eWeek articles from October 2006

eWeek archives from October 2006

Government Keeps Control of Web Domain Group ICANN.(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON (Reuters)--The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it would retain oversight for three more years of the company that manages Internet domain names, renewing an agreement that was scheduled to expire this weekend. The...

Phone Data Privacy Bill Stalls in House Again.
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON (Reuters)--Efforts stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill that would make it illegal to obtain private telephone records surreptitiously, as was done in the Hewlett-Packard Co. scandal. Bickering between...

Yahoo Allows Outsiders to Innovate on Yahoo E-Mail.
October 1, 2006... SUNNYVALE, California (Reuters)--Yahoo Inc. is set to allow outsiders to create new services using the world's most popular consumer e-mail program, in the broadest move the Web has yet seen to enlist independent programmers to build a...

Internet Freedom Reigns in Amsterdam.
October 1, 2006... AMSTERDAM (Reuters)--Amsterdam has the world's busiest Internet exchange, thanks to nuclear physicists and mathematicians who in the 1980s connected their network needs with the academic belief that knowledge needs to be free. At a time...

Robert Scoble: Life After Microsoft.(vice president at PodTech)(Interview)
October 2, 2006... Robert Scoble has earned a place in the history of corporate communications. Starting at Microsoft Corp. in 2003, he became the first high-profile blogger within a large business, ushering in a new era of interaction among companies, customers,...

Rivals Charge Microsoft Wants to 'Hamstring' Them.
October 2, 2006... BRUSSELS, Oct 2 (Reuters)--Microsoft is working to hamstring software companies trying to overcome "inherent weaknesses" in Windows security, rival McAfee Inc. charged in a full-page ad in Monday's Financial Times. McAfee, Symantec and...

New 1TB Desktop External HD Goes for $500.(Buffalo Technology launches Drivestation Duo hard disk drive)
October 2, 2006... Thanks to new levels of competition in the market sector, storage devices continue to get smaller in footprint and less expensive--while offering increasing capacity and encryption. The latest example of this IT storage bonanza for...

Microsoft Buys DesktopStandard.
October 2, 2006... Microsoft has acquired DesktopStandard, a developer of group policy-based enterprise desktop management products, in a move designed help customers leverage the value of policy-based management and their investments in Active Directory, the two...

Beceem Announces a WiMax Milestone.(Beceem Communications, Mobile WiMax chipset )
October 2, 2006... The Beceem MS120 Mobile WiMax chip set has proven its ability to work with a variety of commercial base station vendors in a formal test, called a "plugfest," at Bechtel Labs in Frederick, Md. In a test that ended Oct. 1, the Beceem...

U.S. FCC Approves Alltel Deal for Midwest Wireless.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Monday approved rural telephone operator Alltel Corp.'s $1 billion acquisition of Midwest Wireless Holdings. Last month, the U.S. Justice Department said it would not oppose...

Advisory Board Created for OpenSPARC.
October 2, 2006... Sun Microsystems' OpenSPARC initiative is getting a boost with the creation of an independent governance board and a second Linux distribution supporting the program. The new advisory board, announced Oct. 2, will help the OpenSPARC...

U.S. Stocks Slip on Tech Slide; Qualcomm, Apple Fall.(Apple Computer Inc., Qualcomm Inc.)
October 2, 2006... NEW YORK--U.S. stocks fell on Monday, with tech shares giving back recent gains as a brokerage downgrade hit shares of Apple Computer Inc. and a legal battle hurt chip maker Qualcomm Inc. Investors bet that Qualcomm would lose in legal...

Cyber-Thieves Targeting Smaller Retailers.
October 2, 2006... As the established large e-commerce sites pour millions of dollars into security and enterprise-league hardened point-of-sale systems, cyber-crooks have been giving more attention to much smaller and less well-protected merchants. Those...

Borland Bakes Quality into Development Cycle.(Borland Software, Borland Lifecycle Quality Management )
October 2, 2006... Borland Software announced Borland Lifecycle Quality Management Oct. 2, in an effort to enable enterprises to build quality into every facet of an application's development process. Rob Cheng, director of developer solution at the...

Mandriva Linux Whiffs on Virtualization Integration.(launched Corporate Server 4.0)
October 2, 2006... With its Corporate Server 4, Mandriva is challenging the Linux data center operating systems from Red Hat and Novell by offering broader support for virtualization technologies. It's a solid-sounding plan, but eWEEK Labs' tests of CS 4 show...

The Limits of Scanning.
October 2, 2006... Has the malware problem gotten out of control? An aggressive test of anti-virus products indicates that it has, at least by some measures. It's a tough call. I worry less and less personally about malware, even though I'm barraged by it...

Screaming Cell Phones Plan to Cut Down Theft.(Remote XT developed service permanently locks the handset services when its reported theft)
October 2, 2006... LONDON (Reuters)--A UK firm is hoping a cell phones security system it has developed which sets off a high pitch scream, permanently locks the handset and wipes all data if stolen, will halt the spiraling rise in phone theft. The Remote...

ClearCube Drops Cost of PC Blades.(ClearCube Technology )
October 2, 2006... One of the knocks against the idea of bladed PCs has been the high costs. ClearCube Technology may finally have that solved. The Austin, Texas, company on Oct. 2 is unveiling a new offering, the A Series PC blades, which drops the entry...

Online Gaming in Crisis over U.S. Ban.
October 2, 2006... LONDON (Reuters)--Online gambling firms faced their biggest-ever crisis on Monday after U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming there, threatening jobs and wiping 3.5 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) off company values. ...

Juniper Expands Security Gateway Lineup.(Juniper Networks, Juniper Networks SSG 20, Juniper Networks SSG 5 and Juniper Networks SSG 140)(secure services gateway)
October 2, 2006... Juniper Networks introduced three new security appliances on Oct. 2, adding unified threat management tools to its existing hardware in an effort to market the gateway devices to branch offices and other remote enterprise operations. The...

Brand Identity Is Precious.
October 2, 2006... When Intel debuted the "Intel Inside" branding in 1991, the MBA side of my brain sounded alarms for all the PC makers whose short-sighted greed for co-marketing dollars overcame their common sense. I've heard multibillion-dollar estimates...

Vendors Aim for Easier Virtualization.
October 2, 2006... With virtualization becoming more mainstream in the enterprise, businesses now are looking for easier and more flexible ways to deploy and manage their environments. VMware, Cassatt and Surgient are rolling out offerings designed to...

Sony Stock Hits 2-1/2-Month Low on Battery Woes.
October 2, 2006... TOKYO (Reuters)--Sony Corp. shares fell to a 2-1/2-month low on Monday after Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. joined the list of PC makers recalling Sony-made batteries, increasing potential damage to its earnings. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities...

Apple Releases Security Update for Mac OS X.
October 2, 2006... Apple Computer on Sept. 29 issued a security update that promises to fix several critical flaws in Mac OS X. In issuing the 2006-006 security update, the Cupertino, Calif., company patched and updated 12 flaws in Mac OS X Version 10.4.8....

Oracle Juices Up Berkeley DB.
October 2, 2006... Oracle spruced up one of its recently acquired embeddable databases, Berkeley DB, releasing on Sept. 27 Version 4.5 with multi-version concurrency control and more. The new features are designed to improve performance, availability and...

Interface21 to Release Spring 2.0.
October 2, 2006... Interface21 is expected to release the bits for the next major revision of the popular Spring Framework on Oct. 3. London-based Interface21 will release Spring 2.0 in the wee hours of the morning U.S. time, and the company also plans to...

EU Welcomes Autonomy Plan for Internet Governance.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... BRUSSELS (Reuters)--The European Commission welcomed on Monday U.S. government moves to make the company that manages Internet domain names independent by 2009, but said it would monitor the process carefully. The Internet Corporation for...

Firefox Zero-Day Code Execution Hoax?
October 3, 2006... A public claim by hackers that Mozilla's Firefox browser is vulnerable to multiple code execution vulnerabilities may be an overblown hoax. On the heels of a ToorCon presentation where two security researchers--Mischa Spiegelmock and...

Nokia Unveils Bluetooth Rival.(new radio technology 'Wibree')
October 3, 2006... HELSINKI (Reuters)--Cell phone market leader Nokia unveiled a new short-range wireless connection on Tuesday that is smaller and more energy-efficient than current Bluetooth technology and can be used in devices such as watches. The new...

Microsoft Says Appeals 281 Million Euro Fine.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BRUSSELS (Reuters)--Software giant Microsoft has filed an appeal against a 280.5 million euro ($356.4 million) fine the European Commission imposed in July, holding it defied a 2004 antitrust ruling. "As Microsoft said in July, we would...

HP Says No Battery Recall Necessary.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)
October 3, 2006... Hewlett-Packard has no plans for a battery recall, despite efforts by several of its competitors to replace millions of notebook PC battery packs. The Palo Alto, Calif., computer giant said that, following a review, it did not see reason...

DRM May Mean Strange Anti-Apple Bedfellows.(digital rights management)
October 3, 2006... Digital rights management conflicts could make for some strange bedfellows as hunting season opens on Apple and its iTunes juggernaut. As eWEEK's Peter Galli reports, the Free Software Foundation is planning to protest DRM software, which...

Cisco, Cognio Partner to Fight RF Interference.(Cisco Systems Inc., radio frequency interference)
October 3, 2006... Cisco Systems is partnering with Cognio to bring new RF monitoring capabilities to Cisco's Wireless Control System. Cognio will integrate its Spectrum Expert with WCS so that administrators can see information about their RF environment as...

Making a Recovery Partition.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... If you've ever reformatted your hard drive, reinstalled Microsoft Windows, reloaded all your applications, and reset all your settings, you know what a time-consuming and generally heinous process it can be. I've had root canals that were more...

Why Linux Will Dominate the Future of Servers.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... George Weiss, Gartner's open-source analyst, recently said that Microsoft Windows will not suffer irreparable damage on the server side at the hands of Linux over the next five years. He's right. Microsoft will fall flat on its face all by...

Microsoft Security Antitrust Concerns Heat Up.
October 3, 2006... With rivals' complaints over Microsoft's move into the security applications space growing louder nearly every day, antitrust analysts said it appears likely that the software giant may soon again be locked in a battle to defend its business...

Genes, Drugs and Diseases Find Connectivity.
October 3, 2006... Researchers at MIT and Harvard have released a public database that they hope will be the seed of a new human genome project, one that lets researchers find potential treatments for disease in a specialized search engine. Both diseases and...

Reva Announces Funding from SAP, Cisco.
October 3, 2006... A relative startup company with a first round of funding in 2004, Reva Systems is capturing the attention of major partners. The result: better RFID data manageability and understanding at both the network and applications level. The...

100K+ Jobs Cut in September.
October 3, 2006... Due to auto supplier and telecom cutbacks, U.S. job cuts surged in September, with the economy losing more than 100,000 jobs for the first time since January, according to a monthly job cut report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a New...

Cingular Completes AT&T Integration.(Cingular Wireless,)
October 3, 2006... Cingular Wireless completed its integration of the AT&T wireless network it acquired less than two years ago. Originally the company promised that the network integration would be accomplished by the end of 2006. However, the massive...

Nokia Plans Bluetooth Alternative.(Wibree will support communications at a fraction of the power consumption)
October 3, 2006... Nokia is introducing a new short-range wireless data service designed to move beyond Bluetooth and enable wireless communications with devices that are smaller and use less power than today's Bluetooth devices. The new technology,...

Online Gaming Firms Look East After U.S. Ban.(online gambling firms)
October 3, 2006... LONDON (Reuters)--Britain's online gambling firms switched their sights away from the United States to look for new growth areas on Tuesday after the U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming in their biggest market. Their...

McAfee Snaps Up Another Compliance Specialist.(acquires Citadel Security Software)
October 3, 2006... McAfee announced on Oct. 3 that it has signed an agreement to acquire Citadel Security Software, which specializes in applications used to mitigate risks posed by software vulnerabilities and monitor IT systems for policy compliance. Under...

IBM Launches Initiative of SOA Products, Services.(International Business Machines Corp.)(service oriented architecture )
October 3, 2006... IBM announced a broad-based assault on the service-oriented architecture market, introducing a wide variety of new and enhanced products and services aimed at helping IBM customers implement SOA and bolstering the company's position as a leader...

IBM Unveils Energy-Efficient PowerPC Chips.(International Business Machines Corp.)
October 3, 2006... IBM is rolling out new PowerPC processors aimed at the embedded space that are designed to improve performance while consuming less power than their counterparts. The new chips illustrate IBM's commitment to building processors that do not...

FSF Targets Apple Stores in Anti-DRM Protests.(Free Software Foundation, digital rights management)
October 3, 2006... The Free Software Foundation is wading ever more deeply into the controversial waters of digital rights management, with members of its DefectiveByDesign.org campaign set to descend on flagship Apple stores in New York and London on Oct. 3 to...

Report: Ill-Prepared Workforce Looms.(U.S. workforce lack critical skills essential for success)
October 3, 2006... Young people entering the U.S. workforce lack critical skills essential for success, finds a survey released Oct. 2 by a consortium of business research organizations. The consortium, made up of The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for...

T-Mobile to Announce UMTS, Sources Say.(universal mobile telephone service)
October 3, 2006... T-Mobile sources have told eWEEK that the company is scheduling a press conference for Oct. 6 in New York for the purposes of making a major announcement in the wake of the company's win in the recent frequency auction. The announcement...

Novell Continues to Go for SCO's Throat.(SCO Group)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... On Sept. 25, IBM took its crack at ending its case with SCO by summary judgment. Now, it's Novell's turn, and the company appears to be attempting to cut off SCO's lifeline to its cash reserves. On Sept. 29, Novell filed for "partial...

McAfee Chides Microsoft Over Vista Security Policies.
October 3, 2006... Officials at security specialist McAfee said that Microsoft has flatly rejected a series of proposals meant to help ease integration between third-party software applications and the company's next-generation Windows Vista operating system. ...

Microsoft Proxy Can Omit Neutrality Issue: SEC.(Securities and Exchange Commission )
October 3, 2006... WASHINGTON--U.S. regulators said Microsoft Corp. does not have to include in its proxy a shareholder proposal demanding that the software maker justify its support for Net neutrality, according to a decision made public on Tuesday. ...

Google Offers Mini-programs for Use on Other Sites.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO--Google Inc. is allowing users to add hundreds of different miniature Web-based programs built by Google or outside programmers to other sites, the company said on Tuesday. The Web search leader has jumped ahead of rivals who...

Toyota Camry Hybrid Is A Nearly Perfect Car.(Toyota Camry 2007 hybrid car)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Why is Toyota about to become the world's number-one automaker? Look no further than the 2007 Camry Hybrid. It's an incredible combination of fuel economy, roominess, and fit and finish. About all that's missing is a sense of the...

Google Boss Warns Politicians About Internet Power.( Eric Schmidt )
October 3, 2006... LONDON--Imagine being able to check instantly whether or not statements made by politicians were correct. That is the sort of service Google Inc. boss Eric Schmidt believes the Internet will offer within five years. Politicians have yet to...

Microsoft's Fathi Responds to Vista Security Concerns.
October 3, 2006... As concerns mount over Microsoft's move into the hotly contested security sector, Ben Fathi, corporate vice president of the company's Security Technology Unit, in Redmond, Wash., finds himself caught in the middle of the debate over his...

Abebooks to Refine Search.(Advanced Book Exchange Inc.)
October 4, 2006... FRANKFURT (Reuters)--Abebooks.com, one of the world's most visited online book retailers, is trying to develop a more sophisticated way to recommend titles from its catalog of 100 million books to match tools available to music fans. ...

Microsoft Likely to Ship Vista On Time: Analyst.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... SEATTLE--Microsoft Corp. will most likely ship its upcoming Windows Vista operating system on time and meet its deadline for both corporate and retail consumers, a Wall Street analyst said on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund...

Report: HP CEO Not Likely to Be Charged in Probe.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... NEW YORK (Reuters)--Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Mark Hurd is not expected to face charges when California's attorney general seeks indictments over a boardroom leak probe, BusinessWeek reported in its online edition on Wednesday. ...

Source: EU Weighs Charges Against Intel.(european union)
October 4, 2006... BRUSSELS, (Reuters)--A European Commission review panel weighed evidence against Intel Corp. this week to decide whether to bring formal antitrust charges for competing unfairly against rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., a source familiar with...

Google Launches Literacy Project to Link Resources.
October 4, 2006... FRANKFURT (Reuters)--Google Inc. unveiled on Wednesday a Web site dedicated to literacy, pulling together its books, video, mapping and blogging services to help teachers and educational organizations share reading resources. The site was...

Toshiba to Buy 77 Pct of Westinghouse for $4.2 Billion.
October 4, 2006... TOKYO (Reuters)--Japan's Toshiba Corp. said on Wednesday it would take a 77 percent stake in Westinghouse, British Nuclear Fuels' U.S. power plant unit, for $4.16 billion, buying a much bigger chunk of the firm than it initially planned. ...

Fujitsu to Recall 287,000 Sony-Made Batteries.
October 4, 2006... TOKYO (Reuters)--Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. said on Wednesday it would recall 287,000 notebook PC batteries made by Sony Corp., bringing the number of Sony batteries recalled to more than 7.5 million. Fujitsu last week joined...

AOL to Launch New Version of Software.(America Online Inc.)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... NEW YORK (Reuters)--AOL on Wednesday plans to launch a new version of its software that lets users access their e-mail, instant messaging, search and media on the same screen. The new software, dubbed AOL OpenRide, comes after it announced...

Report: HP Ex-Chair to Be Charged in Probe, not CEO.
October 4, 2006... SACRAMENTO, Calif (Reuters)--California's attorney general will seek indictments on Oct. 4 in Hewlett-Packard boardroom leak probe against former Chairman Patricia Dunn and others but not Chief Executive Mark Hurd, BusinessWeek reported in its...

Oracle Intros Spring 2.0 Integration.
October 4, 2006... Oracle has announced enhanced support for the Spring Framework in the way of integration with the new Spring 2.0 release. Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., announced on Oct. 3 that it has provided integration of TopLink Essentials,...

TIA, USTA to Merge Events into NXTcomm.(United States Telecom Association)(Telecommunications Industry Association )(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... WASHINGTON--The United States Telecom Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association are merging their trade shows into a single event starting in 2007. The organizations announced the merger at a news conference here, saying...

Study: Few Physicians Use IT at Work.
October 4, 2006... The low adoption of electronic medical records and e-prescribing is well known. Now, a new study has worse news: most physicians do not use inexpensive, widely accessible IT tools in their practice. The study, to be published in November in...

Wyse Ships Wireless Thin Client.
October 4, 2006... A new series of wireless thin clients is being shipped by Wyse bound for customers ranging from airports to health care facilities. The new V-Class clients integrate high-end thin clients that Wyse is already selling for wired networks with...

IBM Donates Open-Source Technology for AJAX, Web 2.0 Development.(International Business Machines Corp.)
October 4, 2006... IBM announced that it will make another round of technology contributions to the open-source community to promote the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the enterprise. At the AJAXWorld conference in Santa Clara, Calif., on Oct. 4, IBM...

eHarmony Finds Own Fulfillment as Web 2.0 Pioneer.
October 4, 2006... eHarmony.com, that romantic cyber-space place where people meet and often get serious relationships off and running, has been a textbook example of a successful Web 2.0 company since it made its debut six years ago. With more than 8...

Calif. Seeks Indictment of Ex-HP Chairman Dunn.(Patricia Dunn )(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)--California's attorney general filed a criminal complaint on Oct. 4 seeking indictments of former Hewlett-Packard Chairman Patricia Dunn and four others for their roles in a probe into board leaks. The complaint...

Serena to Buy Pacific Edge.(Serena Software Inc. (Burlingame, California))(Pacific Edge Software Inc.)
October 4, 2006... Serena Software announced that it has agreed to acquire Pacific Edge Software, a maker of project and portfolio management software. Serena, based in San Mateo, Calif., builds ALM (application lifecycle management) software. The...

Former Apple CFO Leaves Board Following Stock Option Investigation.(Chief Financial Officer)(Fred Anderson)
October 4, 2006... Former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson resigned Oct. 4 from the company's board of directors following a three-month investigation into alleged irregularities in the way the company distributes stock options to executives. Mr....

Readers Respond: Zero Tolerance for Microsoft Office.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... I read with interest Peter Coffee's article "Zero Tolerance for Microsoft Office," as we are midway through a transition away from that suite 'Sept. 11'. However, as this is a transition not to another suite but to a 'file' format, I was...

Software Giants Shut as Strike Hits Indian Tech Hub.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... BANGALORE (Reuters)--Operations of global software companies, financial institutions and government offices in India's main technology hub shut on Wednesday after activists called a strike over a border dispute with a neighboring state. ...

Microsoft Tools to Combat Vista Piracy.
October 4, 2006... Microsoft will unveil Oct. 4 a new software protection platform and accompanying technologies that it plans to incorporate into a variety of products, starting with Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn, in hopes of combating piracy. ...

IBM to Spend $100 Million on Mainframes.(International Business Machines Corp.)
October 4, 2006... IBM will spend $100 million over the next five years to make the mainframe easier to use. The program will focus on such areas as greater automation, modernizing the user interface and easing the way users manage the software on the...

Schwarzenegger Quashes RFID Bill.
October 4, 2006... The long-awaited California bill to regulate the use of radio-frequency identification in state and local documents has been quashed. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger quietly vetoed SB 768 last weekend. Buried in a list of 73 bills...

Dunn, 4 Others Charged in HP Scandal.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Patricia Dunn )
October 5, 2006... The next stop for Patricia Dunn and four others involved in the controversy surrounding Hewlett-Packard's hunt for a news leak may be a California courtroom. A week after appearing before a Congressional subcommittee in Washington, Dunn,...

MySpace Founder Seeks Probe of News Corp. Deal.
October 5, 2006... NEW YORK (Reuters)--The founder of MySpace.com parent Intermix Media on Oct. 5 said he is seeking a federal investigation of the sale of Intermix to News Corp. last year, claiming the deal defrauded shareholders by undervaluing the Internet's...

Why It's Time to Lose the Snide IT Attitude.(information technology)
October 5, 2006... In the years before the tech bubble burst, IT was king: there was a huge demand for professionals with technical prowess and an overwhelming shortage of able bodies. Techies could pick their job and name their salary. They could wear jeans...

New Licensing Terms Take Effect for Windows Server Virtualization.
October 5, 2006... Microsoft has implemented a significant change in its licensing for Windows Server System products that are used in virtual machine environments. New servers licensed with Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition now have the license...

Red Hat Hires Top Channel Exec.(Mark Enzweiler)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Everyone in the channel business knows that Red Hat has never done all that well by its system integrator, value-added reseller, and solution provider partners. Things are about to change, however, with the hiring of Mark Enzweiler as its...

Former HP Chairman to Surrender.
October 5, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO--Former Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn is due to surrender to authorities on Thursday afternoon on felony charges for spying on reporters and company directors, the California attorney general's office said. ...