enterprise

Microsoft could be aiming to simplify Windows 8 by trimming the number of editions, or SKUs, sold to the public.

Two files from Hewlett-Packard's Web site uncovered by blogger Stephen Chapman from CNET sister site ZDNet appear to indicate how many Windows 8 editions Microsoft will sell. The files list the specific flavors of Windows supported by drivers for an HP laptop smart card reader. HP has since removed the references to Windows 8 from the files, but images of Google-cached versions saved by Chapman show just the six following SKUs:

Woodworker Barry Shields' impressive Star Trek coffee table creation proves yet again that Trekkies are nothing if not, uh... Enterprising. Sorry.

Terrible puns aside, there's no need to apologize for this one-of-a-kind living room conversation piece. It took two attempts for Shields to get it just the way he wanted, with the glass cut in such a way to make the ship appear to be in motion.

You'll find it for sale on Etsy for $3,100--a real deal when you consider how many galaxies this genuine starship has visited and how deliciously geeky it would be to … Read more

If there had been an early-stage incubator at Harvard when Mark Zuckerberg was starting Facebook, the world's largest social-networking company might not be based in Silicon Valley today.

There was no such investment fund back in 2004, but today, there is. In an announcement this morning, Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) launched the Experiment Fund, a new early-stage seed fund that is being backed by New Enterprise Associates, one of the world's largest venture capital firms.

According to the fund's Web site, its mission is to be "a bridge between America's … Read more

Apple's presence in the enterprise is growing quickly, with one in five workers now using an Apple device on the job, a new study reports.

That data comes from a new Forrester report published today entitled "Apple infiltrates the enterprise and reshapes the markets for personal devices at work." (It can be yours for just $499!)

The firm surveyed nearly 10,000 information workers in 17 countries, as well as 3,350 "IT hardware decision-makers" in North America and Western Europe and found that 21 percent of those individuals were using one or more Apple … Read more

We wish all Trekkie stories could be as happy as that of the DIY Enterprise gondola we recently spotted bobbing calmly atop a Southern California canal.

But life isn't always sunshine and purring Tribbles. And so it is that we bring you a Trekkie tale with a tragic twist.

Lifelong sci-fi fan Tony Alleyne, a former DJ and current interior design hopeful in the U.K., will probably be forced to dismantle the Hinckley, Leicestershire, Starship-themed flat he spent 10 years creating. Apparently, reports the Register, Alleyne's estranged wife Georgina has been paying the mortgage on the one-bedroom flat since the couple split and now wants to sell it "as conventional property."

We're assuming real estate agents don't generally apply that description to an apartment that's been reworked to look like a Starship Voyager flight deck complete with computer console, flashing lights, and "transporters." Then again, maybe Georgina should try listing the property at Comic-Con. … Read more

Like newspapers to the Web, many business software vendors are now reluctantly dragging themselves into the cloud-based enterprise. If they aren't nimble enough, a new generation of companies is ready to take their place.

While major enterprise IT vendors continue to deliver so-called features that keep users tied to their desks and legacy software, companies like Box and others have figured out that the industry is changing right before our eyes. The new enterprise takes the best aspects of consumer applications to make business-critical data available anywhere, anytime.

The majority of the fawning stories about startups that come out … Read more

The outlook for IT spending this year isn't quite as rosy as Gartner previously predicted.

Spending on IT products and services is expected to reach $3.8 trillion in 2012, a 3.7 percent rise from last year when spending totaled $3.7 trillion and had climbed by 6.9 percent from 2010.

Released today, the new forecast is a dip from Gartner's prior projection of 4.6 percent growth for this year. The market researcher now believes that all major tech sectors will witness slower gains in spending for 2012.

Spending on telecom equipment will see the … Read more

Research In Motion now aims to support both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets--a break from the company's previous BlackBerry-only focus.

RIM introduced today BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, a mobile device management service that takes advantage of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology to track and monitor different phones and tablets.

With BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, RIM is attempting to preserve its hold over the business customer even as more of them leave the BlackBerry fold for other flashier devices. Mobile Fusion allows RIM to play a role in companies and government agencies, even if its BlackBerrys are no longer used. For … Read more

Technology execs are toting iPads and trying to figure out how to deploy them en masse, but there are significant issues to ponder.

In various talks yesterday, Gartner analysts highlighted a series of gotchas that need to be considered before jumping on the enterprise tablet bandwagon. Among the key issues:

Apple iPads and tablets may require a Microsoft license. Even user-owned devices may require a license for things like accessing Microsoft servers and running Office and Outlook. How does Microsoft play a role in iPad licensing costs? There are two licenses to server access--Direct Client Access Licenses and User Client … Read more