John Blau

Although on a spree to unload unprofitable units, including its traditional telecommunications manufacturing business, Siemens AG has decided to keep -- but completely overhaul -- its money-losing IT services and software operations.

As blue chip companies in developed markets scramble to outsource high-cost jobs to low-cost countries, one of the world's biggest technology companies -- IBM Corp. -- seems content to keep more than 1,800 highly trained, well-paid IT engineers at its R&D (research and development) lab in B

New legislation proposed by the German government aims to make computer hacking a punishable crime. The draft law, announced Wednesday, defines hacking as penetrating a computer security system and gaining access to secure data, without necessarily stealing data.

Munich has begun its migration to Linux on the desktop, a year later than planned and nearly three years since the city announced its move to open-source software.

Munich has begun its migration to Linux on the desktop, a year later than planned and nearly three years since the city announced its move to open source software.

A German company is offering MP3 files for download, unencumbered by DRM (digital rights management). Instead, Akuma discourages copying by adding a unique "watermark" to each download.

Intel Corp. and Siemens AG have agreed to collaborate in the development of new enterprise communication systems using VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technology. The goal is to develop VoIP-based systems based on Intel's dual-core chips and rack-mounted servers and Siemens' HiPath 8000 and OpenScape telecommunications technology.

Governments seeking inexpensive technology to warn of tsunamis could be interested in a free software application that monitors vibrations in the hard disks of computers in an attempt to detect the undersea earthquakes that cause tsunamis.