- The top 5 tenets of SaaS
- InfoWorld Daily Podcast
- On social media, part 2: What's right
- A waste of time: Teaching programming?
- InfoWorld Daily Podcast
- 5 ways data projects go bad
- Vista's broken Time Machine
- InfoWorld Daily Podcast
- Epilogue: The problem with Ubuntu
- Microsoft E-Learning's security shortcomings
October 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: Even though the providers try to make it seem as if they handle everything involved with the software-as-a-service model, SaaS demands IT intervention. The upside is that it's "further proof of the lasting importance of IT," Ephraim Schwartz writes in The five tenets of SaaS integration. "It's no longer a question of whether IT admits SaaS into the enterprise. It's a question of how IT makes it work."
Notes from the field: The frightening Robert X. dons his Cringely mask to warn users to be afraid, very afraid of Microsoft. The company "can take over your computer wherever you are, and do whatever it wants." Yet another Windows Update snafu proves just that. This latest went ahead and installed Windows Desktop Search 3.01 on PCs configured not to run the resource hog, to which Microsoft muttered underneath it's breath, "oops, sorry." But, Cringe reveals, "the ugly truth is that Microsoft is using security fears to force its enslaved base (that would be you and me) into installing stuff it wants us to have. Somebody needs to put a stake through its heart, before it kills again." Windows Live? Or just ... undead? What could possibly be scarier than that? A blind date with Larry Ellison, for one. Yikes.
App dev: Yesterday, Microsoft detailed project Oslo for model-centric applications, with a bent toward SOA and integration, and it has Savio Rodrigues shaking his head. "You know, SOA and especially Composite Applications, are supposed to be about heterogeneous environments. I didn't find a thing that leads me to believe that Oslo has much to do with interoperability," Rodrigues writes in Microsoft Oslo: Lacking interoperability? "Microsoft, open you eyes ... your 'SOA' customers care about more than .NET and all customers benefit from open standards. This is not new news."
The news beat: Security geeks say Leopard needs fixing -- and that Apple has "a long way to go to catch up with Microsoft," security-wise. Intel ships its dual-core Itanium 2 update, Montvale, a server processor that offers incremental improvements, such as a faster front-side bus. Google finally makes its social networking power move as it sets to unleash today OpenSocial, its initiative "to spread social applications across the Web." And Poor earnings results prompt more layoffs at Alcatel-Lucent.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 31, 2007 11:16 AM
October 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)
A Halloween tale to scare Apple: researchers say it has to catch up to Microsoft, security-wise. Also, Intel issues Montvale, Google mobile platform coming in '08, and more 
LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 31, 2007 08:01 AM
October 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)
On social media, part 2: What's right
Best of the blogs: After first attacking the myriad problems with social media, Lena West is back and looking at the upsides. Shorter time to market, better SEO, visibility are just a few of the advantages. "In much the same way social media can be used to solicit feedback about planned products and services, it can be used to improve existing offerings as well," West writes in this Social Media 360 post. "I know I missed a few, feel free to chime in..."
Data management: Errors can be fun, or at least Sean McCown thinks so. Troubleshooting a LiteSpeed problem, McCown encountered a message saying "This is not a good self-extracting restore executable! - Bad Magic." In McCown's words, "ya just gotta love programmers."
Green IT: IBM has come up with a way to simultaneously reduce silicon waste and boost the solar-power industry, Ted Samson explains in this Sustainable IT post. Those little silicon discs too flawed for use in processors that were previously discarded are now being removed in a fashion more befitting to reusing them, thus extending the life of the silicon, and that leaves more material for the solar fray, where supplies have been tight.
Gripe Line: Palm has a warranty period on some of its products that is so brief it's virtually useless, Ed Foster finds. "The reader was assuming that the Palm PDA would have at least a one-year warranty, but instead he discovered the warranty is only for 90 days," Foster reports in Palm's sneakwrap warranty. That fact is in such an obscure corner of Palm's site that Foster points out, "it is obvious Palm is trying to hide its warranty."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 31, 2007 04:48 AM
October 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
A waste of time: Teaching programming?
Careers: Two U.K. researchers claim that "programming teaching is useless for those who are bound to fail and pointless for those who are certain to succeed," Nick Corcodilos reports in Does the camel have two humps? "It seems to me this could be used to test even people who think they already are programmers. Maybe they're not, eh?"
The news beat: Apple's new OS Leopard has already been hacked to run on Windows PCs, without Apple's consent of course. A mobile phone platform by Google is due in the middle of next year, according to reports, the goal of which is to make its apps and services as accessible on phones are they are on PCs. McAfee buys ScanAlert, a Web application security company that scans sites daily in search of vulnerabilities. And Microsoft unwraps its Oslo project to create a unified platform for integrating services and modeling.
Columnist's corner: Sometimes, what's obvious to the support professional is not so clear to technology users. A national support specialist for a major equipment manufacturer learned that lesson early on, and carried it along for the rest of his career. It all started on the phone with a man and woman who said everything had been fine up until a few minutes prior to their call. "There had been no error messages or error lights on the main processor unit," our Off the Record author explains in Computer Function 101. So, he started with the basics, or so he thought. Forty-five minutes later they asked for a break. Sure, but why? "The other guy just left with the flashlight."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 30, 2007 10:45 AM
October 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Apple's Leopard OS hacked to run on Windows PCs, attack code targeting Kodak bug in Windows released, Yahoo adds social networking features to IM upgrade, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 30, 2007 08:40 AM
October 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
From the feature well: The only thing worse than a data integration project is a data integration project gone wrong. And they can go down so many different dark paths. In the perils of dirty data, five such tales emerge, including the 'Dear Idiot' letter, a high-tech rendition of Nikolai Gogol's novel Dead Souls, and 'the war on error' among others. "Don't let your own project become someone else's horror story," Dan Tynan cautions. In Data mischief new editor-in-chief Eric Knorr shares one pleasant -- and profitable -- information integration surprise.
Security: While one-third of all employees admit to circumventing security policies on the job, according to a study due for release this week by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, "combine those results with the notion that many of these types of incidents also likely occur without employees' knowledge of their mistakes, and the survey result gains even more weight in terms of its overall gravity," Matt Hines reports in Auditors: Employees missing big picture risks. "Seemingly even worse, 65 percent of those interviewed reported that they are unconcerned with securing their privacy while using a workplace computer in general, and 63 percent said that do not worry about the security of the information they handle at work whatsoever."
Careers: "You're advising people to lie!" is a common reaction to his work, Bob Lewis admits. "Actually, I don't say that. Were I the sort to be completely honest under every and all circumstances I might be tempted," he writes in when telling the truth is more immoral than not telling the truth. "My first objection to 'always tell the truth' is, which truth? The truth I want to immediately blurt out before I stop to think? Or the truth that only comes with reflection?"
Notes from the field: Robert X. Cringely calls TJX Dumber and Dumberest because "just when you thought the data breach couldn't get any uglier, it does." That's right, banks now claims that TJX had 94 million credit card numbers stolen, twice what it first claimed. "The other numbers are equally staggering." Take the 80GB of data hackers moved across the Net from its servers, for one. A sniffer set up camp on TJX servers for more than 7 months. It gets even worse. "Yet despite all this, sales at the company's stores (which include TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Bob's Stores) are actually rising."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 30, 2007 04:52 AM
October 29, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: Curious to see how many so-called new Mac OS X features he could reproduce under Windows Vista, Randall Kennedy set about focusing on Time Machine. "For the first time in years I was actually tempted to drop my tried-and-true manual approach (basically, the equivalent of xcopy with some additional steps) and trust my precious data to Microsoft," Kennedy writes in this Enterprise Desktop post. The story, of course, doesn't end there. "My odyssey into Vista's backup purgatory was just beginning. You see, shortly after my brush with apparent backup ecstasy, I made a disturbing discovery."
From the Test Center: With the Internet Application Gateway 2007, an SSL VPN Microsoft acquired along with Whale Communications last year, Microsoft has landed a winner, asserts Keith Schultz. "The total package makes one flexible yet secure solution for remote access to the enterprise. The end-point control is one of the best going, but full functionality is limited to Windows and Internet Explorer clients. Same thing for network-level remote access -- it's available for non-Windows platforms, but to get the total package it requires IE and ActiveX. Along with Juniper and F5, admins should give Microsoft IAG a look when SSL VPNs come knockin' at their door." Read the full review.
Video: At the top of The Week Ahead with Gina Smith is Oracle's bid to buy BEA Systems. "Oracle is now even dissing BEA," Smith explains. Also, Nokia holds a mashup conference, Salesforce.com pushes out its Winter '08 edition and changes the name of its platform, and Cringe weighs in on AT&T's perplexing pact with Napster.
The news beat: Microsoft builds a 'custom skin' for the new T-Mobile Shadow phones expected today. Michael Dell hints at more and bigger acquisitions, as well as forthcoming x86-based wares. IBM details SOA Healthcheck workshops with specialized diagnostics and triage capabilities to recommend cures for problem areas. And since BEA let Oracle's acquisition bid expire, BEA's largest stock owner, Carl Icahn, demands that BEA shareholders get a vote on Oracle's offer.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 29, 2007 10:56 AM
October 29, 2007 | Comments: (0)
BEA's largest stock owner demands shareholder vote on Oracle acquisition offer, MS builds custom interface for new T-Mobile Shadow phone, Alibaba preps for IPO, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 29, 2007 08:45 AM
October 29, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Epilogue: The problem with Ubuntu
Open source: Concluding his controversial series Why Ubuntu (still) sucks, Randall Kennedy starts by explaining that few, if any, of the angry dissenting readers that commented have even figured out exactly what's going on here. In the process he learned that "engaging [the open source] community on an intellectual level was pointless" and Kennedy "got a glimpse of the 'real' face of the Linux community, the immature, mom's basement-dwelling, pimple-faced geek side that the Red Hats, Novells and Canonicals of this world don't want you to see." The final piece drew plenty of comments, as did the predecessors. My favorite: "You, sir, are evil. And I mean that in a good way."
Security: Many of today's worms and bots create tens of thousands of variants each month which, in the words of Roger Grimes, "has made many anti-virus software programs that use static signatures significantly less accurate." Stopping malware that mutates on demand. "Who cares whether anti-virus companies get the malicious sample and make a signature? The malware has never existed before and won't exist again. Server-side polymorphism has created another challenge in the anti-virus world."
Storage: Data is growing so much it could reach a point where IT cannot store it reliably. "But what if we could use disk drives differently to create reliable, secure single instances of our data?" Mario Apicella asks in Protect your data by breaking it apart. That's where dispersed storage comes in. Two startups, Cleversafe and RevStor, are advancing the model, which involves shredding data and storing each fragment, encrypted, on a separate node. "As with a shredded paper document, no single data fragment can give away the whole. Because of this, dispersed storage is inherently more secure than traditional methods. Only the owner can bring the data confetti back together." Related: CleverSafe takes a slice out of storage.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 29, 2007 05:10 AM
October 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft E-Learning's security shortcomings
Gripe Line: Why would Microsoft use a customer's credit card number as ID for an E-Learning account? Good question, indeed. "The reader contacted Microsoft to see how to let the client's user take the course without having access to his credit card," Ed Foster reports in Microsoft's E-Learning needs a lesson in security. Only way to change the ID was to delete the account and that, of course, defeats the whole purpose. "I find it disturbing that a major vendor would use credit card numbers for anything except billing," the reader writes.
Pop quiz: Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains, AC/DC and Whitesnake. They're all in the first question of this week's InfoWorld News Quiz. Also, Steve Ballmer is itchin' to buy a lot of something, Comcast has been up to nasty business, and phishers try to steal from Supervalu. Think you know tech? Prove it.
Notes from the field: Another Friday, another geek week in review. Leading off, Oracle's gesture of granting BEA a deadline to accept its acquisition offer. "I understand if that tactic doesn't work, they're threatening to airlift Larry Ellison's ego and drop it onto BEA's corporate offices, covering the building in a warm gelatinous ooze," Cringe writes. AT&T joins the fun this week by inking a deal by which it will charge customers $2 each to download songs to handsets. And Microsoft aced out Google when it took a stake in Facebook.
The news beat: Oracle's president says that BEA's counteroffer is "impossibly high" and for any company, not just Oracle. Startups are vying for position in the mobile search market, while stalwarts Google and Yahoo meet resistance from U.S. operators. Microsoft says that it has sold 88 million copies of Vista despite being largely snubbed by enterprises. And Acer eclipses Lenovo as the third largest PC vendor and, now, sets its sights on Dell.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 26, 2007 10:55 AM
October 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Startups vie for mobile search position, Oracle calls BEA's counteroffer impossibly high, NEC shows off fastest supercomputer, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 26, 2007 07:47 AM
October 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Video: Sustainable IT guru Ted Samson speaks with Judy Glazer, Hewlett-Packard's director of global operations and environmental responsibility, about the ways HP benefits from keeping a close eye on how its suppliers are environmentally and socially responsible, how HP meets regulations, and the business case for a green supply chain and green IT in general. Watch it here.
Best of the blogs: That's not all from Mr. Samson, either. He also delves into Strategic steps down the green IT path. The first move, as in so many projects, is to identify and prioritize goals. "That task in and of itself can demonstrate just how complex a green transformation can be," Samson explains. "Tempting as it may be to start throwing resources around to reap rewards of sustainability, planning, assessing, monitoring and procedural changes are critical -- and IT has a central role to play in it all."
Tech's bottom line: Forget today's ticker, Bill Snyder advises. "Tech companies are showing strength across multiple sectors." IT's rational exuberance. Software is still a mixed bag, to be sure, but chipmakers, outsourcers, e-commerce companies, PC makers, and so on are issuing solid reports. Even still, "the volatility has been rather amazing," Synder writes of Amazon's bump then dip. "Tech's losses have been largely caused by larger worries about the credit crunch and its parent, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. I'd be sweating a lot more if I didn’t see solid sales and earnings by the major players."
Columnist's corner: It's been two years in the making but Total system disruption, part 2 is here. The original focused on Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing anarchy, arguing for smarter predictive modeling for human response to natural disasters. "Today I sit watching as a million-plus people stream out of San Diego County, fleeing a totally foreseeable chain of extreme firestorms," David Margulius explains. "Every-man-for-himself planning and predictive modeling is not enough anymore. We need a nationwide early-warning data-modeling platform that can be shared by industry and leveraged by the private and public sectors, as well as the military." Related: Katrina's total system disruption.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 26, 2007 04:48 AM
October 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: Randall Kennedy has a rather contentious series over at his Enterprise Desktop blog. Why Ubuntu (still) sucks. He's up to part 4, which begins, "it's the applications, stupid!" To wit, "an operating system is only as good as the applications that run on it. Combine that with the old saw, 'you get what you pay for,' and you begin to appreciate why a thriving, commercial, 3rd-party development community is essential to building a lasting presence in the marketplace. Without it, you get something like, well, Ubuntu," Mr. Kennedy writes. Personally, I cannot wait for the epilogue he promised. Related: Part 1: Search; Part 2: Compiz Fusion; Part 3: x11.
The news beat: After at first refusing Oracle's offer, BEA Systems has countered, stating that $21 a share is a more realistic price. Microsoft takes a $240 million stake in Facebook, thereby beating Google to the punch. Trend Micro plans to acquire Provilla for its LeakProof software and, in so doing, step into the data leak prevention fray. NEC takes on the likes of Cray and IBM with what it claims is the fastest vector supercomputer, the SX-9. And an analyst thinks that Apple takes $18 per month from AT&T for every iPhone subscriber.
SOA: Word is, those building SOAs have had it up to their noses with registries. "While the number of JADRs is not the problem, the fact that there is no clear standard or integration mechanism between the registries is clearly a problem." That's JADR, as in Just Another Damn Registry. "So, what can be done? First and foremost, vendors need to come together on a common registry, and repository for that matter. Or, perhaps provide integration mechanisms between them." A novel idea, indeed.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 25, 2007 10:32 AM
October 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Oracle swallows Interlace Systems, Microsoft takes stake in Facebook, OLPC toys with cows as power source, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 25, 2007 08:33 AM
October 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Linux: the Windows gateway drug
Columnist's corner: Microsoft just might be finding ways to reach a middle ground with open source. "And they usually involve money," explains Sean Gallagher in this week's Enterprise Windows. The deal with Novell is one such example, as are the subsequent similar pacts with other open source providers. Most recently the folks from Redmond reached an accord with TurboLinux. The upside, Gallager continues, is that "Microsoft can assure some level of compatibility with Linux servers running in its corporate customers' infrastructure, making their lives easier." What does Microsoft get in return? "If Microsoft makes money off of Linux, and invests in making Windows a better alternative to Linux, Linux becomes the Windows gateway drug."
Notes from the field: Robert X. Cringely purports that Arnold Schwarzenegger might be relying on his bad-guy-role strengths, at least in this latest escapade: True lies and data breaches. The Governator, you see, terminated a nifty piece of legislation called the Consumer Data Protection Act that would force California merchants to be responsible for data leakages. "Arnie says the law is too big a burden on small merchants, and that the credit card industry already has its own data security guidelines," Cringe writes. "The old 'industry self regulation is better' argument rises again, like a cybernetic assassin after it's been steamrolled by a semi." This one, like most Hollywood flicks, is set up perfectly for a sequel.
Careers: Speaking of ... Bob Lewis is back with more on when your boss tells you to terminate an employee. "For some semblance of balance, may I lend support to the minority side here (which appears to be the rather less-than-endearing Mr. GeorgeC)," a reader begins. This mini-manifesto ranges from management tricks and techniques to the notorious Nuremberg Defense to what commitment companies should have for the cogs in its wheel. "Promises aren't, and shouldn't be absolute. Situations change, and a promise that seemed like a good idea when made might be harmful when the time comes to deliver," Lewis asserts. Not everyone agrees, however.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 25, 2007 05:02 AM
October 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Giving voice to the IT talent shortage
Careers: Today, guest writer Jerry Mahoney weighs in on the current epidemic otherwise known as the talent shortage in IT. "It's causing lots of IT problems. In fact, all of them. We've got failures galore! And if you actually still have a job in IT, you're infected, too. It's why you can't work more hours without complaining," Mahoney writes in this Ask the headhunter post. The dilemma: a 40 percent drop in new IT grads being churned out results in a 5.2 percent salary increase for current workers. "Gotta pay more to get the few of you people out there in IT to work 24X7! That's how competition works."
Columnist's corner: Nothing quite like trial by fire, particularly on one's first day at a national support desk. But that's exactly what happened to our Off the Record author, back in 1978 I ought to add. The problem was a departmental mini-computer that would come to a crawl every Monday, only to spring back 15 minutes later. "Over the course of the next several weeks, we studied every aspect of what happened on Monday mornings." The case of the very bad Monday. "I learned an important lesson from this experience. Although most support issues can be looked at in terms of 'what changed?' it does not necessarily mean that the change was directly tied to the symptom."
Open source: Here's a thought-provoking question: How vested are you in your OSS? Savio Rodrigues ponders this from a developer perspective. "I'm wondering whether a developer who has built skills with OSS product A is more, less or equally invested in the product's life than another developer who has built skills with a commercial enterprise product B," he writes. Talkback below or via the link immediately above.
The news beat: Microsoft lays out a roadmap for Dynamics and upgrades support for the business applications. Oracle ships a Windows version of its 11g database, replete with performance improvements and better integration to Microsoft's platform. Sprint-Nextel and Alcatel-Lucent introduce a mobile data card that serves as a security tool. And a new wireless public broadband plan hopes to cover Silicon Valley with Internet services but, of course, the strategy is not lacking obstacles.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 24, 2007 10:37 AM
October 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft lays out Dynamics roadmap, upgrades support, Oracle sets deadline for BEA to accept acquisition offer, MySQL charts course through 2009, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 24, 2007 08:59 AM
October 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Social media and its myriad problems
Best of the blogs: So, what's wrong with social media? Plenty, according to this post in Lena West's new blog Social Media 360 and reader comments. "Do I think social media will cure world hunger? Um, sadly, no. Do I think it's got uber-potential of the likes we haven't seen in years? Yep," West writes. But first, back to the rant. Anyone can get cred with a big enough list, it's prone to stalkers and other nuts, while blogs, podcasts and wikis are not only part of the solution but also the problem. "However, it should be very telling that I took the direction of my firm from overall technology strategy to social media strategy in less than a year," West explains.
Columnist's corner: A professor at the University of California Berkeley says that 90 percent of corporate IT assets sit dormant inside the balance sheets. Ninety percent, that's what he says. The key phrase, though, is balance sheets. "Monetizing dormant IP has not yet registered with VCs looking for revenue-generating businesses," reports Ephraim Schwartz in Banking on busted IT projects and dormant IP. "Dormant IP aside, think of the hundreds of projects in which companies spend millions, if not hundreds of millions, only to never complete them."
Podcasts: Storage Networking World happened last week and Mario Apicella reflects on the high points, namely SAS, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and the new acronym CNA, which stands for converged network adapters. "The quick pace of the past few months suggests it won't be long before you'll be explaining to your CEO how investing in CNAs will save the company a bunch of money down the road." Tune into Storage Sprawl.
App dev: Martin Heller is starting to smell tulips again. And it's not even spring time. Figuratively, though, it just might be a season of rebirth in VC land. By way of a little explanation Mr. Heller is wafting the tulips from a historical perspective, tulip mania (thanks for the link Martin) being one of the very first bubbles, back in the 17th Century. "It's not just that Silicon Valley is once again awash in venture capital and startups," he writes in this Strategic Developer post. "It's that there's so much money floating around for silly things."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 24, 2007 04:47 AM
October 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)
The great desktop switch: Choosing a Linux
Special Report: In this morning's post, I linked to Neil McAllister's piece about migrating to Linux desktops, wherein he recommends beginning with Ubuntu -- but you don't have to. Indeed, there are half a dozen alternatives, all viable. Red Hat, Suse, Xandros, just to kick things off. "Trying them all would be a time-consuming task, but here are some pointers to start you in the right direction," Mr. McAllister writes. Related: Linux desktop applications.
Notes from the field: Comcast, it appears, has been caught playing with customers naughty bits, Robert X. Cringely reports. The company has been accused of killing off BitTorrent file sharing when the Associated Press tried to transfer the entirely public domain work The King James Bible and received a bogus error message. Comcast into the fires of hell. "This is yet another reminder that it's not your computer (it's Microsoft's or Apple's), it's not your music (it belongs to the record companies), and it's not your Internet connection (it's your ISP's). How many more things can THEY get us to pay for and not own?"
Best of the blogs: By bowing to the European Commission's antitrust demands, Microsoft opens the kimono. "For the first time, Microsoft's competitors will have affordable access to the code needed to make their enterprise products fully interoperable with the company's own," explains Bill Snyder. "Since so many major software players are multi-national, the effect will be global." Related: Microsoft's European vacation.
Live Chat: The debate brewing at Nick Corcodilos' Ask the headhunter blog about whether or not to use a resume when pursuing job opportunities will be discussed live in the IT Careers Chat Room of InfoWorld IT Exec-Connect today at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time. (Registration is required but, hey, it's free.)
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 23, 2007 10:21 AM
October 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft plays new note with F# functional programming language, EC says that Microsoft complying with antitrust ruling will have profound impact on software industry, 50 percent of convicted ID thieves avoid jail time, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 23, 2007 07:45 AM
October 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)
3 steps to get from Windows to Linux desktops
Special Report: If migrating to Linux desktops feels like venturing into the great unknown, then you're not alone. But the reasons for doing so are compelling -- and it's hardly just the non-existent up-front price tag, either. Three easy steps can get you started, beginning with picking a distribution. I'll not spoil the ending, but a test drive is step the second. "If you're willing to take the plunge, getting started with Linux is a matter of a few easy steps. Once you're done, you should have a fully operational desktop system suitable for learning, experimentation, or even for replacing your current PC for day-to-day computing needs," writes Neil McAllister. Oh yes, and you can even leave Windows in place. Related: Is desktop Linux for real?
From the Test Center: Keeping Windows around is something of a theme this week. This time, we're talking about a different platform, though: Mac or Windows? Why choose? Now that Apple is atop Intel chips, "the possibility of running Windows on Mac hardware [looms] large," writes Philip Windley. Sure, Apple's Boot Camp is one option, but we're talking Parallels and Fusion here, folks. The first question Windley almost always gets is does it really work? "The answer is an unconditional yes. Both packages do what they promise and are solid performers." There are, of course, reasons to go with one instead of the other, depending on a company's individual requirements. "The differences between Parallels and Fusion are significant, but largely at the edge of the experience."
Podcasts: VMware is growing and so is the ecosystem of third-parties filling "niche needs that may plague you at some point," David Marshall reports. Vkernel is one that aims to help with pesky chargeback problems, while Repton brings what it calls a V-Ployment solution for, you guessed it, easing deployments of VI3. Tune into The Virtualization Report.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 23, 2007 04:55 AM
October 22, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Secrets to building better software
App dev: The notion of boosting developer productivity via fewer people has Zack Urlocker pointing out five key findings that begin with small team size, a modular approach and, ultimately, focus on team chemistry. Over at the Advice Line blog, meanwhile, Bob Lewis addresses a reader's question about what really has the most impact on software quality. At the heart of this student vs. professor debate is the question of whether requirements or testing is more important. "After thinking it over, I have to disagree with your professor," Lewis asserts.
Best of the blogs: It's a bit premature, perhaps, to say that 2007 is winding down. Nonetheless, Gartner is already looking ahead to 2008, and David Marshall checks in on Gartner's top 10 predictions for 2008, wherein he finds that the outlook is virtual and green. What else? WOA and SaaS, among others. "Gartner also talks about Virtualization 2.0 saying that virtualization technologies can improve IT resource utilization and increase the flexibility needed to adapt to changing requirements and workloads. However, by themselves, virtualization technologies are simply enablers that help broader improvements in infrastructure cost reduction, flexibility and resiliency."
The news beat: The U.S. DOJ says it opposes extending antitrust regulations against Microsoft. Intel's general counsel maintains that it's time to fix problems with the patent system, particularly when it comes to those who purchase patents with litigating in mind. A security researcher says that the Storm Worm is now just a squall as the majority of infected PCs have been cleaned. And a chemical industry group slams Greenpeace's iPhone report claiming that all the substances reported by Greenpeace are approved for use.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 22, 2007 11:11 AM
October 22, 2007 | Comments: (0)
U.S. DOJ not seeking extension to antitrust ruling against Microsoft, WiMax gets international certification, Mozilla issues critical security patch, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 22, 2007 07:22 AM
October 22, 2007 | Comments: (0)
When mistaken pricing becomes false advertising
Best of the blogs: The cost of an Epson scanner has been incorrectly listed in a sponsored Google ad long enough that one reader is asking when what likely began as a simple error actually becomes false advertising. It's not that Epson cannot alter it, either. "It looks like Epson might be changing the ad copy regularly," Ed Foster reports in Epson discount lives on in Google ad. Trying to reach Google on this matter was like, well, trying to reach Google on just about any matter: cold, form-based and to no avail. "I guess Google can't be bothered," the reader explained. Most telling, perhaps, is that an Epson rep said you can't trust what you see on the Internet, particularly if it's from Epson.
Security: Breaking in through the front door is less common now than ever. More likely is that an unwitting user launches a worm or bot that leads to the compromise. "Spam a hundred malicious e-mails to an entity's employees and you're almost guaranteed to get a client-side execution," Roger Grimes explains. Vulnerabilities inside out. "Why rob a bank with a gun when you're only going to get a few thousand dollars at most, along with an exploding dye pack and a guaranteed 5-to-25 years in prison? Instead, buy a spamming bot for a few hundred dollars, spend a few hours customizing your attack, and steal tens of thousands to millions. Your risk of getting caught is almost nil."
Storage: The Storage Networking World conference highlighted what Mario Apicella calls "harbingers of advances to come," such as SAS and FCoE, as in Fibre Channel over Ethernet. "Sure, point-to-point connections and 6Gbps transfer rates make SAS compelling, but it's the protocol's flexibility that makes it a manufacturer's dream come true," Apicella explains in Small SNW plays could make big waves. And a new acronym cropped up, too: CNA, converged network adapters. "Although you can't buy CNA or FCoE products quite yet, the quick pace of the past few months suggests it won't be long before you'll be explaining to your CEO how investing in CNAs will save the company a bunch of money down the road."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 22, 2007 04:39 AM
October 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Don't beg for that job, even if you want it
Careers: While most job hunters approach employers "like a dog with a note in its mouth," Nick Corcodilos says that approach is not becoming and doesn't work. "This begging mentality is all wrong. You're not looking for a favor. You're offering to do a favor. To solve some manager's problem. So, behave accordingly," he writes in Do a favor; get a job. Start by figuring out what you can contribute. Then, time for some mental calculations before picking up the phone.
InfoWorld News Quiz: You don't know tech. Or, then again, perhaps you really do. Test your knowledge of this week's happenings right here. For starters, which company has Oracle not swallowed up? And another: which feline moniker has Apple not trademarked?
The news beat: Microsoft says it is streamlining the core code of its next operating system, Windows 7, to help it fit into a broader array of devices. SAP partners with Adobe and Microsoft to give customers a better UI for its ERP software. Aruba countersues Symbol in their Wi-Fi patent fight. And the Taiwanese government aligns with Intel, NEC, Nortel and other multinationals in a WiMax pact.
Notes from the field: Friday again and so comes Robert X. Cringely's geek week in review. The Dalai Lama stars in this one, alongside President Bush, Facebook's sugar daddy, Steve Jobs and some iPhone unlocking funny business.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 19, 2007 10:43 AM
October 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft working to streamline the core of Windows 7, group calls on social networking sites to filter content, Symantec warns of attack code that affects Real Player, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 19, 2007 07:33 AM
October 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Poster child for sustainable business technology
Green IT: Virtualization is the highest form of sustainable business technology, asserts Ted Samson in Factor sustainability into your SaaS decision. And alongside virtualization is SaaS, "an interesting proposition indeed as the model becomes increasingly popular and viable." Centralized datacenters, by nature, can result in less energy consumed and fewer carbon emissions.
Best of the blogs: Oracle just might be ready to delay, again, the upcoming Fusion platform, rumor has it anyway. SAP has had problems with its NetWeaver and this week when Microsoft unwrapped Office Communications Server 2007 it took care to point out that it is not a platform play, Ephraim Schwartz explains in Are we witnessing the demise of the big platform? "Perhaps SOA was the final nail in the coffin of the platform view of the world." Thus, another question: Will NetWeaver and Fusion slowly die from neglect?
Columnist's corner: There are differences between Oracle's push to acquire BEA Systems and its hostile takeover of Peoplesoft. This time around "nobody really cares," writes David Margulius. "We're unlikely to see a court case, a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, customer protests, or lots of media hand-wringing," he adds in BEA vs. Peoplesoft: Top 10 reason it's different. For one, Oracle could really use application-neutral middleware right about now to tie together all the disparate legacy platforms it sells. "It's a 'tuck-in' acquisition, like going to the doctor's office to get a little hit of Botox."
Notes from the field: Amazon's 1-click patent has always struck Cringely as excessive. "Apparently Peter Calveley thought so too," he writes in Click on this, Amazon. "The USPTO ruled in the Caveley's favor, rejecting 21 of Amazon's 26 patent claims as overbroad." Cringe, of course, has a patent of his own in incubation.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 19, 2007 04:37 AM
October 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)
What Oracle/BEA could mean to SOA
Best of the blogs: When it come to SOA we like hype more than reality, asserts David Linthicum, and that is particularly true of Oracle's acquisition bid for BEA Systems. BEA, of course, has been an SOA player, so the purchase, if it happens, would effect certain aspects of service-oriented architecture, he explains in this Real World SOA post. Then again, some truths will remain. "SOAs are architectures, and not products. So, no matter how much technology is acquired and put into an offering, that does not make it an architecture that you can buy," Linthicum explains. "No one size fits all, sorry to break that to you ... again."
Green IT: When a major investment bank, in this case Sanford Bernstein, publishes a 48-page report highlighting IT's role in slowing global warming, you know that there's still plenty of room to make money, Bill Snyder reports in Green capitalism grows up. Throw Wall Street into that mix and it "creates a basketful of money-making opportunities for investors and jobs for IT workers eager to make a difference."
The news beat: Several U.S. states request a five-year extension of the antitrust ruling against Microsoft, arguing that Microsoft could reap the continued dominance of IE to choke other emerging technologies. Sun Microsystems is reworking the Java plug-in technology in Java SE 6. Hewlett-Packard details its Secure Print Advantage for protecting against malware and making sure documents get to the intended people. And Google talks up its health initiative.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 18, 2007 11:23 AM
October 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Nokia unveils new Linux-based tablet, Washington State teen faces prison term for hacking 911 system, Apple confirms iPhone SDK is on the way, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 18, 2007 07:45 AM
October 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)
VoIP: The lie that is Voice over IP
VoIP: What with Microsoft unveiling Office Communications Server 2007 and its unified communications strategy, and "in light of the fact that the backbone of any UC platform is VoIP, I just thought I'd inject a brief note of realism into the discussion of the future of UC and the current reality," Ephraim Schwartz explains in this Reality Check post. "VoIP is not half as good as my old AT&T service. I not only speak for myself here but friends and relatives who are using it as well." Several readers posted comments agreeing with Schwartz's assertions. "I'm fairly certain that some day it will be better. But I'm just saying it's not there yet. I don't care how many commercials they have on TV."
Unified communications: Moving right along, now that Microsoft has officially unwrapped OCS 2007 there are, not surprisingly, objections. And while OCS just might spur the rising tide that floats all unified communications boats, six concerns have manifested; some are FUD, others are legitimate. Related video: Bill Gates UC launch, in three parts.
Careers: Sometimes, there are worse places to be than in a tight spot. Take the case of one reader who seeks Bob Lewis' advice because he's weighing a job offer from one company while waiting to interview with another where he'd much rather work. The question, of course, is how to handle it. "The best approach I can think of would be to tell the folks who made you an offer that the earliest you can start with them is two weeks from Monday due to previous obligations," Lewis begins in An excellent pickle.
Open source: Hassle-free Linux box might be an oxymoron, explains Zack Urlocker, "but it's an interesting strategy by startup Zonbu." Though he confesses to not liking the requisite online storage subscription the diskless machine brings, Zonbu claims it will save electricity costs. To anyone out there who has tried it, let Zack know your thoughts. "I think this is ... a possibly disruptive idea."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 18, 2007 05:17 AM
October 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
The Cold War takes tech turn, moves online
Notes from the field: An email security alert from a Thailand-based Web host has Cringely a bit confused, not to mention a little jumpy. "Given the current state of Net security -- a term that's rapidly becoming an oxymoron -- I have good reasons to be nervous," he writes in The gathering storm. Storm, as in the "insidious and scary nasty bit of code," known as the Storm Worm. "The Cold War ain't over, it's just moved online. This time it isn't about geopolitics, it's about money -- and so far, we're losing this war."
Operating systems: When Apple makes its OS X Leopard available on Oct. 26, Tom Yager, and others, will be able to "finally speak out about that which we have sworn to hold secret." Apple OS X Leopard: A beautiful upgrade. Yager even goes so far as to write that the OS is "an engineering achievement that dwarfs iPhone, iPod, Windows and Linux ... I know it's difficult for people who don't use Macs to understand why an operating system gets us so worked up." But Leopard, to Yager, is a big deal, albeit one that's underhyped compared to iPhone. "Leopard is beautiful, not merely in appearance but in design, all the way down to its certified Unix core." Okay, okay for more gushing you'll just have to read the piece yourself.
The news beat: Oracle fixes 51 security vulnerabilities spanning a range of products, including 27 in its database, with the latest patch. SAP buys Yasu Technologies and plans to integrate the acquired technology into its forthcoming first BPM product, due early next year. A Trojan imitates Skype to steal passwords and other login credentials stored in IE. And Microsoft moves up a rung on the R&D spending ladder, according to Booz Allen Hamilton's annual study, which also ranks IBM, Intel and Siemens among tech's biggest spenders.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 17, 2007 10:24 AM
October 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Open Source Initiative approves a pair of Microsoft licenses, U.S. Congress asks Yahoo to explain false statements, Intel shines up Diamondville chip, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 17, 2007 07:48 AM
October 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Review: Microsoft weds OCS, Exchange
From the Test Center: Now, I've never actually been to a Hawaiian wedding myself, but I do know a few people who have -- and none of them mentioned anything about Microsoft, OCS, Exchange or any technology for that matter. Until Brian Chee and Oliver Rist examined the union of Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007, that is, in Chee's Lab in Hawaii. "Overall, our upbeat view of Exchange Server 2007 hasn't changed since we examined Beta 2 back in August of 2006." Microsoft's marriage of easy communications. Like all spousal pacts, this one has its share of confusion about who brings what and, of course, there's some overlap. And as with most newlyweds there are positives, negatives and great potential. Related: Gates continues talking about what's needed in unified communications.
Platforms: Apple will release Leopard nine days from now. Mimicking its 6 p.m. sale time for the iPhone, the long-delayed and highly-anticipated OS will become available the evening of October 26. "Apple boasts 300 new features in its Leopard client OS, and 250 new features in its server operating environment," Tom Yager reports in this Enterprise Mac post. Yager shares the high points, or nine of them at least, beginning with a redesigned desktop, as well as upgrade plans and pricing.
Open source: Novell pulled NetWare back to the present when it released Open Enterprise Server 2, opines Brad Shimmin. There just might be more to this story, though. "Obviously there are many strange coincidences surrounding the Novell (and now Red Hat) lawsuit filed by IP Innovation and Technology Licensing Corporation, some of which point to Novell as a possible accomplice in a larger Microsoft conspiracy to bring down Red Hat specifically and Linux in general," Shimmin explains. Future-proofing NetWare with virtualization. All that aside, Shimmin goes on to call OES 2 "a huge deal for the plethora of Novell shops with intractable NetWare Loadable Modules and nervous programmers."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 17, 2007 04:42 AM
October 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)
How to pick the right path: CS or IT?
Careers: There's only way to determine whether you'd prefer to be a hardcore programmer, IT guru, or a CIO. "Hang out with people who do the work, and choose," explains Nick Corcodilos in CS or IT? Two bits worth of advice. "What I've learned in all my years doing this is that a core expertise in computer science or engineering makes a stronger IT worker or manager -- and it is obviously necessary for the systems designer." Related: CS or IT? Part 1.
Columnist's corner: Dreaming of a RAID 5 array, our Off the Record author did the research, found a $60,000 solution from EMC, and wrote up a proposal for the boss. "You can guess what the VP said: 'No. Too expensive.' I pleaded my case to him and even went above his head to the owner of the company." Another no, of course. Cheapskate VP blows half a million. After an untested product was forced upon him, three failures in a month that left the company without a computer system, a call came from the owner inquiring about how to prevent any more problems. Profanities flew. "I didn't get fired, and I didn't get my RAID array for another couple of years."
Podcasts: To hear Mario Apicella tell it, IT's voracity for capacity just might spell disaster, if we don't bother to compensate for drive failure rates. Parity pioneer Panasus does just that to limit data corruption. Tune into Storage Sprawl.
Best of the blogs: Everyone dreads, though some more than others of course, when your boss tells you to terminate someone. It's even harder when said employee turned around from being "a long-term employee with stunningly inadequate performance," into someone whose performance is currently satisfactory. "Tough situation. I don't see any great answers. Which is to say, you do have to fire the employee," Bob Lewis begins. "Nobody ever promised you that you'd agree with everything you're instructed to do."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 16, 2007 10:58 AM
October 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft unwraps OCS 2007, HP settles stock options back dating suit against Mercury Interactive, BSA calls on Congress to pass legislation, fund cybercrime, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 16, 2007 07:47 AM
October 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)
The alien mindset of corporate culture
Gripe Line: Apple's deliberate use of an update to cripple iPhones running so-called unauthorized software is the latest in a long string of instances involving a vendor that acts "as if it can do whatever it wishes with its products after we buy them," Ed Foster explains. "It's enough of a trend that, even before the Apple story heated up, one reader was already contemplating it as a result of a stealth update from another megacorporation -- Microsoft." All your products belong to us. The price for these companies, and others including Intuit and Sony, is an open question. "It's scary to think how far this trend of vendors thinking they own the products we buy from them might go."
The news beat: As expected, Microsoft launches Office Communications Server 2007 today and details how it will arm the software to work more closely with office phone systems. Sun issues informational updates on open source efforts, including OpenSolaris, Java and GlassFish, in a conference that one executive said brings together all the people working on open source within the company. Chipmaker Intel disbands its Verified by Intel standardization program, claiming it met the stated objectives. And Apple faces a potential lawsuit from the Center for Environmental Health over toxins found in iPhones.
Feature well: Measuring and reducing technological risks is a big job. A strong plan, the right skills and, of course, a good set of tools can help. "The time and skills necessary for effective security assessment will never be free, but a terrific plan and excellent tools are readily available at no cost, courtesy of the open source community," Tom Bowers explains in IT's best free security tools. These are free in upfront cost -- but not in resources or manpower allocated toward them, so "be prepared to spend time learning how to use open source tools and techniques properly."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 16, 2007 04:38 AM
October 15, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Cringe: Give thanks for Larry Ellison
Notes from the field: Always one to weigh in, Cringely today writes "Thank God for Larry Ellison," in reference to Oracle's proposed acquisition of BEA Systems. "Larry 'I can't believe I ate the whole thing' Ellison has long coveted BEA, which you can tell by how he's trash talked them over the years," Cringe explains in Oracle to BEA: Better get a bucket. "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a roller coaster ride."
The InfoWorld News Quiz: Perhaps you think you do, but you don't know tech. Am I wrong? Prove it. Here's one for you: Apple is being sued over the iPhone -- again. What's the charge this time, officer? You'll have to answer a pair of questions to even get at that one. Test your knowledge here.
Security: No question, there is plenty of room for new and improved technologies in the security realm. Bearing that in mind, our sister publication Network World pinpoints the Top 10 security companies to watch. It starts with 2Factor, a provider of real privacy management -- an idea, at the very least, whose time has clearly come. Related: When best security practices go bad.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 15, 2007 10:25 AM
October 15, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Symantec moves to acquire Vontu, Hitachi claims it will cram 4TB into hard drive by 2009, Mac OS and Linux might face Web-access related security flaws and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 15, 2007 09:25 AM
October 15, 2007 | Comments: (0)
SOA vendor mistakes reach epidemic proportions
Best of the blogs: Admitting to being taken aback on a weekly basis by unflattering product pitches, David Linthicum writes that "many SOA vendors can't explain their own product, or the problems it solves. They do know how to list buzzwords they think will wow their prospects and existing customers, however in many cases the customers become further confused, or worse, don't even get the core concept behind the product." SOA vendor mistakes costing them business and how to fix this. "Sales teams, even armed with the smartest SEs, fail to deliver more than a very canned and ineffective pitch and/or briefing, and end up looking bad and confusing people they should really not confuse. This not a trend, it's an outright epidemic."
The news beat: A security researcher says that Mac OS and Linux probably have URI issues, as Microsoft plans to patch its own this week. Hitachi claims it can cram 4TB onto hard drives by 2009 with new reading-head technology that will continue shrinking disk drive size. And Oracle's bid for BEA takes an unfriendly turn.
Video: Gina Smith is back with a look at the week ahead. Oracle's efforts to scoop up BEA just might start a bidding war. Also, the Web 2.0 Summit coming up later in the week brings nothing less than a star-studded lineup. Gates will debut Office Communications Server, and quarterly earnings from tech's heavyweights. Watch it here.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 15, 2007 05:39 AM
October 12, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft adds event planning to its Windows Live services, Acer completes its purchase of Gateway, the reported murder of a Russian spammer proves to be a hoax, a systems glitch hits hundreds of Tokyo stations, and more. LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on October 12, 2007 08:08 AM
October 12, 2007 | Comments: (0)
A time machine for your network
Reviews: When it comes to dissecting whether a network problem is related to security or performance, a deep look into all the network activity surrounding the incident can be critical. InfoWorld's Test Center takes its own critical look at Network Instruments' GigaStor appliance and finds that it combines complete traffic capture, deep analysis, and even session playback, making it an effective -- if expensive -- tool for solving network performance and security problems.
In the news: Oracle confirmed it has offered to put down $6.7 billion to acquire middleware vendor BEA Systems. That would make it Oracle's biggest deal since it bought Siebel Systems for $5.85 billion in early 2006. BEA has long been a rumored takeover target. There's no word yet from BEA execs whether they intend to fight the acquisition. Microsoft is adding event planning to its Windows Live suite of services. In addition to the new Live Events service, Microsoft is updating two other Live services as part of its push to have a complete suite of integrated services by the end of this year.
Best of the blogs: What happens when good data goes bad? Today's Storage Insider, takes a look at a "growing problem in the enterprise, namely, that our voracity for capacity could quickly spell disaster if we fail to compensate for drive failure rates." Mario Apicella examines new data-loss-prevention technology from Panasas that serves up parity three ways to prevent data corruption in the inevitable event of drive failure.
Posted by Caroline Craig on October 12, 2007 07:56 AM
October 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft agrees to fix Window's URI flaw, Mozilla to develop a mobile browser, the ITC investigates patent infringement in hard-disk drives, a California state Web site is taken offline, and more. LISTEN!
Posted by Caroline Craig on October 11, 2007 07:50 AM
October 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)
The changing face of globalization
Best of the blogs: As the term becomes more ubiquitous in the technology realm, Ephraim Schwartz reminds us that "it's important to remember the concept of globalization does not simply refer to companies with worldwide reach ... Rather, it represents a complete cross-fertilization where companies have global integration of their workforces, their markets and perhaps over time, their identities." Globalization takes on a new look. "It boils down to an execution play. The U.S. companies seeking out India and the Indian companies coming here understand their respective strengths. Some will pull it off, but some endeavors will turn out so disastrous that they will become the stories of legend of what can go wrong."
Columnist's corner: With a solid three weeks before Leopard comes and both an Xserve and Mac Pro waiting for it, Tom Yager is looking toward the next best thing to OS X. "As an aside, when I broach this subject, I always draw comments from readers who tell me that dude, if I want to run OS X on an AMD machine, it can be done," he writes. Back to that OS X alternative. "While Solaris has none of the no-brainer usability and manageability of OS X client and server OSes, I'm finding Solaris to be an increasingly comfortable workmate with enough similarities to OS X to deserve some attention."
Notes from the field: Nearly echoing Warren Zevon, Cringe titles his latest Lawyers, guns and the RIAA. "Apparently somebody at the RIAA really believes the cliche that there is no such thing as bad press. That somebody is a dumbass," he writes. "What really tweaks me is the RIAA argument that file swapping steals money out of artists' pockets. The notion that someone who downloaded 1000 songs from Kazaa would have otherwise paid $990 for them on iTunes (or dropped $10,000+ to get the same songs on CD) is flat-out stupid."
Video: What are startups' dream employees really like? It's a pertinent question that Bill Snyder addresses by going right to the source: C-level execs at six fledgling companies. Answers range widely, but motivation and passion for technology and growing companies, not to mention hard tech skills, come up in multiple conversations. Oh yes, and "we are really in the age of rich Internet applications." Watch it here. Related: Where the jobs are: Hot startups for techies.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 11, 2007 04:00 AM
October 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
A new twist on Web 2.0: Info 2.0
Best of the blogs: IBM is calling it Info 2.0. The concept evokes mashups, collaboration, media sharing, situational applications, and blogs, among others, to make data more accessible. "As part of its Info 2.0 push, IBM on Tuesday introduced a preview of IBM Mashup Starter Kit, for building mashup applications and bearing Info 2.0 characteristics," Paul Krill reports in this Tech Watch post. An IBM exec explains that Info 2.0 puts Web 2.0 to work.
The news beat: Google unwraps Gen 5 of its Enterprise Search Appliance, which the company claims eases the headache of pouring through multiple content repositories. Oracle buys LogicalApps for its compliance wares. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer asserts that Red Hat Linux uses intellectual property Microsoft owns and, what's more, Red Hat customers should pony up to Microsoft accordingly. And Commerce Bank says it fended off attacking hackers, though they did get away with some customer information.
Podcasts: This week David Marshall looks at RingCube Technologies' MojoPac Freedom entry into virtualization, and at the Intel Developer Forum a new group details plans to update the USB spec. "What is it and how does it affect virtualization?" Tune into Virtualization Report. Related: VMware's VI3 gets an EOY upgrade.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 10, 2007 10:56 AM
October 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Oracle acquires LogicalApps, two hard drive pioneers win Nobel prize, UWB certifies first chipsets, Google grabs Jaiku, and more LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 10, 2007 08:16 AM
October 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
What Radiohead can teach open source
Best of the blogs: While it's "tempting to declare a full-on open source gold rush," Brad Shimmin continues that most providers are not tapping traditional business models. 'Rather, many of these vendors are looking to simplify and lower internal development costs, better support ISV partners, or just buy some street cred for solutions that would otherwise be considered frumpy by open source devotees." The price is right: Next open source business model. Think of the band Radiohead and its recent posting of a new album and then letting listeners choose how much to pay. "It can and should be the same for open source customers, who should be given the opportunity to place some value upon the excellent software developed these days."
From the Test Center: OpenProj beta 4 is "generally stable software with extensive project scheduling and resource management capabilities," Mike Heck writes in this preview of the product. What's more, compared to Microsoft Project it's tiny and runs fast. "With OpenProj's free access, it's just one more compelling case for going open source on the desktop."
Podcasts: Irony might be brewing in the storage cauldron as Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz, though not in so many words, proclaimed the demise of disk storage. "The days of developing storage solutions independently of application servers are gone -- at least at Sun, but other vendors take note." Back to the aforementioned irony cookin'. Tape drives just might become, not right away but in time, mind you, the sole survivors of the storage years. Tune into Storage Sprawl.
Careers: To hear Nick Corcodilos tell it, CIOs are worried about their jobs, and they ought to be. "Some IT pros are doing really well, and good for them, because they get it. The rest are sucking wind, because CIO's can't figure out what the CIO's job is: to cultivate and inculcate IT workers with business savvy," he writes in CIO punts to HR; IT loses. In other words, don't tell HR to go find good people, "while you're dissing older IT pros and failing to develop the kids [you] hire."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 10, 2007 04:57 AM
October 09, 2007 |