Linux News: Spotlight Features

GRC Software: Not Just for Staying Out of Jail Anymore
October 13, 2009

Most business executives only spend money when they foresee a reasonable return on the investment, unless there is some other compelling reason for the expense -- like keeping them out of jail. To a large extent, the development of governance, risk management and compliance technologies was spurred not by the promise of financial return, but by the threat of fines or prison.

Gearing Up for the Project Management Explosion
October 12, 2009

The economic stimulus assistance injected into major industrial countries to counter the effects of a global recession shone a spotlight on the need to rebuild their infrastructures. The need to manage such public works investments efficiently has generated a huge potential market for project management software and related services.

PC Gamers: A Dying Breed?
October 08, 2009

Gamers are often devided into two categories: those who play on consoles and those who play on PCs. A console gamer will drop few hundred dollars for Sony's PS3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, or Nintendo's Wii, but a PC gamer who wants to purchase a desktop or laptop optimized for gaming could pay thousands just for the machine.

The Cutting Edge of Law Enforcement Technologies
October 06, 2009

Not so long ago, Motorola was hailed as the bane of criminals. "You might outrun the cop, but you'll never outrun Motorola," went the saying. The Motorola two-way radio was one of the first technologies to tip the scales in favor of law enforcement. However, it was by no means the last.

Marketing Automation: A Well-Oiled Machine That's Ready to Roll
October 05, 2009

The announcement that Adobe was acquiring Web analytics firm Omniture took many in the marketing industry off guard last month. However, it's less surprising in view of trends that have recently been gaining traction: integration of social media technologies to mainstream platforms; mergers and acquisitions in general; a surge in demand for marketing technology.

Should a Small Business Watch the Clock?
October 02, 2009

Many small businesses fail to fully utilize automated time-reporting tools or shy away from them altogether. However, once a business starts to reach about 30 staff members, time reporting helps them understand costs, improve efficiency, and focus on the right areas, said Journyx CEO Curt Finch.

ERP: The Slumbering Enterprise Giant Is Awakening
September 21, 2009

A mature market that has served as the backbone for enterprise computing for many decades, the ERP industry is not characterized by rapid change. So, when a "game changer" appears -- that's how Frost & Sullivan analyst David Boulanger characterized SAP's ongoing Business ByDesign rollout -- it pays to sit up and take notice.

CRM in 2009: Personal, Social, Mobile, Adaptable
September 14, 2009

Making sure that every customer gets the personal touch may be fairly easy for the owner of a neighborhood bakery, but in a mass market of millions, making each customer feel like an individual is a formidable challenge. In the information age, tools like customer relationship management software make it possible for companies to apply a personal touch to the mass market -- and that's golden.

IVR Systems: Are They Done Yet?
September 11, 2009

Remember the bad old days of customer self-service? Automated systems would present you with five or more different options -- any one of which could lead to five or more other options. With touchtone systems, accidentally pressing the wrong number at a prompt could result in instant death by disconnection. Then came the speech-recognition systems, with their own specific tortures.

Speaking the Right Language Online
September 08, 2009

A rose by any other name can raise quite the stink, making the act of localizing Web sites to fit foreign cultures all the more thorny. "Ben and Jerry launched their 'black and tan' flavor of ice cream without realizing that this phrase referred to British soldiers that were best known for their cruelty in the fight for Ireland's independence," said Nataly Kelly pf Common Sense Advisory.

Boom Time for FOSS
September 04, 2009

The current economic recession may be pummeling companies around the globe, but amid all the dire reports and grim statistics littering what can only be compared to a bloody battlefield, one oft-cited exception appears to be still standing tall: free and open source software. That's what the common discourse seems to suggest, at least, and there's some anecdotal evidence to support it.

The iPhone's Gaming Growing Pains
September 01, 2009

Consider the juice inside a hot new portable gaming device: It has a speedy processor, a powerful graphics chip, plenty of memory and wireless capabilities for instant downloads. You can play the latest blood-soaked first-person shooters like "Resident Evil," dizzying platformers like "Assassin's Creed" and some killer racing games that don't even require punching combinations of buttons and triggers.

Getting Small Firms on Board With BPM
August 31, 2009

The greatest obstacle small business operators face in adopting business process management is themselves. That factor could account for the underutilization of BPM by small businesses -- and the reason BPM vendors have targeted the small business sector as a huge potential market.

Google's Curious Chrome Gambit
August 28, 2009

Why is Google promoting two open source operating systems that can both be run on netbooks -- Android and Chrome? Is this part of a larger strategy, where Google will direct the two along different paths -- Chrome for netbooks and Android for the smartphone? Or could the Internet search giant just be floundering, with different groups of techies each going their own merry way with no clear marketing position?

Having Your Data and Using It Too
August 27, 2009

What's hot, and what's not? And how does an e-commerce concern turn it into cash? Knowing Internet trend patterns is not enough. Small e-commerce companies have to be able to act on the information they obtain in order to capitalize on it. When they do not move quickly enough, they may find themselves on the tail end of a petering-out fad.

Did Talking on a Cellphone While Driving Get a Bum Rap?
August 17, 2009

It wasn't all that long ago that the talk about cellphones and driving was all talk. That is, consumers, driving-safety advocates, and lawmakers debated whether using a hands-free device was enough to make talking on a cellphone safe, or whether talking on the newly ubiquitous devices while behind the wheel should be banned outright.