Computerworld articles from February 2004

Computerworld archives from February 2004

Oracle changes strategy, embraces app integration: midyear upgrade will include built-in hooks to homegrown systems and rival packages.
February 2, 2004... Oracle Corp. last week detailed changes it's making to regain the No. 2 spot in the business applications market, including a newfound enthusiasm for helping IT managers tie its software to other systems. The integration push is a shift in...

Emcor saves on Sarb-Ox: Shuns packaged apps, builds Notes system for Sarbanes-Oxley.
February 2, 2004... Emcor Group Inc. is developing a Notes-based system to track its Sarbanes-Oxley compliance--a low-cost project that it chose as an alternative to a potential six-figure investment in commercial software and IT consulting services. Emcor, a...

Users unhurt by Mydoom: but spread did show antivirus limitations.
February 2, 2004... Companies that followed long-recommended e-mail security practices had little to fear from Mydoom's on-slaught last week. But the speed at which the e-mail-borne virus spread highlighted the limitations of current antivirus methodologies, users...

What operating system is most secure?(QuickPollResults)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 2, 2004... Security doesn't depend on OS, but on implementation 33.1% Unix 19.4% Linux 17.6% Macintosh 12.7% Other 10.1% Windows ...

University hit by network intrusion.(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... The University of Georgia said the FBI and state law enforcement officials are investigating a server break-in that may have exposed the personal data of 31,000 students and applicants. An internal probe showed that the intruders also used the...

Microsoft delays browser changes ...(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Microsoft Corp. said it has put on hold a plan to modify Windows and its Internet Explorer Web browser in response to a ruling in a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by Eolas Technologies Inc. and the University of California. Microsoft...

... But updates IE to block phishing.(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Separately, Microsoft said it will modify Internet Explorer in an effort to block e-mail "phishing" scams that try to convince PC users to go to spoofed Web sites and disclose personal data. The company is developing an update that will prevent...

Deutsche Bank AG said it has agreed to outsource its worldwide purchasing and accounts-payable operations to ACCENTURE LTD.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... DEUTSCHE BANK AG said it has agreed to outsource its worldwide purchasing and accounts-payable operations to ACCENTURE LTD., which will provide new procurement systems as part of the deal. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Peoplesoft Inc.(Short Takes)(profits in fourth quarter)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... ... PEOPLESOFT INC. reported a $17.4 million profit on revenue of $685.2 million for last year's fourth quarter, the first full quarter since it bought J.D. Edwards & Co. Sales of new software licenses totaled $185.4 million.

New DHS cyber alert system draws friendly fire: private-sector organizations say they were left out of the loop in planning.(News)(Department of Homeland Security)
February 2, 2004... THE LEADERS OF the security information sharing organizations within two of the nation's critical-infrastructure sectors are criticizing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for announcing a new cyber alert system without better framing the...

Microsoft aims to prevent NT users' shift to Linux.(Q&A)
February 2, 2004... Support for Windows NT Server 4.0 is due to cease at year's end, but the many users of the aging Microsoft Corp. operating system will find plenty of options as they plot their migration strategies. IBM two weeks ago said it would offer...

Alaska Airlines switches to Linux-based fare searching: stays with Sabre for reservations but decides not to wait for other functions.(News)
February 2, 2004... Alaska Airlines last week said it has completed the migration of its online travel planning and pricing engine to an Intel-based system running Linux. The move represents a shift of some functions away from the mainframe-based system...

EDS pins hopes on team of Ex-CIOs: strategy focuses on rivals, business transformation.(News)
February 2, 2004... After a rough year of layoffs, lawsuits and lackluster revenue, Electronic Data Systems Corp. officials claimed last week that the worst is behind them. Now they plan to grow the company by offering business transformation services led by a...

Siemens seeks to lower IT spending.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Siemens AG has launched a technology consolidation program in a bid to cut its $4.7 billion IT budget by more than 20% over the next three years. Edmundo Ruiz, vice president of the corporate information and operations groups, told the IDG News...

SAP offers deals on R/3 upgrades.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... SAP AG is offering pricing discounts to entice R/3 users to upgrade to the latest release of its ERP software. The company said users can apply up to 75% of the price they paid for their current releases against the cost of a mySAP ERP license....

Sun preps Java desktop release.(Java Desktop System software)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Sun Microsystams Inc. said it plans by midyear to release the second version of its Java Desktop System software, with, additional tools for centrally managing client systems. But the upgrade will cost more. Sun now sells the software at a...

Microsoft updates word to fix bugs.(Microsoft Word 2003 updated)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Microsoft Corp. released an update of Word 2003 in an effort to fix several bugs in the word processing software, which became available in October. One of the most serious glitches can cause Word 2003 to freeze or crash when users are working...

Vendor conflicts bug security chiefs ...(On The Mark)(meshed briefs)(Warp Technology Holdings Inc. to release an intelligent queuing system)
February 2, 2004... ... who believe that incompatibility among security products impedes their efforts to lock down their systems. Vendors "need to open up their security model, so companies can apply the product to their own security needs," argues Allen Kerr,...

Independent Eclipse organization emerges.(News)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Today, after months of planning, the Eclipse development framework that IBM created and released to the open-source world will finally get an independent, nonprofit corporation to oversee its technology direction and growth. Eclipse's...

IBM offers hardware for high-end NAS apps: Gateway device links file servers to SANs, supports up to 224TB of data.(News)
February 2, 2004... IBM LAST WEEK announced its first enterprise-class gateway for network-attached storage on Windows, Unix and Linux servers, putting it in direct competition with Network Appliance Inc., EMC Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. The rollout is part...

NASA taps SAN to store, back up data from Mars: system handles 5TB of data each week.(News)
February 2, 2004... The toughest thing about landing an unmanned probe on Mars is going from 12,000 mph to zero in six minutes, according to Prasun Desai, one of the NASA engineers who developed the descent and landing systems for the Spirit and Opportunity...

Lotus users wary about IBM's workplace strategy: some see steep learning curve with J2EE-based architecture.(News)(Lotus Software Group)
February 2, 2004... While IBM's Lotus Software Group forges ahead with its Workplace strategy, the company still has work to do to convince some of the Lotus faithful that the new architecture makes as much does for IBM. With the first round of Workplace...

InfoVista upgrades tools for monitoring IT performance.(News)
February 2, 2004... InfoVista Corp., which competes with Hewlett-Packard Co. and other vendors of network and system performance management tools, today will announce enhancements to its software that are designed to help users match their IT infrastructures to...

Microsoft loses patent ruling ...(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... A federal Judge in Arizona ruled that Microsoft Corp. has infringed on patents held by Tucson, Ariz.-based Research Corporation Technologies Inc. for a process used to create halftone images within PC applications. The judge sent the ease to a...

... And faces EC guilty verdict.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... In other Microsoft legal news, sources close to the European Commission said EC competition officials are circulating a draft ruling that the company abused its desktop operating system monopoly. The draft also reportedly says Microsoft stifled...

PeopleSoft's board targeted by Oracle.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Oracle Corp. notified PeopleSoft Inc. that it will nominate five individuals for seats on PeopleSoft's board as part of its hostile takeover attempt. In response, PeopleSoft claimed that Oracle's planned nominees "are biased and would have...

I2 Technologies Inc.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... I2 TECHNOLOGIES INC. reported a fourth-quarter loss of $7 million on revenue of $97.7 million. CEO Sanjiv Sidhu said he expects the fallout from last year's financial reaudit to affect sales for the next few quarters....

Sprint Corp.(Short Takes; adding IP virtual private network services)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... SPRINT CORP. added more IP virtual private network services, including one based on Multiprotocol Layer Switching technology.

Software to help TVA cut temp labor costs: hosted system will let power generator run online auctions to bid out contracts.(News)
February 2, 2004... THE TENNESSEE Valley Authority is installing a contingent-workforce management system that's expected to pay for itself within a year, partly by enabling electronic bidding by companies that supply IT contractors and other temporary workers....

Reporting tools added to SQL Server.(News)
February 2, 2004... Microsoft Corp. last week shipped software that adds reporting capabilities to SQL Server 2000, rounding out the line of business intelligence tools the company integrates with its relational database. SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services has...

Cleaning IT's basement.(Disposal of Computer Junk)(Editorial)
February 2, 2004... IF EVER YOUR HOUSE starts sinking into the earth, the old joke goes, look for the culprit in those piles of National Geographic magazines stacked in some corner of the basement. Everyone with a pack rat in the family knows why that's still...

Skip the Wall Street middlemen.(Opinion)
February 2, 2004... IF SOME of the Google IPO takes place as a Dutch auction conducted online, with shares offered directly to investors, Wall Street brokers (both retail and institutional) had better plan alternative careers. Google's potential initial public...

Rise of the enterprise consumer.(Digital technology: user influenced)
February 2, 2004... DO YOU REMEMBER the good old days? The days when computers were for business professionals and consumer electronics gadgets were for, well, consumers? I recall a time when IT managers told users not to take software from work to use at...

Offshoring's shame.(Readers' Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 2, 2004... I AM AMAZED by the IT managers in the story "Tests of Leadership" [Premier 100 IT Leaders 2004, QuickLink 43098] who blithely admit that they have sent IT work overseas. I would have thought that this would be something to be ashamed of. We all...

Change is inevitable.(Readers' Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 2, 2004... I HAVE BEEN READING about IT people complaining about job migration to Asia for a while now, and I've finally decided to put my two cents in. Thinking that politicians will save workers' jobs is an idle hope, since large corporations' major...

Business rules yield Web security.(Readers' Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 2, 2004... THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS of Web services security are trivial to solve once the business issues are understood--and costed ["Overcoming Web Services Insecurities." QuickLink 42781]. The 3A issues (authentication, authorization and accountability)...

Limiting thin-client apps isn't easy.(Readers' Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 2, 2004... THE THIN-CLIENT STRATEGY works well if you can limit the number of applications in use ["Demanding a Better Desktop Alternative," QuickLink 43511]. But in my experience, this hasn't been possible. The number of applications I have to provide is...

No Cobol in sight.(Readers' Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 2, 2004... I WAS STUNNED to read the letter "Java Can't Take the Place of Cobol" in the Jan. 12 issue [QuickLink 43433]. Ian Archibell claimed that a 2003 survey of academic institutions showed that "more than three quarters of the respondents continue to...

Toxic legacy: improper disposal of obsolete IT equipment is fast becoming a major liability for corporations.(Technology)(information technology)
February 2, 2004... WHEN KAISER Permanente began a program to dispose of its obsolete computer equipment two and a half years ago, it was motivated more by cost concerns than by the desire to properly dispose of products with potentially toxic content. "My...

App-layer battleground.(Q&A)(Application)(Virus Attack Changing Trends)(Interview)
February 2, 2004... Having a firewall, virtual private network, e-mail gateway and intrusion-detection system isn't enough; today's threats increasingly come through application-layer attacks, says WebCohort Inc. CEO Shlomo Kramer. His company offers software to...

ETL.(Quick Study)(Extract, Transform and Load)
February 2, 2004... DEFINITION ETL stands for extract, transform and load, the processes that enable companies to move data from multiple sources, reformat and cleanse it, and load it into another database, a data mart or a data warehouse for analysis, or on...

Developer tool kit raises backdoor alarms: when antivirus software points to malware in production applications, the source appears to be the tool kit used to create the affected code.(Security Manager's Journal)
February 2, 2004... HOW WELL would you do in a negotiation with a foreign vendor if the representative didn't speak English and your translator was secretly working for a competitor? How would you ever find out? And how would you investigate, even if you did...

Security bookshelf.(Exploiting Software: How to Break Code)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 2, 2004... Exploiting Software: How to Break Code, by Gary McGraw; Addision-Wesley 2004. This book has a black hat on the cover, and for good reason: It teaches readers how to exploit software and attack systems. While it's great if you want to...

Intrusion detection for voice nets.(Security Log)(CallKnowing LLC)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... CallKnowing LLC in Sacramento has announced an intrusion-detection service that monitors both private branch exchange and voice-over-IP telephony systems and reports problems. The service monitors the PBX configuration for changes, scars...

CA upgrades backup software.(Computer Associates International Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Computer Associates International Inc. last week announced that it's shipping BrightStor ARCserve Backup Release 11 for Windows, which allows companies to copy data on Microsoft-based clients and servers. New features include the ability to...

NAI unveils net management tools.(Network Associates Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Network Associates Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., has added two products to its Sniffer product line: the InfiniStream Network Management system and the 10GbE Analyzer. InfiniStream Network Management comes in two models. The i1610 is a 4U...

Suite adds IM to videoconferences.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Tandberg last week announced an upgrade to its management software that brings instant messaging capability to videoconferencing. The New York-based vendor's Tandberg Management Suite 8.0 will support Tandberg Instant Messenger software, which...

Most outsourcing is still for losers.(Technology)
February 2, 2004... THE MOST FREQUENT REASON companies turn to outsourcing is the need to increase profits. Replacing premium-priced labor with workers earning less has led to lower costs for products and services. That in turn has led to an increase in the...

B2B survivors: why did some online exchanges survive while many others failed? It helped to have members with deep pockets.(Management)(Business to business exchanges)
February 2, 2004... POP-CULTURE EXPERTS say the nostalgia cycle is growing shorter and shorter--that someday we may all yearn for those lazy, hazy, carefree days of six weeks ago. So it doesn't seem out of line to look back with amusement at 2000. Back then, James...

Dual curses: controlling the virus and spam epidemics is the top e-mail concern of CIOs, a Ferris Research/Computerworld survey finds.(Management)(chief information officers)
February 2, 2004... SLAMMER. Bugbear.B. Blaster. Sobig.F. 2003 was the worst year for virus outbreaks in the 20-year history of computer viruses, declares a report by F-Secure Corp. in San Jose. It was a growth year for spam, too, and by December, 62.7% of all...

A tough sell: hospital CIOs struggle to cost-justify expensive image-archiving systems, but the benefits are clear.(Management)(Chief Information Officers)(Picture Archiving and Communications Systems)
February 2, 2004... IMAGINE TRYING TO TALK THE CEO of a cash-strapped hospital into buying a multimillion-dollar IT system. It's not an easy chat, but that's the challenge hospital CIOs face when trying to sell management on picture archiving and communications...

Who's driving IT alignment?(ThinkTank: brain food for IT executives)(information technology)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... CONVENTIONAL WISDOM holds that CIOs should make sure IT spending is properly aligned with business strategies, and if it isn't, then it's the CIO's fault. But that thinking is actually an impediment to real IT/ business alignment, says...

The book: Services Blueprint: Roadmap for Execution.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 2, 2004... THE BOOK: Services Blueprint: Roadmap for Execution, by Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson (Addison-Wesley, 2003). Take today's buzzwords--e-business, Web portals, the real-time enterprise, adaptive supply chains, enterprise application...

IT priorities: 2004.
February 2, 2004... 1. Cost reduction 2. Security 3. Application integration 4. Sarbanes-Oxley compliance Base: Survey of 75 U.S. and 25 European CIOs SOURCE: MERRILL LYNCH & CO., DECEMBER 2003

Given the controversy over whether computers really increase productivity.(Things to Ponder)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Given the controversy over whether computers really increase productivity, a recent Goldman Sachs & Co. report sniffed that the debate seems academic. "A practical test would be to take them away and return to paper ledgers, green eyeshades and...

A Gartner Inc. survey of 113 senior executives in Europe found that most of them view CIOs as risk-averse.(Things to Ponder)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... A Gartner Inc. survey of 113 senior executives in Europe found that most of them view CIOs as risk-averse, not very influential on strategic matters and not long-term thinkers. Furthermore, most of these executives think their IT departments...

Corporations are ramping up their efforts to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.(Things to Ponder)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Corporations are ramping up their efforts to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but they aren't spending big bucks on more IT applications and systems. A poll conducted by Meta Group Inc. found that 57% of IT vendors have been disappointed by...

Talk about a jobless recovery! The U.S. economy added a paltry 1,000 full-time jobs in December, a tiny fraction of the 150,000 that economists expected.(The IT Economy)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Talk about a jobless recovery! The U.S. economy added a paltry 1,000 full-time jobs in December, a tiny fraction of the 150,000 that economists expected. The reasons are many and complex. Higher health insurance costs discourage hiring....

You've heard about the CIO surveys that predict IT spending will increase from 1% to 6% this year (depending on the survey).(The IT Economy)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... You've heard about the CIO surveys that predict IT spending will increase from 1% to 6% this year (depending on the survey). But what do chief financial officers say? Surprisingly, in a poll conducted by Financial Executives International and...

Corporate technology confidence index.(The IT Economy)(Illustration)
February 2, 2004... The confidence of corporate IT buyers took a dip in December because of lower expectations for hardware and software spending and a decline in plans to hire IT professionals. 2003 July 1.08 Aug. 1.59 Sept. 1.46 Oct. ...

Drug developer outsources to IBM.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Covance Inc., a Princeton, N.J.-based drug development services provider, has reached a seven-year, $180 million outsourcing agreement with IBM. Under the deal, IBM will manage Covanco's computer and telephone network, computer support, e-mail...

Bank outsources core processing.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Commerce Bank and Trust Co. in Worcester, Mass., in March will start outsourcing its core account-processing technology for debit cards and deposit and loan accounts to Aurum Technology Inc. in Piano, Texas. Commerce Bancshares Inc., the...

Zions bank installs analytics software.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... Zions Bancorporation in Salt Lake City has entered a business analytics software licensing and consulting agreement with Milwaukee-based Metavante Corp. Zions has more than $27 billion in assets and operates more than 400 full-service banking...

Clawing through change.(Management)
February 2, 2004... SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT lessons I've learned about transforming organizations came from the struggle to shed an unpleasant habit. During high school and most of college, I was a fingernail biter. It's one of those nasty nervous habits...

IT careers: IT's premier leaders identify top professional requirements.(Advertising Supplement)(information technology)(Advertisement)
February 2, 2004... While some of the nation's leaders are quick to identify the top technical skills needed for IT professionals, they are more vehement and passionate about what they consider to be a missing skill: communication. The hue and cry from five...

What users want.(Frankly Speaking)
February 2, 2004... WHAT DO USERS WANT FROM IT? Usually it's not that hard to figure out. It's not even unreasonable. Sure, some live for interdepartmental politics. And some would rather fight with IT people than do business. But most users are more interested in...

Unclear on the concept.(Shark Tank)
February 2, 2004... This company moves its call center to what used to be a bank, and the fireproof walk-in safe seems like the ideal place to store backup tapes. But when a fire guts the place, IT pilot fish is stunned to discover the tapes melted--and a charred...

Verified.(Shark Tank)
February 2, 2004... IT security pilot fish calls vendor with a problem report but is stymied because he's not on the "verified callers" list. You need someone on the list to vouch for you, says vendor tech, who then reads off some names. "I went down the hall to...

Looking good.(Shark Tank)
February 2, 2004... It's the 1970s, and this mainframe pilot fish can't figure out why the removable disk drives in one cabinet keep crashing. "Some of the damaged disk packs are sent out for analysis, and the report points out foreign-object...

Working around.(Shark Tank)
February 2, 2004... Pilot fish reports this e-mall from a sysadmin to all employees: "I noticed that the closet that houses the circuit box that powers the outlets in the server room is open, with a fan blowing on the power panel. Given that this circuit box has...

Making do.(Shark Tank)
February 2, 2004... This VP is brilliant, but extremely messy, says IT pilot fish--"every inch of her desk was covered in papers." When she complains that her mouse works erratically, fish can see why: She's using an uneven stack of papers as a mouse pad. Fish...

Sun, HP enhance RISC chips, but Opteron may provide edge; as AMD chip gains momentum, HP may have to alter approach.(News)
February 9, 2004... Sun Microsystems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. this week plan to announce products that reinforce their existing hardware strategies while sharpening their differences. Both companies will announce new RISC chips, and both are claiming...

Amex on the defensive about offshore plans; financial services firm may move up to 70% of development work offshore, sources say.(Investigative Report)
February 9, 2004... Despite a denial by American Express Co., sources familiar with the company's IT planning insist that it has an internally stated goal to shift a major portion of its software development to offshore locations. The sources said that New...

Weak dollar may raise costs.
February 9, 2004... U.S. companies that outsource work to nearshore and offshore developers are facing the prospect of higher costs as a result of the decline in value of the U.S. dollar. While intense competition among Indian service providers is likely to...

EDS, Navy try to fix intranet rollout.(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Electronic Data Systems Corp. announced a series of changes designed to "stabilize" the Navy/Marine Corps Intranet program and said it's writing off $559 million worth of deferred costs related to the $6.9 billion contract. EDS has reorganized...

Check Point warns of flaw in FireWall-1.(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. confirmed that a security flaw in its firewall software could be used to crash the product and might "allow further exploitation." Redwood City, Calif.-based Check Point said the flaw poses a threat only...

Linux group seeks entry to data center.(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... In a bid to accelerate the use of Linux in data centers, Open Source Development Labs Inc. released a document outlining technical capabilities that the operating system needs in order to run enterprise-class applications. The Beaverton,...

Compuware buys Covisint's assets.(At Deadline)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Compuware Corp. said it's buying the assets of Covisint LLC, a Southfield, Mich.-based vendor of business-to-business tools for the automotive industry. Detroit-based Compuware didn't disclose the purchase price.

Little increase in fed IT spending proposed; White House asks for 8% more in DHS '05 IT budget, 1%-2% for other agencies.(News)
February 9, 2004... THE WHITE HOUSE last week released the details of its proposed fiscal 2005 IT budget, which is showing signs of increased strain amid a ballooning federal deficit, the continued war on terrorism and the urgent demands of homeland security. ...

Pentagon drops web voting plans for military personnel.(News)
February 9, 2004... The Department of Defense has decided, at least for now, to drop its efforts to give overseas U.S. military personnel voting access over the Internet, because of concerns about the security of the system. In a Jan. 30 memo to David Chu, the...

Oracle challenges Microsoft in low-end database market; cuts entry-level price of 10g to $4,995 per CPU.(News)
February 9, 2004... Taking aim at Microsoft Corp.'s low-end database dominance, Oracle Corp. last week slashed the price of the entry-level version of its 10g software to slightly undercut the cost of Microsoft SQL Server. Oracle said the list price of the 10g...

EMC upgrades Symmetrix as part of storage overhaul.(News)
February 9, 2004... EMC Corp. today plans to announce upgrades of all of its disk arrays and network-attached storage (NAS) devices, as well as some of its key storage management applications. The rollout includes the second generation of EMC's high-end...

HP agrees to buy tools vendors ...(Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Hewlett-Packard Co. is buying management tools vendors No-vadigm Inc. and Consera Software Corp. HP plans to combine Novadigm's automated systems-configuration management software and Consera's IT resources mapping tools with its OpenView...

... and renews IT deal with Nokia.(Briefs)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... In other HP news, the company said it has tentatively agreed to renew and expand an IT outsourcing contract with Nokia Corp. that was signed in September 2001. The deal is being extended by five years, to 2009. HP manages global IT...