Stories by Fred O'Connor

A career path that began with studying infectious diseases and led to analyzing terabytes of game data may seem a circuitous route. For Brendan Burke, though, the applied math skills he picked up as an undergraduate biology and political science major, the programming skills he added as a bioengineering graduate student, and his use of the two as a research scientist led to a job in the booming IT field of data science.

Colleges have noticed the strong interest companies have taken in data science and are incorporating the field into their computer science curriculum. Here are a few examples of the many data education efforts being made at universities.

It could be a natural disaster that closes cities for days at a time, or a power failure that knocks out corporate e-mail systems for a few hours. An endless variety of potential business disruptions confronts finance executives. And when crisis comes, or even if it doesn't, it's largely up to the vigilant CFO to make sure the company has a strong, workable business continuity plan.

Electronic Arts has sued Zynga, developer of the popular -Ville brand of social media games, alleging that the company violated EA copyright pertaining to its Facebook game "The Sims Social," EA said Friday.

U.S. drivers seem to hold conflicting opinions on in-car Internet access, viewing the technology as a driving hazard and even a threat to privacy while praising the entertainment and safety features it offers.

The health care industry's increased use of electronic medical records (EMRs), wireless medical devices and personal mobile technology has turned hospital networks into important components in patient treatment. Practicing medicine now requires maintaining constant wireless connectivity and possibly managing wired network traffic if doctors and nurses are to fully leverage health IT according to health care professionals.

Future scientists and technology professionals, not governments, will develop the innovations that most benefit society, online educator entrepreneur Sal Khan told MIT's 2012 graduates during his commencement speech Friday.

Web services, VoIP and other technology may have turned any place with an Internet connection into an office and decreased the importance of an IT professional's location, but a range of factors contribute to how enterprise telecommuting policies are developed and who should untether from the traditional workplace, said IT executives and staffing professionals.

A recent coding competition in the Boston area brought together IT professionals, medical workers and others with an interest in health IT to show how data analytics can improve health care.

Next-generation CIOs will have to consider how technology affects other corporate departments as well as handle traditional IT management functions, especially those accompanying mobile device management and greater data analysis, according to panelists who spoke at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Businesses can now remotely control enterprise mobile applications developed for Apple's mobile platform with the latest version of Soti's MobiControl Software Developer Kit for iOS, announced Tuesday.

An online education organization backed and funded by MIT and Harvard University will use open-source technology to offer free classes over the Internet, the two schools announced Wednesday at a press conference.

Whether companies require specific tech talent for a project or need extra help meeting a business uptick brought by the recovering economy, corporate IT departments depend on the contract workforce.

For Gregg Leach, CFO of aircraft overhaul and repair business Able Engineering, the need to involve the IT department on major projects was never questioned. "I've got more background in IT than I do in finance," said the finance chief, whose previous work experience included serving as the CIO of a health care company, and IT positions with finance components.

IT workers who have experience with five popular technologies may see significant salary increases this year, according to a study from IT staffing firm Bluewolf.