July 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Next wave of systems management
Best of the blogs: Call it 'managing in the open.' The 451 Group does, Gartner has touched upon the same theme, and IT Troubelshooter blogger Harper Mann agrees as well. "Open source network and systems monitoring and management vendors have been beating the drum with this message for a number of quarters," Mann writes. That includes those anointed the Big Four, otherwise known as BMC, CA, HP, and IBM.
Security: Black Hat kicks off this week with a twist. The conference's focus is more on application security than Internet viruses, mirroring "the change in threats on the security landscape, with malware attacks morphing from generic Internet viruses into targeted attacks aimed at vulnerabilities in proprietary business IT systems," Matt Hines reports. The even edgier Defcon show, meanwhile, kicks off tomorrow, also in Las Vegas. See our Special Report: Black Hat USA 2007/Defcon 15 for continuing coverage.
Columnist's corner: What works for that home PC doesn't always apply to corporate servers -- particularly when it comes to SCO Xenix machines. That became a hard lesson learned when a hired hand college student, Herman, tried it and found that on reboot the system started running fsck. Panic set in. Herman turned the system off in the middle of fsck. Next up: a boot disk, and pressure from admins to get the box up and running quickly. That's when our Off the Record author returned and thought a restore from backup was in order. If only it had been that easy. "I told [Herman] he'd single-handedly destroyed the system and that he'd better be ready to explain it to the hard-ass guy who ran the company."
The news beat: Symantec details a prototype of Dark Vision, a research effort to mine underground Web sites where personal information is bought and sold by identity thieves. Merger costs dog Alcatel-Lucent's second quarter earnings as do flat sales and a strong euro. San Francisco's Wi-Fi wait grows as critical votes are delayed another month and EarthLink appears skittish about the prospect. And Computerworld reports that businesses are having second thoughts about upgrading to Windows Vista.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 31, 2007 10:50 AM
July 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Mozilla patches Firefox for second time this month, EC imposes deadline for reduced roaming charges, Symantec prototypes Dark Vision, and more 
LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 31, 2007 08:15 AM
July 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)
From the feature well: Sometimes technologies show up where you least expect them. "When your business is to cure the body of ailments, or to turn back the clock on a culture's waning heritage, or to keep a herd of cattle happily milked -- where does all this enterprise technology get you? In some cases, surprisingly far." Your esophagus is one. The battlefield is a bit more obvious, but IT-enabled self-service cow milking most certainly is not. High-tech in the weirdest places.
The news beat: The blackout of Google's Analytics service continues and the data has not been updated since Saturday. Mozilla rushes out its second Firefox patch this month and, in so doing, fixes a pair of flaws in the URL protocol handler component. Sun Microsystems swings to black for its fourth quarter on essentially flat revenues. And Microsoft breaks ground on a new datacenter in San Antonio wherein it is relying on green technologies.
App dev: After a few weeks of trying and an unhelpful error log, Martin Heller finally got Aptana RadRails working on his Windows XP SP2 system. "My initial impression is that Aptana RadRails retains all the strengths that RadRails had in its previous incarnation, and is stronger still because of the JavaScript support provided by Aptana," he writes in this Strategic Developer post. "I'd be interested in what other Rails developers think of Aptana RadRails."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 31, 2007 04:42 AM
July 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: So-called 'candidate services' hold the potential to become core services, but typically require a bit more analysis before they do. "Part of the process of building a successful SOA is figuring out what should be a service, and what should not. A common amateur mistake is to service enable everything," David Linthicum explains in Looking for candidate services. "That typically proves unproductive, and could be an 'SOA killer' at the end of the day." There are no hard and fast guidelines on what constitutes a well-defined service, but Linthicum has three suggestions that ought to help.
From the Test Center: When it comes to optimizing document-centric processes, Bluespring's BPM Suite 4.5 brings strong provisions for managing complex, human-centric processes as well as built-in controls to bring geographic insight and calendar data into the mix, writes James Borck. "Its extremely accessible task-management UI stands out against competitors. Bluespring also demonstrates a good platform on which to visually construct, deploy, and monitor processes; it is code-free and incredibly easy to use," Borck adds. The downside? Poor administration tools, a limited library, and that fact that "its entire platform demands MS-branded servers, databases, and IE for its Web portal." Read the full review.
The news beat: Microsoft forms a new search center, dubbed the Internet Services Research Center, to keep up with Google. Verizon says it will acquire Rural Cellular, a mobile telephone service provider. And in a search for new revenue streams KPN agrees to buy Getronics, the Dutch IT services organization.
Notes from the field: First, a question: Who's afraid of the big, bad tube? Cringe refers to YouTube, of course. Snowmen, perverts and the occasional politician, specifically. Mitt Romney "seems to think YouTube is actually MySpace," Cringe reports. Even still, the latest word is that he 'might' participate in a Republican debate akin to the one Democrats held last week.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 30, 2007 10:31 AM
July 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Adobe ties ColdFusion 8 to AIR, EC accuses Intel of abusing chip market dominance, Cisco takes stake in VMware, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 30, 2007 07:53 AM
July 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Gripe Line: In what he describes as "really good news" Ed Foster reports on the surprising run of judges "reaffirming the traditional view of 'contracts of adhesion' and ruling that the onerous terms of shrinkwrap, clickwrap, and browserwrap agreements which deprive customers of any real recourse are not binding." More legal defeats for nasty sneakwrap terms. Think Gatton vs. T-Mobile. "At least there is some hope that the courts are starting to come back to a more balanced view on the validity -- or the invalidity -- of all those nasty terms that hide deep in the sneakwrap's small print." But don't pop those champagne bottles just yet.
The news beat: Adobe links its ColdFusion to AIR, as in Adobe Integrated Runtime, with the new ColdFusion 8, available today. Intel backs the Server System Infrastructure Forum's draft Modular Server Specifications set of guidelines for low-cost blade servers. Dell's new Indian plant starts operation to address the booming PC market there. And a Black Hat security presenter gets turned away at the U.S. border after customs officials found training materials in his luggage.
Quoteworthy: Technology has a way of making the miraculous seem commonplace. This is especially true in the workplace, where the latest technologies (in the hands of IT pros) get a full workout. We simply expect IT to build new business capabilities on creaky old apps, to do remarkable things with data, or to integrate with partners across vast distances and disparate systems. Yep, we’ve become jaded. -- Steve Fox, in Enterprise tech thrives where you least expect it.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 30, 2007 05:37 AM
July 27, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Intel is accused of breaking European antitrust rules, AMD will combine CPUs and graphics processors into one unit, Lenovo ramps up its production by opening two new plants, researchers are set to reveal details of a critical flaw in the iPhone, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 27, 2007 07:55 AM
July 27, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Security: The Department of Justice has finally drawn up legislation to combat identity theft. While the new bill could be a significant step in protecting personal data, today's Storage Insider argues that companies must do their part and not just wait until mandated by law. Weigh in with your opinion and read Mario Apicella's account of his own experience as the victim of identity theft.
Reviews: The Test Center puts the Tridion R5 Web content management system through its paces and finds that R5 trumps its competitors. Tridion R5 offers outstanding usability and depth, and "lets you easily create, manage, and then deliver content to the Web, e-mail, RSS, and print."
In the news: Intel is accused of breaching European antitrust rules. The EC claims Intel abused its position in the microprocessor market to exclude rival AMD. The heat is on Apple, which now has less than a week to patch a critical vulnerability in its iPhone before security researchers reveal details of the flaw at the Black Hat conference. AMD gave a peek at its road map of upcoming processors, including details of its quad-core Opteron processors and a family of server chips with 16 cores. InfoWorld helps you make sense of what each code name represents.
Congressional corner: Sometimes it feels like nothing is sure but death and the Internet tax debate. The federal ban on discriminatory and access taxes on the Internet is set to expire Nov. 1, and U.S. legislators are once again embroiled in debate about whether to make the ban permanent.
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 27, 2007 07:18 AM
July 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
SugarCRM adopts GNU GPLv3, ConnectU's founders sue Facebook, Apple reports record-high Mac sales, a hacker posts details of a Firefox flaw, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 26, 2007 08:02 AM
July 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Insecure about security questions?
Security: Just how effective are those multiple security questions posed by your financial institution? Ed Foster lays it on the line in today's Gripe Line: "Are financial institutions only covering their own behinds by forcing their customers to jump through additional layers of security checks?" In the opinion of one reader, "If the security gets so complicated that the rightful users have to write down their log in information, or make the questions simple enough to remember, have we really increased security?" Get the full story and weigh in with your own opinion here.
Green IT: Will energy-efficiency be the next front line in the ongoing chip war between Intel and AMD? InfoWorld's Ted Samson takes a closer look at this new war zone and finds the battle is heating up, with datacenter operators fixated on electric bills as well as their facilities' environmental impact. You'll find the full Sustainable IT here.
In the news: Mozilla is working to patch its Firefox browser after a hacker posted details of a flaw that could let criminals run unauthorized software on a victim's machine. The founders of social networking site ConnectU have filed a lawsuit claiming that Facebook.com stole their ideas and technology. The suit seeks to have the hugely successful Facebook site shut down. Apple reported a Q3 profit of $818 million on record-high Mac sales. Steve Jobs predicts Apple will sell its one-millionth iPhone by the end of Q4.
Open source: SugarCRM has decided to adopt GPLv3 in the next version of its open source CRM software and move away from its own Sugar Public License. The company's decision is a sign of the wider debate in the open source community over the legitimacy of licenses and businesses not approved by the Open Source Initiative.
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 26, 2007 07:48 AM
July 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Intel claims an optics breakthrough that could enable chips with speeds of 40Gbps, raids in China close down a huge piracy syndicate, an explosion causes power outages in San Francisco, forensics software is vulnerable to hacking, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 25, 2007 07:57 AM
July 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Security: A particularly sticky dilemma facing enterprises is what stance to take on personal e-mail accounts and whether to shut down access to all Web e-mail interfaces to non-company mail accounts. As Bob Lewis writes in today's Advice Line, "Failing to enforce the [access shutdown] policy subjects the company and its customers to liabilities. But enforcing it is terribly difficult because the system is so difficult to use." For the full discussion, see here.
In the news: Intel claims an optics breakthrough that could enable chips with speeds up to 40Gbps. The new laser modulator technology could be capable of transmitting terabits of data per second. Researchers have discovered a serious vulnerability in BIND 9, the software widely used in the Internet's DNS addressing system. Users of the software, which include ISPs and large companies, are being advised to patch the software immediately to prevent end users from being vulnerable to pharming attacks. The hosting company for Craigslist.com was among the companies affected when an explosion under a manhole cover caused power outages in downtown San Francisco. A reported 30,000 customers were without power on Tuesday.
Green IT: HP continues to look for new ways to improve energy efficiency in datacenters. The company's Thermal Zone Mapping, a newly introduced feature of its HP Services business, calculates how to improve server cooling while keeping electric bills down.
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 25, 2007 07:10 AM
July 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Intel unleashes more price cuts, HP makes two acquisitions, the IEEE votes on faster Ethernet, OLPC approves laptops for mass production, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 24, 2007 08:12 AM
July 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Sprint stalls on promised feature
Best of the blogs: Readers are understandably frustrated about advertised features that are missing in action on the actual products. In today's Gripe Line, Ed Foster reveals a long-promised feature from Sprint that has yet to materialize: A reader complains of plunking down $350 for what he was told was an EVDO-capable smartphone, only to have two years go by (and his phone contract lapse) with nary a sign of Sprint enabling EVDO capability in its 6600 phone. Get the full story here.
In the news: Intel unleashes another round of cuts in its price battles with AMD. The tit-for-tat price war has been painful for both companies, but great for users. An IEEE group agrees to work on a single Ethernet standard that covers both 40Gbps and 100Gbps speeds. A standard for the faster Ethernet may be completed by mid-2010. The FBI reports that a series of raids and arrests in China has ended what is estimated to be the world's largest software piracy syndicate. The gang has been in operation for more than six years, producing fraudulent copies of software from Microsoft and Symantec.
Enterprise computing: What's an IT staff to do if the CEO gets an iPhone? While IT managers are likely skeptical of letting iPhones on their networks, there are a few easy steps they can take to make their lives easier (and their boss ecstatic). Find out the full story here.
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 24, 2007 07:09 AM
July 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft pressures Google on privacy, Google will compete in an upcoming wireless spectrum auction, the ban on Qualcomm chips stands, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 23, 2007 08:16 AM
July 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Backstabbed in the background check?
Best of the blogs: Just what information turns up in a background check? This Advice Line post addresses the concerns of job seekers who fear that previous employers might have information on record that is putting the kibosh on future job prospects. Blogger Bob Lewis also supplies handy tips on completing that successful job search.
Virtualization: David Marshall revisits the Linux kernel and in this post reports on the upcoming 2.6.23 release. While the Linux 2.6.21 kernel released in December improved on support for paravirtualization, the 2.6.23 kernel release will feature two new virtualization frameworks, merging in support for both Xen and lguest.
The news beat: A team of security experts claim the iPhone can be accessed through a wireless access point or Web site controlled by an attacker. Acer has filed a countersuit against Hewlett-Packard, claiming HP has infringed its antenna and DVD-ROM head technology patents. Microsoft joins Ask.com in offering a way for users to search anonymously and calling for a common set of privacy practices
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 23, 2007 05:38 AM
July 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Can't EA and SOA just get along?
Best of the blogs: Enterprise Architecture is still a valid discipline, while SOA needs to assimilate. That is one of David Linthicum's findings from a recent Webinar on the topic. Ultimately, perhaps the two actually need each other. One notion rings true, Linthicum asserts in this Real World SOA post, "learn to leverage what works, and don't try to solve problems that have already been solved."
Security: It's not often that Roger Grimes begins a column with suggestions of relaxation, so take it as you will. For me, that's with sarcastic overtones. A report from the United States Government Accountability office, he notes, suggests that identity theft really isn't a problem. Identity theft? What identity theft? That's not to say data breaches aren't happening, just that resulting identity theft is limited. One problem Grimes sees with the report, though, is that it's geared more toward protecting banks and other data-losing institutions than consumers. "Banks and merchants are privileged to be entrusted with our important financial data. If they don’t protect our information properly, they, not us, should pay the price."
The news beat: Ask.com introduces Ask Eraser to enable users to cover their tracks and not have search information stored. Facebook buys Parakey, a startup founded by the masterminds of open source browser Firefox. Dell, in a pact with a U.K. mobile phone operator, says it will give away free laptops to customers who purchase a broadband Internet subscription. And IBM details the Resiliency Maturity Index framework for assessing disaster recovery capabilities.
Storage: SMBs are facing a backup dilemma. Whereas having products to choose from is healthy, enough data protection options are emerging to make just about anyone dizzy. Worse, writes Mario Apicella in this week's installment of Storage Insider, "vendors often propose solutions that contrast sharply with what they were selling just yesterday." Think Quantum GoVault, for instance. Imation and Symantec are in the mix as well. "Unfortunately, there is no single bullet to kill the backup beast."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 20, 2007 09:03 AM
July 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)
5 tips for cooling your datacenter, U.S. SEC fines Google's chief legal officer, Ask.com to enable anonymous searches, Microsoft says Vista sales drove quarterly profit, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 20, 2007 07:44 AM
July 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Five ways to cool your datacenter
Green IT: Summer's here and the time is right for cooling down your datacenter. Senior editor Ted Samson offers 5 tips on beating datacenter heat, cheap. First up, fight heat with, well, heat. These suggestions not only trim "some expense from your cooling bills, but as a result, shrink your organization's environmental footprint in the process," Samson explains.
Notes from the field: Calling it "craptacular" Robert X. Cringely turns his attention back toward Microsoft's Windows Vista. At least one reader would prefer chewing a broken pipette to using the new OS, while another lost everything on his Vista-(un)ready Dell box. "There are of course those who are enthralled with Vista, and they tend to be both uppity and vociferous," he reports in Is Vista an orphan? (Sheesh. Not sure why Cringe has to go picking on orphans, anyway...)
Best of the blogs: The Apache Software Foundation was the lone dissenter in a vote this week to approve a JSR for Java EE 6. The Apache group claims that, "Sun in violation of the Java Specification Participation Agreement," by proposing unacceptable intellectual property restrictions on field of use. Read the Tech Watch post here.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 20, 2007 04:41 AM
July 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)
How to sway an employer to take a chance on you
Careers: Sometimes what matters most when interviewing for a new job is climbing over one ostensibly daunting obstacle. In this particular case, it's meeting three of four criteria but still knowing you're the best candidate for the job. "If you're lacking something that an employer wants but you're a fit on all other counts," Nick Corcodilos advises in Ask the headhunter, "don't wait for the manager to decide whether to take a chance on you...figure it out for him." Address the point head-on and offer to demonstrate what you can do.
From the Test Center: Agitar's entire product line is devoted to unit testing, and the advantage is that it will create tests developers might otherwise overlook for being too familiar with their own code. "AgitarOne follows a trend that has been emerging in software development tools during the past year, which is to provide a dashboard with project metrics," writes Andrew Binstock. There were some difficulties and limitations that left Binstock suggesting that "it needs to mature some more." Read the full review.
Columnist's corner: After last week's suggestion that foreign developers be granted fast-track citizenship, David Margulius received more than the usual reader feedback. Emotional. Angry, Opinionated. Immigration is that kind of subject, regardless of the industry. But, he writes, "the vast majority was thoughtful and rational, and they made me sympathetic to their point of view." That's not always the case with reader comments on subjects that hit so, so close to home. In this week's installment of Enterprise Insight, Mr. Margulius shares myriad bright reader viewpoints and excludes the personal attacks -- but does address, albeit briefly, charges of being overpaid and arrogant, as well as driving advertisers' agendas.
The news beat: Sprint and Clearwire team up to build the first nationwide WiMax network in the U.S. A U.S. House panel approves patent reform in a journey the committee chairman described as "rugged". And, no surprise here, Congress is investigating Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 19, 2007 10:48 AM
July 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft close to issuing beta of Vista SP1, PC vendors except Dell report rising sales, IBM chief calls second quarter best in 6 years, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 19, 2007 07:58 AM
July 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)
What gives Windows Mobile edge over iPhone
Columnist's corner: Even though Apple messed up the iPhone, Oliver Rist writes, "much of the device's problems aren't technical, but just bad business." Not so for Windows Mobile, which is plagued by troubled technology, including ActiveSync issues, Wi-Fi woes, application incompatibility, and worse, its very own Blue Screen of Death. "Microsoft has all the advantages that count in this space right now," Rist adds in Windows Mobile needs fixing fast. "The company really has the chance to win one based on functionality and capability rather than just marketing."
The news beat: Sources say that a beta of Vista SP1 is due this week, though Microsoft remains quiet about what will be included. Google is building a black box fuzzing application, dubbed Lemon, and built to target dangerous Web applications flaws. Lenovo retakes the number 3 spot for PC vendors thereby knocking rival Acer down a notch. And the hacker who posted a Mac worm disappears from the blogosphere.
Green IT: Calling it "something of a chameleon that appeals to different users on different levels," Computerworld's Bruce Hoard wonders is Green IT a marketing ploy or new technology? In the one corner are those who say that vendors are merely 'greenwashing' the market; in the other, folks insist it's a sincere effort and use terms such as 'higher calling' and 'corporate morality.' As hard as it is to make definitive statements, one truth is that the bottom line rules.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 19, 2007 04:43 AM
July 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: It's a question on the minds of many in IT: when does one stop or slow down SOA construction? "You can service-enable and orchestrate the entire enterprise, perhaps your supply chains as well, but I doubt the cost of doing that is going to justify the benefits on most cases," writes David Linthicum in Am I done with my SOA? The answer comes in a set of data points to assist in avoiding diminishing returns -- because just as you can go do too little, it's possible to go overboard.
Columnist's corner: Even though neither Java nor .Net fulfilled such promises, the thrill of imagining "rich, responsive, attractive client applications that run identically on desktops, notebooks and mobile devices," remains, according to Tom Yager. That's why Web 2.0 needs Adobe. "I can understand why some might be disappointed that such things can't be done with AJAX alone. Blame Microsoft, Mozilla, and Apple for that; 'browser as a platform' has been on their to-do lists for years."
The news beat: Oracle scoops up Bharosa and its identity theft and fraud detection software. Devicespace says it is tackling the Wi-Fi guest access problem with a beta version of software for storing user sign-on information for multiple public hotspots. Intel makes samples of Penryn chips available to OEMs prior to the actual product launch. And a Firefox update fixes problems with Internet Explorer relating to IE's ability to launch other applications.
Notes from the field: Just what are the differences between working on a help desk and offering hot live chat of the naughty nature? Robert X. Cringely stumbled upon someone who used to be a phone sex operator but now runs a high-tech consultancy, and posed that very question. IT vs. phone sex, round three.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 18, 2007 11:10 AM
July 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Sun foretells services-based strategy, U.S. gov't computers attacked, Oracle integrates Google Maps, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 18, 2007 07:42 AM
July 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Enterprise: Take SaaS serioulsy!
Apps: What with Salesforce.com opening its Apex Code so customers can tailor CRM as well as rechristening its offering as PaaS, as in platform-as-a-service, and Google's acquisition of Postini last week, "we are finally starting to see critical mass build around SaaS," Ephraim Schwartz writes in SaaS gains enterprise cred. "With development, security, and compliance out of the way, there aren't many hurdles left for SaaS to clear before it becomes the dominant force in the software industry and the enterprise." Related: New Salesforce.com version unmasks Apex Code.
Columnist's corner: A dream job gone immediately wrong is this week's Off the Record tale, sent awry by management that considered the news-related Web site piece of its business to be little more than necessary burden. "I saw it as a diamond in the rough and I couldn't wait to polish," writes our author in The war of hidden motives. "I learned quickly that our job was to exist and do as little as possible. My direct boss didn't help matters much. She was a newscaster with a megawatt smile and no training in any type of technology." Moonlight upgrades, unauthorized changes and no one to stop them translated into what the boss thought was some sort of magic once they made it to the live Web site. Even so, a battle erupted in which both the boss and the head of technology had a vendetta that went unexplained. "I learned a valuable lesson: In business, people act for many reasons that are usually not the ones they claim."
Gripe Line: Windows Vista compatibility problems hit a new low with Roxio's Easy Media Creator 9. "Readers say that not only does the program have many problems working with Vista, the fixes promised by Roxio are beginning to look like so much vaporware," Ed Foster reports. That, despite the fact that one might otherwise presume the software to be as compatible as possible with Microsoft's new OS. It's already garnered Microsoft's certification logo, after all. One reader encountered a conflict with an incompatible driver, Roxio's no less. The subsequent call to tech support was even worse. A second reader points out that such problems have been here all along. In the end, though, "those who believe that a 'Windows Vista Certified' logo means there will be no problems are perhaps themselves certifiable."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 18, 2007 04:48 AM
July 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: When they occur, it's important to mark your IT staff's victories in one way or another -- particularly those that bring the most positive impact to your users. If at all possible, point out that the project was a partnership between tech and the business side. E-mail is the obvious, and easiest, place to begin. Just "make sure not to over-use it, otherwise it will lose its impact," Jon Williams writes in this New York CTO post.
The news beat: An anonymous researcher boasts of creating a Mac worm in a matter of hours that slips in through a vulnerability Apple missed with its May round of patches. The EU is set to rule on Microsoft's antitrust appeal come September 17, the outcome of which will shape the local software industry's future. Oracle adds Google Maps to the Field Service application within its E-Business Suite. And Google offers site search to SMBs in the form of Custom Search Business Edition.
Careers: When not mere marketing, the cliche win-win situation is, in the words of John West, "the right way to do things." The topic is restructuring your team. "You're a leader with a tight deadline and too much work to do. One member of your small team isn't pulling his weight," he explains. What to do? For starters, remember that people aren't stupid and they know when they're not doing well. Still, the situation needs to be rectified. "A lot of times this requires some shuffling and reorganizing."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 17, 2007 11:16 AM
July 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
90 percent of companies not in compliance with data-handling regulations, Intel ships dual-core notebook chips, Italy clamps down on phishing, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 17, 2007 08:05 AM
July 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
From the feature well: Being green isn't easy for IT. Determining long-term savings for a bunch of new laptops, or figuring out how to set up your server racks to maximize energy efficiency can be incredibly complex. "It's likely that you [have] seemingly more important things on the brain than developing a strategy for a greener, more energy-efficient operation," Ted Samson writes in Four reasons to cultivate greener IT. First, the money. "Less energy consumption means lower bills -- and here's the kicker: You're likely burning (or cooling) away thousands of dollars each year paying for energy that's really not contributing to your bottom line." But it doesn't stop there, no, that's only the beginning. Related: The continued greening of IT.
Special: Search engines including Google, Microsoft Live Search and Yahoo store more than most folks think. Take queried terms, for instance, along with the date and time it was processed, your IP address and a cookie-based ID. "If all this sounds Big Brother-ish to you, you're not alone," writes Mary Brandel of Computerworld, in What search engines store about you. The question, of course, is why? Well, they claim it helps them personalize. But it's not just the search engines who have such data.
The news beat: Researchers at SPI Dynamics point out a security risk in Apple's iPhone that hackers could use to attack the device and monitor phone calls. The IT Policy Compliance Group details a report stating that 90 percent of companies fail compliance efforts when it comes to data-handling regulations and reducing the potential for information leaks. And hundreds of groups and individuals weigh in on Net Neutrality during the final day of submitting opinions to the FCC.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 17, 2007 04:33 AM
July 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Could it be? Shrink- wrapped SOA due from MS in September
Best of the blogs: "It's amazing to watch Microsoft continually be so clueless," begins Dave Rosenberg in this Open Sources post. "Shrinkwrapped SOA is oxymoronic minus the oxy." That's because SOA stacks are antithetical to the very nature of a loosely-coupled architecture. "Show me a stack vendor that allows for truly clean swapping of components with other vendors and I will eat my words."
From the feature well: Energy, its cost in particular, is changing the datacenter game. While virtualization and consolidation can help, "hidden energy costs await those who do not plan the layout of their virtualized datacenter wisely. And the chief culprit is heat," explains Paul Venezia in The cool new look in datacenter design. "The killing-flies-with-a-shotgun approach to cooling and powering the datacenter has been banished to the history books along with the 85-cent gallon of gas. Retrofitting existing datacenters is never easy or inexpensive, but in this case, the benefits are immediate." Related: APC instruments mark the rebirth of cool.
The news beat: IBM buys DataMirror to get its real-time data integration software, which Big Blue plans to sell stand-alone and include in its own Information Server. Verizon unveils what it calls Integrated Optical Service that enables companies to tie in Ethernet service. And open source JBoss Rules gain speed.
Notes from the field: Dell just might turn itself around by engaging in new and provocative side businesses, Robert X. Cringely reports. One reader, you see tells Cringe in Dell's hot new line of business that, "when he said he wanted a laptop, Dell must have thought he asked for a lapdance." The confusion came during a call to tech support, of course.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 16, 2007 10:48 AM
July 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)
BEA hops in Web 2.0 fray, U.S. law enforcement investigating Broadcom CEO, Intel joins One Laptop Per Child program, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 16, 2007 08:09 AM
July 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Kicking a storage spending addiction
Storage: Who's responsible for the ostensibly unstoppable increase in storage spending? Not the vendors alone, Mario Apicella asserts in Storage spending at a crossroads. "Our research indicates that only 7 percent of storage budget allotments will be spent on services in the next 12 months, up a meager 1 percent from a year ago," Apicella writes. "That said, the actual increase could be significantly more than our respondents anticipate; after all, the need to ensure compliance while protecting data assets shows no signs of abating."
Best of the blogs: Having spent more and more time with Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1, Randall Kennedy declares Virtual PC 2007 the great CPU gobble. "One of the unexpected side effects of moving from Virtual PC 2007 to VS: Lower CPU utilization," he reports. "For testing applications that use high-resolution timers, or that make frequent calls to certain system libraries, Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 does a much better job of handling what should normally be a very fast, lightweight operation."
Gripe Line: Best Buy "no lemon" buyer is bitter. Say that three times fast. Okay, so it might not technically be as tortuous as some traditional tongue twisters, but that's little consolation to the reader who bought into the company's guarantee on its extended warranties only to find out that Best Buy did not fulfill it. Not by a long shot.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 16, 2007 05:04 AM
July 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Why securing virtual world is not enough
Security: He's been building up to this for a few weeks and now it's time for Roger Grimes to expand his idea of a secure computing ecosystem into a broader realm. "I'm asking that all companies rework their communication processes to validate themselves to customers whenever initiating contact with the consumer via e-mail, mail, or a phone call," Grimes writes in Anti-phishing for the real world. "Securing the virtual world isn't enough. It's the message, not the medium."
Handhelds: What with its internal music player the iPhone might be intended primarily as a consumer device but, no matter, the enterprise will come to the iPhone. NetSuite's SuitePhone is one instance. "So is this a unique circumstance due in large part to the way NetSuite was built originally? After all, it does not use Flash or need Java to run, making porting to the iPhone, which lacks support for both, that much easier," Ephraim Schwartz wonders. NetSuite says no. "To make matters even more interesting, NetSuite didn't spend one day in Cupertino to figure out how SuitePhone would run on Apple's new device," Schwartz reports.
The news beat: Hewlett-Packard's Trusted Hardcopy secures paper documents by enabling them to be used as a medium for data transfer. NTT DoCoMo targets 300 Mbps in a Super 3G test that examines the speed with which communications can be handed from one base station to another. And WSO2 upgrades its open source Web services-based application server, now known as WSAS 2.0.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 13, 2007 10:42 AM
July 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Sun aims to mimic Linux distribution model with Project Indiana, Greek spying case uncovers first switch rootkit, Washington State lets overcharging case against Cingular move ahead, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 13, 2007 08:25 AM
July 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Granting foreign developers 'immediate citizenship'
Columnist's corner: While simultaneously preparing for backlash, David Margulius makes a suggestion: Open the floodgates to IT immigration. Think fast-track citizenship. "Let's roll out the red carpet and try to get as many developers coming to the United States as the total number of people who normally enter the country each year. If they prove they can code, let's give them immediate citizenship, free food, coupons for free movie rentals, whatever, to get them to come and stay." Radical, indeed, Margulius admits. "The United States isn't growing enough technologists organically through our education system to compete, so let's acquire and assimilate them."
From the Test Center: You can't call Silver Peak the new kid on the block any longer, Keith Schultz insists, because the WAN acceleration and optimization vendor, "raised the bar with its NX-5500 appliance. Targeting WAN speeds up to DS3, it delivers superior raw performance over varying WAN conditions." Schultz adds that the NX-5500 performs like one of the best he's ever tested. "The TCP and UDP support is first rate, providing all traffic types excellent acceleration and optimization." There is a shortcoming, though. Read the full review.
The news beat: Sun details 'Project Indiana' and plans to mimic the Linux distribution model to grow the market for Solaris. Oracle says it will release 46 security patches next week that span its database, application server and e-business suite. VeriSign's CFO resigns while the company announces it will restate earnings from 2002 to 2005. And scrutiny mounts for Google security.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 13, 2007 04:53 AM
July 12, 2007 | Comments: (0)
IBM pushes business, not tech for SOA
Best of the blogs: "It had to happen, just when a space gets hot somebody had to state the obvious," David Linthicum begins this Real World SOA post in reference to IBM announcing eight industry-specific roadmaps for SOA. "The notion that SOA is all about business is correct, but I'm not sure there is anything new about that. However, it's the combination of business needs with the right best-of-breed technology that provides the maximum benefit."
Handhelds: NetSuite unwraps SuitePhone software to let users access its hosted applications via the iPhone. A work-around puts Skype on the iPhone such that users can make cheaper, albeit not free, phone calls, while Nokia injects Skype into its N800 tablet PC.
The news beat: Suspense mounts for San Francisco's municipal Wi-Fi plan with two important make-or-break votes being delayed. Microsoft lines up Office Live partners. And the FBI says to expect more spam prosecutions as it has some 70 active investigations into related crimes.
Green IT: Smart metering is poised to take off. Market analyst Datamonitor, in fact, estimates that smart metering will reach 89 percent penetration in North America and 41 percent penetration in Europe by 2012, Ted Samson reports. One of the perks is that "energy consumers, both household and businesses, can reap better control over their energy bills."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 12, 2007 11:33 AM
July 12, 2007 | Comments: (0)
IBM pledges IP for standards, Motorola expects loss on mobile devices, Nokia taps Skype for tablet, Oracle unveils 11g, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 12, 2007 08:09 AM
July 12, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Singin' them Web service blues
App dev: Martin Heller belts one out about being tasked to integrate an unmanaged C++ application with another company's C# 2.0 program and ASP.NET 2.0 Web site for licensing. "It seemed simple enough," he begins. Not for long. "When it came time to test the code, the Web service call never returned." What did come to Martin, though, is a little tune. I'll not spoil the fun other than to say it's classic Web service blues.
Careers: Many, if not most, of the projects IT professionals deal with daily are too complex for a single person. "The days of the lone ranger were past with the first 8-track player," John West explains in Getting big things done even when you can't change the big picture. West offers advice on doing just that, with a sprinkling of caution, albeit the promising variety. "You will probably not be successful on your first couple of attempts, but the nice thing about failing with this approach is that your teams will still be more energized, creative, and productive than teams resulting from more traditional management approaches."
Columnist's corner: What do Subway commercials and outsourcing have in common? Oliver Rist has been thinking about both. The ads, you see, show a girl chomping down on a sandwich bigger than her head. "We call that biting off more than you can chew. And when that happens in real life, you should take smaller bites ... or outsource," Rist waxes philosophical in Sink your teeth into outsourcing. A great place to start is the help desk. A second is when your company acquires another. The list -- and Rist’s sandwich metaphor -- continues. "Think about it and crunch some numbers. With any luck, you'll regain enough time to leave the office for lunch."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 12, 2007 04:39 AM
July 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Wireless: An iPhone alternative already? Well, self-professed Linux geek Brian Chee has one: the NEO1973. It's one answer for folks who "want a cool looking communications platform, but either don't like Apple, don't like the iPhone, hate locked phones, etc." he writes in this Geeks in Paradise post. They even look similar, though the hardware under the hood is not. The iPhone has Multitouch and Sensors, and it's worth pointing out that as of now "the NEO is currently in a 'reference design' that developers can use as a starting point." It's no iPhone killer yet but "because it's open, and community developed, I wouldn't count it out anytime soon."
Best of the blogs: Like so many IT pros, Randall Kennedy is learning to live with UAC. That's User Account Control. During the Windows Vista betas, "the constant interruption of nearly every system or maintenance related task was unbearable," he writes. After disabling it, Kennedy was left with a nagging feeling of not being smart about the whole thing. "So I did the unthinkable: I turned UAC back on and rebooted my primary Windows development system. And then...nothing." Actually, he confesses to now considering UAC more asset than liability.
The news beat: Oracle debuts Database 11g, replete with improved security, testing and management features. Hewlett-Packard shows off prototype cell phones with Color Match mobile service technology in an effort to turn the devices into shopping advisors. And Google introduces Maplets to enable users to customize Google Maps.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 11, 2007 11:26 AM
July 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)
MS foretells next product wave, software-plus-services, former CEO of ATI resigns from AMD, U.S. SEC charges two Texans with botnet scam, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 11, 2007 08:27 AM
July 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Wireless: After nine days of doing little other than living, breathing and dissecting an iPhone, Tom Yager calls it "a really sweet mobile device." But, putting consumers and gadget freaks aside, for business users it's little more than a $1975 iPod. Problems include price, the monthly payments, it's overstated quality as a phone and mobile browser, the fact that it's closed to third-party development. "I can't recommend it. The unhappy fact is that for all the glamorous marketing and positioning, iPhone turns out to be the worst $1975 investment (iPhone plus two years minimum, mandatory service) you could make in mobile communications." Related: iPhone spurs developer renaissance and Analyst predicts iPhone based on iPod nano.
Notes from the field: Robert X. Cringely makes the bold move of putting Windows Vista up for adoption. Why? Well, two reasons. First, nearly six months after launching the OS Microsoft still feels "compelled to issue talking points that OEMs could use to convince customers not to wait for SP1." Second, Cringe writes, "corporate customers have been clamoring for easier ways to downgrade from Vista to XP so loudly that Microsoft actually ... simplified the process." What's more, a reader makes a pair of arguments the sum of which is that "Vista is at least 18 months away."
The news beat: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks up software-plus-services, sharing more details about the company's plan to make such a transition. Security firm eEye says that Sun Microsystems is putting users at risks by staggering the release of patches for Java. And Icesoft Technologies upgrades its open source AJAX tool to help developers build Web 2.0 applications.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 11, 2007 04:42 AM
July 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
SOA: This week Iona Technologies announced products to advance open source SOA, including an ESB, Message Broker, Services Framework and Mediation Router. These offerings are available under the brand Fuse, and based on Apache projects.
Columnist's corner: When it conducts its pandemic flu exercise this fall, the financial services fray will effectively become the first such industry to plan for it, leading Ephraim Schwartz to wonder if the time has come for others to follow suit? In this week's installment of Reality Check, he explains that, "the effects of a pandemic are unique, according to the experts I spoke with. It's a great idea to create a contingency plan -- no matter what industry sector you're in."
The news beat: The former CEO of ATI quits AMD nine months after the merger. Google makes a business case for security of its hosted applications. A new phishing tool can create sites in a matter of seconds, thereby enabling fraudsters to operate more efficiently. And Microsoft says it will launch its next wave of products in 2008.
Best of the blogs: Savio Rodrigues has an answer for just about anyone insisting that VCs ought to be weary of open source. "Show them this analysis," he maintains in Revisited -- returns on open source VC investments. "Pulling out the old calculator once in a while helps to add credibility to our views."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 10, 2007 10:57 AM
July 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
BSA offers $1 million reward for turning in pirates, AMD cuts prices, tech vendors work to enable U.S. gov't to share data among agencies, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 10, 2007 08:02 AM
July 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Samsung advertises imaginary option
Gripe Line: What happens when an LCD monitor advertised as having optional integrated speakers actually has no such capability? Well, if you're a Samsung 225BW buyer, that answer, I'm afraid, is not much. Other than a whopping headache, perhaps. "It's quite frustrating when the manufacturer essentially tells you take a hike without even changing its erroneous product description," Ed Foster reports in Samsung option is imaginary. The problem is that, even though there are clips on the monitor's back for them, said speakers just don't exist, as one reader learned. Samsung pointed to a retailer, but it didn't have them either. "It truly is inconsiderate to suggest what would be a waste of time on a goose chase," the reader explains.
Open source: In Funding FSF's fight vs. Microsoft, Savio Rodrigues points out that the Free Software Foundation does not exactly have deep pockets. At least not when compared to the likes of Microsoft. "The FSF will need significantly more donations if the GPLv3 debate makes it to the courtroom," he cautions.
Columnist's corner: Given his first project as a lead, our Off the Record author came up against an ostensibly insurmountable dilemma. "Management felt I spent too much time talking to end-users, implying any time talking to them was too much." No team, no staff, no hope. The end-users were tickled to get a system they could really use." This labor of vindication ballooned into a dozen programs that our author worked around the clock to complete on time -- and alone. "Then the troubles came."
Careers: Coming up with good ideas is easier than planning, organization and execution, Bob Lewis asserts in Where are the box's boundaries? "A healthy organization should generate at least an order of magnitude more good ideas than it's in a position to pursue. It's the organizations that have shut off the spigot that concern me."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 10, 2007 04:34 AM
July 09, 2007 | Comments: (0)
New IT managers: Defend core values
Best of the blogs: That headline doubles as the advice with which John West titles this Leading from the trenches post. "Every leader has to decide what the core values are in their leadership philosophy, and act to protect those when they are threatened," he writes. West offers eight corrective actions to take, when need be, beginning with, "Don't finesse."
From the Test Center: Virtual Iron and XenSource are currently targeting the low-to-middle end of the virtualization spectrum with Virtual Iron Enterprise Edition 3.7.1 and XenSource Enterprise 3.2. That means chasing a leader. "VMware's head start over the rest of the market is substantial," explains Paul Venezia. But don't count the smaller guys out. After playing with both platforms for a few weeks, Venezia writes, "I'm left with the feeling that VMware better not sit on its laurels. These two products are on their way to providing truly enterprise-grade virtualization foundations for a mere fraction of VMware's licensing fees." Read the full review. Related: Editor's Letter: Is VMware feeling the heat?
The news beat: Google scoops up Postini for its messaging security products, and claims it will help attract bigger customers to Google Apps. Samsung and Ericsson agree to cross-license mobile patents, thereby ending recent lawsuits between the two companies. And Dell says it will sell Linux on PCs outside the U.S.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 9, 2007 11:08 AM
July 09, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Borland aligns with VMware for virtualization testing tools, credit card thieves donate to charity, AMD invests in Transmeta, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 9, 2007 08:25 AM
July 09, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Apps key piece in secure ecosystem
Security: In his fourth installment of the series on building a next-generation secure Internet Roger Grimes points out that "applications are hard to secure." Sounds a wee dram obvious, indeed, but that is precisely the point. "In a secure ecosystem, all software components in the OS or any application would not only be signed and authenticated, but would seek approval before executing or being loaded into memory," he writes in Secure applications in a secure ecosystem, the next challenge. Granted, that's not at all an easy task, but "once you have that solved, a whole lot of the other pieces fall into place more easily."
Advice Line: A re-emergence of the phrase "don't ask, don't tell," occurs in Bob Lewis' latest entry. Only this time it's about what to do when employees tell you they're using external e-mail systems to evade legal requirements on the official system. "Tell your users that you didn't hear them, and could they please not repeat it," Lewis offers. "This is one of those situations where everyone is better off pretending."
The news beat: Security vendor Immunity's CEO says that the average zero-day bug has a 348-day lifespan, and that huge amounts of money are being offered for zero-day discoveries. Borland and VMware team up on testing virtualization with both offering product upgrades that can function with each other. And Microsoft takes a big step to near-shoring in Canada by opening a software development centre in the Vancouver area.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 9, 2007 06:01 AM
July 06, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Staff retention not rocket science
Careers: Knock-knock jokes, a pair of them, play a supporting role in this Ask the headhunter post. Here's one: "How long does it take to replace an engineer?" The theme, of course, is convincing workers to stick around. "Do the math. Retention and employee development are a good investment."
Storage: While conceding that it might "come closer than most to being the ideal gadget to take with you on the road," Mario Apicella urges IT to proceed with caution when it comes to the iPhone. "If you're a storage administrator, you might benefit from reluctance like mine because you can bank on your end-users bringing these little beauties into the workplace," he writes. What, prey tell, does such resistance have to do with storage anyway? Well, it's all about data protection. "An iPhone carrying sensitive files could easily be lost or stolen, landing your company's name in the wrong section of the news. Are you ready to manage that risk?" Related: iPhone SIM works in any non-iPhone handset for calls, but not for data.
Notes from the field: In the geek week in review, Robert X. reports that SAP got zapped, someone's granny is packing heat on AOL's new video site. "Meet the new AOL, lame as the old AOL." What's not so lame, perhaps, is that a PR officer at Roswell Air Base had some alien-related confessions held until after his death. And Cringe has some advice for Apple's head honcho. "Take this, Jobs, and shove it."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 6, 2007 10:47 AM
July 06, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Linux official, MS give thumbs down to GPL v3, talking Trojan taunts victims, startup launches auction site for software bugs, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 6, 2007 08:15 AM
July 06, 2007 | Comments: (0)
The benefits of combining SaaS with virtualization
Best of the blogs: The advantages of injecting SaaS with virtualization are so significant that no provider will be able to compete without doing so, according to one executive who happens to work for a virtualization company. That, however, "doesn't negate the fact that I believe his points are valid and hold true -- that virtualization does indeed offer significant benefits, flexibility and efficiency to the SaaS world," writes David Marshall in Why virtualization plays an important role in SaaS. Think provisioning, density, isolation, service levels, among others.
Open source: The Linux Kernel SCSI Maintainership's gatekeeper says the group 'won't bother' with GPLv3 due to a lack of compelling advantages and the thousands of folks who would have to sign off on changes. Microsoft, meanwhile, states that it is not a party to GPLv3.
The news beat: Even though the original has only been available for one week now, attention turns toward a second-gen iPhone which, Apple claims, will harness 3G wireless networks for faster performance. A talking Trojan taunts victims while trying to delete everything from the hard drive. And solar Web hosting company Affordable Internet Services Online has been chosen to power the Web sites for this weekend's Live Earth concerts from its 100 percent solar-powered hosting facility.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 6, 2007 05:18 AM
July 05, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Google wants to influence changes that Microsoft plans to make in Vista's desktop search; the EC is asked to investigate the Google-DoubleClick deal; Chinese cities are forecast to become the top offshoring destination, and more
LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 5, 2007 08:07 AM
July 05, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Green technology: Power outages cost U.S. business at least $50 billion a year, according to Electric Power Research Institute, so it's good news that Congress has begun to contemplate upgrading the nation's dumb electricity-delivery infrastructure to a smart grid. Sustainable IT looks at the proposed energy bill and the ways in which a smart grid also can deliver energy more efficiently.
In the news: Google still hopes to influence changes that Microsoft plans to make in Vista's desktop search function and has petitioned the court for the right to file comments on the antitrust case. Hackers predict that they will successfully unlock Apple's iPhone within the week. Unlocking the iPhone means users will be able to use the handset with other service providers, not just AT&T. The European Commission has been asked to investigate the Google DoubleClick deal because of complaints that the proposed merger will harm consumers' privacy rights.
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 5, 2007 06:43 AM
July 03, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Special report: First the good news, then the bad. IT salaries are on the rise this year, but so are anxiety, longer hours and low morale. "Reduced competition for jobs and brighter prospects for company growth are spurring pay hikes across the spectrum of IT positions, flushing the post-millennial doldrums of subinflation raises from recent memory and replacing them with dreams of earning even more," reports Jason Snyder in 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey. Read our salary survey by the numbers, or if you prefer download the PDF.
Notes from the field: Readers, some of you anyway, are clamoring to know why Cringe even cares about Microsoft's advertising campaigns. "I don't," he answers in Slogan's run. "My point was that Microsoft's tortured, clumsy and/or inscrutable taglines are an all-too-accurate reflection of its tortured, clumsy, and/or inscrutable software." While said readers were at it, they offered up suggested slogans of their own for the Redmond crew, including one that goes "the clouds above, the mud below." Others include "Microsoft: Never have so many produced so little so slowly." Okay, so I neither said these were entirely fair, not did I reveal Cringe's personal favorite.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on July 3, 2007 11:02 AM
July 03, 2007 | Comments: (0)
IT salaries are on the rise but staffs are on the decline; SAP admits to "inappropriate downloading" in Oracle case; Google acquires Grand Central; YouTube comes to LG cellphones; and more LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on July 3, 2007 06:38 AM
July 03, 2007 |&nbs