Software News

Most iPhone users have no idea what an API is, let alone the difference between a public and a private one. But developers know that an application programming interface is not only important to how a smartphone app interacts with other software, but whether it will make the cut into the all-important, exponentially growing Apple App Store. Full Story »

BOSTON - The Massachusetts software company that created the "Rock Band" video game series has eliminated 39 jobs in an effort to trim operating costs. Full Story »

The global recession took a major toll on enterprise software vendors and their customers in 2009, leading to flagging license sales and tight IT budgets. But the economy also prompted a series of policy changes and concessions from vendors that could make users' lives easier in the long run, especially if they become broader trends. Full Story »

How should you react when Microsoft's Windows Update tells you "403 - Forbidden: Access is denied"? This happened to me and to quite a few other users of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003; just how many were affected isn't yet clear. What's important is that we have a solution. Full Story »

It's apparently hip to pick on the the New York Times these days, so I won't, even though it'd be easy to glibly confuse their latest position on violent games the way these guys seem to be. The NYT piece in question couldn't be clearer: Here's a list of 10 games you might want to avoid this holiday if you have a young child or teenager who, you know, doesn't meet the Entertainment Software Rating Board's age recommendations. Full Story »

The Android 2.0 operating system is coming to Sprint's HTC Hero and Samsung Moment, but in the first half of 2010. Full Story »

November retail video game sales sank 7.6 percent under last year's record revenues, but turned in the second best penultimate yearly performance on record, according to NPD data. Microsoft took top software honors, selling a staggering 4.20m copies of Activision's mega-popular Modern Warfare 2, more than doubling Sony's 1.87m share. Full Story »

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States fell 7.6 percent in November to $2.7 billion, research group NPD said on Thursday, as the struggling industry limped into the crucial holiday sales period. Full Story »

Jim Lynch wonders: Are believers in free software really zealots? Full Story »

OAK BROOK, Ill. - Federal Signal Corp., which manufactures safety, signaling and communications equipment and fire rescue vehicles, said Thursday it has acquired Diamond Consulting Services Ltd. Full Story »

Hewlett-Packard has issued a number of patches for a component in its OpenView software package. The company advises administrators to apply the patches immediately, given the severity of the vulnerabilities. Full Story »

Dell added 10-Gigabit Ethernet to its EqualLogic storage line and introduced infrastructure management software in a set of product announcements Thursday to round out its data-center offerings. Full Story »

Microsoft plans to buy health-care software maker Sentillion for an undisclosed sum in order to expand its own health-care offerings and capitalize on an upcoming opportunity for new sales. Full Story »

SAP's emerging line of green IT software got a boost Thursday with the announcement of an application that helps companies pull together data about their corporate sustainability, analyze the information and create reports. Full Story »

A Maryland gaming software developer that has worked with major game publishers and U.S. government agencies has agreed to pay US$75,000 to settle a complaint by the Business Software Alliance that it was using unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft products, the BSA announced Thursday. Full Story »

Solid Oak Software on Thursday announced CyberSitter 11, which the company said has been entirely reworked to eliminate the "legacy" code that was appropriated by the Chinese "Green Dam" program. Full Story »

The Nook, Barnes & Noble's belated e-book reader has landed in the hands of several high-profile reviewers, and most are not exactly thrilled with the device. Reaction ranges from calling it "a mess" to complaints about sluggish software and half-baked features. Full Story »

The popularity of Google's mobile operating system, Android, will continue to grow next year with as many as 30 new handsets from Taiwanese manufacturers, and more app contests by mobile network operators throughout Asia, a mobile network executive said Thursday. Full Story »