David Needle

Are your Web searches safe from snoops? It’s an issue that may not have been on many people’s radar. Traditionally, the higher-profile issue for search engines like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) is that they maintain a record of users’ search sessions for several months as part of a massive data collection the […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Google detailed its plans for enterprise developers and fleshed out its application strategy during the first day of its Google I/O conference. A key part of that focused on App Engine for Business, a cloud-based, scalable developer environment hosted by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). App Engine for Business is now available in a […]

It’s shaping up to be a big week for Android, the Google-driven software designed for mobile devices. At its annual Google I/O conference, Google is expected to detail the latest advances and preview where Android is headed, which reportedly will include a “Smart TV” initiative with Intel. While Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is best known for […]

Apple’s iPad has proved to be a smash hit following its debut last month, reportedly selling over 1 million units of the tablet PC even faster that it was able to sell 1 million units of its megahit iPhone. But you ain’t seen nothing yet, according to analyst Phil Leigh, publisher of the Inside Digital […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Social networks not only give companies broader access to new customers, they do it at unprecedented lower costs, according to Clara Shih, author of “The Facebook Era.” In a speech here Wednesday at the Web 2.0 Expo, Shih explained that she refers to the Facebook Era because the company dominates the social […]

The growing popularity of social networks may give users more flexible communications options, but it’s also given IT a number of headaches to deal with, including security, privacy and even bandwidth issues. Tightly regulated industries like health care and finance, as well as government agencies, face the further compliance burden of having to store and […]

Google has confirmed that it quietly purchased 3D user interface software company BumpTop last month, an acquisition that has industry watchers anxious to see how the buy fits into Google’s businesses — particularly its Android mobile and Chrome operating system efforts. BumpTop’s software replaces the traditional Mac or Windows desktop with a slick, 3D interface, […]

Is Steve Jobs at it again? Just days after reaffirming Apple’s decision to ban Adobe’s Flash from the iPhone, the company’s CEO is reportedly pointing the finger at another multimedia technology he sees struggling with major shortcomings — echoing similar comments, as it turns out, from Apple’s longtime archrival, Microsoft. Hugo Roy, the French coordinator […]

Business Intelligence software can play a vital role in helping IT and knowledge workers get a handle on increasingly huge warehouses of customer data and other information critical to their sales and overall business. But does that go far enough? In many cases, the answer is no. That’s according to a new Forrester Consulting survey […]

In the wake of Google’s controversial decision to flaunt Chinese authorities and stop censoring results at its Google.cn page, the search leader on Monday attempted to explain both the scope of the issues it sees in play and its own policies. Google said China is “the most polarizing,” but hardly the only example, of government […]