Cloud Computing & SaaS


Oracle Plans To Take on Microsoft Office

With its acquisition of Sun Microsystems complete, Oracle intends to go after Microsoft's lucrative Office franchise, the company revealed yesterday. While Oracle had been quiet about its intentions for supporting Sun OpenOffice, the company disclosed plans for a forthcoming upgrade called Oracle Cloud Office during a five-hour briefing at its Redwood Shores, CA headquarters.

Oracle Outlines Sun Integration Plan

With its acquisition of Sun Microsystems completed, Oracle Wednesday laid out its plans for integrating Sun's software and hardware systems into its own product lineup.

IT Budgets, Spending Set for Rebound as CIOs Realign Priorities

Worldwide IT spending and IT department budgets across public and private sectors are set to make something of a comeback following 2009's drastic declines. Further, all major segments in IT are expected to see positive growth in 2010, according to two separate reports released this week by market research firm Gartner Inc.

Google, Microsoft Diverge on China Censorship

Microsoft plans to continue to operate its search service in China, despite Google's recent suggestions that it might exit that market owing to Chinese government censorship practices.

VMware Enters E-Mail Business with Zimbra Buy

VMware said Tuesday that it's acquiring Zimbra from Yahoo, extending VMware's reach beyond system virtualization.



Microsoft and HP Ink Cloud, Virtualization Pact

Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard this week disclosed a $250 million, three-year partnership to develop and market next-generation datacenter technology and application infrastructure that combines virtualization, system management, and cloud computing.

school technology, campus technology, educational technology, technology in k-12 education, lanschool, smart classrooms, smart classroom technology

Taking 802.11n Control to the Clouds

One of the biggest expenses with a new wireless network can be the controllers. After all, for every 50, 100, or 200 access points--the number of APs a controller can handle varies widely, depending on the network type and the vendor, among other things--you need another wireless controller. That single item might run $25,000 or more, punching a significant hole in a wireless budget.

The Cloud Opens the Floodgates for Faculty Innovation

Where should innovation in learning technology take place? In the case of early, pioneering efforts in the use of technology for instruction, many teaching faculty stepped forward and took the lead. But now, given the proliferation of technology, should innovation be charged to the central IT organizations? Or, perhaps we should ask instead, should the pendulum swing even more toward faculty innovation?

Acrobat.com Expands Collaboration Features

Adobe has expanded the features of its online collaboration tool, Acrobat.com. The new features, rolled out Nov. 21, include mobile support, organizational improvements, and Flickr and Google Image integration, among other enhancements.

Is Cloud Computing a Credible Solution for Education?

Can cloud computing live up to its hype, or is it just another empty promise designed to create demand and liberate more funds from already strapped IT budgets?