eWeek articles from November 2004

eWeek archives from November 2004

Intel's CPU Share Slips Slightly.(market share, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)
November 1, 2004... Intel Corp.'s share of the CPU market fell slightly during the third quarter as smaller rivals nipped at the leading chip maker's heels. Intel's market share slipped to 81.9 percent, versus 82.5 percent a quarter before, according to data...

CipherTrust Tool Puts Spammers Under Quarantine.(IronMail Privacy Architecture, a spam filtering software)
November 1, 2004... Messaging security vendor CipherTrust Inc. on Monday released a new component of its IronMail appliances designed to stop spam messages before they get to customers' networks. Known as Connection Control, the technology relies on the...

Toshiba Recalls Notebook Memory Modules.(laptop computers)
November 1, 2004... Toshiba said Monday that it will offer a free exchange program for more than 25 of its notebook models, caused by a problem with a memory module that appears similar to one that affected Hewlett-Packard several months ago. Toshiba Ltd....

Your Government Network.(New Mexico)
November 1, 2004... As you can see from the story about the new government-sponsored citywide Wi-Fi network in Rio Rancho, N.M., the move to treating data networks as a public utility seems to be growing. Already, cities around the United States are starting to...

China Shuts Down 1,600 Internet Cafes.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... BEIJING (AP)--China has closed 1,600 Internet cafes and fined operators a total of $12 million for letting children play violent games and for other violations, the government said Saturday. The announcement came amid a campaign launched in...

Why Measure What Can't Matter?
November 1, 2004... I was talking with someone about this year's presidential election, when I said that it was silly for polls to report anything other than predictions of the Electoral College votes. I argued that a poll purporting to measure, for example, "a...

Oracle Makes 'Final' PeopleSoft Offer.
November 1, 2004... After much speculation that it would raise its bid yet again, Oracle Corp. Monday morning announced its latest offer for PeopleSoft Inc.: $24 per share, up from $21 per share, or $7.7 billion. This is Oracle's "best and final offer,"...

Intel's Stealth Release.(Pentium 4 Extreme Edition)
November 1, 2004... AMD has been steadily marching up the processor performance curve, while Intel has been scrambling for a new strategy, having to face up to the fact that scaling to 4GHz and beyond simply may not be possible with this chip architecture. Scaling...

Mac and Linux Not Immune to Viruses.
November 1, 2004... It's easy for administrators and computing professionals to get frustrated with users for all kinds of reasons, but security has to be one of the biggest reasons these days. Let's consider the recent release of a malicious script for Mac...

Can Identity Theft Epidemic Be Stopped?(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A leading bank regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, warned in June that increased corporate outsourcing of call-center tasks and other jobs overseas had heightened the risk of identity theft. The crimes ranged from the theft of...

Internet Explorer Takes Another Market-Share Hit.
November 1, 2004... Challenges to Microsoft's Web browser dominance are mounting as Internet Explorer loses more market share to open-source rival Mozilla. Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer lost nearly a percentage point in market share in the past seven...

India Tech City Promises Help for Firms.
November 1, 2004... BANGALORE, India--The top official in this technology hub promised Monday to improve the city's battered infrastructure, making life easier for the hundreds of American and European companies with offices here. "My government will ensure...

Aluria's Deal with Adware Vendor Sparks Debate.
November 1, 2004... The presidential election has nothing on the debates in the anti-spyware industry. An announcement last week from adware vendor WhenU and anti-spyware company Aluria Software has raised red flags in the anti-spyware community. As part of...

The iPod-Powered PC.
November 1, 2004... Would your customers believe that they could use their iPods to turn any PCs into working clones of their main PC? Well, believe it or not, that's exactly what PowerHouse Technologies Group Inc. is doing with its Migo software. Migo...

Intel's WiMAX Agenda.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Intel is beating the wireless broadband drum. At September's Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, president and COO Paul Otellini delivered a bright technology forecast, underscoring the impact of upcoming WiMAX technology. Earlier this...

Source: AOL to Cut 700 Jobs Next Month.(America Online Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... NEW YORK (AP)--America Online, which has been trying to turn its fortunes around as users leave the service for broadband connections, plans to cut about 700 jobs next month, or 5 percent of its U.S. work force, in a bid to meet financial...

Xten Video Softphone Gets IM, Presence.(Xten Networks Inc., instant messaging)
November 2, 2004... Xten Networks Inc. has announced a new version of its Xten eyeBeam video-enabled softphone. Due in early December, eyeBeam 1.1 will incorporate presence and instant messaging along with IP voice and video. The presence and IM features of...

Firefox Is a Worthy Adversary.(Mozilla Firefox)
November 2, 2004... Is computing not making the progress it used to, or did I just read a story about Microsoft's Internet Explorer losing a tiny bit of its overwhelming market share? I thought we'd gotten this browser thing down several years ago and had moved...

$250M IBM Division in Pursuit of Sensors.
November 2, 2004... When IBM launched its $250 million Sensor and Actuation Solutions division in September, RFID was only one thought in mind, said Robert Mayberry, who heads up the new division as vice president. Actually, the S&A division started out at IBM...

Voting Rights Watchers: 'Little Meltdowns' Cause Delays at Polls.
November 2, 2004... Voters grappled with partisan challenges to their registrations, malfunctioning ballot machines and other headaches Tuesday as legions of lawyers, election-rights activists and computer scientists watched for signs of disenfranchisement. ...

Nextel and Verizon Settle Legal Disputes.(Nextel Communications Inc., Verizon Communications Inc.)
November 2, 2004... NEW YORK (AP)--Nextel Communications Inc. and Verizon Wireless are settling all legal disputes between them, removing a key challenge to a federal decision to clear up interference between cell phones and emergency response radios by moving...

Gateway to Repurchase Stock from AOL.(America Online Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... IRVINE, Calif.--Computer maker Gateway Inc. Tuesday said it has agreed to repurchase stock held by America Online Inc. for $316 million. AOL, which is a unit of media and entertainment company Time Warner Inc., invested $800 million in...

Sun Readies New Solaris Push, Snipes at Linux.(Sun Microsystems Inc. enhances its product)
November 2, 2004... Sun Microsystems Inc. officials on Tuesday offered new details on its open-source strategy. The company said publicly what most industry players understood for a long time: Sun's top priority is supporting its Solaris operating system rather...

Avaya Adds Video Calling to IP Softphone.(contract with Polycom Inc.)
November 2, 2004... Avaya announced on Monday that the integration between its IP softphone and Polycom's ViaVideo II camera, first announced last December, is now at a releasable stage. The result: one desktop tool for buddy-list style chat, IP voice or video...

Survey Finds Gap Between Supply-Chain Tech, Business Strategy.
November 2, 2004... High-tech vendors and retailers are at the top of the list when it comes to the progressiveness of their supply-chain initiatives, while the forestry and mining industries are near the bottom. Across all industries, big needs remain for...

Election: All Eyes on the Web.
November 2, 2004... As Election Day played out in polls across the country Tuesday, its course was tracked--in minute detail--by Internet news sites, watchdog organizations and Webloggers, much as they had done most every day over the past several years. ...

Is IBM the Grid King in Financial Services?
November 2, 2004... Oracle Database 10g be damned--IBM has been doing grid for longer than Oracle, better than Oracle and for cheaper than Oracle, its database executives want us to know. New features in the recently released DB2 Universal Database 8.2...

Bill Sends Spyware, Adware Purveyors Down Divided Paths.
November 2, 2004... As adware and spyware companies hoping to do business in the United States clean up their act in response to the Internet Spyware Prevention Act (I-SPY) recently passed by the House of Representatives, anti-spyware vendors are trying to stay...

When the Study-Funding Tables Are Turned.(Microsoft Corp., SupportSoft Inc., partnership)
November 2, 2004... Microsoft partner SupportSoft sure has a funny way of showing its support for Microsoft's Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2). Redwood City, Calif.-based SupportSoft sells software that automates the SP2 migration process. Earlier this year,...

SCO Delays Launch of Site on IP Battles.(intellectual property, The SCO Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... The SCO Group Inc. announced a few weeks ago that it would launch a Web site to present its side of the story of its IP (intellectual property) fights with IBM and Novell. The site's launch, however, has been delayed. "The company has made...

IBM's Database VP: Our Grid Scales Better.(Bob Picciano)
November 2, 2004... Sure, says IBM's database guru, Oracle is talking a good game on grid computing with Oracle Database 10g, but IBM's still pummeling its biggest database competitor in terms of price and in terms of how many nodes its technology has scaled to in...

HP, Brocade Integrate SAN Switching, Blade Architecture.(Storage Area Networks)
November 3, 2004... IT managers concerned about deploying blade technology into heterogeneous environments may have an easier time of it with the recent announcement that Brocade's SAN (storage area network) switching capabilities will be integrated into the...

For Sale: Cisco Firewall Source Code.
November 3, 2004... A group that earlier this year offered for sale the source code of a popular intrusion detection system now is selling what it says is a copy of the source code for a recent version of Cisco Systems Inc.'s PIX firewall. A member of the...

Coming to Project Managers: Multiscreen Microsoft PC.
November 3, 2004... Microsoft Corp. has launched a new entry in its ongoing effort to bring more innovative PC form factors to market--in the somewhat quirky form of a high-end system specialized for project managers. The Project PC, introduced at the...

Does SCO Matter?(Santa Cruz Operation Inc)
November 3, 2004... After seemingly endless Sturm und Drang, SCO's white-hot battles with IBM, Linux supporters and a host of other companies have cooled to the slow, red heat of laborious court proceedings. So, where are we now? Does SCO matter? When it all...

MS Office 12's Competition: Its Older Versions and Linux Suites.
November 3, 2004... As Microsoft preps another version of its Office productivity suite, a small group of software vendors waits for an opening in the competitive landscape. However, analysts suggest that the greatest competition to Microsoft's updated software...

Salesforce.com Customers Embrace On-Demand Model.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO--With the fervor of recent religious converts, Salesforce.com users say they are convinced that using a hosted application service provides significant potential cost savings and management benefits over trying to develop or...

Next-Gen Kiosks Could Guide You Through Holiday List.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2004... Shoppers this holiday season are going to run into a blizzard of next-generation kiosks, about three times as many of the devices as they saw last year, according to a new report from analyst firm Frost & Sullivan. The report comes as retailers...

Service Providers Create Ecosystems in New On-Demand Model.
November 3, 2004... Back in the early days of business computing, implementing computing technology meant building a relationship with a single vendor. Everyone had their own proprietary architectures, and when you selected a vendor, you were entering into the...

MS Office 12's Secrets Begin to Trickle Out.(microsoft office 12)
November 3, 2004... Microsoft still isn't ready to talk publicly about Office 12, its next major release of its information-worker family of products. But the company is briefing selected partners and customers about the forthcoming family of Office desktop and...

E-Voting Said to Pass Major Test Despite Glitches.
November 3, 2004... Despite dire predictions of chaos and worse, the influx of electronic voting in precincts across the United States on Election Day was more notable for its lack of problems than for any voting catastrophe. And where there were problems, people...

Wanted: Wi-Fi Channels.
November 3, 2004... Perhaps the organizers of the Wireless World Summit in London were a bit overambitious but they did, honestly, try to attract the people who mattered. So who do you think was missing? It wasn't the mobile operators. They were there:...

Hong Kong to Gain New 3G Mobile Network.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2004... HONG KONG (AP)--Hong Kong's SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings announced Tuesday it will roll out its third-generation mobile phone network in December, making it the territory's second provider of 3G services. "It is clear indication of...

How the Collapse of MARID Affects E-Mail Standards.
November 4, 2004... Many in the industry and the e-mail community at large had pinned their hopes on the work of the IETF's MARID working group to deliver a standard for e-mail authentication, widely considered to be the first necessary step in fixing the problems...

What Will Re-election Mean for High Tech?(Column)
November 4, 2004... Is the re-election of President George W. Bush good or bad for high tech? In strict business terms, it's good. Very good. Seen from a longer-term economic policy standpoint, the benefits are less clear. Check out Chris Nolan's column...

Securing Source Code Should Be a Priority.
November 4, 2004... The efforts of the "Source Code Club" to sell the source code to Cisco firewalls may be despicable, but they may also be a blessing in disguise. By making a public show of Cisco's inability to keep its secrets to itself, these desperados may...

What if Malware Programmers Were Better at Their Work?
November 4, 2004... Many assume that malware programmers are good programmers, and this isn't hard to understand. It's sort of like being impressed with a magician who does something that shouldn't be possible. But it's also like assuming that bullies must be good...

Serious IE Hole Opens PCs Up to Attacks.(Internet Explorer)
November 4, 2004... US-CERT on Wednesday warned of a fresh hole in Internet Explorer that could allow attackers to take control of a PC via an HTML e-mail message or a malicious Web page. The flaw is all the more serious because exploit code has been published on...

Ex-Student Indicted on Hacking Charges.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... AUSTIN, Texas--A federal grand jury has indicted a former University of Texas student on charges he hacked into the university system and stole Social Security numbers and other personal information from more than 37,000 students, faculty and...

Microsoft Gives a Heads-Up on Security Fixes.
November 4, 2004... In its first use of a new policy on security-update disclosure, Microsoft on Wednesday announced that next week's scheduled security updates for the month of November will consist of a single fix for ISA Server. The new Microsoft Security...

IBM Forms SOA Practice.(Service Oriented Architecture)
November 4, 2004... IBM's Global Services division Thursday announced the formation of a management practice to help customers implement service-oriented architectures. The IBM SOA Management Practice is targeted at customers who need help managing Web...

IMlogic Helps Hedge Funds with IM Compliance.
November 4, 2004... The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed new regulations late last month on private investment pools, also known as hedge funds. The ruling requires that most hedge fund advisers register with the SEC under the Investment...

Novell's Engineering Boss Departs Linux-Networking Company.
November 4, 2004... Evidence of Novell Inc.'s corporate culture clash surfaced on Thursday, as the company said Chris Stone, Novell's vice chairman, would leave the company. Stone, who has been away from his post attending an executive management program at...

Virginia Seeks to Send Spammer to Slammer.
November 4, 2004... LEESBURG, VIRGINIA--The first felony convictions for spam in U.S. history were handed down when a jury in America Online Inc.'s home county convicted a pair of North Carolina spammers on Wednesday, recommending that one be sent to prison. ...

Mozilla Releases New Version of Thunderbird.
November 4, 2004... While the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox Web browser garners most of the headlines, the open-source group's Thunderbird e-mail client is also attracting users' attention. Mozilla Thursday released the latest beta edition of the program. ...

Wireless Eyes Watching Airport Security.
November 4, 2004... With fears of terrorism still in the air, vendors at this week's International Security Conference touted new surveillance technologies being used in transportation and logistics to pinpoint suspicious packages, peer inside transport vehicles...

Computer Loses 4,500 Votes in N.C.
November 4, 2004... JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP)-More than 4,500 votes have been lost in one North Carolina county because officials believed a computer that stored ballots electronically could hold more data than it did. Scattered other problems may change results in...

BEA, Partners Team on Horizontal Enterprise Solutions.
November 4, 2004... BEA Systems Inc. this week launched a program focused on delivering horizontal solutions, including technology from BEA and several of its partners. The program, known as the BEA Enterprise Solutions program, will center around the BEA...

IBM Supercomputer Again Claims Record.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)--A $100 million supercomputer being built to analyze the nation's nuclear stockpile has again set an unofficial performance record--the second in just over a month. IBM Corp.'s still-incomplete Blue Gene/L system,...

Does Microsoft Have the Right (Document Management) Stuff?
November 4, 2004... Microsoft has said little about its Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) directions since it launched RMS 1.0 a year ago. But on Thursday, Microsoft ended its RMS silence by taking the wraps off the first private beta of SP1 (Service...

Stock Split Might Not Be in Google's Cards.
November 5, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO (AP)--Google Inc., a company built on complex algorithms that power its online search engine, doesn't appear to be in any rush to tackle one of Wall Street's most basic equations--the stock split. This widely used market...

Russia Seeks to Boost Software Production.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
November 5, 2004... MOSCOW (AP)--Russia is seeking to slow the brain-drain of computer specialists and increase software production, a top government official said Friday, in an effort that some hope will help diversify the country's oil-dependent economy. ...

Web Site for Complaints Sparks Lawsuit.
November 5, 2004... DALLAS, Ga. (AP)--When Alan and Linda Townsend were unhappy with the sprayed-on siding applied to their house, the frustrated couple launched a Web site to complain and to give other unsatisfied customers a forum. Visitor postings to the...

Check This Mobility, Messaging Add-On for the Small-Biz PBX.
November 5, 2004... Say you're a small business of 30 employees or fewer, but your employees travel a lot, or work frequently from their homes or client premises. Say further that you have a regular, circuit-switched phone system, perhaps from Panasonic or...

Verizon Wireless to Buy NextWave Licenses.
November 5, 2004... TRENTON, N.J. (AP)--Verizon Wireless is buying wireless spectrum licenses covering 23 U.S. markets from bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. for $3 billion, bolstering the cell phone company's ability to compete with the big new rival created by the...

What Threat Is Posed by Stolen Cisco Code?
November 5, 2004... Once again, hackers are trying to sell what they purport to be the source code for Cisco's PIX firewall. But it isn't clear that there's any threat posed to customers by the code. In fact, the only people who might benefit from the code are...

Microsoft Readies New Office Update for Small Biz Owners.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Microsoft Corp. is set to launch on Nov. 8 its small-business solutions strategy, one element of which will be a new version of Microsoft Office designed expressly for the small-business manager or owner. The new Office release is expected...

E-gold Tracks Cisco Code Thief.
November 5, 2004... The electronic currency site that the Source Code Club said it will use to accept payment for Cisco Systems Inc.'s firewall source code is confident it can track down the perpetrators. Dr. Douglas Jackson, chairman of E-gold Ltd., which...

Microsoft to Ship New Office Small-Biz Release in 2005.
November 5, 2004... The gloves are off. Microsoft Corp. is ready to take on Intuit for the dollars of small-business managers. Microsoft confirmed on Friday--a few days earlier than it originally planned--that it is working on a new version of Microsoft...

SBC, BellSouth Expand Local-Search Plans.
November 5, 2004... Local search is drawing the interest of more than just the Googles and Yahoos of the world. Traditional directory publishers also are digging deeper into the market. SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. on Friday completed their...

Necessity Drives Corporate Utility Computing Pioneers.
November 5, 2004... SAN JOSE, Calif.--Necessity, practicality and hard-nosed business principles are defining utility computing for the pioneering organizations that are actually delivering computing capacity on demand to operating units. A handful of these...

Is Microsoft Ready to Assert IP Rights over the Internet?
November 5, 2004... Has Microsoft been trying to retroactively claim IP (intellectual property) rights over many of the Internet's basic protocols? Larry J. Blunk, senior engineer for networking research and development at Merit Network Inc., believes that might...

IBM Helps Untangle Supply-Chain Communications.
November 5, 2004... Toothpaste. Up until recently, it took a hodgepodge of faxes, phone calls, e-mails and EDI to figure out the simple substance's product pricing, specifications, availability and shipping addresses. The same has been true throughout the...

Intuit Preps QuickBooks 2005 Lineup.
November 5, 2004... QuickBooks, long the front-runner in the small-business accounting software market with more than 3 million users, will roll out its 2005 line in late November. The product line includes software upgrades as well as a new payroll service. By...

Linux Networx Touts Lustre-Based Cluster Solution.
November 5, 2004... The high-performance computing world now has a bundled solution based on Lustre, an open-source, high-performance file system that traditionally has been fairly difficult to configure and set up. Linux Networx Inc., a Salt Lake City-based...

Microsoft Has Its Eye on Small Retailers.
November 6, 2004... In one corner of Microsoft Corp., the smaller the better is the order of the day for new customers. Microsoft's latest retail push is focusing on the smallest of retailers, those with perhaps a single checkout lane and no more than nine stores....

SBC to Cut 10,000 Jobs by End of 2005.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2004... DALLAS (AP)--Phone company SBC Communications Inc. says it expects to cut 10,000 or more jobs--6 percent of its work force -- by the end of next year through a combination of layoffs and attrition. SBC announced the cuts in a filing Friday...

BT to Buy Infonet in Deal Worth About $1B.
November 8, 2004... LONDON (AP) -- BT Group PLC said Monday it is buying U.S.-based Infonet Services Corp., in a deal that values the company at $965 million. The British telecommunications company said the purchase would improve its position in the key...

Cutting and Sewing with XML.
November 8, 2004... It's rarely a term of praise to compare an IT system to a quilt. In an IT context, I usually see the "q" word with a prefix like "patchwork" or even "crazy"--labeling a system as combining all sorts of independently developed elements with no...

Mac 'Widget' App Set to Make Windows Debut.(Konfabulator)
November 8, 2004... As one developer prepares to move his application from Mac to Windows, others reaffirm their commitment to the platform--despite competing directly with Apple Computer Inc. Arlo Rose, creator of Konfabulator, the "widget engine" that...

Microsoft Settles With Novell, Trade Group.
November 8, 2004... Editor's Note: There is an updated version of this story available. For the most recent version, click here [link omitted]. WASHINGTON (AP)--Clearing more legal challenges, Microsoft Corp. announced important settlements Monday with rival...

Intel Rolls Out Single-Core 'Madison' Chips.
November 8, 2004... Intel Corp. is refreshing its 64-bit Itanium 2 processor line with six new chips based on the Madison core. The new processors represent the last single-core Itanium chips that the Santa Clara, Calif., company will roll out. The next step...

CA, Others Attack Spyware.
November 8, 2004... Recognizing the growing need for anti-spyware solutions in the enterprise, Computer Associates International Inc. on Monday announced new software designed to tackle unwanted spyware, adware and trojans. CA's new eTrust PestPatrol...

Remote Control Could Save Soldiers' Lives.
November 8, 2004... BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP)--Unmanned aerial vehicles and other so-called "stand-off'' weapons, whether currently used or in secret testing, belong to a developing high-tech arsenal that the U.S. military says will help minimize casualties as it battles...