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Features

• Review: Microsoft Office 365 vs. Google Apps

  Web browser or Office suite? Microsoft's and Google's office productivity and collaboration clouds pit rich and complex against simple and lean

• 4 reasons companies say yes to open source

  Open source is free and widely available, but its benefits don't stop there. Enterprises are embracing it for its agility, a quality they value above all in these times of marketplace upheaval.

• Cloud computing 2014: Moving to a zero-trust security model

  The leaking of classified documents detailing the data collection activities of the U.S. National Security Agency earlier this year reignited some long-standing concerns about the vulnerability of enterprise data stored in the cloud.

• Could Bitcoin's frothy venture funding dry up?

  Bitcoin: What is it, really? A digital currency? An investment? An Xbox game? For many people it's not clear, but that hasn't stopped venture capitalists from going gaga over it.

• Debate over NSA surveillance shifts with judge's ruling, task force report

  After six months of contentious debate over U.S. National Security Agency surveillance programs, prompted by leaks from former government contractor Edward Snowden, the third week in December may have marked a major turning point.

• 4 ideas to steal from IT upstarts

  Fast-growing companies like Square and MongoDB are driving IT innovation with leaner staffs, cloud-first computing, self-service everything and CTOs rather than CIOs.

• Top tech stories of 2013: Big Brother, wearables, and the struggles of aging tech giants

  Politics collided with the world of technology this year as stories about U.S. government spying stirred angst both among the country's citizens and foreign governments, and the flawed HeathCare.gov site got American health-care reform off to a rocky start. Meanwhile, the post-PC era put aging tech giants under pressure to reinvent themselves. Here in no particular order are IDG News Service's picks for the top 10 tech stories of the year.

• Here's why Amazon drones may never land at your door

  Amazon's ambitious plan to use flying drones to deliver packages is far-fetched, but not just because of technology limitations or air traffic regulations. Amazon's fulfillment center network, as it stands now, is too limited to serve even a tiny fraction of the U.S. in the method described by CEO Jeff Bezos.

• By the numbers: Twitter vs. Facebook IPOs

  Facebook's IPO was considered an early bust while Twitter's has been deemed a success. In terms of orderly market activity, that's without question. But what about prices?

• 8 sure-fire ways to screw up a cloud contract

  Cloud licensing's become so complex that it's easy to pay too much or get burned later on. Here are some tips to make sure you're getting your money's worth.

• Google Books legal epic moves to appeals court

  After almost a decade of litigation, Google scored a victory last week over the Authors Guild, which had sued the company for copyright infringement over its Google Books search engine. But a few important chapters in the legal saga have yet to be written.

• Here comes the age of ambient everything

  Trends in social, search, mobile, wearable and the Internet of things will alter our perception of reality. Change is in the air, says columnist Mike Elgan.

• Amazon: New analytics tool can scrutinise massive amounts of data

  Amazon Web Services this week rolled out a new cloud-based data analytics tool named Kenesis, which can analyze massive amounts of data in real time and be paid for by the hour.

• Lavabit-DOJ dispute zeroes in on encryption key ownership

  The government's insistence, in its dispute with Lavabit, that cloud service providers hand over their encryption keys when asked, has refocused attention on the issue of key ownership and management in the cloud.

• 12 hot US security start-ups to watch

  Going into 2014, a whirlwind of security start-ups are looking to have an impact on the enterprise world. Most of these new ventures are focused on securing data in the cloud and on mobile devices. Santa Clara, California-based Illumio, for example, founded earlier this year, is only hinting about what it will be doing in cloud security. But already it's the darling of Silicon Valley investors, pulling in over $42 million from backer Andreesen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Formation 8 and others.