CLOUD COMPUTING

Americans have no idea what cloud computing is, with many believing it relates to the weather, or even pillows, drugs and toilet paper, a new survey commissioned by enterprise software developer Citrix Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS) found.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the No. 2 computer maker, introduced its most powerful server for enterprises, the zEnterprise EC 12 mainframe, which it said cost as much as $1 billion to develop. The unit is intended for enterprises that can manage their own systems but also shift data processing to the cloud.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the No. 2 computer maker, said it will pay about $1.6 billion to acquire Kenexa Corp. (NYSE: KNXA), for its human-resources software cloud technologies.

According to VentureBeat, Microsoft is courting former OnLive employees now that the game-streaming company has entered a period of restructuring that caused layoffs for multiple employees.

According to a new Gartner report, the worldwide application development (AD) software market is expected to cross $9 billion in 2012, an increase of 1.8 percent over 2011. The report said that the growth will be driven developing software delivery models, new development methodologies, emerging mobile application development and open source software.

Before the curtain falls on this earnings season, investors will hear next week from several more major players, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lowe's and Best Buy.

Technology firms Amazon and Apple have decided not to entertain account change and password reset requests over phone following hacking of iCloud account of Wired reporter August 3. Besides, Amazon and Apple are likely to enforce stringent security measures against growing hacking concerns.

Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL) said Monday it will buy Xsigo Systems, a network virtualization technology company, to expand its presence in the cloud computing business. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), the No. 1 provider of Internet gear, said it had acquired private Virtuata, a two-year-old specialist in cloud computing and security.

Cloud Computing just got a shot in the arm as online storage service provider Dropbox decided to double the capacity of its offerings to consumers without hike in prices owing to intense competition and also offers a new 500GB service plan at $499 a year.

CaptureToCloud, a year-old web developer, announced a new ?social workspace? for all kinds of digital content in the Cloud that?s tightly integrated with services from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine.

Cisco responded to a customer backlash against a default setting in routers that connected users to its Cloud Connect service, allegedly blocked their ability to check out porn sites and tracked their internet usage.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has just announced that it will purchase the cloud-based gaming company Gaikai Inc. for $380 million, as multiple sources have reported.

The Amazon.com Inc. launch of AmazonSupply in April indicates the shift to online from offline commerce continues apace among industrial consumers, which increasingly prefer to buy goods electronically.

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), the No. 1 database developer, reported full-year revenue rose 4 percent to $37.2 billion -- with revenue from the Cloud, or Internet-based computing, reaching a record $1 billion.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, said it would trim costs for its Cloud computing unit known as Amazon Web Services, which operates in 190 countries and serves clients like Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX).

By making the Internet universal and ubiquitous, though, technology also eroded corporate control. No longer will International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) or Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) completely control everything in their networks, despite their networks of worldwide data centers.

Chris Bosh's masseuse died Monday inside of the Miami forward's home.

Global enterprises are aware of the coming of so-called ?Big Data,? or the trillions of bytes of electronic data flowing through the Cloud and Internet.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) said it was deploying cloud, or Internet, computing services for the website of the French Open so that it can handle as much as 100 times normal traffic.

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) has agreed Tuesday to buy Internet commerce company Ariba Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA) for $4.3 billion, as the German business software giant looks to expand its cloud-based services and challenge rival Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL).