Amazon gets provisional operating authorization to sell cloud services to the Defense Department for work involving low-risk unclassified data. Domestic Drones: 5 Non-Military Uses (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Amazon Web Services won provisional authority to function cloud computing services for the dept of Defense, permitting AWS to deal with unclassified data under the DOD’s Cloud Security Model (CSM). The authorization reopens the DOD marketplace for the company’s cloud-based computing services, which have been shut out of recent deals since 2012 since the DOD required service providers to have a safety certification. The authorization covers five service offerings: Elastic Compute Cloud, Simple Storage Services, Virtual Private Cloud, Elastic Block Store, and Identity and Access Management. “There’s a huge demand for the services in DOD,” said Teresa Carlson, AWS vp of globally public sector. US Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen, for example, recently said the Navy intends to go the department’s unclassified, publicly available data to a commercially provided cloud. AWS is the second one... Read More »

Microsoft reportedly doubles down by itself platforms while also taking a difficult have a look at Android. 7 Mistakes Microsoft Made In 2013 (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Indications of Microsoft’s push to update its Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems continue to mount. Expected new features include a protracted-awaited notification center for Windows Phone and tweaks to make Windows 8.1’s touch-oriented Modern UI more palatable to mouse-and-keyboard users. However, a brand new leak suggests Microsoft is barreling toward certainly one of its new platforms’ most anticipated milestones: the merging of the Windows Phone and Windows app stores. Paradoxically, reports also say Microsoft is thinking about opening Windows to Android apps — a move that can undermine the appeal of a combined app store. A unified app store hasn’t shown up in leaked Windows update builds, but Twitter user @AngelWZR, a known leaker of pre-release Windows information, posted images that indicate Microsoft is tricky at work on one. The pictures, allegedly... Read More »

Google’s rules for Android partners are unlawful, says Harvard professor. 10 Great Google Apps Tips (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Google’s claims in regards to the openness of Android has been called into question by Harvard Business School associate professor Benjamin Edelman, who asserts that the company’s Mobile Application Distribution Agreement suppresses competition and harms consumers. In 2010, Andy Rubin, then head of Android, tweeted his definition of open: the commands essential to fetch the Android source code from its online repository and compile it. While which will qualify as open within the context of open-source software, it only refers to a part of Android, and it fails to explain contractual terms that Google imposes on companies looking to distribute Google’s popular mobile applications on Android hardware. “If you want to obtain key mobile apps, including Google’s own Search, Maps, and YouTube, manufacturers must conform to install each of the apps Google specifies, with the prominence Google requires, including setting these apps as... Read More »

Pew Research Center finds reason to believe that American journalism has a future — and social media will play a key role. 7 Facebook Wishes For 2014 (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) In its 2014 review of the state of the media industry, the Pew Research Center finds reason to believe that American journalism has a future — something that hasn’t been obvious after years of belt tightening, layoffs, technological changes, and newspaper closures. New digital media companies have arisen and thrived, many with assistance from talented people from traditional media organizations. Entrepreneurs comparable to Jeff Bezos, John Henry, and Pierre Omidyar are bringing needed investment and the attitude of outsiders to the industry. And there’s evidence that social media are getting a meaningful channel to achieve the young audience essential to sustain the inside track industry because the newspaper generation ages. But the will for revenue has brought change that challenges traditional media practices. Pew’s report finds that “the overlap between public... Read More »

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will face stratospheric expectations Thursday when he makes his first public appearance since succeeding Steve Ballmer. Here is what we wish to know. On Thursday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will make his first public appearance since succeeding Steve Ballmer in early February. Microsoft has confirmed only that Nadella will address the intersection of cloud and mobility, but several reports claim the brand new Microsoft leader will make his mark by introducing a product on which his predecessor often perceived to waver: a version of Microsoft Office for iPads. Given that this kind of product is both a multibillion-dollar revenue opportunity and a possible death blow to Microsoft’s Surface line, Nadella will face enormous expectations when he is taking the stage. But that might was true even supposing commentators weren’t predicting an enormous product announcement. [Is Office 365 Personal best for you? Read Office 365 Personal: 5 Questions Answered.] Nadella was selected after a six-month search during which numerous candidates were briefly reported as... Read More »