Microsoft recently announced retail pricing for Windows 7 that was at or below comparable Windows Vista prices, while also offering a chance for people to preorder the software at a substantial discount. From Friday through July 11, consumers in the U.S. will be able to buy an upgrade copy of Windows 7 Home premium for $49 or Windows 7 Professional for $99. That offer is good for both XP and Windows Vista PCs, regardless of whether someone has been ...

Tom Davis, a moderate Republican from Virginia, has emerged as a leading candidate for the Obama Administration's newly created position of cybersecurity czar. Sources familiar with the White House's deliberations on the subject say Obama officials feel a Washington power player would make a better candidate than a tech guru. "They want someone who understands technology issues, but more importantly, knows how to get things done in Washington," says a cybersecurity expert who has been consulted by the White ...

It's a high-tech, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. As the Iranian government seeks to crack down on the online networks being used by protesters who question the nation's election results, a community of Net-savvy users -- both inside and outside the country -- are working to try to stay one step ahead. "To the Iranian government hackers who keep attacking the places they see as a threat, you are wasting your time," wrote one anonymous poster to a message ...

When Apple starts selling what it bills as the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet on Friday, the company's latest entry will only heat up the already sizzling smartphone landscape. Fans, techies and ordinary consumers eager to purchase the new iPhone 3GS may be preparing to stand in line at Apple stores around the United States and seven other countries. But they have more choices than ever when it comes to phones that act like mini-computers. "We expect that [smartphones are] ...

With top consultancy firms charging thousands of dollars for a day's work, employing their services is a luxury most companies simply can't afford. But some business schools offer student consultancies for a fraction of the price, making their expertise available to a whole range of organizations. Student consultancy groups are a feature of many MBA programs, letting companies hire teams of MBA students to solve their business problems and giving the students a chance to put their education into ...

"This is flat-out corruption," wrote one infuriated netizen on China's popular website Tianya.com. "If a government keeps dumbing down its people like this, how can it ever be respected by the rest of the world?" wrote another. "Our society is moving backwards." The object of this vitriol was the announcement this week by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that after July 1, all computers sold in the country would have to have Internet filtering software pre-installed. ...

SAN FRANCISCO --The big knock on Apple -- whether or not it's always been accurate -- is that its products are more expensive than most of its competitors. But in the keynote speech Monday that opened Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, it became clear the company is tackling the price question head on. The best example of this new attitude is the decision to keep the 8GB iPhone 3G, but sell it at $99. That was the most aggressive price move ...

One of the perks of using search engine Google's home page is checking out the frequently changing seasonal, current-event, and holiday-inspired "doodles" used for the logo. Soon the work of 12-year-old Christin Engelberth will occupy the Google spotlight to be viewed by millions of online searchers worldwide. On Wednesday, Google announced that Christin, a sixth-grader at Bernard Harris Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, is this year's winner of "Doodle 4 Google," a yearly competition that asks K-12 students ...

'Mixed' is a word that pops up often in financial research reports these days. The measures that give us hints about which way the economy and markets are headed‹everything from the number of people out of work to how difficult it is for companies to fund themselves are pointing in every which direction. As a new Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report puts it: 'The [stock market] indicators are fairly evenly divided between positive and negative readings.' ...

The days of being cut off from the Internet while you're on a plane are quickly disappearing. A number of domestic airlines have recently begun offering Wi-Fi Internet access aboard planes, and other airlines say they are working toward making it happen. "This is the year" for Wi-Fi on planes, said Jack Blumenstein, president and CEO of Aircell, whose Gogo® Inflight Internet service provides access on Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Virgin America flights, and will begin testing on ...