Conjuring software, then and now

Before Java, mashups, Web 2.0 and other modern spins for developing applications in the business world and elsewhere, there was COBOL.

100 years of Grace Hopper

Woman credited with establishing COBOL as the language of business would be pleased to know it still underpins applications.
December 8, 2006

Sony outsources IT development to India

A boost for India's offshore-development industry, move is intended to help Sony's European wing focus on core activities.
December 8, 2006

Microsoft sails through document standard vote

Office Open XML, the default file format in Office 2007, was certified Thursday as a standard at Ecma International.
December 7, 2006

'The world needs only five computers'

newsmaker Greg Papadopoulos, Sun's chief technology officer, foresees large-scale consolidation in computing services.
December 7, 2006

Sun releases developer tools for NetBeans

Two new packs for the open-source NetBeans IDE aim to make it easier to work on applications for the Web and for a range of OSes.
December 6, 2006

Medical records mashup would span a lifetime

Five major companies have joined forces and invested in what appears to be the ultimate personal medical-records database.
December 6, 2006

Computer-challenged elves need not apply

perspective MIT Dean Richard Schmalensee says key role of software in this year's toys underscores a bigger shift.
December 5, 2006