Michael Hickins

NEW YORK — IBM (Quote) thinks that speech technology has evolved from the first rudimentary dictation products it introduced 10 years ago to mainstream and, in some cases, life-altering applications. To prove the point, the company introduced a sampling of everyday applications at its Speech Technology Innovation Conference here. These include in-car products using voice recognition […]

Citrix Systems (Quote), known primarily for connecting remote workers to their corporate networks, is now offering a way to free them from the network. The company is releasing Presentation Server 4.5, which includes a new streaming feature that lets customers access desktop applications as an on-demand service, much in the same way as music or […]

The small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market has been an elusive target for technology vendors. The market is worth $404 billion, according to research firm IDC’s numbers, and that makes it a tempting one to tap. The problem is that SMBs, companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, defy typical marketing strategies; they exist in every […]

Microsoft (Quote) is introducing Windows Mobile 6 in the hopes of making inroads in the enterprise handset market. The new platform now allows users to edit Microsoft Office applications on their handheld devices. The company said this and other enhancements to its mobile client will help it gain traction in a market that has been dominated […]

Oracle (Quote) is hoping to become more relevant in the enterprise search space thanks to enhancements to its stand-alone search application. Oracle Secure Enterprise Search 10g, announced in March 2006, features support for searching Oracle data sources such as the Oracle Database and Oracle Portal, Oracle Content Database and Oracle Applications. The new release of Oracle […]

NEW YORK — Microsoft (Quote) CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off sales of the consumer version of its new Vista operating system (OS) and Office suite today, calling it “the biggest launch in Microsoft’s history.” Sales of Vista and Office 2007 officially begin tomorrow in North America, although it has already begun shipping new product in New […]

NEW YORK — Microsoft (Quote) and Nortel (Quote) introduced three new integrated computer and telephony products they say will improve productivity and reduce cost and complexity for end users. The unified products will be based on the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 user interface, Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 for messaging and presence, and Nortel’s Communication Server […]

SAP (Quote) is repackaging its well-known ERP (define) platform in the hopes of making it more digestible for mid-market companies. The Walldorf, Germany-based software vendor today introduced enhancements to its All-in-One application suite that will help mid-size companies implement versions of the mySAP ERP 2005 platform that are tailored for their specific industries. Some of these enhancements […]

You probably remember the last time you bought a computer. And you probably know exactly how much it cost you. But the same probably can’t be said for when you got your last tetanus shot, or how much your last medical procedure really cost. According to health care industry experts and policy makers, Americans are […]

LAS VEGAS — Michael Dell announced a pair of new services reflecting increased broadband penetration and the importance of the consumer market to Dell’s (Quote) business. He also noted that the company has stumbled in terms of service and support and that these new offerings were the first step in improving that performance. “We haven’t done […]