Computing articles from December 2008

Computing archives from December 2008

Britain snubs talent.
December 4, 2008... Britain snubs talent The UK is falling behind global competitors when it comes to technology research. Martin Courtney investigates the causes and looks at what can be done to reverse the trend (The UK appears to have fallen...

Solid as a rock.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Lisa Kelly Solid as a rock From power cuts in Nigeria to severe server congestion in Lancashire, Lisa Kelly reports on the potential hazards facing three very different organisations and the steps they have taken to ensure...

Hosted environment ensures continuity of service.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Lisa Kelly The importance of uptime is not lost on Jason Duffett. As systems director for fast-growing online business eSpares, he knows that without its online shop window, the business grinds to a halt. "If the site is down,...

NHS trust recovers from server overdose.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Lisa Kelly When David Pickup first started investigating virtualisation technology, he had an inkling that it might help him constrain the sprawl of servers at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust's datacentre, which he oversees as...

Multi-core processors.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Dave Bailey Multi-core processors A guide to up-and-coming technologies What are multi-core processors? Multi-core processors feature discrete central processor units (CPUs), called cores, with integrated cache and...

Middle East seeks progress through IT.
December 4, 2008... Byline: John Higgins Middle East seeks progress through IT There is growing awareness in the region of how technology can benefit society ("The sectarian violence is behind us now," I was somewhat surprised to be told by a...

Web 2.0 has potential to transform staff training.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Colin McDonald Web 2.0 has potential to transform staff training Employees can sharpen their IT skills through using the latest interactive training tools, writes Colin McDonald A decade ago when two young Stanford...

Should CRM be more sociable?
December 4, 2008... Byline: Martin Courtney Should CRM be more sociable? As vendors rush to add more social networking bells and whistles to their CRM products, some experts warn that users must tread carefully when venturing into online communities,...

Storm warning.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Daniel Robinson Storm warning Consumers will no doubt be blown away by RIM's first touch-screen BlackBerry, but usability issues mean business users are likely to be less keen, writes Daniel Robinson (The BlackBerry...

Data watchdog must prepare to be hounded.
December 4, 2008... Data watchdog must prepare to be hounded The next Information Commissioner will have to cope with intense scrutiny from the media and politicians (The new powers awarded to the Information Commissioner recently have been well trailed...

Hot Seat.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Computing Malcolm Waite is an IT project director at Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, which has 6,500 users across 184 sites What was your first job and how did you get into IT? My first real job was working as a lab...

On a quest to build a connected society.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Gareth Morgan On a quest to build a connected society BT Design's JP Rangaswami talks to Gareth Morgan about his pivotal role in the telecoms giant's efforts to deliver universal broadband and his plans to tap into the...

Watchdog wants IT to cure privacy woes.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Tom Young Watchdog wants IT to cure privacy woes Information Commissioner Richard Thomas is urging organisations to put privacy protection at the top of their procurement and development criteria, writes Tom Young...

CIOs must embrace collaboration tools.(chief information officers)(Interview)
December 4, 2008... Byline: Angelica Mari CIOs must embrace collaboration tools Author Don Tapscott gives Angelica Mari his reasons for promoting social networking tools and says transparency is the key to security (IT leaders should never refuse...

IT leaders must stand by India.(information technology)
December 4, 2008... Byline: Computing IT leaders must stand by India (As a business magazine for technology professionals, Computing has no real desire to write about terrorism. But once again, with great regret, such despicable acts have been forced onto...

Company data at mercy of crooks.(Companies House )
December 4, 2008... Byline: Computing staff Company data at mercy of crooks Computing staff The abuse of publicly accessible electronic data at Companies House is facilitating e-crime costing [pounds sterling]50m a year, according to a House of...

Digital mapping option added to geography syllabus.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Tom Young Digital mapping option added to geography syllabus Tom Young The use of geographic information systems (GIS) A- software that allows users to create digital maps A- has become part of national GCSE and A-level...

Bupa updates site to boost customer service.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Angelica Mari Bupa updates site to boost customer service Angelica Mari Bupa is overhauling its web site to improve customer service as increasing numbers of people opt for private medical cover. The web refresh will...

Bank pins recovery hopes on high-performance IT.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Angelica Mari Bank pins recovery hopes on high-performance IT Angelica Mari Lloyds TSB is using high-performance computing (HPC) technology to improve its risk management and valuation capabilities while the banking...

Hot Seat.(Sarah Williamson )(Interview)(Brief article)
December 11, 2008... Byline: Computing Sarah Williamson is director of information systems at Sevenoaks School where her team delivers and supports IT for 992 pupils and 250 staff What was your first job and how did you get into IT? My first "proper"...

E-businesses must bond with customers.(Brief article)
December 11, 2008... Byline: Phil Muncaster E-businesses must bond with customers Recent internet developments mean e-commerce success increasingly depends on maintaining a constructive dialogue with customers (It has become almost a truism that...

How to curb ITi?1/2s hunger for power.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Nik Simpson How to curb IT's hunger for power A few simple measures can have a major impact on datacentre energy consumption (Many datacentre managers are facing limits on power and cooling capacity in addition to growing...

Taking a service-oriented approach to integration.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Alistair Macleod Taking a service-oriented approach to integration SOA may alleviate some integration issues, but metadata proliferation is a risk, writes Alistair Mcleod There has always been a debate among IT...

Protect and survive.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Martin Courtney Protect and survive While technology can help to safeguard operations, true business resilience cannot be achieved without the involvement of both senior managers and the wider workforce, writes Martin Courtney...

Assessing asset management.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Computing Assessing asset management Our regular guide to leadership challenges for CIOs examines IT asset management (With budgets under pressure, adept IT leaders need to know how to make every penny count. Given...

Innovation is key to public sector reform.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Tom Young Innovation is key to public sector reform The chief executive of Accenture's global public services business talks to Tom Young about how the economic crisis will bring changes in the way governments worldwide use...

The public needs a data protection ally.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Computing The public needs a data protection ally (Data privacy is without a doubt one of the defining challenges of the digital age. For too long, the issue has been wrapped up in clichA[c]s around Big Brother and the...

Computer threats becoming more sophisticated.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Computing staff Computer threats becoming more sophisticated Computing staff The scale and sophistication of IT security threats increased at an unprecedented rate during 2008, according to a series of...

NHS to test contactless smartcards.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Tom Young NHS to test contactless smartcards Tom Young The NHS is to run a trial of contactless smartcard readers that will grant access to IT systems without needing to be physically touched, helping to prevent the spread...

Anti-fraud body to trawl civil servantsi?1/2 bank data.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Tom Young Anti-fraud body to trawl civil servants' bank data Tom Young More than half a million central government civil servants could be forced to hand over their bank details to the Audit Commission as part of a...

BT gears up for Games with intense training and testing.(Brief article)
December 11, 2008... Byline: Angelica Mari BT gears up for Games with intense training and testing Angelica Mari BT is to implement a rigorous testing and training programme to ensure the communications infrastructure supporting the London 2012...

Recognising computer-based invention.
December 18, 2008... Byline: Anne Christopher Recognising computer-based invention The notion that computer software should be patentable is gaining acceptance, says Anne Christopher In October, the UK Court of Appeal handed down a judgment (Symbian...

Getting the message.(Unified Communications )
December 18, 2008... Getting the message IT leaders are under pressure to cut costs and avoid unneccesary projects. Is unified communications a technology that can help with the challenges ahead? (Advocates of unified communications (UC) argue that it is...

Be prepared for the little things as well.
December 18, 2008... Be prepared for the little things as well Business continuity is more than just planning for disasters A- everyday issues need to be addressed too, writes Dale Vile (The term business continuity often conjures up visions of rows of...

Steel yourself for trouble.
December 18, 2008... Steel yourself for trouble Business continuity plans must be reinforced with iron-clad contractual guarantees from suppliers and outsourcing partners, say Jon Fell and Clare Francis (While events may have a habit of...

Cloud offers shelter from financial storm.
December 18, 2008... Byline: Ted Schadler Cloud offers shelter from financial storm Cloud computing's pay-as-you-go model offers the best hope for collaboration initiatives (Despite the current gloomy economic climate, companies still need to get real...

A year of lost data, lost jobs and a "dead' Jobs.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Byline: Bryan Glick Computing looks back at the past year, which witnessed a flood of redundancies, data blunders and economic turmoil A- but at least Steve Jobs still has his health A year of lost data, lost jobs and a...

Novell sees a silver lining.
December 18, 2008... Byline: David Neal Novell sees a silver lining Novell's European president says the slump is likely to increase demand for his firm's Linux and virtualisation offerings. David Neal reports (Software supplier Novell is going...

There is a long journey ahead.(Tube Lines Ltd.)
December 18, 2008... Byline: Angelica Mari There is a long journey ahead Angelica Mari talks to Tube Lines' director of information about the company's huge task of improving the network while still cutting costs (Tube Lines has started a major data...

Reasons for cheer amid the gloom.
December 18, 2008... Byline: Computing Reasons for cheer amid the gloom (So, that was 2008. Frankly, not many people will be sad to see the back of it. We entered the year using lots of new phrases A- the credit crunch, sub-prime mortgages and Libor...