Computing articles from October 2005

Computing archives from October 2005

News - Banks step up security plans. Two-factor authentication could go live at UK banks before standard arrives.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Watson. Several UK high-street banks are expected to announce plans to authenticate online transactions with some form of physical security device before the end of the year. But any such move will come in advance of...

News - eBorders deal gathers pace.(use of the travel industry systems and transport hubs by the government)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The procurement for the government's [pounds sterling]400m IT plan to tighten UK border security formally started this week. The eBorders scheme will link relevant government agencies, as well as travel industry...

News - Whitehall signs public sector portal contract.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The government has signed a multimillion-pound deal for an online marketplace to improve purchasing efficiency and make bidding for public sector contracts more appealing to smaller suppliers. The Zanzibar...

News - Cut-off nears for Bacs changeover. 30,000 firms still not switched to Bacstel-IP online system.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Watson. UK firms have less than three months to update their Bacs systems or risk being left unable to process payments. Some 10,000 firms have made the switch since June, but as many as 30,000 companies have yet to move...

News - Underground workers aided by mapping devices.(Intergraph UK Ltd., Tube Lines Ltd.,contract)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Tube Lines, the public-private partnership that maintains a number of London Underground lines, plans to extend its use of geographical information systems (GIS) to improve engineering works. The organisation,...

News - Firms fail to monitor outsourcing activities.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Mark Samuels. Many organisations fail to monitor the performance of their outsourcing service provider, according to research published this week. Consultant Deloitte polled some 100 chief information officers (CIOs) at leading...

News - Boots merger will not affect IT plans. Retail giant adds two years and [pounds sterling]26m to contract with Xansa.(Alliance UniChem PLC, Boots Company PLC)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Watson. High-street retailer Boots will press on with its existing IT plans following the announcement of a merger with Alliance UniChem in a [pounds sterling]7bn deal. Although it is unclear how Boots' IT programme will...

News - Firms show lack of preparation for disaster recovery.(survey)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Brown. Most businesses are ill-prepared to cope with a disaster, according to research. A survey, commissioned by the Institute of Directors (IoD) and telecoms provider Cable & Wireless and conducted by ICM, found that...

News - BBC to share web technology with rivals. Broadcaster tests software that allows viewers to download past shows to a PC.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. The BBC plans to share with rival broadcasters internet technology that allows viewers access to past television shows, if trials prove successful. The broadcaster began the second phase of the integrated Media...

News - Financial world.(earnings of some information technology industry)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Mobile network operator O2 has announced that its UK customer base topped 15 million for the first time during the six months to 30 September. IT services group Parity's interim results for the half year to 30 June showed revenue has...

News - NHS struggles to meet patient choice targets. Politics rather than technology blamed for lack of Choose & Book referrals.(National Health Service)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Use of the electronic bookings element of the [pounds sterling]6bn NHS IT programme is falling far behind government targets, but experts say politics is more to blame than technology. To qualify for a [pounds...

News - Schools adopt single sign-on.(new product Named Shibboleth from British Educational Communications and Technology Agency)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Brown. Schoolchildren in the UK are to use an open source single sign-on password system. Named Shibboleth, the system is being introduced by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) to provide...

News - Council signs [pounds sterling]7.2m deal to support strategic IT plan. Contract part of plans to move to on-demand group computing.(Computacenter PLC)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Brown. South Lanarkshire Council has awarded a [pounds sterling]7.2m deal to Computacenter for a backbone server and storage system. The deal, which includes supply, support and disaster recovery provisions, will replace...

News - NTL to purchase Telewest.(TeleWest Communications PLC, NTL Group Ltd.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Telecommunications firm NTL is to acquire rival Telewest to create the country's second largest communication provider. The deal values Telewest at $6bn ([pounds sterling]3.4bn), and is expected to be completed sometime in early 2006. The...

News - Capita wins [pounds sterling]17.7m TfL deal.(Capita Group PLC, London, England. Transport for London)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Transport for London (TfL) has finalised a [pounds sterling]17.7m agreement with Capita to set up technology systems for the Western Extension Zone (WEZ) of the London congestion charge scheme. The IT services firm has operated the congestion...

News - London man on hacking charge.(a case between Daniel James Cuthbert and Computing)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Daniel James Cuthbert, 28, was due to appear at Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court in London as Computing went to press, accused of hacking into the Disasters Emergency Committee web site. Cuthbert, from Whitechapel, East London, has pleaded...

News - Users in password overload.(survey)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Users are being burdened with too many passwords, and their confusion could undermine IT security, research shows. A survey by RSA Security suggests many corporate IT users have at least 13 passwords to remember. The survey of 1,700 IT users...

News - Office 12 to support PDFs.
October 6, 2005... Microsoft has promised to support PDF files in the next version of Office. Office 12 will have a 'Save as PDF' function to create a PDF and electronically distribute a read-only version of the document. www.computing.co.uk/2143098.

News - Deadline pressures lead to insufficient testing. Survey reveals many systems are being launched prematurely.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. More than two-thirds of European IT managers admit they launch systems without sufficient testing, research shows. Among the reasons cited were poor availability of testing capabilities, lack of skills and...

News - Firms hit hard by organised IT crime.(survey)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Brown. European companies are suffering increasing financial losses from security attacks and careless use of IT assets, according to research from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Some 40 per cent of senior risk...

News - Business climate boosts IT spend.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. IT directors have increased their investment in new technology projects in the past three months, citing strong business conditions for the growth, says research. The quarterly Chief Information Officer...

News - Backbytes.(humors at information technology services industry)
October 6, 2005... A little code for the weekend, sir? 'I was checking through some of my code and comparing it with similar code I'd previously written,' says John Hamling, at P N Lee Statistics & Computing. Your chat-up lines won't work on us John. Oh,...

Enterprise - Internet sales hit high street.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. The growth of online shopping is having a major effect on high-street sales, according to web retail industry body IMRG. The latest IMRG Index, which tracks the sector's performance, shows online sales in...

Enterprise - Police tighten grip on sign-on access. Staffordshire force installs IT password management system.(Staffordshire Police, Enline, contract)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Staffordshire Police is to install a password management system to improve secure access to its IT systems. The force began installing the Imprivata OneSign system on more than 45 password-protected systems this...

Enterprise - ABN Amro improves storage performance. Banking group uses migration tools to cut time spent backing up systems.(ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Softek Software Inc., contract)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Global banking group ABN Amro has introduced data migration software to remove performance bottlenecks from its storage systems. The financial services company is deploying the software tool to ensure...

Enterprise - Schroders deploys CRM software.
October 6, 2005... Global asset management financial services company Schroders will deploy hosted customer relationship management (CRM) software from Salesforce.com to 500 of its employees across 15 countries. It will use the software to improve the...

Enterprise - Center Parcs raises online profile.
October 6, 2005... Center Parcs UK has appointed Global Beach to redesign and build its web site. The holiday firm wants to raise the profile of its online activities and provide visitors with easy access to information and useful tools to help them book and plan...

Enterprise - Dell to attract high-end users.(survey of higher-spending home users)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Dell has announced three high-end XPS PCs and a notebook that it plans to market as premium products backed with a higher level of customer service. At a briefing in New York last week, Dell said it is looking to attract higher-spending home...

Enterprise - Council boosts its customer service. Braintree is the first authority to install the Siebel 50 system.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Brown. Braintree District Council in Essex is installing customer service technology to improve the services provided to its 150,000 citizens. The council will also use the Siebel 50 customer service system to help fulfil...

Enterprise - New system to help manage trust funds.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. Outsourcing giant Capita has implemented a low-cost, highly automated system to allow Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts and policies to be administered. CTF provider Children's Mutual selected Capita Life &...

Enterprise - Leeds pen pushers go digital to cut out forms. Data from care workers can be sent via mobile phone to database servers.(Anoto AB, contract)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. Leeds City Council says it will achieve huge savings by using digital pen and paper technology to eliminate traditional form processing. A pilot project running since January among care workers has proved so...

Enterprise - Mail software cuts Saga costs.
October 6, 2005... Holiday and financial services firm Saga is to use predictive analytics software from vendor SPSS to increase profitability from direct mail campaigns. The firm, which targets the over-50s, has been using SPSS' Predictive Marketing software for...

Enterprise - Microsoft tackles IE security.(development of a beta version Internet Explorer 7.2)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Microsoft has presented a preliminary beta 2 version of Internet Explorer 7 to an audience of hackers at the Hack in the Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the first time the company has spoken about security for its...

Enterprise - Rise in demand for cheap PCs.
October 6, 2005... Rising demand for cheap computers in emerging economies such as eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa is leading to a peak in demand for used machines, according to a study by Gartner. The increase in the availability of used computers is...

Enterprise - Virus authors get smarter.
October 6, 2005... Security reports from September indicate that virus writers are getting smarter, using smaller malware that performs a specific task rather than trying to cause mass virus outbreaks. According to the monthly virus chart from security firm...

Enterprise - Google plans work with Nasa.(plans to open a million-square-foot office complex)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Google is planning to open a million-square-foot office complex at Nasa's Ames Research Centre, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. Nasa and Google have agreed to work together on a variety of projects, including large-scale data...

Enterprise - Web gaming firms up the ante. The online gaming sector is banking on innovative IT to ensure its success.(London Stock Exchange PLC)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Watson. A dot com boom of a different sort is under way in the online gaming sector. This summer has seen the arrival of several new companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), as online gaming, and poker in particular,...

Enterprise - Map sites chart online treasures. Online mapping is driving a new breed of web sites that help users locate the services they need.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Watson. As US authorities struggled to evacuate stranded citizens from New Orleans and across Louisiana in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, concerned computer programmers were rapidly coding a series of web sites to help...

Enterprise - Electronic till systems to support expansion plan.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. High-street fashion chains Oasis and Coast are upgrading their till equipment to support expansion plans and reduce maintenance time and costs. Parent company Mosaic Fashions - which also owns Karen Millen and...

Enterprise - Woolworths starts in-store payment for web shoppers.(Woolworths Group PLC)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Woolworths has gone live with a bespoke application to allow shoppers to pay cash in its stores for items ordered via its web site. The application is the last in the retailer's web terminal initiative, which has...

Enterprise - Technology put to the test in schools.(Column)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Emma Nash. Your school days are the best of your life, so the saying goes. I am inclined to disagree - I never really understood the fuss about school. Forced to run round a damp and freezing field in the middle of January in...

Enterprise - Do not restrict our creative industries.(Creative Economy Conference)(rules on intellectual property rights)(Column)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Will Davies. The main battleground of the 2005 General Election was style not substance. While Michael Howard staked his claim on simplicity and brevity, the government used its manifesto to appear authoritative and at ease with...

Comment - IT must be central to convergence.(future of the broadcasting industry and the telecommunications industry)(Brief Article)(Column)
October 6, 2005... The convergence of television, telephony and the internet is generating a great deal of national debate and economic activity. Cable giant NTL is taking over rival Telewest with just this aim - to take on BT as a telecoms provider and the...

Comment - Good security is a business enabler. Decision-makers want to know the benefit and value of investing in security measures, says Steve Hunt.(Column)
October 6, 2005... It is an uphill battle to convince decision-makers in any business that they need to invest in security. Deep down, all professional business people think of security as an annoying layer of cost and inconvenience. Getting the buy-in for...

Computing awards for excellence. This week we profile the nominations for voluntary and innovative projects at this year's Computing Awards for Excellence 2005, to be hosted in London on 16 November.
October 6, 2005... VOLUNTARY SECTOR PROJECTS OF THE YEAR PEOPLE'S DISPENSARY FOR SICK ANIMALS The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) is the UK's leading veterinary charity, every year providing more than 1.2 million free treatments to sick and...

Networking - UPS enlists wireless help to deliver a better service. Mark Samuels kicks off this month's networking special report with a look at how leading-edge network technology investments can help to create a more efficient system.(UPS Europe Ltd.)(Column)
October 6, 2005... Package delivery specialist UPS personifies the modern-day wireless business. The company spends $1bn ([pounds sterling]566m) annually on IT, much of which is directed towards leading-edge wireless projects. 'The whole idea is to make...

Networking - DTI backs plans to promote grid computing in business. A government venture aims to show companies the benefits of grid computing, says Martin Fustes.(United Kingdom. Department of Trade and Industry)(Column)
October 6, 2005... The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has long been a generous advocate of grid computing, having invested more than [pounds sterling]250m in the e-Science research programme that is responsible for developing grid computing resources in...

Networking - Broadband. As broadband becomes a part of everyday life, organisations from businesses to schools are finding that it can transform the way they operate. Jessica Twentyman reports on the technology's impact.(Longfield Comprehensive School)
October 6, 2005... CASE STUDY - LONGFIELD COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL Where Gordon Brown's classroom of the future is already a reality Chancellor Gordon Brown set out an ambitious vision in his 2005 Budget address for the classroom of the future, where...

Networking - EU targets web's image-conscious. A European directive could affect commercial sites featuring moving images, says Pamela Whitby.(Column)
October 6, 2005... Does your company have moving images on its web site? Does it advertise alcohol, tobacco or anything that might be bought by children? Could its email facilities be used to transmit or relay moving image material? If so, it might be time...

Networking - Cisco looks to IP and mobile technology for future growth. Bryan Glick talks to Cisco UK's chief, Duncan Mitchell, about the networking company's future.(Cisco Systems Ltd.)(Interview)
October 6, 2005... Cisco Systems was one of the companies whose name became synonymous with the growth of the internet and the dot com boom. Its dominance of the router market means the supplier will always be best known as a networking company. But the...

Management - Business starts to rethink the outsourcing option. More companies are bringing IT services back in-house, reports Mark Samuels.
October 6, 2005... Back in the more predictable days of outsourcing, UK companies dealt with problematic technology and business processes by pushing them out to an IT service provider. Businesses used specialists such as Capgemini and EDS to manage...

Services - [pounds sterling]1,000 of Proxy software to win.
October 6, 2005... Computing has teamed up with Network Utilities to offer one lucky reader the chance to win [pounds sterling]1,000 worth of Funk Software's Proxy remote control software. Since 1992, Proxy remote control has been installed on millions of...

Services - Diary.
October 6, 2005... Softworld Accounting and Finance 12-13 October NEC, Birmingham Europe's leading software event for the accounting and finance profession brings together more than 70 leading software providers under one roof. Delegates can attend...

Careers - Centrica seeks new batch of recruits. Utility adds to IT team in transformation programme.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Business services group Centrica is initiating another round of recruitment to support its [pounds sterling]500m IT transformation programme. The company, which owns British Gas, is looking to fill a number of IT...

Careers - Backbytes.(humors at information technology services industry)
October 6, 2005... We Dig It, but not Eight Days A Week We have loads of Beatles lyrics to get through. It would perhaps have been wiser to ask you to rewrite songs from a band that hadn't written quite so many of them, but that's our problem. This...

News - IT's business value endorsed. Official figures affirm the benefit of IT investment on productivity.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Technology investment has a substantial, quantifiable impact on business productivity, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the London School of Economics (LSE). There is some differentiation...

News - [pounds sterling]80m earmarked for UK research systems.(Joint Information Systems Committee, Strategic Development Fund)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Mark Samuels. Higher education support and advisory body, the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc), is to invest [pounds sterling]80m in UK education and research technology systems over the next two years. The plan is...

News - Hackers given jail sentences.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. UK police computer crime units scored two victories against hackers last week. Investigations by the UK National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) led to the conviction of two hackers who helped create the TK internet...

News - Government aims to end IT failures. Supplier management to help standardise terms and costs.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. A cross-government view of technology programmes and suppliers will help to prevent IT disasters, according to Cabinet Office minister Jim Murphy. One of the plans included in Whitehall's first government IT...

News - UK among global leaders in online commerce.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The UK is among the world's leading economies for online commerce, according to research published this week by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Only Canadian, German and Swiss...

Benefits errors blamed on poor reorganisation.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Wrongly calculated benefits payments have increased significantly because of badly managed organisational and technology changes, according to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Although the...

News - Financial world.
October 13, 2005... Siebel Systems' preliminary third-quarter results show an expected revenue increase to $346m ([pounds sterling]197m), up nine per cent from the same period last year, with software licence revenue of $112m ([pounds sterling]63.7m). Operating...

News - Amec overhauls IT in standards drive. Management company reports improvement in helpdesk service.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: James Brown. International project management and services group Amec has completed a multimillion-pound IT overhaul across its UK operations. The programme, known as Fast Forward, includes new local and wide area networks,...

News - Experts raise financial compliance alarm. Warning follows conviction of directors over misleading stock market figures.(Carl Rigby, Gareth Bailey)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Industry experts have warned directors of IT companies to keep systems up to date and comply with corporate and financial regulations, or risk imprisonment. The advice comes after last week's jailing of two...

News - Businesses pledge support for UK technology degree.(new course from E-skills UK)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Mark Samuels. E-Skills UK has launched an industry-backed university degree that combines business and technology skills. The BSc in Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB) has been developed in response to...

News - Higher R&D spenders fail to secure success. Global Innovation 1000 report reveals little benefit from major investment.
October 13, 2005... Byline: James Watson. Investing large amounts of money on research and development (R&D) does not guarantee improved corporate performance, according to research published this week. The Global Innovation 1000 report from consulting...

News - Probation Service seals [pounds sterling]250m deal for infrastructure.(Steria Ltd., contract)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The Probation Service has signed a [pounds sterling]250m deal to develop the Offender Management National Infrastructure (Omni) as part of plans to provide a single view of offenders from sentence to probation. ...

News - Invest now in electronic health projects, says BCS. Investments must be on a clinical or business basis.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Health organisations should not wait for the national NHS IT systems to be put in place before investing in technologies such as telemedicine, say experts. Some groups are holding off implementing e-health...

News - OK for regional security bodies.(United Kingdom. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has given the go-ahead for the creation of nine regional IT security bodies. The regional warning, advice and reporting points will share information with public and private sector organisations on...

News - Data framework considered.
October 13, 2005... The European Commission is proposing a new international framework for the sharing of information between national law enforcement agencies. European home affairs and justice ministers are to discuss the proposals, aimed at tackling organised...

News - Instant messaging use soars.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... More than 12 billion instant messages are sent each day across the world, according to research published by IDC on behalf of security specialist FaceTime Communications. The findings reveal that 28 million business users will send one billion...

News - Microsoft plans licensing change.
October 13, 2005... Microsoft has unveiled plans to change the licensing structure of its Windows Server 2003 software. Effective from 1 December, organisations running Windows Server 2003 Release 2 (R2) will be allowed to run up to four instances of the software...

News - Boom in UK online advertising.
October 13, 2005... The UK has become the fastest growing market in the European Union for online advertising, according to research by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Online advertising sales rose by 62 per cent to [pounds...

News - FirstInfo updates call centre system. Transport firm aims to improve customer response times.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Public transport giant First Group has upgraded technology across its customer service division to improve its response to travel enquiries and complaints. FirstInfo, the subsidiary that provides travel...

News - Met awards [pounds sterling]350m IT contract.(Cubit, United Kingdom. Metropolitan Police Office, contract)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. The Metropolitan Police Service has selected the Capgemini-led Cubit consortium to supply all of its IT and communications services, in a deal worth [pounds sterling]350m over seven years. Cubit beat EDS-led...

News - Chip-and-PIN linked to drop in card fraud.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Credit card fraud has fallen by nearly a third following the introduction of chip-and-PIN technology, according to figures published this week. Banking industry group Apacs says fraud associated with lost, stolen...

News - Oracle buys open source firm.
October 13, 2005... Oracle is to acquire Innobase, a Finland-based developer of discrete transactional database technology, to boost its support for open source development. Innobase's flagship offering, InnoDB, is distributed under an open source licence as a...

News - Dutch ado about hacker arrests.
October 13, 2005... Dutch authorities have arrested three men, suspected of running one of the largest ever hacker botnets, comprising more than 100,000 zombie PCs. Police confiscated computers, cash and a sports car from the suspects' homes. The three will be...

News - Swiss hit on disk density limit.(Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne)(density of hard disk drive increased )(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Scientists in Switzerland say they have discovered the maximum amount of data that can be crammed onto a conventional hard disk drive. The team at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne reached a density of 26 trillion islands per square inch...

News - Intel ships dual-core Paxville.
October 13, 2005... Intel has started shipping its latest dual-core Xeon processor, codenamed Paxville. With dual 2MB L2 cache and dual threading on both cores, the chip delivers a 50 per cent performance improvement when running optimised software. ...

News - Kingston University books RFID into library.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: James Brown. Kingston University library is installing a radio frequency identification (RFID) book tracking system. The library, which contains 432,000 books at four sites, will use the system to improve the way it manages the...

News - Privacy fears hinder the growth of RFID.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is not being used to its full potential, according to research published this week. The 2005 Consumer Packaging Report argues that RFID has so far only scratched...

News - Backbytes.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... GETTING YOUR FINGERS IN A TWIST The twilight world of the Alt-Gr key continues to inspire your fertile imaginations. 'I am surprised that more people have not noticed that, in the world of the IBM PC, random keys of no obvious function...

Enterprise - Housing group opts for online procurement.
October 13, 2005... Byline: James Brown. East Thames Housing Association is to install an eprocurement system to improve purchasing processes. The association, which provides affordable housing and services for lower income families in London and Essex,...