News

Improve Your Productivity With 3 Lean Manufacturing Principles

Time-management expert Daniel Markovitz says workers can apply the principles of lean manufacturing to improve their productivity. Here, he explains three lean manufacturing concepts and offers examples of how we can implement them.

CIOs Must Fit the Cloud Into IT Strategy

Cloud computing is quickly going from promise and potential to practical applications, and CIOs who haven't already considered what cloud means for their business better step up. That was the consensus of panelists at a roundtable discussion ho

Secret Messages Inside Apple Invites

Apple’s manic attention to detail isn’t reserved only for design, it trickles into its major event invitations. So what secret messages are hidden in the latest invite to the March 7 iPad event?

How BYOD Will Affect Your Staffing

How A Few CIOs Use The Crummy Economy And A Bit of Data To Accelerate IT Strategy

My latest Forrester CIO client visits tell me economic uncertainty is actually helping IT leaders accelerate plans for the future. Sounds counterintuitive, right? Perhaps it’s just because I started in Europe, where the hourly ups and downs

Wireless Mini Boombox is Perfect for Presentations–and Parties

The Logitech Mini Boombox is an affordable Bluetooth speaker for your mobile phone or other gadget that packs big sound and about 10 hours of battery life in its portable, sleek package.

McCain, GOP Leaders Intro Cybersecurity Bill Alternative

The Republican-proposed SECURE IT Act presents a much narrower vision than bipartisan comprehensive cybersecurity measure, adding no regulations and limiting focus to voluntary sharing of information about threats.

A How-to Guide for the New Facebook Business Pages

Timeline has finally come to Facebook Pages. Here's a look at how the features differ from your personal Timeline and how you can best optimize them to market your business and communicate with your customers.

Seniors Get Digital Lifeline to Remote Caregivers

Digital devices in the homes of senior citizens enable distant professionals to access healthcare data that is entered by the client

CIOs Beware: Sometimes Emotions Hijack the Brain

Management consultant Doug Lennick says u201cmorally intelligentu201d leaders build high-performing, innovative companies

Say Goodbye to Expensive Tax Preparation Software

If your taxes aren't too complex, the IRS offers free electronic forms you can fill out and file yourself. The feds will even hook you up with a private company to help fill out those forms. The cost? Free.rn

Hail to the Women CIOs!

Walmart, Intel, Dell and J.C. Penney have new female IT leaders.

Free Android Apps for BlackBerry PlayBook: 10 Best Downloads

RIM recently released a major software update for its BlackBerry PlayBook that enables it to run Android applications. Android-on-the-PlayBook pickings are somewhat slim right now, but there are some quality apps out there if you know where to look,

Air Display Turns Your iPad, iPhone into a PC Monitor—Sometimes

Avatron Software’s $10 Air Display app magically transforms an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into an external monitor for your Mac or PC. But CIO.com blogger James A. Martin found the app worked only sporadically, at best.

How Cloud Computing Is Forcing IT Evolution

To say cloud computing is having a dramatic effect on IT is an understatement. The capability and agility of the cloud is forcing a rapid evolution. Just as in living ecosystems, IT professionals who fail to adapt will, inevitably, dwindle into extin

New job search service helps job seekers penetrate applicant tracking systems

Preptel's "ResumeterPro" service claims to increase job seekers' chances of landing job interviews and offers, first by helping job seekers get through applicant tracking systems, then by providing job seekers with competitive int

Why You Should Not Buy Your Child an iPad

With the iPad 3 debut coming, you can bet a lot of children and young adults are begging their parents to buy them an Apple tablet. But you'd be wise to resist the urge, according to CIO.com's Tom Kaneshige.

Women Take Social Privacy More Seriously Than Men Do

As social media activity climbs and the realities of sharing too much with too many people becomes clear, a new report shows that Americans realize the importance of knowing and using their privacy settings. But it's a message women are getting

How the Cloud Cuts VC Dependencies and Democratizes Entrepreneurship

A decade ago, investors funded projects. Today, venture capital funds scaling up already successful companies. This shift isn't just because VCs have become more rational in their investments. Plenty of startups just don't go looking for ca

Time Warner’s CIO Talks Hiring for a Social Enterprise

Bill Krivoshick, CIO of Time Warner, was brought on board to provide integrated IT for all of the company's various entertainment brands. CIO columnist Phil Schneidermeyer talks with him about hiring for an eventual social enterprise.

Why Smart CIOs Channel Steve Jobs

While there are many things to question about Jobs' approach to business, you can't argue with his knack for melding tech and design. Is it time to bring back the importance of the user experience?

Why CIOs Should Get Out More

Facetime with customers can yield real business wins driven by IT. What are you waiting for?

Infor Refreshes Its Lineup for ‘Micro-Vertical’ Industries

The third-largest ERP vendor takes a stale product line and adds a dose of innovation

CIOs Can Be Chief Innovation Officers, Too

Call it u201cCIO squared.u201d Companies are tapping savvy execs to handle two complementary roles at the same time: chief information officer and chief innovation officer.

Hands On with the Rugged Jabra Sports Bluetooth Stereo Headset

The Jabra Sports Bluetooth stereo headset offers decent quality music playback and phone-call audio in a rugged form factor that's ideal for outdoor activities and sports.

White House Picks DHS Over NSA to Help Private Sector Cybersecurity

Will Homeland Security really be any better at protecting privacy?

How CIOs Can Make Time for Social Media

Social media enthusiast Thom Singer gives busy executives tips for spending their time wisely on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter.

Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Enhances Productivity, Reduces Distractions

The beta of Microsoft's integrated development environment, code-named Visual Studio 11, will focus on helping developers build modern consumer and business applications, providing a simplified and distraction-free environment and enabling colla

Shadowing Your Customer

ADP fixes confusing software by tracking the customer's every move

Two Android Security Tools That Protect Individual Apps

The Android Market currently offers more than 30 utilities that let you secure specific mobile apps, rather than all of the data stored on your device. CIO.com blogger James A. Martin tested two. One barely worked, the other lost something in transla

Managing Multiple Tablets: MDM Software on the Rise

3 Tips for Using Cloud Services to Extend Your Data Center

How to assess needs and goals, set application strategy and identify challenges to making effective use of cloud computing.

Chomp Deal Fixes Major Apple Blind Spot

Apple's acquisition of Chomp should fix a big problem on the App Store and its purchase of Siri brought an amazing feature to the iPhone 4S. But what kind of acquisitions will Apple make down the road?

BlackBerry 10 OS to Support Microsoft ActiveSync, No BES: What It Means for IT

IT administrators will be able to connect new BlackBerry smartphones running RIM's upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS directly to Microsoft Exchange corporate servers using Microsoft's ActiveSync technology, eliminating the need for a BlackBerry Ent

How to Choose Your Cloud Service Provider

Selecting the right cloud service provider to trust with your infrastructure, critical applications and sensitive data can be a difficult process. These guidelines can help you make the right choice.n

Offshore Outsourcing Can Boost Agility

Labor arbitrage fades. And easy access to qualified talent and service quality may be declining. But offshore outsourcing can deliver an unexpected but welcome benefit — increased enterprise agility, according to Duke University researchers.

Is Your Wireless Carrier Throttling Data? Sue ’em!

An AT&T customer whose iPhone data was throttled took Ma Bell to court–and won. If carriers want to play games with the meaning of "unlimited," consumers can and should fight back. Let's all throw the (law) book at them, says CIO.

Top 25 iPhone & iPad Apps for Business

Apple's iPhone and iPad may have been built for consumers, but the folks in Cupertino correctly guessed that what's good for consumers is good for businesses. The only stumbling block may be the growing volume of apps available: more 140,00

Google Flight Search Goes Mobile — But Doesn’t Soar

Google brings Flight Search to iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. But the features that distinguish it on your laptop won't work well on your mobile device. rnrn

RIM Approves ‘Adult’ BlackBerry Apps: A Peek at 5 Possibly Offensive Downloads

RIM now assigns ratings to all of the apps it distributes through the BlackBerry App World store, and an "Adult" rating suggests that RIM will allow graphic, sexually explicit and violent apps into App World in the future. Here's a qui

How To Avoid Price Hike Backlash

CIOs should jump into pricing strategy discussions to ground price decisions in data

How to Make Time for Continuing Education and Career Development

Three working IT professionals explain how and why they make time to take classes, earn certifications and obtain advanced degrees. And they offer seven tips to help you take charge of your own professional development.

CIO Ensures Western Union Is Wired for the Future

In the latest installment of the IDG Enterprise CIO Interview Series, Western Union's John Dick talks about how his team is helping the company capture the opportunities that mobility and social networking offer. Dick also discusses how he re-ar

Big Data Causes Concern and Big Confusion

A new study suggests many organizations are concerned about managing big data, but most don't have a clear understanding of what big data means. Log management solutions can help organizations make sense of some of the data they're generati

Cloud Workshop Focuses on Rediscovering the User

In shop class, they tell you to measure twice and saw once. IT isn't so different. BMC's cloud workshop offers an object lesson in why it pay offs to bring the vendor, IT and the end user together before a new project is designed and deploy

Inadequate SSL Certificate Data Threatens IT Security

SSL certificates are a fundamental component of secure online transactions, but a new survey finds that a majority of organizations don't know where or how many certificates they actually have, and nearly as many lack an accurate idea of which c

Android On Call: Hospital Builds Custom Mobile App for Patient Data

Palomar Pomerado Health in San Diego built its own Android app for accessing real-time patient information, with Cisco Cius tablets providing the added bonus of voice and video. And an iOS version is coming up, stat.

Lenovo’s ThinkVision USB Monitor is a Lightweight, Portable Secondary Display

Lenovo’s ThinkVision LT1421 is a lightweight, portable USB monitor designed to help mobile workers increase productivity by providing an additional display that quickly and easily connects to a variety of laptops.

Research Roundup: Less Spam, More Mobile Malware and a Third of all Site Traffic Poses a Threat

2011 was a record-setting year for attacks on smart phones and tablet computers.

ATM PIN Numbers: Easier to Steal than You Think

Researchers find that a smart bad guy has a one-in-10 chance of guessing the PIN that guards your bank account.