This was an outstanding year for Microsoft with some big customer wins. But these seven missteps were just dumb. Hey, Nobody’s Perfect If you are looking in Microsoft’s rear mirror, that you can describe what you spot in hundreds of the way. One adjective you almost certainly won’t use for the company’s 2013 is “quiet.” It was a hectic year even by Microsoft’s standards. From Windows 8.1 to Xbox One to the Nokia device business acquisition to Office 365’s continued growth to Steve Ballmer’s (somewhat) surprising retirement announcement — let alone that whole NSA spying thing — it seemed each week brought a brand new wave of headlines out of Redmond. There was excellent news. Office 365 had some big customer wins and gave the impression to solidify the way forward for the Office franchise. Xbox One seems to be a success. The Azure cloud is expanding globally. The skin 2 and Surface 2 Pro are sold out, or even if there’s some inventory management... Read More »

Yahoo suffers hack attack, eyes third-party database and reused credentials as likely culprits, may enforce two-factor authentication to aid users recover accounts. 9 Notorious Hackers Of 2013 (Click image for larger view and for slideshow.) Yahoo said it reset passwords for an unspecified collection of accounts after detecting an unfolding hack-attack campaign. “Recently, we identified a coordinated effort to realize unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts. Upon discovery, we took immediate action to guard our users, prompting them to reset passwords on impacted accounts,” said Jay Rossiter, who’s accountable for Yahoo’s platforms and personalization products, in an “important security update for Yahoo Mail users” blog post. Some related notifications, however, have not begun to be made. To help users recover their accounts, Yahoo said it should force users to employ second sign-in verification — its version of 2-factor authentication — which sends a six-digit code via SMS to a user’s registered cellular phone number, provided they’ve one on file. According to Litmus email analytics, Yahoo... Read More »

Amazon Prime customers get free deliveries and instant streaming video downloads. But will they accept a $20 price hike? 10 Jobs Destined For Robots (Click image for larger view.) Amazon has increased the cost of its $79 Prime free delivery service by $20, the primary hike because it was introduced nine years ago. After April 17, those signing up can pay $99 a year for 2-day free delivery of purchases and streaming of Prime Instant Video movies. The move may bring it a momentary surge in signups. “Lock in low cost,” reads an indication at the Prime join up page. But what it means in the end is open to discuss. UBS analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded his recommendation of Amazon stock from buy to neutral, in response to a survey before Amazon’s move that the web retailer would lose Prime members if it raised the yearly fee. The UBS survey found that at $99, about 58% of Prime users said they might renew. At $119,... Read More »

SDN earned a number of hype in 2013, however the ability to program networks improves network performance and security in a more systematic and automated fashion. Over the last year, we have seen another technology phenomenon added to the long list of IT hype: software-defined networking (SDN). Chances are you’ll ask: “Haven’t networks been defined by software because the days of the ATM or the introduction of VLANs?” The answer’s yes, there were efforts to administer and manipulate physical network components through software, but these kinds of efforts have targeting easing network management tasks. What makes SDN different is its intent to permit programmability of the network in response to real-time information and knowledge traffic flows. This permits for a closed-loop system where the network could be reconfigured to optimize applications or protect against threats dynamically, in response to the present environment. Imagine a USB stick inserted right into a laptop that delivers malware. The laptop is delivered to the office and connected to the... Read More »

Microsoft is decided to call Nadella as its next CEO. Take a better examine who he’s and what he brings to the table. 7 Mistakes Microsoft Made In 2013 (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Microsoft is preparing to introduce Satya Nadella, the company’s executive VP for cloud and enterprise, as its new CEO, in line with numerous reports. An official announcement reportedly could arrive inside the next several days. Since Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced last year that he will be retiring, many would-be candidates have taken turns on the center of speculation. But at the same time as possible Ballmer successors, including Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Ericcson CEO Hans Vestberg, entered and exited the conversation, reports have consistently listed Satya Nadella among those under one of the most serious consideration. Citing multiple unidentified sources, news website Recode reported Wednesday that Microsoft was on the subject of choosing Nadella. Bloomberg followed up the following day, stating that a source with knowledge of... Read More »