The cloud and virtualisation are changing the data centre playing field, but the technology is not necessarily the most important aspect to consider. Reliability, support, user experience and legal issues remain critical. [ + ]

The Bureau of Meteorology has launched a request for tenders for a new supercomputer, which will be nearly 20 times faster than its current system, to help more accurately forecast natural disasters. [ + ]

iiNet has acquired a 60% interest in the Tech2 Group, which provides professional technology services and solutions to residential and business customers across Australia. [ + ]

Stock photo company Getty Images has sued Microsoft for unspecified damages, alleging the software vendor's new Bing Image Widget tool could cause 'incalculable' injury to Getty. [ + ]

Cybercriminals using Spark's broadband network to bounce DDoS traffic to Eastern European sites disrupted internet connections across New Zealand on Saturday. [ + ]

Crowdsourcing's key strength - its openness of entry - also leaves it vulnerable to malicious behaviour including internal sabotage, research from NICTA and a UK university shows. [ + ]

Having multiple passwords combined with numerous redundant sign-on processes poses both a security risk and a productivity loss for business. A single sign-on system is the answer. [ + ]

A group of 32 Irish technology companies and the nation's minister for enterprise and innovation are in Australia this week to promote the wares of Ireland's ICT industry. [ + ]

The hackers behind the theft of nude photos of various celebrities used a targeted phishing attack to compromise Apple accounts, the company said. The incident should serve as a wake-up call on cloud security and privacy. [ + ]

Meat pies in the IT age; Coding error missed for six years; Navigation satellites lost in space; 'Beam me up' healthcare; The apps that Apple reject. [ + ]

Telco industry body Communications Alliance is willing to negotiate with rights holders and the government over proposed efforts to crack down on piracy, including blocking sites and penalising infringers. [ + ]

Wearables will infiltrate the enterprise whether an organisation is in favour of the trend or against it, and sooner than most companies realise. [ + ]

A cost benefit analysis says Australia would be $16 billion better off under the Coalition's NBN; and the US state of Oregon sues Oracle for more than US$200 million. [ + ]

If legislation for mandatory data breach reporting currently before the Senate passes, Australian businesses will be required to publicly disclose any data breaches they suffer. [ + ]

Telstra has arranged to form a network applications and services joint venture with Indonesia's PT Telkom as part of the company's Asian expansion strategy. [ + ]