Computing articles from April 2005

Computing archives from April 2005

News - IT trust scheme goes live. Cabinet Office group introduces first phase of accreditation for internet security products.(Central Sponsor for Information Assurance)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. The government has introduced the first phase of an accreditation plan designed to build trust in IT security and ensure products and services meet basic quality standards. The Cabinet Office's Central Sponsor...

News - Banks set to lead plans for online identity.(negotiation between banking industry and Department of Trade and Industry of United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: James Watson and Sarah Arnott. The government is to work with the banking industry to establish the sector as a pioneer of online authentication. As part of a strategy launched last week to promote public access to technology,...

News - New chief for IT crime unit.(appointment of Sharon Lemon at National Hi-Tech Crime Unit)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has appointed detective chief superintendent Sharon Lemon as its new head. Lemon will play a key role in the integration of the NHTCU into the government's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca),...

News - UK delays rollout of EU waste law. WEEE Directive deadline extended to January 2006.(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
April 7, 2005... Byline: James Watson. The UK has delayed implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive until January 2006, after encountering 'major practical difficulties' in meeting the original deadline of 13 August....

News - Microsoft ends SP2 download block feature.(service pack)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: James Watson. Microsoft will next week discontinue a feature that allows organisations to block the downloading of its Service Pack 2 (SP2) security update for Windows XP. The company released SP2 last September to bolster...

News - Iceland freezes loss-making online service.(service discontinuation of Iceland Foods PLC)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Food retailer Iceland is closing its loss-making internet and telephone home shopping service to concentrate on reviving its ailing fortunes. The company, which rebranded as Iceland.co.uk in March 2000 will stop...

News - Financial world.(acquisition of SunGard Data Systems Inc. by a consortium of private equity companies)(sales and earnings of TIBCO Software Inc., Thus PLC and Red Hat Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Business continuity specialist SunGard is to be acquired by a consortium of private equity companies in a transaction valued at about $11.3bn ([pounds sterling]6bn). The buying consortium was organised by Silver Lake Partners and includes Bain...

News - MPs cast doubt on coastguard system. Committee seeks assurance after coastguards report faults.(members of parliament)(Commons Transport Committee)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. MPs are calling for assurances from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) following complaints from coastguards that the organisation's national incident management system has long-standing faults. The Commons...

News - Wickes upgrades as home deliveries take off. DIY retailer overhauls supply chain systems.(do it yourself work)(contract between Wickes Building Supplies and Manugistics Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. DIY retailer Wickes Building Supplies has upgraded its forecasting and replenishment systems to support its growing home delivery business. An expansion from 130 to 171 shops in the past three years, and increased...

News - Survey lifts the lid on IT salaries.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Computing staff. IT managers earn an average annual salary of [pounds sterling]40,346, according to research published this week. They are also likely to be educated to degree level or above, and work long hours compared with...

News - Action plan confirms IT as the key to UK's future. Connecting the UK strategy aims to provide social and business benefits.(technology policy)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The government's newly-published Connecting the UK strategy aims to close the digital divide, capitalise on infrastructure developments such as broadband, and ensure all levels of society get the most from technology....

News - Hi-tech crime unit issues warning on lax security. UK firms told to protect systems as computer crime costs hit [pounds sterling]2.4bn.(National Hi-Tech Crime Unit of United Kingdom)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Computer crime cost UK businesses more than [pounds sterling]2.4bn last year, according to figures from the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU). The organisation is warning firms to tighten their IT security...

News - Police make final switch to Airwave network.(contract between Police IT Organisation and O2 Airwave)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The five-year rollout of the [pounds sterling]2.9bn national radio network to police forces in England, Scotland and Wales was completed last week. Based on terrestrial trunked radio (Tetra) technology, the...

News - Whitehall funds tech innovation.(technology policy of Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The government has finalised the second phase of its [pounds sterling]14m scheme to encourage pioneering uses of IT to deliver business benefits. Twelve local authority technology programmes will receive shares of...

News - Backbytes.
April 7, 2005... Intellectually challenged Michael Hather's recent defence of his fellow Mensans ('answering questions requires knowledge not intelligence') seems to have upset a few of you. 'Michael Hather is a good example of how very stupid people...

Enterprise - Broadband network for Kent schools.(contract between Kent Local Education Authority and Unisys Ltd)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. Kent Local Education Authority is aiming to exceed government elearning targets with the implementation of a high-speed broadband network across all 615 of its schools. Kent has signed a three-year contract...

Enterprise - UCI tightens up remote security. Signify hired to handle security of mobile systems.(contract between Signify and United Cinemas International Ltd.)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. UCI Cinemas is bolstering its IT security to reduce spam and give managers remote access to business systems. The cinema chain has outsourced security management of its mobile computing systems to service...

Enterprise - Selfridges brings data centre back in-house. Capgemini deal ends as retailer takes some functions in-house to cut costs.(contract between Selfridges Ltd. and Capgemini UK)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Luxury department store chain Selfridges is taking part of the management of its data centre back in-house to cut costs. The organisation has decided not to renew an outsourcing deal with Capgemini, covering data...

Enterprise - E-auctions prove their worth to public sector. Computing went behind the scenes to watch a live electronic auction and examines the technology's growing impact. James Watson reports.(technology application of National Health Service of United Kingdom)
April 7, 2005... It's 11am and an online auction for the supply of nearly 3,000 desktop PCs to the NHS is about to begin. Just going through the process of getting five competitive suppliers to pitch for the business has already generated a significant saving...

Questions & answers - Manugistics sharpens focus on core markets. Computing meets Joe Cowan, chief executive of supply chain specialist Manugistics.(Manugistics Group Inc.)(Interview)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Joe Cowan was appointed chief executive of supply chain software specialist Manugistics last July, following 14 consecutive quarters that saw the company haemorrhaging cash. Since taking charge, Cowan has...

Enterprise - DTI reveals mixed fortunes of UK IT.(reports of Department of Trade and Industry of United Kingdom)
April 7, 2005... Byline: James Watson. Software and services businesses dominate the UK's IT industry, according to research released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DTI Value Added Scoreboard, which benchmarks companies using a...

Comment - Confidence is key to UK's IT success.(technology policy of United Kingdom)(Column)
April 7, 2005... Top sports stars say the difference between success and failure is confidence. Ability and hard work are essential but they are 'ticks in boxes', not what makes a winner. So confidence is a vital factor to consider in assessing Tony...

Comment - Data security has to move up the agenda. Chief information officers must convince the board of the case for information assurance, says Stuart Okin.(Column)
April 7, 2005... Byline: Stuart Okin, associate partner in Accenture's technology practice. Stories of online viruses, phishing attacks and electronic fraud usually raise awareness of information assurance at board level. But as the perception of a threat...

Networking - What will happen when the internet can't cope? Computing's monthly networking special kicks off with a look at planned initiatives to boost the infrastructure of the web when user traffic and application requirements push it to overload.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Cath Everett. In less than a decade, the internet has become an essential part of business. But many experts are predicting that today's web infrastructure will not be able to handle the load when users are fully exploiting...

Networking - The benefits of developing voice are growing louder. William Knight reports on how voice-over IP is opening the way to new speech applications.(Internet protocol)
April 7, 2005... However mature a company's IT, the technology everyone depends on is the telephone. But even traditional voice networking is being revolutionised by the internet. By 2006, more than two-thirds of the world's top 2,000 companies will have...

Networking - Households with broadband technology. More than six million households in the UK now have broadband technology. But what benefits can this bring to businesses? Lisa Kelly talks to two organisations about their experiences.
April 7, 2005... CASE STUDY - Disability Rights Commission Broadband connections deliver office systems to home-workers. The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is adopting broadband to allow more of its staff to work from home, and to promote...

Services - Special discount on our three directories.(product information of Computing)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Computing Directories, a set of volumes profiling the producers of IT and the organisations that use it, provides an invaluable resource for your sales and marketing, purchasing and research activities. Order all three volumes before 18...

Services - Diary.(Calendar)
April 7, 2005... Oracle SME Strategies for Success 2005 Seminars Attend this roadshow, supported by the Independent Association of Accountants Information Technology Consultants and the Department of Trade and Industry, and hear how IT can affect every part...

BCS Diary events.(conferences, meetings and seminars of British Computer Society)
April 7, 2005... BCS Belfast Branch 12 April. 7pm. Tom Winter Memorial Lecture. Wellington Park Hotel. Visit: www.infj.ulst.ac.uk/~bcs/index.html BCS Kingston and Croydon Branch 12 April. 7pm. 'Biometric and Identity.' Room 102, Townhouse,...

Training - listings.(Calendar)
April 7, 2005... Information for the courses page should follow our usual format - course category, title of course, venue, date, price, organising company/body, telephone number. Unless the information is presented in this way, we regret that it cannot be...

Careers - ICI widens access to elearning scheme. Chemicals giant offers staff courses to friends and family.(human resource management of Imperial Chemical Industries PLC)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. ICI has extended its worldwide elearning programme, doubling the number of courses offered to employees and providing access to their friends and family. The industrial chemicals giant is offering 18,000 staff...

Backbytes - Microwave, maximum damage.
April 7, 2005... Straightaway we give you this week's microwave challenge. Provided that anyone still has a functioning microwave after the past few weeks, we'd like to warn you that the ideas are getting odder. Of course, we don't recommend you do any of...

News Bulletin - Passport Service halts data plan.(information management of Passport Service of United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... The UK Passport Service datawarehouse procurement, started last June, has been cancelled. The system was to have held identification data from the agency's main passport database, and be used for wider initiatives such as transactional systems,...

News Bulletin - BT wins [pounds sterling]1.5bn MoD extension.(contracts of British Telecommunications PLC with Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... BT has been awarded a five-year, [pounds sterling]1.5bn extension to a contract to provide telecom services to the Ministry of Defence and the UK Armed Forces. The Defence Fixed Telecommunications System (DFTS) will now run until July 2012 and...

News Bulletin - MPs speak out on BT review.(beliefs of members of parliament on reorganization of British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Splitting BT into separate retail and wholesale companies 'should remain very much a last resort' according to the Commons Trade and Industry Committee. In a report rushed out before Parliament dissolved, MPs say the strategy emerging from...

News Bulletin - ID Card bill put on hold.(identification)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... The ID Card bill will not pass into law in this session of parliament because there is no time for further parliamentary debate before the General Election. It is likely the bill will be resurrected again after the 5 May election, provided...

News Bulletin - Microsoft closer to EU agreement.(remedies of European Union. European Commission for Microsoft Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Microsoft has moved closer to a resolution over its anti-trust dispute with the European Commission. The firm says it has accepted most of the Commission's demands over the sharing of Windows source code with rivals, including cuts in licensing...

News Bulletin - Smaller businesses reject Linux.(survey of small and medium sized companies)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Linux is losing momentum among medium-sized organisations, according to a survey by research firm Info-Tech Research Group. The findings point to a rift between large organisations that are adopting open source and smaller firms that opt for a...

News Bulletin - Google trials taxi service.(service development by Google Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Google is testing a service that links taxi firms in the US with passengers via the web. Google Ride Finder uses Google Maps pages and links them with taxi firms that register with the company. Users can then see the locations of available cabs...

News Bulletin - Wedgwood completes upgrade.(contract with Torex Retail)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Ceramics maker Wedgwood has completed a two-and-a-half-year programme worth [pounds sterling]1.1m to replace a DOS-based point-of-sale system in 140 sites with new electronic terminals, integrated with existing head office systems. The company...

News Bulletin - Financial services web boom.(market size of Sainsbury's Bank PLC)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... New figures from Sainsbury's Bank highlight the rising popularity of the internet as a place for people to buy financial services. The bank says the number of visitors to its site increased by more than 200 per cent over the past year....

Enterprise Bulletin - Microsoft tries to net phishers.(cases of Microsoft Corp. against suspected phishers)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Microsoft has filed 117 'John Doe' lawsuits in the US against suspected phishers, hoping to catch some of the biggest offenders. Because there is no specific anti-phishing legislation in the US, the lawsuits were filed in the US District Court...

Enterprise Bulletin - UK users boost 3 operator.(sales and earnings of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... The annual financial results of Hutchison Whampoa, which runs the 3 mobile network, show that UK users are among its most profitable customers. Average annual revenue per user in the UK was [pounds sterling]40.30 in 2004. Only the Austrians...

Enterprise Bulletin - No immunity to old viruses.(reports of Sophos PLC)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2005... Old viruses continued to infect new computers in March, according to anti-virus data from Sophos. Zafi.B continues to dominate, accounting for more than 45 per cent of infections reported that month. Older versions of Netsky occupy six of the...

News - Banks set to confirm UK security standard. Means of authenticating online transactions will be established next month.(Association for Payment Clearing Services)
April 13, 2005... Byline: James Watson and Daniel Thomas. UK banks plan to establish a standard for physically authenticating online transactions early next month, allowing them to create greater consumer confidence in internet security. The growing...

News - Our appeal for old PCs is a big success.(donation to Computer Aid International)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Mark Samuels. IT directors pledged more than 28,000 PCs to our Computer Aid appeal in the past year. Working with specialist charity Computer Aid International, Computing is asking the UK's technology leaders to donate old PCs...

News - Think tank calls for review of NHS data spine plan.(National Health Service manages the electronic patient records)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The concept of a national spine of NHS patient records should be reconsidered and the [pounds sterling]6bn-worth of National Programme contracts potentially renegotiated, says a think tank. A report published by...

News - IT central to the Marathon effort. Donations can be made on runners' online pages or by text messaging.(Flora London Marathon)(use of an official fundraising website for charitable donations)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. The internet and mobile technologies are making the running in this year's Flora London Marathon. Some [pounds sterling]4.6m has already been raised in charitable donations over the web, and organisers expect the...

News - Faults revealed in intelligence-sharing project.(United Kingdom. Cabinet Office delays in development of a software)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Parliamentary correspondent. The top-secret multimillion-pound Scope project to share intelligence data between government security agencies is at least 50 per cent over budget, according to MPs. Delays and project management...

News - Computacenter ties up [pounds sterling]8m Highways deal.(Highways Agency)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. The Highways Agency has signed an [pounds sterling]8m, five-year deal with IT services firm Computacenter to manage command, control and communications services used by traffic officers. Computacenter will work...

News - Financial world.(revenue reports of information technology companies)(Research in Motion Ltd., Autonomy PLC, Siebel Systems Inc.)
April 13, 2005... Cambridge software supplier Autonomy's preliminary results for its first quarter shows expected revenues and earnings to be 'considerably ahead' of market estimates and above its own forecasts of $16m ([pounds sterling]8.5m) to $18m ([pounds...

News - The Computing 30 Share Index.(Elevation Partners invests on Eidos Entertainment shares)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Shortly after US equity firm Elevation Partners offered [pounds sterling]71m for local videogame maker Eidos last month, another game developer bid [pounds sterling]103m for the company. The offer from SCi Entertainment already has backing from...

News - IBM database to aid genetics research. Organisations collaborate on anthropology project.(National Geographic Society, partnership)
April 13, 2005... Byline: James Watson. The National Geographic Society is working with IBM on a five-year project to create the world's largest public database of anthropological genetic information. The ultimate aim of the Genographic Project is to...

News - UK egovernment falls in rankings.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The UK has slipped a place in the world egovernment rankings for the third year running, according to research. Consultancy Accenture found that even though most government organisations are on track to meet the...

News - Banks seek a standard for beating online fraud. Industry works towards establishing a method of ensuring online identity.
April 13, 2005... Byline: James Watson and Daniel Thomas. As public concerns about online security continue to rise, the banking industry in the UK is poised to fundamentally change the way it verifies the identity of online customers. The sector wants...

News - Tesco simplifies in-store ordering.(installation of a software from Marrakech)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Tesco is installing an internal order management system across its 780 shops for purchasing in-store consumables. The supermarket giant will use software from specialist spend-management firm Marrakech to replace...

News - B&Q signs outsourcing deal.(B and Q PLC, Xansa)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. DIY retailer B&Q is to outsource its application development to technology services specialist Xansa in a three-year contract. Under the terms of the deal, Xansa will provide offshore and onshore outsourcing...

News - Error halts electronic trading.(erroe in International Petroleum Exchange of London Ltd. online trading service)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: James Watson. The International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) completed its transition to electronic-only trading last week, but system issues on its first day disrupted business for more than an hour. The exchange is using ICE, an...

News - Backbytes.(funny things at information technology services industry)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... It's all downhill for upgrades We asked for upgraded systems that turn out to be worse than they were before. And the early signs are that there are quite a few you'd like to complain about. 'I'd nominate the "new" online banking from...

Enterprise - Server cut-off forces retailer to revamp IT.(Rosebys PLC upgraded its software from Kurt Salmon Associates Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Home furnishing retailer Rosebys has revamped its warehouse management system as part of an IT refresh project. The infrastructure upgrade became necessary when HP announced the end of support for the HPe3000...

Enterprise - Bank launches ecommerce hub. Lloyds TSB's Vantage system manages online purchasing.(Lloyds TSB Group PLC)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Mark Samuels. Lloyds TSB has launched an ecommerce service that allows customers to buy goods and services via a single point. Vantage, an internet-based transaction hub, manages the purchasing process for organisations of all...

Enterprise - Abbey completes intranet transfer project. Database for policy and procedure pages ensures regulatory compliance.(Abbey National PLC)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: James Watson. High-Street bank Abbey has completed a project to move 100,000 pages from its policy and procedures manuals onto its corporate intranet to allow easier access for staff and ensure regulatory compliance. The...

Enterprise - Ethernet powers [pounds sterling]1.85m IT refresh. Accountants body signs deal with NTL to outsource exams services.(Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, NTL Group Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is to outsource its entire communications infrastructure in a [pounds sterling]1.85m deal. The three-year managed service contract with NTL will let the...

Enterprise - Honda improves product monitoring process. Car maker generating more accurate forecasts for its European operation.(Honda Motor Europe Ltd., Hyperion Software Corp.)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Car and motorcycle manufacturer Honda Motor Europe is using business performance management software to monitor its financial budgeting and planning processes more accurately. The European arm of the Japanese...

Conference Call - Global teamwork needed to stamp out cyber crime. Computing rounds up the news from the eCrime Congress 2005 in London.
April 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Law enforcement agencies from around the world must work more closely to track down cyber criminals operating outside of national borders, say internet police chiefs. Mick Deats, deputy head of the National...

Conference Call - Home PC users must do more.(views of Howard Schmidt from eBay Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Former US government cyber security adviser Howard Schmidt has warned of a shortage of trained police officers capable of tackling internet crimes. Schmidt, now chief security strategist at eBay, also says home users and small businesses...

Conference Call - Blue Square bets on initiatives to combat denial of service attacks.(threatening of distributed denial of service attacks)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Online betting company Blue Square has overhauled its IT systems after organised crime syndicates launched distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against it last year. Cyber criminals operating out of...

Conference Call - Round-up.(Department K investigates on computer crimes)(MasterCard International Inc. introduced Operation Stop IT to detect credit card frauds)(online banks uses new technology)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... MasterCard has launched Operation Stop IT, an initiative to cut down on criminal attempts to steal customer identities. The credit card firm has detected 1,006 spoof phishing sites on the internet and has already removed 993 of them. Some...

Questions & Answers - Guiding Sun through a period of transition. Computing meets Trudy Norris-Grey, Sun Microsystems' recently appointed UK chief.(Interview)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Bryan Glick. The UK has been one of Sun Microsystems' most successful regions during its difficult post-dot com years. When UK managing director Leslie Stretch was promoted earlier this year to a global role based at the...

BCS - How intelligence can resolve disputes.(British Computer Society, London Court of International Arbitration)(use of online dispute resolution system)
April 13, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Barnett. Imagine a dispute resolution system that can handle simple exchanges of complaint and answer, blind settlement bidding, artificial intelligence systems performing virtual trials, and arbitration hearings. ...

Comment - Online security is a duty for us all.(seciruty management of banking industry against identity theft)(Column)
April 13, 2005... The banking industry faces a near-impossible dilemma. It wants to encourage more customers to use the internet. But the growing threat of ID theft means that the more successful online banking becomes, the wider the risk of fraud. There is...

Comment - IT must be central to our economic vision. The next government must understand technology if the UK is to compete in the global market, says John Higgins.(Column)
April 13, 2005... Byline: John Higgins, director general of technology trade association Intellect. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced last week that the UK's economic future will be at the heart of Labour's campaign in the lead-up to the...

Special Report - Computer Aid helping to change lives in Africa. Mark Samuels reports from South Africa and Mozambique on how the Computing-backed PC project is helping access to education.(Fannie Sebolela views on introduction of technology in schools)(Computer Aid International donates computers to Khensani Primary School)
April 13, 2005... When Fannie Sebolela became principal of Khensani Primary School, he found the school, which had just 250 pupils, a depressing place to learn. The school is based in Soshanguve, a township about 25km outside Pretoria. It is an extremely...

Management - BT capitalises on its own innovations. BT hopes its many patents will earn cash and improve the company, reports Mark Samuels.(British Telecommunications PLC)
April 13, 2005... BT workers are expected to look for the most innovative solutions to the most intractable problems. Evidence to support this came when Computing visited the telecoms provider's head offices in London recently, and was required to leave...

Services - Win a free pass to business conference.
April 13, 2005... Computing is offering readers the chance to win a complementary conference delegate pass, worth [pounds sterling]1,295, for BPMG's 13th annual business process management conference, in London on 9-11 May. The theme for this year's...

Services - Diary.
April 13, 2005... Oracle SME Strategies for Success 2005 Seminars Attend this roadshow, supported by the Independent Association of Accountants Information Technology Consultants and the Department of Trade and Industry, and hear how IT can affect every part...

BCS diary events.(British Computer Society)
April 13, 2005... BCS Nottingham and Derby Branch 16 April. Dinner and annual meeting. The Admiral Rodney, Wollaton. Visit: www.bcs.org.uk/branches/nottmderby/ BCS Malta Section 18-22 April. 'Certificate in Security Management course.' Email:...

Training - listings.(certified computer based trainings)
April 13, 2005... Information for the courses page should follow our usual format - course category, title of course, venue, date, price, organising company/body, telephone number. Unless the information is presented in this way, we regret that it cannot be...

Careers - Scottish employees buck UK skills trend. Report suggests fewer skills gaps in Scotland.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. Three times as many English employers are reporting IT skills gaps than their Scottish counterparts, according to research from sector skills council e-Skills UK. The IT Insights - Scotland report found that...

Backbytes - There's a right and a wrong way to do things.(humors from the end users)
April 13, 2005... 'Oh, how the pain and guilt still consume me,' says Mick Rutherford, at Dragnet Software. If only more of you were as sensitive as Mick, you wouldn't write to us laughing at old ladies who lift their mice to try to get the cursor to go up. ...

News Bulletin - LogicaCMG beats the opposition.(London Metropolitan Police outsourcing contract)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... London's Metropolitan Police has signed a [pounds sterling]31m, seven-year outsourcing deal with supplier LogicaCMG for human resources systems. The fully-integrated system will manage payroll and pensions for the Met's 46,000 officers and...

News Bulletin - CSA problems may start at home.(defects in the computer systems of United Kingdom. Child Support Agency)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Problems at the beleaguered Child Support Agency may not be entirely due to defective IT systems, according to a Bristol University report commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions. Staff at the agency admitted a series of deliberate...

News Bulletin - Commons prescribes standards.(standardisation of clinical systems by Commons Health Committee)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... MPs have called for the standardisation of clinical systems in the NHS amid fears that some may not be fully compatible with the National Programme for IT. The last report of the Commons Health Committee before the General Election also calls...

News Bulletin - Think tank invites ideas.(Institute for Policy Research completed a public consultation on the role of technology in policy-making)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2005... Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research is running a three-week public consultation as part of its Digital Manifesto project to stimulate a broad debate on the role of technology in policy-making. Contributions are welcome to the...