PC and Components: Features

Michelle McKenna-Doyle, CIO for the National Football League, is driving innovation with analytics, using sensors to track players on the field and monitoring player health and safety with lab analysis of helmets.

The Senate immigration bill's H-1B restrictions have clearly upset Indian firms. But sometimes being in a tough spot can prompt new ways of approaching problems. One firm is implementing software robots.

Google had a lot to say during Wednesday's Google I/O keynote--so would you, if you had three-and-a-half hours to fill. And while new features in voice-powered search functionality, Google Maps, and other pronouncements from the search giant were certainly eye-catching, just how much of what was said at this week's developer conference should make iOS device owners sit up and take notice?

Google did its best to court developers at this year's I/O conference with a much-needed integrated developer environment, API for better games and the ability to more easily translate apps. Their allegiance will become increasingly important as smartphone and tablet hardware sees fewer dramatic improvements.

Windows 8 faces a number of hurdles in the enterprise, but the biggest reason it won't replace the current corporate champion, Windows 7, is simple: IT shops don't think it's worth the upgrade hassle.

At Google I/O on Wednesday, Google unveiled a streaming music service that will compete directly with the likes of Pandora and Spotify -- in what is said to be a growing market, however.

Computers just aren't selling like they used to, and many critics, analysts, and longtime Windows users point the blame finger at one culprit in particular: Windows 8. Nobody's using Windows 8, they say. It's worse than New Coke, they say. PC shipments are cratering and it's all Windows 8's fault, they say.

Sometime soon, Microsoft will tell Windows 8 users whether they will have to pay for the upgrade code-named "Blue," and if so, how much. Analysts don't expect it to charge anything for the update.

One of Microsoft's top Windows executives this week said the company remains bullish about Windows RT, but analysts remain suspicious of RT's chances unless Microsoft makes changes.

BMC has agreed to be acquired by a private investment consortium headed by Bain Capital and Golden Capital, in a deal worth about $US6.9 billion.

Economic woes have pushed companies of all sizes to shake up data center hiring, development and other processes to better align IT and business operations.

You'd expect a $35,000 car to have technology at least as good as a $200 smartphone, but it often doesn't. Although the auto industry has been slow to keep up with tech trends, that may soon change.

Digital nomad Mike Elgan returns to the US. after 10 months of travel and shares these tips for working and living abroad.

IBM is 102 years old. At its height, it was almost a cult, with employees dressing alike, speaking a unique language and earning benefits that took care of them for life. Today's tech companies aren't built to last, as Apple's recent earnings report shows all too well.

It's been two years since Chromebooks running Google's Chrome OS appeared on store shelves. So far, Google's plan - to turn your Web browser into an operating system and websites into desktop-app replacements - does not appear to be catching on

Intel hasn't signaled a change in strategy with the appointment of Brian Krzanich to CEO, but it is likely that the company will take steps to outrun its foundry competition by opening its industry-leading manufacturing facilities to more third parties.

With Intel's new CEO ready to step up next month to lead the world's largest chip maker, industry analysts don't expect to see any big change in strategy.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins' prediction that tablets would decline in popularity provoked debate on what will happen over the next five to 10 years to smartphones, tablets and laptops -- even wearable computers -- and what devices users might eventually prefer.

It's over between me and my file cabinet. Six drawers full of dead trees. Total weight: a gargantuan 194.7 pounds of paper. I can't think of any less useful way to utilize home office space, especially when most of the contents, once filed, will never be touched again. I'm also gearing up to move, and the thought of packing, unpacking, and refiling all that stuff made me even more eager to end the relationship, pronto.

IT can never take all the risk out of a supply chain, but it can help organizations minimize their vulnerability in a world of new threats.