IDC - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Don't blame free Windows 10 for PC business ills

  PC shipments will continue to contract during 2015, but it won't be the fault of the Windows 10 free upgrade, research firm IDC said today.

• IDC forecasts drop in PC and tablet shipments this year

  Global PC shipments will decline for the fourth consecutive year as people continue re-directing money towards smartphones and tablets.

• Beware the ticking Internet of Things security time bomb

  IBM's Andy Thurai didn't quite put the words into former <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=40824">RSA CTO Deepak Taneja</a>'s mouth, but did prompt him by asking at the start of a <a href="http://tiestartupcon.com/">TIE Startup Con</a> panel in Cambridge, Mass., earlier this month whether Internet of Things security is a "time bomb ready to explode."

• IBM Watson adds hybrid Cloud developer tools

  IBM Watson this week began rolling out new hybrid Cloud capabilities that will integrate IBM Cloud with a growing number of cognitive computing and content analytics services in the Watson Zone on Bluemix, IBM's open standards-based cloud innovation platform.

• Android squeaks by iOS in mobile ad revenues

  For the first time, Android phone and tablet advertising revenues edged out iOS mobile ads in the first quarter of 2015, according to measurements by a mobile ad service.

• Microsoft stakes out ambitious goal of 1B Windows 10 devices

  Microsoft's chief operating system executive yesterday put a stake in the ground, saying that in three years, tops, Windows 10 would be running on a billion devices.

• Google: Cloud on verge of major transformation

  Something big is up in the cloud. Google's Senior Vice President for Technical Infrastructure Urs Hölzle says in five years you will barely be able to recognize what today's cloud looks like.

• IDC's state of the network at Interop: Change, or be left behind

  The confluence of mobile, social and big data trends are driving a tectonic transformation and businesses that do not change with these trends will be left behind, analysts from research firm IDC said at Interop 2015.

• Mac sales climb 10 per cent, revenue again thumps iPad

  Apple has announced it sold 4.56 million Macs in the first three months of 2015, an increase of 10 per cent over the same period last year.

• Project Fi will help Google amass even more data

  As Google dives into the Wi-Fi and cellular network services business in the US, some are wondering just where the company is headed.

• Apple takes a slow, steady route with smartwatch sales

  Apple has deliberately taken a cautious approach to debuting its first wearable, preferring to see how people interact with the Apple Watch and ensure that the device meets the company's high quality standards instead of initially ramping up production.

• PC shipments hit a six-year low as XP upgrades slow down

  A slowdown in Windows XP upgrades and the wait for Windows 10 sent worldwide PC shipments tumbling to a six-year low in the first quarter this year, according to IDC.

• Encryption startup Vera locks down transferred documents

  In Silicon Valley, the recruiting game is extremely competitive, according to Ron Harrison, founder of Jivaro Professional Headhunters, a specialist in placing technology candidates.

• 4 things iPhone 6 does that Samsung Galaxy S6 can't

  Samsung and Apple are the undisputed kings of the smartphone world, and both own right approximately 20 percent of the global market, according to recent research from IDC. Apple and the iPhone beat out Samsung and its seemingly endless array of handhelds in total sales to end users for the first time during the final quarter of last year, thanks in no small part to the white-hot market reception of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

• 6 things Samsung Galaxy S6 does that iPhone 6 can't

  Samsung and Apple are the undisputed kings of the smartphone world, and both own right about 20 percent of the global market, according to recent research from IDC. Apple and the iPhone beat out Samsung and its seemingly endless array of handhelds in total sales to end users for the first time during the final quarter of last year, thanks in no small part to the white-hot market reception of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.