sony - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Big Black Friday prize: Virtual reality gaming systems?

  A fresh infusion of virtual reality gaming systems such as Sony PlayStation VR could make these hot Black Friday 2016 shopping items, but don't expect to get off too easy on prices.

• Sony to sell Xperia Z5 and Compact in U.S. on Feb. 7

  Sony is signaling that it again wants to be a bigger player in smartphones, especially in the U.S., after announcing a partial retreat more than a year ago.

• Sony BMG Rootkit Scandal: 10 Years Later

  Hackers really have had their way with Sony over the past year, taking down its Playstation Network last Christmas Day and creating an international incident by exposing confidential data from Sony Pictures Entertainment in response to The Interview comedy about a planned assassination on North Korea’s leader.

• Breaches are a personal nightmare for corporate security pros

  Beyond the compromise of valuable information, loss of revenues and damage to brand reputation, data breaches can pose a threat to the careers of security professionals involved: witness the sudden <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/article/2174919/network-security/target-cio-resigns-following-breach.html">departures of both the CEO and the CIO</a> of Target after last year's compromise of 40 million customers' credit cards.

• Lessons from the Sony breach in risk management and business resiliency

  2014 made it clear that cybercrime affects everyone. From retailers to banks, consumer goods companies and health care, there isn't an industry left untouched by cybercriminals looking to disrupt, steal or embarrass. So what has to change? The recent Sony attack and countless other examples point to the need for board members and executives to consider cybersecurity under the concept of risk management and business resilience.

• Frequently asked questions about the North Korean Internet incident

  News of North Korea's Internet outage was widely covered in the media on Monday of this week, and while a number of questions remain about what happened and who was responsible, speculation has it that North Korea was hit by a DDoS attach."

• The Sony breach may be start of new nation-state cyberattack

  It has been an exceptional year for IT security breaches, which have become part of an escalating trend in destructive attacks. And they're going to get worse.

• Invasion of the body snatchers: wearable devices are coming for you

  A place in your pocket is no longer enough for mobile gadget makers: now, they want your body.

• Sony seeks mobile rebirth, starting with Core sensor used in wearable tech

  Now that Sony plans to sell off its Vaio laptop business and convert its TV business into a subsidiary, the Japanese electronics giant appears poised to beef up its line of mobile products, including smartphones and tablets -- but especially wearable tech.

• 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.

• Gift Guide 2013: Phones, tablets and computers

  In the past, we used to separate out categories for cell phones, tablets and computers. In theory, we still could create separate guides just for those products - there are so many options to choose from and not a week goes by where another phone, tablet or computer hits the market.

• Gift Guide 2013: Games and gaming gear

  Let's face it - this holiday season is going to be really good for the video gamer on your holiday list. Not only are there two new gaming consoles coming out (the Xbox One and Sony Playstation 4), but there are a bunch of games that will keep you entertained for months on end. Plus the accessories to enhance those games and experiences continue to be top-notch.

• Spec showdown: Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Note vs Sony Tablet Z

  Apple CEO Tim Cook spent a bit of time dissing the competition while he was on stage at Apple's iPad Air launch event on Tuesday, but how does Apple's newest tablet stack up against the competition?

• Smartwatches still in a 'so what' phase for consumers

  With Apple's iWatch and several competing smartwatches from major manufacturers in the works, some analysts question whether consumers will embrace such wearable technology.

• Is Android in the business world to stay?

  It's official, and it's been official for a while -- Android is far and away the most popular smartphone OS in America. Ever since January 2011, when the platform surpassed RIM to take the top spot for the first time in comScore's monthly market share rankings, Google's operating system has continued to grow its user base, which accounts for 52% of the market as of this January.