Opinion

5 Tips for Creating an EA Assessment Model Quickly

EA maturity/assessment models are a common and excellent way to track EA’s progress and influence plans. Here are some tips for creating and EA assessment model quickly before other priorities get in the way.

Windows RT Surface Tablet for $200? Too Good to Be True

The rumored $200 price for the highly-anticipated Microsoft Surface tablet would be the bargain of the year. But it just doesn’t add up.

Cybersecurity News Roundup: MyAgent Trojan; Virus Infects Saudi Oil Giant; and Pro-Censorship Hackers

This week’s IT security news roundup features stories on the newly discovered MyAgent Trojan; malware that forced a Saudi Oil Giant to shut down its network; Adobe Reader security flaws; and more.

New Slices Twitter App for iOS, Android Aims to Organize Your Stream

The creators of the Slices for Twitter app say it’s the first app that organizes tweets into categories for easy browsing. The app does a great job in that regard—but it’s only average for composing tweets.

LinkedIn Connections: When to Accept or Reject

How many LinkedIn requests do you get? Do you accept all of them? Here’s why quality should trump quantity.

Pebble Bluetooth Watch ‘Talks’ to iOS, Android Apps

The Pebble “e-paper” watch connects to your iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android device using Bluetooth, and it interacts with a variety of apps to add functionality and display notifications.

Move Over Starbucks: Dunkin’ Donuts Launches iOS, Android Payment Apps

U.S. coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts today launched free mobile-payment apps for Apple iOS and Google Android devices, in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of mobile payments apps from its rival, Starbucks.

Going social part II: Fight for the users

Are cloud and mobile really disrupting CIOs?

The road to mobile and cloud for CIOs is “bumpier” than the hype suggests.

Steve Jobs’ Humble Home

The late Steve Jobs’ home was robbed this week, but one glance at his modest, and apparently easy to break into, house reminds us how little Jobs was caught up in the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Why You Should Avoid Big Retailers’ New Mobile Payment System

Best Buy, Walmart and other big retail stores are developing a system that lets you buy goods with the tap of your smartphone, which, though convenient, is just an invitation to get hacked and share personal data with marketers, spammers and cops.

Imo iPhone App Lets You Place Free Voice Calls

On Monday, instant messaging service imo.im added free voice calls to its iPhone app, a feature that’s been available in its Android app since February. In CIO.com blogger James A. Martin’s tests, call quality was good.

Facebook Testing Ads You Don’t Want in Your News Feed

You have control over your Facebook friends and your privacy settings, but you won’t have control over the ads you see in your News Feed. Here’s what Facebook is testing and what it could mean for you.

More Cybersecurity Experts Blast US IT Security Legislation

In the second of a series of posts on the subject of current U.S. cybersecurity legislation, CIO.com blogger Constantine von Hoffman speaks with experts from Appthority, Axway, Kindsight Security Labs, Rapid7, Raytheon Trusted Computer Solutions and

RIM Shows Off BlackBerry 10 Devices (But YOU Can’t See Them)

RIM is showing off two BlackBerry 10 devices to the media, in an attempt to steal some attention from Apple and Samsung. But a number of signs suggest the two devices are still mostly half-baked.

Cybersecurity Experts Blast US IT Security Legislation

In the first of a series of posts on the subject of current U.S. cybersecurity legislation, CIO.com blogger Constantine von Hoffman speaks with experts from Lookingglass Cyber Solution and FireEye for their takes on the laws. Hint: They’re not impres

Google Threatens to Nuke Web Sites that Host Pirated Content

Stopping piracy is important. But Google’s vague new policy gives publishers far too much power.

The 3 Best Screen Protectors for Your Smartphone or Tablet

CIO.com blogger Paul Mah knows mobile-device screen protectors. Here he shares his picks for the three best screen-protector films you can find to protect your smartphone, tablet or both.

Google Chops Motorola Jobs Amidst Massive Android Growth

Google’s Android mobile OS continues to grow market share, but the search giant’s handset division, Motorola Mobility, isn’t faring so well; Google plans to cut thousands of jobs, close offices and restructure its senior management, a

Olympic Gymnast McKayla Maroney Is Not Impressed with Apple

The image of a scowling McKayla Maroney is showing up everywhere.

Ditching DropBox? Here’s an Alternative

If the DropBox security meltdown convinced you to abandon the service, consider switching to the more secure SpiderOak. But be warned–it’s not for the newbie.

SafePay Fraud-Protection iPhone App Not Ready for Prime Time

SafePay Solutions Group has a great idea for an iPhone app that could help prevent unauthorized charges from hitting your credit cards. But the beta service is still mostly in a concept phase, says CIO.com blogger James A. Martin.

Cybersecurity News Roundup: Blizzard Breach; Gauss Malware; and Stolen Police Spyware

This week’s IT security news roundup features stories on an online video-game service that was hacked; the newly discovered Gauss malware; spyware designed for use by law enforcement showing up where it shouldn’t; and more.

Titanium Pen + Stylus is a Writing Instrument for the Digital Age

The Solid Titanium Pen + Stylus is both a traditional pen and a stylus for smartphones and tablets, and it’s compatible with ink refills from all of the most popular pen manufacturers.

Dirty Secrets of Popular Printers

Paper jams, wasted ink, too much noise and scanners that don’t work. Why oh why is something as basic as a low-cost printer so hard to find?

3 Incredibly Stupid Security Mishaps You Need to Know About

The U.S. Army’s flushes $2B down the drain on a mobile intelligence database; the American State Department fights terrorists by trolling them online; and a website offers a 9mm pistol as reward for finding the hacker who put naughty pictures on its

Researchers ID New Zeus Trojans for BlackBerry

Recently discovered mobile-Zeus-Trojans suggest malware creators are targeting BlackBerry smartphone users outside of North America, despite RIM’s struggles in the United States.

Microsoft Kills ‘Metro’ Name but You Won’t Be Able to Avoid the Design

Metro is dead, long live Metro. Microsoft stirred up confusion by dropping the brand name “Metro” from the Windows 8 nomenclature yet still forcing users to boot directly into a Start Screen based on the design language formerly known as Metro.

The New Yorker on the iPhone Will Keep You Reading

Reading long magazine stories on a mini-screen in 15-minute intervals may not seem ideal, but our busy lifestyles leave us no choice. The best iOS magazine apps, like The New Yorker, make it fun to do long-term reading in short bursts.

Apple Yanks YouTube from iOS; What Other Apps Deserve the Boot?

The upcoming version of Apple’s mobile OS, iOS 6, won’t include two previously native Google apps: Maps and YouTube. CIO.com blogger James A. Martin would like to take the iOS housecleaning a few steps further. Here’s why.