+ certifications were going to retroactively require renewal every three years. The response from the IT community was particularly thorny, and rightfully so. Why the changes? According to Ars Technica, CompTIA was getting its accreditation process evaluated by several larger accreditation organizations, including […]

Google Jan. 26 rolled out an HTML5-based version of its popular Google Voice application for Apple’s iPhone several months after Apple rejected Google’s original submission to its App Store. Google Voice is a Web-based phone management application that lets users route calls to their home, work and mobile phones from a special Google granted number. […]

Channel Insider and MSPtv, a video production arm of Zenith InfoTech, are partnering to produce "MSP Spotlight," a monthly live video talk show on sales, marketing and business optimization in managed services and cloud computing. The show will air on MSPtv.net. "MSP Spotlight," sponsored by Zenith InfoTech, is hosted by Carolyn April, editor of Channel […]

I’ve seen literally hundreds of TV news reports based on this theme: “We took a perfectly good [insert product here] to several local repair shops to see if you’re getting ripped off.” In this case, it was a typical desktop PC that had the hard drive cable physically disconnected. The test: to see if the […]