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SMB Networking Research Center

The Small and Medium Business research center is your source for the latest SMB news, analysis and research from Network World.

Smartphones need genius infrastructure

Until roughly six years ago, mobile computers and telephones were really separate things. "Mobile computing" meant laptops -- maybe with broadband wireless for some lucky executives. "Telephone" meant communication device. "Convergence" meant putting your cellphone into your computer bag to go through airport security.

Obviously since then the mobile phone has evolved into a platform that offers multiple types of collaboration, access to many types of content and a complete spectrum of applications. We also gained the tablet -- a completely new device for consuming and creating content. Now, on any day, very little of what a user does with his or her mobile device has anything to do with it being a telephone.
Continued

SMB Networking Blogs
SMB Networking News
  • Bitcoiners rally to enlighten Washington

    Washington's biggest problem when it comes to Bitcoin may just be that policymakers on the Hill don't know enough about it, yet.

  • Bitcoiners crave coders to cope with demand

    Bitcoin is not going away, the digital currency's developers say, and they're craving more technically savvy people to support its use.

  • Bitcoin's rollercoaster ride is not slowing down

    More bumps in the road are probably in store for Bitcoin. The virtual currency has seen some massive swings in value over the last several weeks, but that volatility is not likely to end soon, its lead developer suggested on Saturday.

  • No big-bang Apps news at I/O, but some announcements merit attention

    Apps, Google's flagship product for enterprise IT, had a minor presence at this week's I/O developer conference, but some announcements at the show and in prior weeks deserve attention from customers of the cloud email and collaboration suite.

  • At Google I/O, Glass wearers say 'trust us'

    Google is facing some tough questions from Congress over the privacy concerns raised by Glass, its fledgling augmented reality system for recording and receiving information on the fly. But on the ground at the company's I/O conference for developers, attendees are largely enthusiastic about...

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PC World reviews

  • Dell XPS 17

    Jan 11, 2011

    Dell's latest version of its long-running premium XPS 17 notebook features a revamped look, a quad-core CPU, and discrete Nvidia mobile graphics. The net result is a system that offers average...

  • ConTEXT Text Editor a Boon for Programmers

    Jan 11, 2011

    ConTEXT is a powerful, free, and open-source text editor squarely aimed at programmers. Its feature set makes it especially useful for system administrators, toolsmiths, and Web mavens, all of whom...

  • Edit Google Docs in Outlook With Harmon.ie

    Jan 5, 2011

    Google and Microsoft get along about as well as do the Red Sox and the Yankees--that is to say, not at all. But that doesn't mean that you can't get some Microsoft apps working with some Google...

  • Lookeen Searches Outlook Contacts, E-mail

    Jan 5, 2011

    Lookeen is not for everyone--not even for every Outlook user. If you exchange email only with friends and relatives, and could almost keep your appointments in your head (but are glad you don't have...

  • Piscel Smart Office

    Jan 4, 2011

    Picsel Smart Office (approximately $9.54) is one of many apps that attempt to remedy Android's pitifully weak office-document support. Picsel can view and edit Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, and...