Technology headlines about computer software.
Software News
Reuters - NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T) will ask Google Inc to modify its Android operating system so that smartphones using it would put less pressure on networks, a move that could spark wider protests against the leading mobile software platform, the Nikkei reported.
Reuters - Security software maker McAfee rejected a claim that several large corporate customers had recently switched over to using products from rival Symantec Corp.
Appolicious - Last year, streaming movie service Netflix finally got its Android app released and working reliably on lots of different devices that run Google’s mobile operating system. More than six months later, Netflix has announced that viewing on tablets has surpassed viewing on PCs.
Reuters - Tablet computers using Google's Android software narrowed the lead of Apple's iPad on the global market in the fourth quarter, research firm Strategy Analytics said on Thursday.
Reuters - Symantec Corp, the top maker of computer security software, reported a higher quarterly profit and issued an outlook in line with Wall Street estimates.
Appolicious - Google’s Android mobile operating system continues to sweep the world and has a huge number of devices using it, but the way that Google really makes money off the OS and the apps sold for it is through advertising. And one analyst expects that the amount of money Google stands to bring in by targeting ads at Android users to hit $5.8 billion this year.
Reuters - Symantec Corp took the rare step of advising customers to stop using one of its products, saying its pcAnywhere software for accessing remote PCs is at increased risk of getting hacked after blueprints of that software were stolen.
AP - Guidewire Software quickly found a following in its stock market debut Wednesday.
AP - It's never been easier to prepare your own tax return.
Reuters - SAP, the world's biggest maker of business software, was upbeat on its topline growth this year citing its investment in new technologies and robust corporate spending.
Reuters - Playtech, the world's biggest provider of online gaming software, is holding talks with a number of potential partners in the United States as it gears up for the possible re-opening of the potentially lucrative market, CEO Mor Weizer said.
Reuters - British accountancy software maker Sage said it was watching the economic situation in Europe and the impact a downturn would have on its small and medium customers, although it said trading was still on track.
Reuters - The crackdown on file-sharing site Megaupload is expected to do little to reduce overall piracy of music, software and Hollywood movies, while potentially stifling emerging means of distributing content online.
Reuters - Software maker VMware Inc reported profit ahead of Wall Street expectations and released an outlook ahead of some forecasts, raising hopes that technology spending will grow this year, even as some warn that the economic outlook is grim.
AP - In the trend-setting North American market, BlackBerry phones have gone from must-have messaging toys to outdated clunkers _all in the space of a few years. The new CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., the company behind the phones, says it can claw its way back to the top with new software, but analysts are deeply doubtful.
AP - Two upstate New York utilities are offering customers a year of free credit monitoring after a software contractor allowed access to their personal information.
Appolicious - Google's revenue was lower than expected during the final quarter of 2011, but some of the company’s other initiatives continue to grow and show promise. One of those initiatives is Android, Google’s mobile operating system that’s become a global, unstoppable force. Google CEO Larry Page revealed that over 250 million Android devices have been activated worldwide, with more than 11 billion apps downloaded from the Android Market. ...
AP - IBM Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings handily beat Wall Street's expectations on Thursday, helped by higher revenue and profit margins in the technology icon's lucrative software and services segments.
AP - Microsoft Corp. battled through a weak PC market to post flat earnings in the final quarter of 2011, boosting sales of servers, Xbox games and its Office productivity software while trimming losses at its Bing search engine.
Reuters - Apple Inc took a big jump into the digital textbooks market with the launch of its iBooks 2 software on Thursday, aiming to revitalize the U.S. education market and quicken the adoption of its market-leading iPad in that sector.