InfoWorld.com articles from July 2007

InfoWorld.com archives from July 2007

2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey: By the numbers; See the results of this year's salary survey.
July 2, 2007... Back to 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey | Next graphic | Survey in PDF Previous graphic | Back to 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey | Next graphic | Survey in PDF Previous graphic | Back to 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey |...

2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey: Personal gains and personnel woes; Just as pay shows signs of taking off, IT departments struggle to compensate for headcount hardships.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Jason Snyder Working in IT today is a tale of two trends: the best of times, as pay climbs precipitously; and the worst of times, as morale suffers due to declining staff and longer hours. [See also: Salary survey by the...

Top 10 geek vacations; How to get away from it all without getting all that far away.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Melissa Riofrio, Pete Babb, Steve Fox What makes a great geek vacation? Well, high-speed access from even the most obscure locale is a given. Then throw in some activities to stimulate the brain cells, maybe a dose of electronic...

Geeks in a vacation vacuum; Just because they unplug completely while on holiday, don't call them Luddites.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Melissa Riofrio Strange but true, some people -- certified techies among them -- prefer to turn it all off when they’re on holiday. [See also: Great escapes for geeks | Top 10 vacations] Stanton W. Schmidt writes,...

Great escapes for geeks: InfoWorld readers weigh in; Vacations for the techie of heart.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Melissa Riofrio Forget isolation and relaxation. For the seriously connected geek of today, vacations just aren't what they used to be. An informal and completely unscientific poll of InfoWorld readers revealed that -- although a...

Transaction monitoring specialist adds Actimize; Actimize is being snapped up by Nice Systems as the customer interaction specialist seeks to add insider fraud detection to its array of business analytics tools.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines Responding to the need among businesses to monitor employee activity for signs of potential cybercrime and fraud, behavior analysis specialist Actimize is being acquired by Nice Systems for roughly $280 million. ...

Google acquires GrandCentral; After rumors flew last week, the search giant has officially acquired GrandCentral and its software that allows users to manage phone numbers and voicemail online.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Nancy Gohring Following on rumors that a deal was in the works, Google acquired GrandCentral Communications for an undisclosed sum. GrandCentral lets users of its software combine all their phone numbers and voicemail boxes...

JBoss adds Google Gadgets to portal software; The latest upgrade to the open source portal software integrates Google Gadgets mini-apps and makes personalizing individual portlets easier.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill JBoss is introducing an upgrade to its open source portal software on Monday that features integration with Google Gadgets. With Google Gadgets, developers can drop Google Gadget components onto a portal. These are...

Survey: Windows loses ground with developers; Linux gaining share as the number of developers targeting Windows falls 12 percent, Evans Data says.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Microsoft's Windows platform is losing traction as a target for application developers in North America but still is the dominant platform, according to Evans Data survey results being released on Tuesday. A survey...

EDITOR'S LETTER: It’s all about the perks; Techies are working harder for their higher salaries — so it’s time to think vacation.(Editorial)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Steve Fox It is not readily apparent, but I am on vacation. Not tomorrow, not next week, but right now, as I write this Editor’s Letter. Filing a column may not sound like a holiday to you, but the stark realities of the...

Top 10 geek vacations, Part II; How to get away from it all without getting all that far away.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Andrew Brandt, Melissa Riofrio, Pete Babb, Steve Fox What makes a great geek vacation? Well, high-speed access from even the most obscure locale is a given. Then throw in some activities to stimulate the brain cells, maybe a dose of...

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Printers get smarter but less secure; Admins enjoy better management for network printers, but beware the security holes they open via SNMP.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Oliver Rist If you've seen my column photo, you know I like the occasional spoon of sugar in my coffee. (OK, four spoons, so bite me.) Point is, since Brian Chee keeps me well stocked in Hawaiian Kona coffee, I make sure to keep a...

Mozilla security guru backs industry confab; Mozilla's Window Snyder says it may be helpful for the open-source community to gather at an industry-focused security conference.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines While stopping short of volunteering to host the event, Mozilla chief security official Window Snyder said that it could prove helpful for the open-source community to meet at its own conference to debate secure coding,...

Google expands its Code Search site; Coverage, ranking, and access boosted on the site that helps developers find source code on the Web.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Google has updated its Google Code Search site for finding publicly available source code, adding greater coverage and improvements in ranking and access. Launched in October 2006, Google Code Search enables...

ENTERPRISE INSIGHT: Spidering phantom blogs for IT best practices; Best practices can turn up in the most unlikely places and can even sound counterintuitive at first.
July 5, 2007... Byline: David L. Margulius Someday someone will invent a spider that trolls all the blogs on the Web for best practices. And that piece of software will be a huge competitive advantage for the inventor's company. Case in point: a...

Midrange SANs master high-end features; Compellent, iQstor, and Xiotech combine sophisticated enterprise capabilities with amazing ease.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Logan G. Harbaugh SAN storage systems continue to evolve quickly, with features trickling down from market leaders such as EMC and Hitachi Data Systems to midtier players. The three systems reviewed here, from Compellent, iQstor,...

Fast guide to fancy SAN management; From automated data migration to virtualization, these high-end features have made their way down to midrange storage systems.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Logan G. Harbaugh No longer tied to a monolithic enterprise price tag, many of the sophisticated storage management capabilities outlined below can now be found in affordable SAN midrange systems from Compellent, iQstor, Xiotech,...

Linux official, Microsoft give thumbs-down to GPLv3; ‘We're not going to bother,' says one Linux gatekeeper; Microsoft issues make-no-mistake statement of no support.
July 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill The new GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3 is not a fit for Linux because switching would require permission from the kernel's thousands of de facto owners, a maintainer of the SCSI portion of the kernel said on...

OpenLogic expands its open-source library; AJAX technologies featured in platform expansion of OpenLogic Enterprise 4.6.
July 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill OpenLogic announced Friday it has expanded its library of open-source software packages as part of its OpenLogic Enterprise 4.6 platform, adding key AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technologies. Enterprise...

IBM zeroes in on Project Zero for Web 2.0 apps; But effort draws criticism for not being open source.
July 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill IBM is working on a project to enable agile development of Web 2.0 applications, but the effort has drawn criticism because it is not an open source endeavor. Called Project Zero, it offers an environment for...

SECURITY ADVISER: Secure applications in a secure ecosystem: the next challenge; Reinventing a more secure Internet means adding authentication and building in access rights.
July 6, 2007... Byline: Roger A. Grimes This is the fourth in a series of columns exploring the possibility of building a next-generation secure Internet. Applications are hard to secure. Anyone can create one, anyone can download and install one, and...

STORAGE INSIDER: iPhone: Proceed with caution; Apple's latest gadget charms -- but it also increases your data-disclosure risk.
July 6, 2007... Byline: Mario Apicella It's not that I don't like the iPhone's captivating look or slick UI. In fact, I think the iPhone comes closer than most to being the ideal gadget to take with you on the road. What stops me from buying one is that...

Microsoft takes a big step to near-shoring in Canada; Opening of Software Development Centre could lead the charge for industry.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Ephraim Schwartz When Microsoft made what appeared to be a minor announcement last week that it would expand its Canadian operations with the creation of the Microsoft Canada Development Centre for software development based in the...

Health care record needs cited at an IBM conference; User interface issues, restrictions, and ways to make efficient use of databases instead of paper records get discussed at IBM workshop.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Computerization of health care record keeping remains both a need and a challenge, said IT and health care dignitaries at an IBM-sponsored conference in San Jose, Calif. on Monday. IBM's New Paradigms for Using...

BSA offers $1 million reward for software pirates; Companies out of software license compliance may want to settle out of court.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Ephraim Schwartz Earlier this month the Business Software Alliance (BSA) upped the ante from $200,000 to $1 million for anyone who turns in a company that is illegally circumventing software licensing agreements. BSA members...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Is VMware feeling the heat? InfoWorld Test Center shows it range with reviews.(Editorial)
July 9, 2007... Byline: Steve Fox While the rest of the country swelters in the July heat, InfoWorld’s Test Center reviewers are keeping cool in their air-conditioned labs and banging on some high-profile products. Senior Contributing Editor Paul...

Xen masters take aim at VMware; Virtual Iron and XenSource offerings lack power and polish of the virtualization leader, but they're gaining fast.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Venezia It seems all roads lead to virtualization these days. From every conceivable angle, computing resources are being collapsed into abstraction layers that enable greater flexibility, and storage, application, server, and...

Icesoft improves AJAX environment for Web 2.0 apps; Integration with JBoss Seam framework and Icesoft's Enterprise Production Suite is hailed.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Icesoft Technologies announced availability of Icefaces 1.6.0, an upgrade to the company's AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) development environment positioned for building of Web 2.0 applications, on Tuesday. ...

iPhone: The $1,975 iPod; Apple's and AT&T's high-price gadget is a heartbreaking triumph of greed over genius.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Tom Yager Every living thing knows about iPhone. Apple and AT&T saw to that in their unprecedented campaign to prime demand for a mobile device that has been dubbed "revolutionary" and "game changing." After nine days doing nothing...

iPhone delivers more misses than hits; Gadget's list of strengths falls far short of its many disappointing weaknesses.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Tom Yager Apple and AT&T deliver plenty of great features in the iPhone, but the list of shortcomings is too extensive to ignore. The following is a list of pros and cons for the iPhone I observed in my extensive testing of the...

Microsoft launches OneCare 2.0 beta; The latest version of the desktop security and management package includes better security measures and new tools for wireless networks and firewalls.
July 11, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines Microsoft released a beta version of its next-generation Windows Live OneCare 2.0 desktop security and management package on July 11, touting a number of improvements made to the product, including the ability to monitor...

IBM pledges access to its IP for standards; SOA, Web services, and security are among the areas covered by the eased restrictions on patented intellectual property.
July 11, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill IBM is making it easier to utilize its patented intellectual property to implement nearly 200 standards in SOA, Web services, security, and other spaces. Under a pledge issued by the company Wednesday, IBM is...

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Sink your teeth into outsourcing; When your IT department's to-do list piles too high, consider enlisting outside help.
July 11, 2007... Byline: Oliver Rist So I'm watching a new Subway commercial (the sandwich store, not the New York commuting purgatory), and the company has a new sandwich. The descriptive term is "overstuffed." Other call-outs I remember include "feast"...

Reap the rewards of hardware recycling; Not just good for the environment, IT asset recovery can boost hardware ROI and protect sensitive data.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Leon Erlanger In late 2000, Union Bank of California concluded that it was time to refresh its desktop PCs every four years, based on findings from a PC Total Cost of Ownership Study. This meant that 200 PCs would have to be...

Mounting scrutiny for Google security; As Google moves into the business environment, it is starting to face the same security questions other business app vendors face.
July 12, 2007... Much as the ubiquity of Microsoft's Windows operating system and Office productivity tools has made the software giant a focal point of security research, search giant Google is facing new scrutiny as it diversifies its products and moves...

Sun looks to steal Linux thunder with Project Indiana; Release of OpenSolaris binaries next year a move to mimic Linux's distribution model and community.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Looking to steal thunder from the Linux juggernaut or at least catch the same wave, Sun plans to release binaries in Spring 2008 for its OpenSolaris Unix platform, similar to how Linux is offered, as part of the...

ENTERPRISE INSIGHT: Open the floodgates to IT immigration; Forget about H-1B. What we need is fast-track citizenship for every developer who wants to work in the United States.
July 12, 2007... Byline: David L. Margulius Every time I write about immigration or offshore IT talent I get flamed, so here goes – I'm putting on my thick skin. A couple articles caught my eye this week: one about Microsoft opening an R&D...

Silver Peak hits new WAN-optimization heights; Handling both TCP and UDP traffic, the NX-5500 kicks network performance into high gear.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Keith Schultz You know what makes network administrators happy? Making efficient use of their equipment and eliminating "performance stinks" calls from end-users. Thus, investing in an effective WAN optimization and acceleration...

Enterprise comes to iPhone; if the Apple iPhone won't come to the enterprise, then the enterprise will come to it.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Ephraim Schwartz If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed will come to the mountain, goes the saying. Now, the high-tech version of that saying might read: If the iPhone won't come to the enterprise, then enterprise...

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 still set to ship in 2007; Despite being part of multiproduct launch for next year, developer product set for delivery by end of this year.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Although Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 software development platform is part of a February 2008 multiproduct launch, the company intends to ship it by the end of 2007, said S. "Soma" Somasegar, corporate vice president...

Web services-based app server upgraded by WSO2; Open source app server features Eclipse links, data services.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill WSO2 is upgrading its open source application server, which has been centered on Web services rather than being of the usual Java variety most common in this product space. Featured in version 2.0 of the...

SECURITY ADVISER: Anti-phishing techniques for the real world; We need mutual authentication not just on the Internet, but also for more mundane forms of communication.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Roger A. Grimes I need to expand my idea of a secure computing ecosystem into the real world. Let me explain. More than a decade ago when Internet e-mail was first taking off, I was the network and technology manager for a...

STORAGE INSIDER: Storage spending at a crossroads; Adding to the infrastructure is the traditional way of beefing up storage, but new offerings could sway more dollars toward services.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Mario Apicella Weaning yourself off a storage spending addiction is likely as difficult as quitting smoking. But whereas tobacco companies bear much of the fault for cigarette addiction, it would be unfair to ascribe the...

ZyXel pushes secure remote access for all; ZyWall delivers enterprise-level SSL VPN features to small to midsize businesses.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Keith Schultz Remote access is a necessity for today's businesses, whether it's for getting at data and apps from a remote office or from the living room sofa after hours. SSL VPNs help provide that access securely and easily...

Four reasons to cultivate greener IT; Marrying eco-conscientiousness with business IT practices can save both money and the environment.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Ted Samson I recently moved from a small apartment in Oakland to a new house in Sacramento. The cat and I are adjusting quite well, thank you, though for about one month, I was without a kitchen. Or a water heater. Or downstairs...

Report: 90 percent of companies fail compliance; A new report by the IT Policy Compliance Group finds that the vast majority of businesses do not meet data-handling regulations, increasing the risk of a data breach.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines An overwhelming percentage of businesses still fall far short in their efforts to comply with industry data-handling regulations and reduce their likelihood of experiencing a serious leakage incident, according to a new...

BEA ships Web 2.0 products; The social computing suite will take innovations from the consumer Web, including social bookmarking and tagging, and apply them to the enterprise.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill BEA Systems will ship the three products featured in its social computing suite geared for Web 2.0 on Monday. The three products introduce modes of ad hoc collaboration and participation-driven experiences, said Jay...

Open source JBoss Rules gains speed; JBoss also extends business rules engine to nonprogrammers, adds MVEL language support.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill JBoss is announcing Monday a faster version of JBoss Rules, the company's open source business rules engine. Gains in speed in version 4.0 have resulted in rules processing in seconds as opposed to minutes, said Burr...

EDITOR'S LETTER: The continued greening of IT; Saving greenbacks convinces more companies to go green.(Editorial)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Steve Fox Back in April, when InfoWorld folded its print magazine in favor of our current online-all-the-time strategy, a reader noted that he didn’t buy the stated reasons for our switchover. His own theory, which I’ll...

APC instruments mark the rebirth of cool; InfraStruXure InRow and NetworkAir PA take a more efficient and flexible approach to datacenter cooling.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Venezia The tried and true methods of prepping a datacenter haven't changed much over the years. You find a massive air conditioner or three, bring in lots of juice, and make sure there aren't any sprinkler heads in the...

The cool new look in datacenter design; Rising energy costs have enterprises outfitting and retrofitting server rooms with modular localized cooling solutions.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Venezia Datacenter design is undergoing a significant transformation. The fundamentals of the datacenter -- servers, cooling systems, UPSes -- remain the same, but their implementations are rapidly changing, thanks in large...

Critical IM bugs hit Yahoo, Trillian; Windows-based clients may be susceptible to code execution.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Gregg Keizer, Computerworld Security researchers Monday disclosed critical vulnerabilities in two popular Windows instant messaging clients, Yahoo Messenger and Trillian. The Yahoo Messenger bug, which was posted to the Full...

Mac OS X worm maker raps Apple on security; Anonymous researcher says company still has a “long way to go” on addressing security issues.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Gregg Keizer, Computerworld The anonymous researcher who claims to have crafted a Mac OS X worm said Tuesday that he or she will report his findings to Apple Inc., but added that the Cupertino, Calif. company "has a very long way to...

Sun anticipates moves to software services; Exec: IT shops can't keep building lots of customized apps.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill In the IT shop of the near future, personnel likely will manage services instead of systems, a Sun Microsystems official said Monday in elaborating both on Sun's internal plans and what can be expected of the IT...

Applications security: Cenzic stands alone; The acquisitions of rivals Watchfire and SPI offer Cenzic an opportunity to increase market share.
July 18, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines With a new product fresh out the door and its two largest rivals recently acquired by massive IT bellwethers, applications security testing specialist Cenzic contends that it's ready to reap the rewards of remaining...

Mozilla: Security remains on front burner; The latest version of Firefox fixes several serious vulnerabilities, and Mozilla points to its open-source model as key to being nimble in the security field.
July 18, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines With the release of its latest Firefox 2.0.0.5 browser, open-source software maker Mozilla claims to have fixed a number of potentially serious vulnerabilities in its flagship product. According to the firm's chief...

Pfizer waited six weeks to disclose data breach; Details unclear about why 17,000 Pfizer employees weren’t told about March breach until June.
July 18, 2007... Byline: Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld A letter from Pfizer Inc.'s attorney to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal shows the drug maker first learned of a data breach involving about 17,000 of its employees on April 18 -- six...

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Windows Mobile needs fixing, fast; If Apple makes some quick fixes to iPhone, it stands to beat Microsoft on the mobile front.
July 18, 2007... Byline: Oliver Rist Last week's big Redmond stories were the release of Dynamics Live CRM and the announcement that Windows Server 2008 would come out in February of next year along with the next revs of SQL Server and Visual Studio. The...

Much ado over click-fraud statistics; Click Forensics has determined that the average click-fraud rate for Web ads was 15.8 percent for the quarter, but the companies serving those ads dispute the numbers.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines The battle between advertisers and online search networks over the pervasiveness of click-fraud continues to grow more heated with researchers claiming rapid growth of automated ad impressions and outside observers...

House panel approves patent reform; Changes raise the bar for patents while attempting to rationalize infringement litigation and damages.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Caron Carlson The House Committee on the Judiciary approved far-reaching legislation to reform the nation's patent system Wednesday. The Patent Reform Act of 2007 largely reflects the IT sector's lobbying effort to curtail...

Disney subcontractor caught selling customer data; An unspecified number of people were affected and sources indicate that CVV codes were not compromised.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld A subcontractor working for a company that processes and fulfills orders for the Disney Movie Club sold credit card numbers and other account information belonging to an unknown number of customers to...

ENTERPRISE INSIGHT: IT immigration: Thoughtful debate amid the flames; Last week's column advocating fast-track citizenship for technologists generated heat – but also more than a little light.
July 19, 2007... Byline: David L. Margulius Wow. My column last week proposing to grant citizenship to immigrant developers, "Open the floodgates to IT immigration," generated a torrent of comments from readers (83 and counting). Many were emotional, some...

Java unit tests you forgot to run; AgitarOne exercises Java code in unique and compelling ways, but not without some agitations for users.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Andrew Binstock Unit testing -- a form of software testing done by developers using hundreds of small, fast tests -- is a central practice at sites that are committed to software quality. By following a dictum of "unit test, rather...

Google cookie expiration plans called “worthless” Auto-renew feature makes cookie life virtually endless, say critics.
July 20, 2007... Byline: Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld Google Inc.'s plans to shorten the life-span of cookies installed on a user's computer, ostensibly to improve user privacy, is being dismissed by some as complete hype. Apart from making it...

Sun adds compiler to JavaFX platform; Graphical application development platform advances.
July 20, 2007... Byline: Paul Krill Sun Microsystems has been quiet about its JavaFX technology for building graphical applications since introducing it in May, but on Friday the company added a compiler to the platform. Also on tap is an updated...

SECURITY ADVISER: Identity theft? What identity theft? GAO report concludes that theft of personal information isn’t a problem, but notifying consumers Is.
July 20, 2007... Byline: Roger A. Grimes Whew! We can relax. The GAO reports that identity theft really isn’t a problem. The problem, apparently, is that the process of notifying consumers whenever their personal financial information has been...

STORAGE INSIDER: The SMB backup dilemma; Choice is king, but with SMB data protection solutions proliferating, confusion might just reign supreme.
July 20, 2007... Byline: Mario Apicella Every time I hear a pitch for an SMB backup solution it comes complete with a chilling statistic that suggests smaller companies are tone-deaf to data protection. Yes, vendors can be a bit prone to exaggeration,...

VDI in the OR; It’s full steam ahead for Huntsville Hospital’s VDI implementation.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Paul Venezia Few places exist where computing resources are as critical as in a hospital. Applications must be available around the clock, and must run in all kinds of abnormal places, such as on sterile equipment in operating...

Piecing together IBM's security puzzle; Despite having some of the best security talent, products, and services around, IBM has no plans to become a full-on security vendor.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines IBM owns some of the world's leading IT security talent, products, and services, but executives with the massive company say it will likely never aim to become what people might label as a true "security vendor." ...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Thin clients: The time is now; Virtualization technology could push that old desktop PC right off your desk.(Editorial)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Steve Fox Consider your current computing situation. A few hardy souls reading this are squinting at their Blackberries, cell phones, or even iPhones and scrolling furiously from screen to screen. Most of you, though, are staring...

Virtualizing the desktop; Power and maintenance costs of desktop computing have become an unbearable albatross for IT. Desktop virtualization provides a large-scale solution.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Paul Venezia Everyone wants to escape the horror of rising energy costs. So why not run fewer servers? That’s the no-brainer benefit of server virtualization and consolidation, which is already saving forward-looking...

High-fidelity VoIP; Polycom's mix of IP phones hits the high notes.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Paul Venezia Not so long ago, I wrote an article on Asterisk and open source VoIP in general. In my discussion with Mark Spencer, the founder of Digium and the Asterisk project, he recommended Polycom as the phone vendor he would...

Using mobile logistics to streamline your business; Field service automation, which helps companies use mobile devices to streamline communications between offices and workers in the field, is paying big dividends.
July 24, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines Field service automation is one of the most advanced areas for mobile applications development among enterprises, and at $280-million-per year laundry services provider Mac-Gray, IT managers say such a project has helped...

McAfee sets Rootkit Detective free; New freeware offering helps protect end-users from rootkits, while returning data on malware attacks to researchers.
July 25, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines On July 26, McAfee will begin offering a new application called Rootkit Detective, designed to detect and remove dangerous rootkit attacks. The software will also help end-users ward off the threats, as well as funnel...

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Hit the books, Windows admins; From Vista basics to SharePoint deep-dives, there are plenty of good reads beyond Harry Potter.
July 25, 2007... Byline: Oliver Rist This was a depressing weekend. Not only am I getting older, I seem to be doing it faster than the rest of my friends. I spent the weekend tearing up the shoddily built original deck so that I can replace it with...

Microsoft releases rich media apps betas; The release candidate of Sliverlight plus new betas of Visual Studio 2008 and the .Net Framework are all ready for developers to download.
July 26, 2007... Byline: Eric Knorr This week Microsoft is quietly delivering a flurry of updates to its developer community, including the release candidate version of Silverlight, the new rich media competitor to Adobe's Flash Player. Also available for...

ENTERPRISE INSIGHT: IT immigration: Standing firm on floodgates; Why open the doors? History tells us that when great minds emigrate to the United States, economic expansion ensues.
July 26, 2007... Byline: David L. Margulius Two weeks ago I sparked a firestorm by suggesting the United States offer citizenship to anyone who can code. The ensuing debate, including more than 90 reader comments, ranged from exactly how much of a clueless...

Review: Tridion R5 Web content management shines; R5 trumps other WCM software with outstanding usability, depth.
July 26, 2007... Byline: Mike Heck Not long ago, there was a general perception that enterprises needed one central system to manage all their business content -- the philosophy behind enterprise CMSes (content management systems) from Open Text, EMC...

Nothing sure but death and the Internet tax debate; Facing a November expiration of existing law, Congress contemplates a permanent ban on taxing Internet access.
July 27, 2007... Byline: Caron Carlson As a federal ban on discriminatory and access taxes on the Internet approaches a Nov. 1 expiration date, Congress is once again embroiled in a question that comes up every three or four years: To what degree does the...

Core Security flux leaves questions about direction; Penetration testing specialist Core has a large customer base but small revenue; as its executive ranks are shuffled, some wonder if the company wants to be bought out.(Company overview)
July 27, 2007... Byline: Matt Hines With change underway in Core Security's executive and engineering ranks and its ability to drive revenue being questioned by industry watchers based on the availability of cheaper technologies from its rivals, company...

SECURITY ADVISER: Recovering from identity theft; Victims should take these steps to minimize the damage from identity scams.
July 27, 2007... Byline: Roger A. Grimes Our government is working hard to reassure us that identity theft is a figment of our imaginations, but if you’re a victim in one of those not-so-imaginary crimes, there are proactive steps you can take. ...

STORAGE INSIDER: Take a byte out of ID crime; Companies must do their part in combating identity theft -- not just wait until mandated by law.
July 27, 2007... Byline: Mario Apicella More than a year after President Bush commissioned a task force on the topic, the Department of Justice has finally drawn up legislation to combat identity theft. And if the DoJ's efforts remain consistent with the...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Enterprise tech thrives where you least expect it; Appreciating IT wherever it is -- whether in a garden, across the ocean, or in paradise.(Editorial)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Steve Fox Technology has a way of making the miraculous seem commonplace. This is especially true in the workplace, where the latest technologies (in the hands of IT pros) get a full workout. We simply expect IT to build new...

Weird tech: IT-enabled self-service cow milking; DeLaval's voluntary milking system puts cows in charge of their time and productivity.
July 30, 2007... Byline: Curtis Franklin Jr. A boon to the dairy farmer's bottom line, dairy cows' constant milk production is a bane to farmhand productivity, as one fact rules every dairy farmer's life: Cows must be milked. Twice. Every day. [ See...