Network World articles from June 2001

Network World archives from June 2001

Microsoft piles on the glitz for U.S. Office XP launch.(Product Announcement)
June 1, 2001... Microsoft Thursday showered Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates with the full executive-as-rock-star treatment in New York, where Gates hosted the company's local Office XP launch event. Amid rock music and flashing lights,...

Web services unite tech giants - somewhat.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)
June 1, 2001... Companies that for the most part have agreed to disagree appear to be making an exception when it comes to Web services, an emerging computing model that seems to be changing its definition as fast as it gathers new support. While they...

$2000 tax break coming for PC purchases.(Government Activity)
June 1, 2001... If you're saving now to buy a computer for your child's education, Uncle Sam is going to make the hit a bit easier to take. Thanks to the new tax plan, if you're a parent you'll soon be able to put four times as much money away each year in...

Tech spending drops for sixth straight month.(Industry Trend or Event)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2001... Technology spending growth declined for the sixth straight month, according to a new poll of CIOs and other professionals by CIO magazine and Yardeni.com (CIO is owned by the same parent company as the IDG News Service, International Data...

Dictation software lags.
June 4, 2001... While network-enabled speech recognition technology for customer service and automated switchboards has taken off, client-side speech recognition, including dictation applications and voice-triggered software commands, has had trouble getting...

Marketplace participants share their tales of woe.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Business-to-business marketplaces have gone from hip to hurting faster than an e-commerce strategist can say, "This is harder than anyone imagined." The mounting failures and near-failures of these touted marketplaces have left...

Talk to me; Speech recognition hits the corporation.(Technology Information)
June 4, 2001... Customer service at AirTran Airways has come a long way in the past few months. Prior to this year, if you called the airline - which operates about 300 daily flights, mostly on the East Coast - to find out about flight availability or to check...

TIRE RECALL FLATTENS FIRESTONE'S WEB SITE; Company turns to content-delivery services provider to increase mileage of origin Web server.(Company Operations)
June 4, 2001... At an 11 a.m. press conference last Aug. 9, Bridgestone/Firestone announced a voluntary recall of more than six million tires, triggering a deluge of hits on the company's Web site, www.firestone.com. Alan Lindsey, manager of network...

The skinny on your network.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
June 4, 2001... The skinny on your network While Configuresoft's ECM and Ecora's IT Auditor for Windows can tell you more about the computers on your network than you ever thought to ask - ECM is the more useful of the two. By Barry Nance, Network...

C&W CEO sees hosting and VPN gains.(Company Operations)
June 4, 2001... Graham Wallace, CEO at Cable & Wireless spoke recently with Network World Senior Editor Denise Pappalardo about how the service provider is tackling the market in light of the weakened economy. What's your business strategy today and going...

Do IT workers need a union?; Do unions offer strength in numbers or undermine individual autonomy? Two groups debate the issue.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... IT workers should form a union for the same reason that workers have always formed unions: together we have more power to improve the terms and conditions of our employment than we do as individuals. But if you are any good, you shouldn't...

no side of it worker union face off.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Unions have their purpose in industrial society, especially in businesses in which there are clear distinctions between labor and management, and many employees are "lifers." But signing away bargaining power to a union boss is against the...

Failed marketplaces not deterring businesses.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Len Duncan spent six months formatting an electronic business-to-business catalog for PetroCosm, including products, pricing and specifications. But his effort was all for naught when PetroCosm, a marketplace that offered procurement tools and...

Crafting contracts with escape routes.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Two weeks ago we discussed procedures for ensuring that your company gets the best possible telecom contract. Now we'll take a look at some of the clauses that contract should include. First and foremost, keep in mind your biggest weapon...

Bug bites Windows Terminal Services.(Product Information)
June 4, 2001... An independent tester says he has uncovered a bug that causes a total collapse of Windows Terminal Services running on Windows 2000 at specific processor speeds. But Microsoft is trying to debunk the claim that the problem is with Win...

The wait for 3G cellular services ended last week in Japan, at least for 4,500 users, as NTT DoCoMo launched public trials of its Wideband Code Division Multiple Access-based service.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... The wait for 3G cellular services ended last week in Japan, at least for 4,500 users, as NTT DoCoMo launched public trials of its Wideband Code Division Multiple Access-based service. "Today is a valuable day as we open the first page of...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
June 4, 2001... Leveraging competition Regarding the "Help Desk" item "LEC vs. CLEC" (http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2001/0507helpdesk.html): Use the competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) quotes to get better rates from the regional Bell operating...

net buzz.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... So I zip over to the Web site for Marks & Spencer, a British department store, simply to ascertain whether the retailer uses an ampersand or the word "and" between "Marks" and "Spencer." (Hey, that's what editors do; it's an honest living,...

Pushing transactions to the edge.(Technology Information)
June 4, 2001... In a typical Web site architecture, supplying accurate information at all times requires companies to use a single master database for an application. Because transaction requests must be processed at the core site of a global...

Jousting with the Open Source movement.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... "The [General Public License] poses a threat to the intellectual property of any organization making use of it." - Craig Mundie, Microsoft vice president By now you're probably aware of the firestorm unleashed by Microsoft Vice...

Bus-Tech is rolling out an IP storage appliance this week that lets users access storage data over their Gigabit Ethernet nets.(Bus-Tech CausWay)(IBM xSeries 300)(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... Bus-Tech is rolling out an IP storage appliance this week that lets users access storage data over their Gigabit Ethernet nets. Called CauseWay, the appliance connects a Linux server to the Gigabit Ethernet network for attachment to the SCSI or...

Fixed wireless no wipeout, despite recent troubles; FIXED WIRELESS.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Fixed wireless providers have been in the news a lot lately for all the wrong reasons. Two months ago, Winstar Communications and Advanced Radio Telecom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And Teligent - which saw its founder, chairman and CEO...

LeftHand device unites storage networks.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... BOULDER, COLO. - LeftHand Networks is continuing the traditions of its namesake, Chief Niwot (Lefthand) of the Arapaho, who served as a negotiator and English interpreter for settlers drawn to Colorado in 1859 by gold strikes in Boulder Canyon....

Open Market expands content management.(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... BURLINGTON, MASS. - Open Market this week will unveil the latest version of its content management software, providing broader international language support for global users and integration with more operating systems. The release makes...

Your tax dollars at work.(Government Activity)
June 4, 2001... Despite what some critics say, government-sponsored research continues to play an important role in our understanding of what's going on in today's Internet and in the development of tomorrow's Internet. Private industry does not and...

Management service providers feast on challenges; Four top MSP executives break bread and break down the trials they face in an ever-changing market.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... LAS VEGAS - Network World last month treated four top executives from management service providers to a free meal in exchange for some inside information on the state of their nascent market. The upshot? The roughly year-old market - which...

Access management grows up.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... IT staffs are constantly having to babysit new end users. They need to provide resources to those users; grant, modify and revoke access rights to those resources; and they need to do it in an efficient and secure way. It's a never-ending...

How we did it.(Product Information)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2001... Our GroupWise server was a Compaq DL380 with dual 1-GHz Pentium III processors, 512M bytes of RAM and an 18G-byte RAID 5 disk array. It ran NetWare 5.1 with Service Pack 2B. Our connectivity was over a mixed 10/100 Ethernet network. Our...

Novell's GroupWise 6 is No. 1 with a bullet; Web monitoring interface is enhanced and wireless support is included.(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... After an extremely smooth and ahead-of-schedule beta-test cycle, Novell has released the next version of its collaboration and groupware software, GroupWise. Version 6 was code-named bulletproof, reflecting Novell's desire to improve...

Intel box exploits IP to extend PBX functionality.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Intel this month will release an IP telephony product that could put the power of a central-site PBX into a small branch office or a telecommuter's den. Intel's iPOD could help companies lower their phone costs by...

Web hoster Conxion adds apps management.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... SANTA CLARA - Conxion, a Web hosting company that links its data centers with a Tier-1 global network, now offers managed services up to the application layer, thanks to a recent alliance with an application management company. Conxion is...

INTEGRAL ACCESS POPS 'MINI-POP'.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... CHELMSFORD, MASS. - Integral Access this week will extend its IP and Multi-protocol Label Switching access portfolio downward by unveiling a system for multitenant units. At SuperComm 2001, Integral Access will announce the...

Ask Dr. Intranet.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Questions and Answers)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2001... Our company developed an intranet, and we would like to have a page that is structured as a form for our Support Services division. The form should be used to make supply requests to the supply manager and have the request look exactly like a...

Riverstone gets dense with Gigabit Ethernet.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... ATLANTA - At SuperComm 2001 this week, Riverstone Networks will unveil a high-density Gigabit Ethernet switch aimed at service providers that sell wide-area Ethernet links to companies. Riverstone's RS 16000 could help Ethernet...

Customer service software gets self-help tools.(Primus Communications Corp. acquires AnswerLogic Inc.)(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Natural language search engine technology played prominently in two late-May acquisitions, as vendors scurry to deliver "self-help" customer service tools designed to alleviate the strain on contact center representatives. Web customer...

edge briefs.(News Briefs)
June 4, 2001... Quantum Bridge Communications has announced the withdrawal of its IPO registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company cites poor market conditions as the reason for the decision. Quantum Bridge President and...

Siemens leaps into packet telephony.(Siemens AG)(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Siemens, a longtime leading supplier of traditional circuit-switched telephony equipment, is betting all its marbles on a major shift to new packet-based voice and data gear that can still interoperate with older phone networks. Siemens...

Once a high flyer, PictureTel fades away.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... What happens when a market-leading company ignores customers' needs and fails to launch a viable product in more than a year? Just ask PictureTel. The Andover, Mass., company was the trailblazer in the videoconferencing industry until a...

News briefs.(News Briefs)
June 4, 2001... PSINet files for bankruptcy Long enmeshed in financial difficulties, ISP PSINet and 24 of its subsidiaries in the U.S. have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Four of the company's subsidiaries in Canada also filed for bankruptcy protection....

Firepad packages graphics for Palm OS clients.(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. - Incorporating complex corporate graphics data, such as maps, blueprints, medical images and technical diagrams, into Palm OS applications has been made easier with the latest release of mobile software from Firepad. ...

Funk extends wireless security software.(Steel-belted RADIUS upgrade)(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - Funk will announce this week an upgrade to its Steel-Belted RADIUS software that will expand its use to wireless devices while letting corporations keep their current Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service security...

Cool graphics in XML.(Scalable vector graphics)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)
June 4, 2001... The entire universe is going XML. Everywhere you turn, somebody is turning something into XML. This is, as Ms. Stewart is wont to say, "A good thing." The beauty of XML is it provides a whole new way of structuring "stuff" that goes...

ASTRAL POINT CERTIFIES ENTRY INTO ILEC MARKET; LOOKS TO ISO AND OSMINE STANDARDS AS SEALS OF INCUMBENT CARRIER APPROVAL.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... ATLANTA - In an effort to further penetrate the incumbent local exchange carrier market, Astral Point last week announced its participation in Telcordia Technologies' OSMINE process for integration of network equipment into legacy operations...

TALLY DEBUTS WEB-BASED ASSET-MGMT. SERVICE.(Tally Systems Corp.)(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... LEBANON, N.H. - With Microsoft's new licensing model looming on the horizon and software license compliance becoming a big issue in a tight economy, some IT executives are busy collecting an inventory of their software, as well as the hardware...

Integration drives PeopleSoft's retooled CRM apps.(PeopleSoft 8.0)(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... LAS VEGAS - With an eye toward large customers who want a completely integrated, Web-based customer relationship management package, PeopleSoft this week will launch its retooled CRM suite. Whereas myriad CRM products solve one piece of the...

IBM bolsters WebSphere, targets BEA Systems; Company's Web application server gets Java 2, scalability features.(WebSphere 4.0)(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... SOMERS, N.Y. - The latest version of IBM's flagship WebSphere application server delivers enough added features, dependability and convenience to scare market leader BEA Systems, analysts and customers say. According to Giga Information...

SMARTS management tool aims to protect service levels.(InCharge Service Assurance Manager)(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... ATLANTA - System Management Arts this week will release software that differs from other fault management tools by identifying the root causes of network problems across multiple managed domains and prioritizing fixes based on service-level...

Cisco pushes product for e-learning.(Cisco Systems Inc.)(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... SAN JOSE - Cisco last week announced a new product and service bundle intended to nudge companies into using Internet-based training and educational programs. Cisco's e-learning service is a package of its Enterprise Content Delivery...

ROUTERS APPEAR EVERYWHERE.(Product Information)
June 4, 2001... A few other router vendors will make big splashes at SuperComm 2001, focusing on speed, density and resiliency. Pluris will demonstrate the scalability, virtual trunking and software fault tolerance of its Teraplex 20 terabit router. For...

State courts look to pass judgment on XML; Document-encoding technology seen by some in legal community as key to electronic filing services.(Government Activity)
June 4, 2001... Lawyers, courts and legal cases generate mountains of paperwork, but a few states have taken the ground-breaking step to allow electronic filing of documents directly to court Web sites for processing over their intranets. While e-filing...

Router roundup on tap at SuperComm 2001.(Unisphere ERX 1440, Cisco Systems 7400 Appplication Specific Router and Cosine Communications IPSX 9500)(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... ATLANTA - Router enthusiasts will have a busy show at SuperComm 2001 this week, as several companies herald new products for pushing high-speed data services from the carrier cloud into corporations. Cisco will unveil a router for...

Web services to be talk of JavaOne conference.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO - This week's annual JavaOne conference will focus a lot of attention on so-called "Web services" and formal releases of code for a raft of new Java APIs. Sun has spent the past year beating the drums about Web services and...

Upgrading IT's summer.(Microsoft's Microsoft Office XP licensing plans)(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... "After Oct. 1, [Microsoft] Office customers without upgrade rights will spend up to $300 more per user to purchase new licenses for Office XP." - from John Fontana's Network World article, "Microsoft says upgrade now or pay big later"...

Users call new domains too confusing, costly.(.biz and .info)(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Big business is venturing cautiously into the newest frontiers of cyberspace: the .biz and .info top-level domains due to launch this summer. As the new registries start processing claims and taking early registrations, many companies are...

Power concerns drive many businesses to collocation.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... You don't have to live in California to be concerned about power disruptions. Although companies in California are more likely to be hit with blackouts sooner than those located in other parts of the country, there are predictions that this...

3G promises new wireless applications.(Technology Information)
June 4, 2001... 3G is a specification developed by the International Telecommunication Union for the third generation of mobile communications technology (analog cellular was the first generation, digital PCS the second). 3G digital cellular technology...

HANDHELDS TO HAVE THAT JAVA FLAVOR.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... un is touting Java as the cross-platform programming model that can make sense of a blizzard of new handheld devices and the operating systems that run them. Here's what will be on display at JavaOne: l Nextel, the first U.S. carrier...

[0] Users call new domains too confusing, costly.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Big business is venturing cautiously into the newest frontiers of cyberspace: the .biz and .info top-level domains due to launch this summer. As the new registries start processing claims and taking early registrations, many companies are...

Wireless networking.(Technology Information)
June 4, 2001... My company is expanding and we're adding additional offices into an older building that we have been in for several years. Several areas of the building have solid concrete walls. Running wiring to these additional desks will be very expensive,...

RSA launches ACE/Server 5.0.(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... RSA Security Monday announced the release of Version 5.0 of its ACE/Server user authentication security software. RSA ACE/Server is one component of the company's SecurID authentication system, which also includes RSA SecurID Authenticator...

HP sharpening blade servers of its own.(Product Announcement)
June 4, 2001... Hewlett-Packard is the latest company to announce a line of blade servers, codenamed Powerbar, moving into a hot new technology area rapidly becoming packed with vendors. By year-end, HP plans to announce and deliver several products based...

AOL, Microsoft Windows XP talks on uncertain ground.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Talks between Microsoft and AOL Time Warner, concerning the inclusion of AOL's software in the soon-to-be-released Windows XP operating system, appear to still be alive, though just barely. "AOL remains a very important vendor partner for...

Intel embraces DDR, SDRAM with new P4 chipset.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Intel Monday met the demands of system manufacturers and unveiled a new chipset that will allow the Pentium 4 microprocessor to be used with double data rate dynamic random access memory (DDR-DRAM) and synchronous DRAM chips rather than more...

Telecom execs talk down expectations.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... A year ago, the telecommunications industry boasted some of the highest-flying start-up companies in the Internet age, fueled by cheap money and a "Field of Dreams" vision - build it and they will come. In Sunday's opening salvo of...

Top vendors team on storage networks.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Six leading storage companies on Monday said they will work together to provide customers with cross-vendor, interoperable storage networking products and greater support services. The companies working together are Brocade Communications...

Country-level domain name operators defect from ICANN arm.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers suffered a public defection at its meeting in Stockholm on Friday, when operators of Internet domain names for individual countries voted to withdraw from the ICANN supporting...

HP settles Pitney patent case for $400 million.(Pitney Bowes)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2001... Hewlett-Packard will pay Pitney Bowes $400 million in cash to settle a 1995 patent infringement lawsuit involving print technology, the companies said in a statement Monday. The patent infringement case was supposed to go to trial Monday in...

Verizon, Cingular chiefs share wireless views.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... A wrestling match it was not. The exchange between the heads of Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless on a plenary panel at the SuperComm 2001 trade show on Monday was cordial, topical and produced two points of agreement: Wireless data...

Nortel plans flurry of product demos.(Industry Trend or Event)
June 4, 2001... Nortel hit the ground running at SuperComm, releasing a flurry of announcements of alliances and planned demonstrations as the show opened in Atlanta Monday. The networking vendor will demonstrate: * An intelligent optical network...

Nortel, IBM unveil joint e-business package.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Nortel and IBM Monday announced a joint package of products and services at SuperComm in Atlanta. Network Solutions for eBusiness is its name and increasing e-commerce and service provider profits is its game. The package weaves IBM's...

Nextel users can now listen to e-mail.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Nextel Monday announced that it has teamed with wireless application provider Etrieve to offer cell phone users the option of listening to their corporate e-mail, calendar and contact information from any Internet-enabled Nextel phone. ...

Microsoft looks to extend real-time PC communication.(Windows Messenger)(Product Development)
June 4, 2001... Microsoft Corp. this week will release a beta of a new platform, Windows Messenger, that it hopes will take real-time communications technology beyond chat and instant messaging. Windows Messenger -- which the Redmond, Wash. software giant...

Samsung, Panasonic unveil smart kitchen appliances.(Samsung Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.,)(Company Business and Marketing)
June 4, 2001... Two of Asia's leading electronics manufacturers recently unveiled smarter home appliances and pushed forward the day your kitchen electronics collectively gang up against you. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. took the wraps off a...

Talk to me; Speech recognition hits the corporation.(Company Operations)(Humor)(Column)
June 5, 2001... Talk to me Speech recognition hits the corporation. By Ian Lamont Customer service at AirTran Airways has come a long way in the past few months. Prior to this year, if you called the airline - which operates about 300 flights...

Exchange 2000 flaw could let hacker access mailbox.(Product Information)
June 7, 2001... Microsoft warned users of the Outlook Web Access module of its Exchange 2000 Server e-mail system that a security vulnerability could allow unauthorized access to mailbox contents. The company issued a patch for the flaw on Wednesday. The...

Alcatel to sell DSL modem business.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 7, 2001... French telecom equipment maker Alcatel has agreed to sell its DSL modem business to consumer electronics manufacturer Thomson Multimedia. The sale will help Alcatel concentrate on its core business, network equipment, while the DSL line will...

Lucent offers early retirement to 10,000 managers.(Company Operations)
June 7, 2001... Financially strapped telecommunications equipment vendor Lucent Technologies is offering early retirement packages to more than 10,000 U.S.-based employees in order to speed up its restructuring efforts, the company said Wednesday. The...

Palm takes Bluetooth baby step.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 7, 2001... Palm Thursday expanded wireless support for its products, releasing a new Bluetooth low-power radio communication card that allows newer models of the company's handhelds to communicate with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. The secure...

Samsung, Sanyo battle to make thinnest cell phone.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 7, 2001... A tenth of a millimeter doesn't usually count for much, but when you are a battling for the crown of manufacturer of the worlds thinnest cell phone, it can make all the difference. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has laid claim to...

Experian tackles customer data management; New subscription service keeps customer data clean, current.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 7, 2001... Credit reporting agency Experian is now selling its software to large enterprises that need to integrate customer data from disparate sources. Because companies often capture and store customer data in several different locations -...

Certicom secures PDAs; movianCrypt locks down computers, encrypts data.(Product Announcement)
June 7, 2001... With the loss or theft of handheld devices an inevitable fact of life, Certicom is introducing a way to lock up handheld devices so even if they are stolen, no one can lift the data stored on them. Called movianCrypt, this software protects...

Captaris plunges into wireless world; Company's Infinite Mobile Delivery Server ties mobile apps to enterprise data.(Product Announcement)
June 7, 2001... Captaris, long known under the name AVT and for its unified messaging products, has branched out into the wireless world. The company recently heralded its Infinite Mobile Delivery Server, which provides access to enterprise applications...

Chemical e-marketplace rivals merge.(Company Business and Marketing)
June 7, 2001... Business-to-business marketplace competitors ChemConnect and Envera today announced their merger. The combined forced, which will be called ChemConnect, will offer end-to-end connectivity for companies buying and selling chemicals and...

Blue Martini aids apps customization.(Developer Studio, Integration Manager programming tools; Developer)(Network Web site)(Product Announcement)
June 7, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO - While Oracle is discouraging customization of its customer relationship management software in its well-publicized "war on complexity," Blue Martini is taking a different route. This week, the San Mateo, Calif., company launched...