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Microsoft to ship IE9 beta in September  30 Jul 2010, 1:55 pm

Microsoft will ship a beta of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) in September, a company executive said today.

If the timeline is accurate, the IE9 beta release will come a month later than earlier speculation, which had settled on August, a pick based in large part on PowerPoint slides purportedly from a Microsoft presentation that focused on Windows 8, the next iteration of the company's OS.

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Citrix tops VMware in desktop virtualization  30 Jul 2010, 9:31 am

Citrix's VDI technology has surged ahead of rival VMware's, according to the Burton Group, which says Citrix's XenDesktop software is the first "enterprise-ready" server-hosted virtual desktop product.

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RIM leads way as mobile phone shipments surge 14 percent  30 Jul 2010, 7:31 am

Worldwide mobile phone shipments jumped by 14.5 percent in the second quarter, driven by sales of smartphones and entry-level handsets, IDC reported today.

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U.S. should seek world cooperation on cyber security, says ex-CIA director  30 Jul 2010, 6:15 am

LAS VEGAS -- The U.S. needs to consider working with other leading nations to develop rules of engagement in cyberspace, retired general and former director of the CIA Michael Hayden said during a keynote address at the Black Hat conference here on Thursday.

As the country with the largest stakes on the Internet, the U.S. has been somewhat reluctant to engage in such discourse because of concerns that any international negotiations will force it to reveal or limit its cyber capabilities, Hayden said.

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Defcon contest rattles nerves at FBI, security groups  30 Jul 2010, 5:30 am

A Defcon contest that invites contestants to trick employees at U.S. corporations into revealing not-so-sensitive data has rattled some nerves.

Contest organizers have been called by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and seen warnings issued by security groups and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, (FS-ISAC) an industry group that provides information on security threats affecting the banking industry.

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Intel wins key ruling in class-action suit  30 Jul 2010, 5:21 am

A court-appointed special master has rejected class-action status in an antitrust lawsuit against Intel, determining that the plaintiffs failed to show that PC buyers were harmed by discounts Intel offered to manufacturers.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware in 2005, consolidates more than 80 separate cases that generally accuse Intel of wrongfully offering discounts to computer manufacturers and causing computer prices to be artificially inflated.

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T-Mobile tops AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint in customer care rankings  30 Jul 2010, 5:12 am

T-Mobile USA topped other top U.S. wireless carriers in providing overall customer care during the first half of this year, according to a J.D. Power and Associates report released Thursday.

The eighth annual U.S. Wireless Customer Care Performance Study is based on a survey of 9,690 wireless customers who had contacted their carrier's customer service department over the past six months.

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Apple's latest iOS 4 issue: iPhone 3G woes  30 Jul 2010, 5:00 am

Now that Apple has pacified iPhone 4 customers with free bumper cases to alleviate antenna issues, the company is looking into problems with iOS 4 and the iPhone 3G.

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Burton Group: Avoid Office 2010 lock-in, stick with Office 2007  30 Jul 2010, 4:30 am

Microsoft's 2010 software suites present "the most complicated lock-in decision in years," and many customers will be justified in sticking with the 2007 versions of Office, Exchange, and SharePoint, Burton Group analysts said this week at the Catalyst conference.

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The InfoWorld news quiz: July 30, 2010  30 Jul 2010, 4:00 am

This week WikiLeaks blew its loudest and largest whistle yet, revealing more than 90,000 confidential documents detailing the war in Afghanistan. What else happened? The Digital Millennium Copyright Act went in for a trim, Apple continued to pick fights with other smartphone makers, and Android tablets began to show up everywhere. Have you got the skills to ace our quiz? Give yourself 10 points every time you get one right. Now let's get this party started.

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Ballmer: Microsoft needs to challenge Apple's slate dominance  29 Jul 2010, 5:06 pm

Microsoft's chief executive on Thursday sought to address some common questions raised by analysts, but his answers may not have been exactly what they were looking for.

While Microsoft reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue last week, the company was also criticized for lacking a well-developed strategy for slate PCs, and for continuing to struggle with some of its consumer businesses.

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Microsoft slates IE9 beta for September  29 Jul 2010, 4:45 pm

MIcrosoft will ship a beta of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) in September, a company executive said today.

If the timeline is accurate, the IE9 beta release will come a month later than earlier speculation, which had settled on August, a pick based in large part on PowerPoint slides purportedly from a Microsoft presentation that focused on Windows 8 , the next iteration of the company's OS.

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SAP gives NetWeaver portal an iGoogle-style upgrade  29 Jul 2010, 3:47 pm

SAP is sprucing up its NetWeaver portal with an upcoming add-on, Enterprise Workspaces, which will provide an iGoogle-like way for users to work with content.

The software is now in a "ramp-up" release mode and set for general availability toward the end of this year, according to a presentation on SAP's website.

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