Voice over IP

Many people today rely as much on their smartphones as they do on their computers. So questions about how best to use smartphones, how to make them last longer on a charge, and how to protect them are common. Read on for some answers.

Q: My smartphone has Wi-Fi, but I never use it. When should I use it?

A: More phones today offer Wi-Fi connectivity, which essentially allows you to use local Wi-Fi hotspots -- either public or private -- to wirelessly connect to the Internet.

Google said it has compiled a new software library to synchronize browser data in the cloud. It also said it has developed the server infrastructure for synchronizing the data to the Google accounts of Chrome browser users.

The twin developments enabled Google to add bookmark sync to the developer-channel build of its Chrome 4.0 browser on Monday. The technology promises to eventually give Web surfers easy access to their personalized resources across multiple computers.

Yahoo on Tuesday posted declines in revenues and profits during CEO Carol Bartz's first three months on the job. Yahoo did meet analyst estimates, but the news wasn't good.

Revenue fell to $1.58 billion for the first quarter, a 13 percent decrease from a year ago. Net income was $118.7 million, or eight cents a share, compared with $536.8 million, or 37 cents a share, a year ago.

The character of an enterprise network, as well as the sophistication of available network-analysis tools, has changed radically since the first use of Ethernet. Today, companies use the Internet for disseminating information and for e-commerce, affecting the amount of resources a corporation devotes to its network, as well as the importance the organization places on keeping its network running properly.

Cisco Systems on Friday announced plans to acquire presence information and messaging software developer Jabber. Financial terms were not disclosed.

With Jabber in its portfolio, Cisco can embed presence information and messaging services in the network. The acquisition will also offer Cisco users aggregation capabilities through both on-premise and on-demand solutions and across multiple platforms, including Cisco WebEx Connect and Cisco Unified Communications.

Data centers in the U.S. have created a carbon footprint that is larger than that of countries such as The Netherlands and Argentina. Internet companies such as Google are investing billions of dollars in setting up massive data centers and struggling to control soaring power usage. While Google may want its users to trawl thousands of terabytes of data and get their search results almost immediately, this activity gobbles up plenty of energy.

Israeli company Fring is bringing its Voice over Internet Protocol application to Apple's iPhone. Dubbed fring, the application lets users talk, chat and interact with other so-called fringsters -- and their online communities -- using the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection.

A light, sneak-preview R&D version of the mobile VoIP application, developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology academic research labs in Israel, is available as a download from fring.com.