Microsoft has launched Office 13. The follow-up to Office 10 offers some new features that users may appreciate and find most useful. However it fails to qualify as anything resembling breakthrough technology and may leave many on the undecided list as to whether the software is a necessary investment.

Google Glass is generating lots of hype. The product which Google says may make wearable computing mainstream, has not even reached the marketplace.

In fact some estimates indicate Glass will not be available to the general public until late 2013 or 2014 at the earliest.

So why all the buzz?

Computer hacking, hackers, and the unfortunate "hackees" have been a hot topic of late.

First it was the Chinese who were thought to employ an army of hackers to penetrate government infrastructure and the Fortune 500 companies.

Cybersecurity firm Mandiant reported that these hackers were looking to gain access to broad categories of intellectual property, including technology blueprints, proprietary manufacturing processes, test results, business plans, pricing documents, partnership agreements, and emails and contact lists from the leadership of various organizations. The Chinese Government has publicly denied any involvement.

By Marc Arbesman, ThrottleNet, Inc.

Many business owners are studying the impact of the growing mobile marketplace. Cell phone and tablet sales are increasing by tens of millions each year and executives are gauging how to interact with these devices to improve sales, enhance customer interaction and improve worker efficiency.

Consumers are not only purchasing these smaller devices for social use but are utilizing them to conduct business transactions. This trend will continue to increase. According to research firm Forrester, mobile commerce will reach $31 billion by 2016. A report by marketing research firm Gartner predicts by 2015 mobile apps will account for 50% of all sales....

Are you looking for new ways to enhance your customer experience? Have you considered introducing a mobile app? 

As the backbone of most businesses, Information Technology is becoming a larger portion of a company's budget each year. As a result, it require business owners to be more engaged in an aspect of their company they are not completely familiar with - how to effectively manage their I.T. infrastructure. 

Providing you with a safe, reliable and secure alternative to purchasing your own hardware, a cloud server is highly cost effective and can greatly benefit your business.

2011 is almost over. Are you prepared for 2012?