Internet-based applications and services - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Talk to me, Facebook! Social net buys speech recognition company

  Facebook said it is buying Mobile Technologies, a company known for its speech recognition and voice-to-voice translation technology.

• Facebook embedded posts good for business

  Facebook announced a new program this week that lets websites post public Facebook posts to their sites. And that could be a boon for businesses, says industry analysts.

• Getting around Google+: A guide to the basics

  In the two years it's been around, Google+ has both grown and changed. In the first of three "how-to" guides, we tell you how to get started.

• Oracle OpenWorld: What to expect

  This year's Oracle OpenWorld conference is still a couple of months away, but the vendor has already provided an ample sneak peek into what's in store for attendees of the show.

• Why the mob rules

  Many of today's hottest products do something similar -- they get their value from the collective actions of users. Mike Elgan explains why crowdsourcing and all that user data is so successful and valuable.

• SAP's Q2: The hot topics

  SAP is set to release its second-quarter results on Thursday, and as usual market watchers will be paying close attention given the vendor's bellwether status within the enterprise software market.

• Microsoft reorganisation could fix some problems, create others

  Steve Ballmer's grand plan to reinvent Microsoft has garnered mixed reviews from industry analysts, ranging from enthusiastic endorsements to frowning skepticism.

• Twitter etiquette: The do's and don'ts of tweeting

  While most Twitter users don't find themselves in court because of their errant or unwise tweets, they could offend a boss, tarnish their name or brand, or even put off a potential employer.

• 5 secrets to corporate social media success

  You don't need a big budget to be successful with social media, according to Walmart's director of social strategy. Here are five steps your business can follow to reap the benefits.

• Oracle and Salesforce.com's love-fest: The ripple effects

  Oracle's string of high-profile cloud-computing partnership announcements with Microsoft, Salesforce.com and NetSuite dominated tech news headlines this week.

• The Grill: Raytheon CIO Rebecca Rhoads takes on new role with global reach

  Raytheon CIO Rebecca Rhoads was tapped earlier this year to lead the defense contractor's newly formed Global Business Services unit, whose goal is to improve operations and services by optimizing resources.

• Salesforce.com aims for next $1 billion business with ExactTarget buy

  Salesforce.com's pending US$2.5 billion purchase of marketing software vendor ExactTarget will help it develop a new $1 billion annual revenue stream and set the company on a clear strategic course for the foreseeable future, according to Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.

• The social network wars are over. The winner: email!

  With every new social network and social service, with every new instant and not-so-instant way to communicate, email rises in importance. Columnist Mile Elgan explains how innovation has transformed email into the best social network.

• 10 Top Social Media Startups--the Final Rankings

  The votes are in. This is the final ranking of CIO.com's 10 Hot Social Media Startups. In addition to your votes. the final rankings also take into account the pedigree of the management team, VC funding, viability of the niche and the uniqueness of the product.

• The hidden dark side of today's hottest tech trends

  New technologies and new IT strategies are here to solve all your problems -- except the ones they create