IT news, technology analysis and how-to resources | ITworld

The weekly hash: All the news that's fit to laugh at

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer displays a Nokia Lumia 920 featuring Windows Phone 8. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

It was a scary week here on the east coast, mostly thanks to Hurricane - sorry, Superstorm - Sandy. But that wasn't the only frightening event. On Monday Microsoft officially launched Windows Phone 8. To build excitement, Microsoft will soon be opening a number of popup stores near long lines of people.

For some with disabilities, gaming fills a basic need

AbleGamers supports gaming as a way to provide self-esteem and a sense of belonging to the disabled

Tweet

Restoring wired service after Sandy may take 2 weeks, Verizon says
- Posted Nov 2, 2012 - 7:48 pm
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
Consumers in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy may not get wired phone, Internet and video service back for as long as two weeks, Verizon Communications warned on Friday, while the FCC reported continued slow progress by carriers in restoring mobile coverage.
Amazon cites cause of recent outage, issues refunds
- Posted Nov 2, 2012 - 9:24 am
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
An unexpected bug cropped up after new hardware was installed in one of Amazon Web Service's Northern Virginia data centers, which caused the more than 12-hour outage last week that brought down popular sites such as Reddit, Imgur, AirBNB and Salesforce.com's Heroku platform, according to a postmortem issued by Amazon.
Mobile displays will get even thinner and more energy efficient
- Posted Nov 2, 2012 - 10:16 am
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
Joint venture in Japan creates newer displays for phones, tablets and vehicles.

What's the price of a new Windows 8 zero-day vulnerability?
- Posted Nov 2, 2012 - 12:31 am
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
It's not exactly the type of advertisement most people would understand.
How to use Facebook's open sourced data center design to cut costs
- Posted Nov 2, 2012 - 9:39 am
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
When Facebook open sourced its data center and server specifications it paved the way for enterprises of all sizes to save money by following the social network's radical hardware designs. The Open Compute Project Foundation has formalized Facebook's designs into specs, which are freely available. Here are tips for implementing them.
Intel explains Big Data with cows, cats and monkeys
- Posted Nov 1, 2012 - 9:50 am
- Quick Read
How big is Big Data? Intel tells us via a cat video.
Microsoft doubles down on Windows 8 developers
- Posted Nov 1, 2012 - 4:53 pm
- Quick Read
Microsoft is all-in on the biggest gamble in its history.
Cool interface connects mobile device displays into large mosaic
- Posted Nov 1, 2012 - 10:46 am
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
Japanese university develops Pinch interface to simultaneously connect multiple mobile devices.
Space shuttle Atlantis moving on to life of shuffleboard, early-bird specials
- Posted Nov 1, 2012 - 4:55 pm
- Quick Read
- 1 comment
The space shuttle Atlantis on Friday will travel about 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center to its retirement home in Florida.
Why Linux desktop UIs don't matter anymore
- Posted Oct 31, 2012 - 10:42 am
- Quick Read
- 6 comments
Today's computer users don't care much about interface bling... just get them to their apps safely. This is something Linux can do every well.

The Big Deal About Big Data

by Irfan Khan

Analytics could save social networks as marketing tool

Posted Nov 01, 2012 - 08:00 am

Less than 1% of 77,000 online transactions examined by Forrester could be traced back to social networks. Analytics could help refine social media marketing strategies for better results.
- 1 comment
The TechnoFile

by Peter Smith

Gaming Update: WikiPad balks, Ouya forges ahead, Zynga ain't all bad and GameZen brings Facebook gaming to Windows RT

Posted Nov 02, 2012 - 08:30 am

This week we talk about a couple of Android gaming devices, and take a quick look at Borderlands: Legends and Ragnarok Odyssey. Also Zynga, Agawi, Haunts and getting prepared for the return of Master Chief!
- 2 comments
ITworld.TV

by Keith Shaw

This Week on Mars: Soil Samplin'

Posted Nov 02, 2012 - 10:40 am

The first results of soil samples from Mars are in. Who had pyroxene in the office pool?
Tech It Out

by Melanie Pinola

Learn How to Navigate Windows 8 and Use Touch and Gestures (Care of MSDN)

Posted Nov 02, 2012 - 02:07 pm

Windows 8 offers new ways to interact with your system. From swiping to tapping, here's guidance from Microsoft on getting around Windows 8.
Mobilize!

by Kevin Purdy

A fix-it flowchart for fixing or resetting Android devices

Posted Nov 02, 2012 - 12:16 pm

Sometimes there is something so wrong with an Android that it just barely works, or not at all. For those problems, I usually suggest these step-by-step measures.
ByteStream

by Matthew Mombrea

Google Glass - The way of the future or the next Apple Newton?

Posted Nov 02, 2012 - 08:00 am

Time Tech recently announced their Best Inventions of 2012 list and included in the list is Google Glass, Google’s augmented reality eyewear project. This almost cliche looking piece of futuristic hardware has the potential to become as ubiquitous as cell phones or laptops. At least that’s the plan.
- 1 comment

The Most

Four commands to spook a sysadmin

7 comments
The (literally) unbelievable UFO war in Antarctica

6 comments
Meet the company behind those nasty anti-Obama text messages

6 comments
Why Linux desktop UIs don't matter anymore

6 comments
Can a $329 Apple iPad Mini compete in the bargain tablet market?

4 comments

ITworld LIVE

Ask a question

IT Jobs

See All JobsPost a job for $295

Jobs powered by SimplyHired

WIN this book: Ubuntu Made Easy
The geek skills challenge: 10 talents worth mastering

6 comments
Blog

Five Android apps that fix something about Android

3 comments
6 things every IT person should know

6 comments
Blog

Why you should jailbreak your Apple TV - and how to do it

8 comments
WIN this book: A Practical Guide to Linux Commands
Blog

Why you should definitely upgrade to Windows 8 (or not)

5 comments
Blog

Last-minute tech checklist for emergencies
Review

How to replace missing Start button in Windows 8

A Start menu substitute can greatly reduce the shock of using Windows 8. Here are three …

6 comments
18 strange things spotted inside a Google data center

9 comments