An example of an Oracle corporate app running in a desktop browser.

It is nearly impossible to hear the acronym "IE" in a workplace setting without somebody appending to it the word "sucks." To be more genteel about it, older versions of Internet Explorer on corporate computers simply do not reflect the quality of modern browsers. So why does that massive corporation you work for make you use IE 8 or older in the first place?

A complicated problem Why you're forced to do at least some work in slow, standards noncompliant, security risk-prone legacy versions of Internet Explorer comes down to your employer's need to run corporate apps that sometimes were built more than 10 years ago. Back then, the apps were often built in ActiveX, a Microsoft programming framework that could get the job done a decade ago but now is horribly outdated.

"The needs of a large enterprise are much different than that of you or me on our personal computers. While the benefits of upgrading to a modern browser are numerous, we recognize that some organizations need to set their own upgrade pace," wrote Microsoft representative Blair Cook in an e-mail to CNET today. While the point about enterprise needs being different from home consumer needs is true, it doesn't change the fact that businesses are currently struggling poorly with the tension bet... [Read more]

Go Daddy has acquired smartphone-based mobile Web site creator M.dot.

The companies announced the deal today. In a statement, Go Daddy said that its M.dot acquisition bolsters its "mobile first" strategy, which aims at connecting its 11 million customers with services across smartphones and tablets.

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M.dot was founded in June by Dominik Balogh and Pavel Serbajlo. The company's application is available for mobile handsets and allows site owners to choose site templates and create a page optimized for smartphones and tablets. The application, which is ... [Read more]

You walk the walk, but can you talk the Talkbits? Talkbits is a location-based real-time social voice stream -- in other words, it's like Twitter with voice messages.

Talkbits is a voice app for Android and iPhone.

Instead of pithy typed messages, the new Talkbits app lets you say something or ask a question and then make that spoken message available for people nearby to listen and respond to. And you can hear messages from other people in a public stream, chatting for free to people nearby or around the world.

These spoken messages are sorted in geotagged channels so you and other people nearby can hear and talk about things that are happening locally. For example, Talkbits wants users to post their own first-hand account of interesting things they've seen so you can get accounts of local news, in the voice of someone who actually witnessed events unfolding.

You can get traffic updates from people who are actually stuck in traffic, with the advantage that voice messages are hands-free. Or if you're new in town, you can ask and receive advice or recommendations from locals.

You can have private chats with people you've confirmed as Talkbits friends, or group chats too. The Talkbits app works on Android and iOS devices. It's launching in the U.K. and U.S. for now and will soon be talking the talk in Turkey, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, and Sou... [Read more]