Mobile Messaging Consolidates: Myriad Group Buys Synchronica For $38M
Some consolidation afoot in the evolving world of mobile messaging: one messaging provider, Switzerland’s Myriad Group, is buying a UK-based rival, Synchronica, for 23.9 million (around $38 million), in what looks like an all-share deal. Myriad says the deal will make it one of the biggest providers of messaging services in the…
Google settles Gmail trademark dispute
IDG News Service – Google has obtained control of the Gmail trademark in Germany, according to the German trademark office, and the legal battle for the related domain name is also over, according to Google. When Google introduced Gmail in 2004, it quickly ran into trademark trouble in the U.K….
Leaked Microsoft roadmap shows 2013 launch for Office 15
Computerworld – A leaked Microsoft roadmap shows that the next version of Office won’t ship until the first quarter of 2013, according to the Dutch developer who found the document. Maarten Visser, the CEO of Meetroo and a decade-long Microsoft partner, stumbled upon the roadmap a week ago after clicking on…
MetroPCS Rolls Out $25 Unlimited Voice-and-Messaging Plan in Fight for Survival
MetroPCS has quietly rolled out a new, breakthrough price point of $25 for unlimited voice and messaging. The $25 plan is the cheapest unlimited plan we’ve seen to-date, and offers unlimited voice and messaging, without data. The plan is only available to MetroPCS feature phones, and cannot be bundled with The plan…
Companies not coming to grips with SharePoint governance: survey
According to the initial results of a Microsoft SharePoint governance survey commissioned by Axceler, more than two-thirds of the respondents consider it to be extremely or very important to their organisations. Yet nearly half of those same respondents confirmed that SharePoint governance policies do not exist or are undefined. A…
Windows 8 on a laptop
Microsoft is betting the farm on its Metro user interface, making appearances on its Zune media player, Windows Phone and Xbox Live platforms. Now, the interface is making its way to Windows 8, the newest version of Microsoft’s long-running PC operating system. With the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 now Preparing for…
Full Microsoft Office Mobile now available on select Nokia Symbian phones
Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 25 years for a variety ofpublications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She has kept close tabson Microsoft strategy, products and technologies for the past 10 years. In thelate 1990s, she penned the award-winning "At The Evil Empire" column for ZDNet,and more Got…
Being in the cloud can save your business money
Local computers no longer have to do all the work when running applications or software. The Cloud is a network of computing systems that are able to execute all the programs a normal computer would run. The only thing that your computer needs to run is the interface or middleware…
David Williams column: A job well done does not end with retirement
Granted, I have more of my career ahead of me than behind. At 33, I’ve really only flirted with answering the "What do you want to be when you grow up?" question. Journalism, public/media relations, marketing my occupations so far have naturally flowed into the next, and I’ve gotten a lot…
Great Bend murder case shows risks of text messaging
The recent capital murder trial over the killing of a 14-year-old Great Bend girl shows where text messaging can lead. Jurors heard evidence that a 36-year-old ex-con, Adam Longoria, used cellphone text messages to get Alicia DeBolt’s picture, ask her out, lie about his age, call her "hot stuff" and…