InfoWorld articles from August 2002

InfoWorld archives from August 2002

Steering the course - Vendors struggle to control the direction of Web services standards.
August 26, 2002... AMID THE DRIVE to achieve industrywide interoperability of Web services, vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, and Sun are aiming to steer the IT world toward accepting their technologies as standards. Web services currently are being subjected...

Morpheus turns 2.(Streamcast Networks' Morpheus peer-to-peer software)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
August 26, 2002... Streamcast Networks this week rolled out Version 2.0 of its Morpheus peer-to-peer software, offering a new engine and a new interface that integrates the file-sharing capabilities with the Web and an e-commerce platform. Features included...

Agilent taps IBM search.(IBM's DiscoveryLink data integration software)(Brief Article)
August 26, 2002... Agilent Technologies has selected IBM's DiscoveryLink data integration software to anchor its Synapsia bioinformatics product family, the companies announced this week. DiscoveryLink allows researchers to query diverse research data sources...

Driving performance - Blue Pumpkin Advisor takes on the human component of CRM solutions by monitoring, managing employees' efforts.(from Blue Pumpkin Software)(Evaluation)
August 26, 2002... PROVIDING EXCELLENT service and support is probably the most challenging objective for a company. It requires offering constant attention and responsiveness to customer requests, which are delivered using the most fragile, expensive, and...

Technology premiums worth the risk - In the pursuit of tightly integrated data systems, insurance industry CTOs are adopting cutting- edge Web services models.
August 26, 2002... INSURANCE INDUSTRY CTOS are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Web services to streamline services for customers and increase workflow efficiency. These executives see the benefits in the automation and integration of data...

Room with a view.(Merrill Lynch CTO John McKinley Jr.)(Interview)
August 26, 2002... Merrill Lynch CTO says his window on the future shows Web services changing the landscape in profound ways AS THE CTO for one of the world's larger financial services firms, John McKinley Jr. is a recognized industry thought-leader. These...

Remaining accountable.(Brief Article)
August 26, 2002... Despite recent corporate scandals, CTOs are optimistic about the ethics, integrity, and financial visibility for their company's executives. Copyright (c) 2002 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.

Covering your company's assets - Protecting your enterprise -- and your company's reputation -- comes down to erecting shields in the most effective areas, which can be revealed by conducting a business risk assessment.
August 26, 2002... ASK SECURITY professionals how to protect your computer systems from attack, and you will get a variety of answers that will keep your enterprise safe and your business running. But most of those answers also implicitly ask, "How much is at...

Security Part II: Solutions - For top-notch security, put best practices in action; deploy simple, effective products; and even leverage hackers' tools.(Directory)
August 26, 2002... IF YOU HAVE the time, plus a bit of Columbo in you, taking a hands-on approach to security by learning how to hack will give you a jump on your hands-off colleagues. You can learn about new vulnerabilities and exploits days before vendors...

Countering the greatest fears - IT leaders worry more about security than experienced breaches indicate they should. By implementing a few solid tools, they can stop fretting.
August 26, 2002... IN THE COMIC STRIP Peanuts, Linus is usually depicted clutching a security blanket; it gives him a great sense of security, even though it doesn't actually make him any safer. Security tools bought in response to fears of attack often strike...

Web services security: A status report.
August 26, 2002... If the blizzard of specifications related to Web services security has left you snow blind, you have plenty of company. WS-Security, from Microsoft, IBM, and VeriSign, deals with the protection and confidentiality of SOAP messages using a...

Overlooked best practices - With easy-to-use, inexpensive tools, you can quickly put into action several often-ignored smart security measures, such as e-mail encryption and password protection.(Buyers Guide)
August 26, 2002... THE BEST THING about standards, it's said, is that you can choose from so many of them. Unfortunately, the same holds true for security best practices. Strong passwords, software updates, system hardening, encryption, anti-virus software,...

Burning for Web services - New breed of security threats spark startups and stalwarts to build XML firewalls.(Product Announcement)
August 26, 2002... A BATTLE IS brewing between traditional firewall players and a new breed of XML-application firewall vendors as both push wares that promise to protect enterprises from the security threats Web services may bring. Analysts say that...

Eye on thePeopleSoft integration pie - App vendors , SAP move on traditional EAI players' turf.
August 26, 2002... ENTERPRISE APPLICATION vendors are bolstering their integration efforts and, in so doing, are moving into the realm of the traditional EAI players. On Monday at its Connect 2002 user conference, PeopleSoft will take the wraps off a suite...

IBM bakes Cisco security into chip - Big Blue's forthcoming notebooks will bear LEAP authentication, encryption.(Extensible Access Protocol)
August 26, 2002... IBM HOPES BY year's end to deliver notebooks with built-in security chips that are integrated with a wireless authentication and encryption technology developed by Cisco. Armonk, N.Y.-based Big Blue plans to extend LEAP -- which stands...

Know thy WLAN - AirMagnet brings comprehensive network monitoring to wireless.(wireless local area network)(AirMagnet Wireless LAN Handheld Analyzer)(Product Announcement)
August 26, 2002... THE PROMISE OF SIMPLICITY is one reason why wireless LANs are all the rage. No messy cables, just install an access point and some 802.11b (or Wi-Fi, as some prefer) cards, and unless you care about little details like security, you're good...

ABOVE THE NOISE: The shot heard round the world? Sun bets consumers are ready to throw off Microsoft's Office dominance.(Microsoft's Software Assurance licensing agreement foments rebellion)
August 26, 2002... IT HAS BEEN frequently said that the only thing certain in life is death and taxes. In the land of Microsoft, taxation is now referred to as Software Assurance, in which you pay an annual fee up front in expectation of services regardless of...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Getting a grip on greed.(NorthPoint Communications bankruptcy)
August 26, 2002... AMBER NOW HAS our vacation all planned out. "We're going to snorkel one day, go hiking the next, and try surfing. I also have restaurants lined up for every night," she said. Greed is good, isn't it? Speaking of wanting it all, a spy...

THE OPEN SOURCE: Don't fear the GPL - Contrary to what detractors say, the GNU General Public License empowers end-users.
August 26, 2002... A FEW SOFTWARE companies (I'll let you guess which one heads the list) have spent a considerable amount of time recently trying to convince folks that the GNU GPL (General Public License) is evil. Well, it's not. In fact, the GPL is perhaps...

WINDOW MANAGER: Sneaky service packs - If you install the latest patches for Windows 2000 and XP,they may start updating themselves.(Microsoft Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000 and Service Pack 1 for XP)
August 26, 2002... WINDOWS USERS are steaming over the terms in Microsoft's new Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000, which was released on Aug. 1, and Service Pack 1 for XP, which is in beta but will probably ship next month. The licenses of these updates say,...

WIRELESS WORLD: For the children - Wherify's Personal Locator wrist device uses GPS to help parents keep track of their kids.
August 26, 2002... UNFORTUNATELY, Whereify's GPS (Global Positioning System) Personal Locator for Children wrist device is not a technology looking for a market. I'll spare you the unsettling details about the Department of Justice statistics on the number...

SECURITY ADVISER: Response required - Bloated Microsoft again fails to deliver timely response to security problems in its software.(Column)
August 26, 2002... I HAVE SAID IT before and I'll say it again: Anything designed by one human can be compromised by another. Most software is barely tested to verify that it can do what it's supposed to do. True, it's simply impossible to work out beforehand...

STORAGE INSIDER: Aiming for the middle - EMC's Clariion CX600 steps into midmarket storage -- and steps on some toes.
August 26, 2002... MAKE NO MISTAKE about it: Individual market share numbers be damned, EMC is still the king of storage -- or at least is perceived to be by its competitors. So last week when the Hopkinton, Mass.-based company unveiled a new line in its...

ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES: Is Sun serious? Again, Sun finds the trailing edge of technology and jumps on it with a characteristic lack of common sense.
August 26, 2002... IN THE FILM Sunset Boulevard, aging actress Norma Desmond struts and barks as though she's still on top of her game, queen of Hollywood. She's actually a pathetic, name-dropping has-been who's trading on her past. No one has the heart to tell...

CTO CONNECTION: A job title in decline? Look closely at what CTOs are doing, and it's clear they're strategic players with growing influence.(Column)
August 26, 2002... HAVING WRITTEN A column directed at the CTO community for over a year, I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting and getting to know CTOs of all ages, industries, locations, and personalities. I've mingled with my fellow CTOs at InfoWorld's...

SURVIVAL GUIDE: Hiring at home - The H-1B visa is a relic of a more prosperous era, but banning foreign IT workers isn't the answer.(Column)
August 26, 2002... TIMES CHANGE, and few programs warrant eternal life. Take, for example, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Established to encourage innovation, it now encourages patent holders to use attorneys instead of engineers to protect their...

THE GRIPE LINE: Web service EULAs - Readers express concern about license restrictions on free and open debate about the pros and cons of .Net.(Column)
August 26, 2002... THERE APPEARS TO BE a very real danger that the Web services world is evolving into one in which products and services will not be subject to public criticism. And the funny thing is Microsoft seems to be both an instigator and a victim of...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Notes is dead - It's no murder mystery -- killer Ray Ozzie is publicly dissecting the corpse on his favorite new tool: Weblogs.(Groove 2.1)
August 26, 2002... NOTES IS DEAD. Kaput, pushing up daisies, canceled, an ex-application (apologies to Monty Python and Hollywood intellectual property gatekeeper Jack Valenti for appropriating material from the classic "Dead Parrot" sketch). According to...

Serving up .Net - With RC1, many Microsoft customers have ample reason to upgrade to Enterprise Server.(Microsoft Windows.Net Enterprise Server RC1)(Review)
August 26, 2002... UPGRADING AN OPERATING SYSTEM is never as simple as popping in a CD-ROM and twiddling your thumbs through an automated install. Every OS change requires planning, retraining, and sometimes changes to client systems and custom applications. To...

Database study puts Oracle on top.(Oracle 9i DBMS)(Brief Article)
August 26, 2002... Oracle is in the pole position in the relational database market, according to a recent study by Meta Group that examined the four leading database vendors against a dozen criteria. Oracle 9i came out on top in most areas including...

Samsung will launch Palm-based cell phones.(SPH-I330, SPH- I500 cellular telephones)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 26, 2002... Samsung Electronics is preparing to offer two Palm-OS-based cell phones in the United States in coming months. The first device will be the SPH-I330, a tri-band unit, compatible with CDMA (code division multiple access) at both 800MHz and...

Newest Clie hits shelves.(PEG-SJ20 PDA from Sony)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 26, 2002... Sony this week announced it will launch the new Clie PDA in the United States. The PEG-SJ20 is similar to the Clie PEG-SL10 that was launched by Sony in late July but uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack rather than two AAA disposable...

Security at your service - IT managers look to MSSPs for manageability and expertise.
August 26, 2002... WHILE OUTSOURCING even part of an IT security operation still draws qualms, organizations are being forced to recognize that the level of in-house security expertise needed to run a full-time business is too difficult and costly to acquire...

Checks in the e-mail - Vendors tighten e-mail security with policy- enforcement technology.
August 19, 2002... E-MAIL IS A critical link for transporting highly sensitive and confidential data, but without effective policy control, these vital messages can take on a life of their own after being sent. As illustrated recently by high-profile...

Mail policies made simple, seamless - Omniva effectively enforces retention policies without disrupting existing infrastructure.(Evaluation)
August 19, 2002... ANYONE IN BUSINESS will confirm that it's one thing to create a policy and entirely another thing to enforce it. This is especially true when it comes to e-mail. Most enterprises have document retention policies, but applying them to e-mail,...

Trading on the edge - Enron's story serves as a warning -- good technology can't fix bad business.
August 19, 2002... IN THEIR DRIVE TO TAKE Houston-based Enron from a sleepy, regional gas pipeline company to a billion-dollar energy provider, Enron executives knew they needed the best in technology from the best technologists. So the execs relentlessly...

Clicking the mouse - Walt Disney Internet Group's CTO serves up growth and looks to a content-rich, bright future.(Doug Parrish )
August 19, 2002... "IT WAS ALL STARTEDby a mouse," said Walt Disney. Today the mouse fronts the Walt Disney theme parks and corporation and is an icon that represents the Disney Corporation's goal of providing the ultimate "guest experience." The mission...

Projecting revenues.
August 19, 2002... With a year of decline behind them, CTOs largely expect their companies to achieve 2002 revenue projections. Copyright (c) 2002 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.

Security Part I: Strategies - Impenetrable defenses are a costly, illusory objective, so securing your enterprise should strike a balance between protecting corporate assets and breaking the bank.
August 19, 2002... IT leaders should approach security with similar acceptance and openness. But the 2002 InfoWorld IT Security Survey of almost 600 IT leaders reveals that the IT community overly worries about a broad spectrum of attacks, even though the odds...

To trust or not trust - When current and former employees are almost as much of a threat as rogue hackers, is anyone above suspicion?
August 19, 2002... HOW FAR CAN trust go in an inherently insecure environment? This is nearly impossible to answer definitively, but one thing at least is clear: Threats can come from anyone, anywhere, at anytime. It's hard enough to trust strangers, but how do...

Hired hands key to top-notch security - Outsourcing security is gaining greater acceptance, especially in niche roles such as VPNs and training, but not always by the companies that need it most.
August 19, 2002... NOVICE equestrians can be a danger to their horses as well as to themselves. Like dude ranch visitors, IT leaders are experiencing an emotional tug-of-war between the natural desire to hold the reins tightly and the need for a more...

Rational extends UML support.(Rational XDE application development software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 19, 2002... Rational will use its User Conference in Orlando, Fla., this week to extend its UML (Unified Modeling Language) application modeling support for application development using Microsoft's Visual Basic .Net and ASP .Net platforms. The Rational...

Sun to make SAN splash.(Sun StorEdge Enterprise Storage Manager data warehousing software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 19, 2002... Sun Microsystems on Tuesday will introduce its new SAN management software suite at the second annual Storage World Conference in San Jose, Calif. The new suite, dubbed Sun StorEdge ESM (Enterprise Storage Manager), is believed to be the...

Intel spins off Tarari.(Brief Article)
August 19, 2002... Intel on Monday will announce the formation of San Diego-based Tarari to focus entirely on application and content-aware processing. The startup's technology reportedly can inspect packets in silicon rather than software; Tarari has built a...

Sun presumes Linux control - Debate over Linux standards surfaces as Sun plans Microsoft .Net assault.
August 19, 2002... CONVINCED THAT THE Linux community needs a "benevolent dictator," Sun Microsystems has sparked a battle over who controls Linux standards, as a growing number of vendors chase enterprise Linux dollars. Signaling a coming-of-age for Linux...

Borland, IBM eye coders - Tools, database alliance attempts to lure Windows, Linux developers.
August 19, 2002... EYEING MICROSOFT Visual Basic and Linux developers, Borland and IBM on Monday revealed plans to collaborate on development offerings for Windows and Linux platforms on Intel hardware using Borland's RAD (rapid application development)...

ABOVE THE NOISE: Web services are delivering savings - Upcoming InfoWorld conference will explore next-generation capabilities.
August 19, 2002... WITH ANY NEW technology, it becomes fashionable in some quarters to counter the hype and hyperbole surrounding it with an equal amount of disdain when that technology fails to change every aspect of the world as we know it in 12 months or...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Secrets and spies.
August 19, 2002... SO FAR, I'M still in the clear. Amber never found out about the lone plane ticket to Hawaii I purchased, so she is on board for the trip after all. "I cannot wait for our vacation, Bobby," she said. Let's just hope my secret keeps. More...

THE OPEN SOURCE: Rescue, Linux style - If preserving valuable data is a priority, these tools are worth checking out.(Linuxcare Bootable Toolbox, LNX Bootable Business Card, Tom's Root and Boot)(Evaluation)
August 19, 2002... BACK IN JUNE, I wrote a column about the problems inherent with the ubiquitous Windows rescue CDs that seem to come with most name-brand PCs these days (See "Painful rescue,") This week, I thought it would be useful to discuss some tools that...

WINDOW MANAGER: Routing on the go - Enhanced network equipment makes calls to and from the United States a snap.
August 19, 2002... IN THIS AGE of globalization, your company may someday say you're being temporarily transferred to launch a new office in, say, Iceland. If so -- or if your company is expanding globally without physically sending you anywhere -- you may...

SECURITY ADVISER: Copywrong - When copyright law is used to stifle legitimate security research and free speech, we all lose.(Editorial)
August 19, 2002... ONE OF THE SMARTER things the founding fathers wrote into the Constitution was the clause giving the federal government the power to issue patents and, ultimately, what we now know as copyrights. I certainly don't have any quarrels with the...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Game over - McNealy's on a roll with Linux, picking up free games at the expense of IBM, Microsoft, and Dell.
August 19, 2002... SUN CHIEF SCOTT MCNEALY is having fun again. No, I don't mean the Microsoft-bashing and golf-major jokes. "They sell newspapers for you guys," McNealy laughs, but the real fun he's having is with his shiny new Linux strategy. Scott...

STORAGE INSIDER: Reaching toward unity - A new SNIA initiative promises storage management benefits for all parties.(Storage Networking Industry Association )
August 19, 2002... YOU ARE PROBABLY tired of hearing that the cost of managing storage is significantly higher -- by a factor of seven, according to some estimates -- than the cost of purchasing the actual storage infrastructure. Probably even more...

WIRELESS WORLD: The big MMS picture - Emerging Multimedia Messaging Service is a stalking horse for deeper issues.
August 19, 2002... CURRENTLY, USERS HAVE a choice of e-mail, IM, and SMS (Short Messaging Service) on cell phones and some converged devices. Now, the industry, or most of it, is gearing up for another channel, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Some observers...

ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES: Let's get small - If you can't buy it, build it. Embedded technology is more accessible than ever.
August 19, 2002... ONE OF THE outdated axioms of corporate IT is, "Never build anything you can buy." Five years ago, custom software was considered a risky, low-return exercise. Horrific anecdotes aside, old theories about custom software's negative ROI have...

CTO CONNECTION: Managing imperfection - CTOs need to be ready for hair- pulling moments as they oversee a flawed Internet technology.(chief technology officers)(Column)(Editorial)
August 19, 2002... MOST OF THE time, this column focuses on how the CTO excels in the corporate environment due to his understanding of the complex intersection between business and technology. The CTO's value proposition is in his deep understanding of...

SURVIVAL GUIDE: Corruption? Absolutely - Ethical business leaders should welcome efficient regulation, but beware of those that add encumbrances.(Editorial)
August 19, 2002... MARILYN VOS SAVANT, the professional genius, proved that the egg came first. Heritable mutations happen only in sperm and ova, she reasoned, so something that was almost a chicken laid a true chicken egg. Makes sense to me. As we sit in...

THE GRIPE LINE: License to hide - UCITA 'reforms' would still keep consumers in the dark about the terms of their software licenses until after they pay.(Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act)(Editorial)
August 19, 2002... UCITA'S (Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) proponents have long hawked it as the law for the digital age, but it's now clearer than ever they actually want it to help the software industry turn back the clock to a pre-Internet...

Scrutinizing the numbers - BI vendors strive to offer execs greater visibility into accounting.(Cognos, Sagent enhance business intelligence software)
August 19, 2002... RISING TO AID C-level executives under accountability pressure, BI (business intelligence) and enterprise application vendors are stepping up to the plate with offerings designed to improve financial visibility. New federal regulations...

Office bets on XML odds - Microsoft goes after tighter integration, despite competitive risks.(Microsoft Office 11.0 development)
August 12, 2002... SITTING PROUDLY atop Microsoft's software stack, the Office application suite that played a critical role in securing the company's controversial desktop dominance now finds itself at a crossroads. Historically immersed in a sea of...

Putting people first for a change - The key to Microsoft's goal of hooking Web services into Office lies in the eye of Hailstorm.
August 12, 2002... AS WITH EARLIER MICROSOFT mantras (ActiveX, Windows DNA), .Net means almost everything and therefore nothing in particular. The Redmond priesthood incants XML with the same mystical vagueness. No resounding amen has yet been heard from the...

Industrial integration - Manufacturing industry CTOs lead the line, creating business-side buy-in for and then delivering on large-scale integration projects.
August 12, 2002... WHEN CTO PHYLLIS MICHAELIDES took the helm of megaconglomerate Textron two-and-a-half years ago, she stared across a sea of software with more tentacles than a jellyfish. Textron's history of acquisitions and global manufacturing...

Building for keeps.(Outtask CTO John Love explains the application service provider model)(Interview)
August 12, 2002... Outtask created its own applications and kept money other ASPs were paying to third parties AS THE EXECUTIVE VICE president and CTO of Outtask, an ASP, John Love maintains that the ASP model is just now coming into its own. In an...

Economic forecast.(Information Technology industry)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... As corporate scandals affect markets, CTOs are looking to 2003 for better times. Copyright (c) 2002 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.

The hidden costs of open source.
August 12, 2002... Savings greatly depend on current infrastructure and in-house expertise But for organizations that require a major shift in architecture -- sometimes coming from a Windows environment -- or those without the technical expertise to reap...

Chasing Linux - FreeBSD 5.0 beta features enhancements and apps aplenty, but not a lot of hand-holding.(Evaluation)
August 12, 2002... FREEBSD HAS LONG been known for stability, security, and good performance, as well as for its strong developer community. But this open-source operating system has been dogged during the past few years by its inability to draw on the wealth...

BEA touts mobile future - App server module leverages XML to create new generation of rich mobile applications.(BEA Systems)
August 12, 2002... EXPANDING ITS EFFORTS to make XML more accessible to a broader array of developers and users, BEA Systems is in the early stages of developing a mobile computing strategy around the self-describing, data-neutral file format. At the core...

System tools slim down to cut costs - BMC, Tivoli, CA respond to economic challenges with focused offerings.(BMC ships Patrol Express systems monitoring tool)(Product Announcement)
August 12, 2002... FORCED INTO AN about-face by economic realities, systems management vendors are slimming down monolithic packages to reduce complexity and cost. Companies such as BMC Software, Tivoli, and Computer Associates report that shrinking IT...

Coalition unites on workflow - Microsoft, IBM, BEA push Web services agenda with new workflow standard.
August 12, 2002... INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS Microsoft, IBM, and BEA Systems on Monday plan to unleash a trio of proposed Web services standards that address several unmet needs of the nascent services-oriented application model. Primary among the standards is...

SIP pundits voice support - Nascent protocol promises integrated VoIP, IM, despite challenges.(Session Initiation Protocol pushed as standard for packet-based voice)
August 12, 2002... DESPITE A HOST of technical and regulatory challenges, a rising tide of vendors is working to establish SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) as the de facto signaling technology for packet-based voice communications. Cisco Systems, Alcatel,...

Sprint turns up 3G.(Sprint PCS introduces nationwide wireless services)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Sprint PCS this week launched the first nationwide 1xRTT, or 3G, network. The service will cover any city with a population in excess of 100,000 inhabitants. While peak performance for CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) 2000 is rated at...

Vendors team on hybrid Sidekick device.(TMobile and Orange develop handheld)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Hiptop handheld maker Danger announced this week a deal with wireless carriers TMobile and Orange to deploy its technology for both voice and data on devices. TMobile will brand the converged device the Sidekick. Pricing for the devices is...

ABOVE THE NOISE: Getting caught in a big hailstorm - Microsoft backpedals on XML Web service, but won't be able to fend it off forever.
August 12, 2002... BY NOW WE'RE all used to the idea that Microsoft's client strategy is always tinged with a little proprietary hypocrisy, but its browser and Java support shenanigans pale in comparison to the backpedaling revision that today characterizes...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Looking to innovate.(Column)
August 12, 2002... AMBER FOUND A brochure I had for Kauai, Hawaii. "What is this, Cringe? Are you planning to surprise me with a trip there?" I just hope she doesn't discover that single plane ticket I bought. Gates reveals the awful truth At an...

THE OPEN SOURCE: On with the show - Come to LinuxWorld Expo for the products (and the swag), but stay for the illustrious speakers.
August 12, 2002... THIS IS ONE of my favorite times of the year. Why? Because it's show time! By the time you read this, I should be at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. LinuxWorld Expo is not just another trade show; it has become the U.S....

WINDOW MANAGER: Small Business Saver - With Microsoft's new rebate, startups may be able to cut costs on Windows 2000 Server bundles.
August 12, 2002... I WROTE LAST week that Microsoft now gives a rebate worth $500 to VARs who sell SBS (Small Business Server) 2000 and related consulting services (see "These insa-a-ne prices"). This rebate isn't a reduction in SBS's $1,499 list price....

SECURITY ADVISER: Why we hack - Curiosity is a natural instinct; let's just find some more productive ways to channel it.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... I'M TICKED OFF, because my idea for Animal House 2002 has become front- page news. Like many of you, I had to laugh when I heard of the latest Ivy League scandal: Apparently, the Princeton admissions staff hacked into a Yale Web site for...

STORAGE INSIDER: Following the money - Veritas opens its storage management software even further to Linux, but it's only a start.(Column)
August 12, 2002... IF WE HAVEN'T mentioned Linux very often in this column, it's because not much was happening there in relationship to storage. Although a Linux server could always be attached to a variety of storage devices, the Linux platform was not...

WIRELESS WORLD: You read my mind - NASA is working on innovative wireless UIs that draw on muscle movement and brain waves.(IBM'S Almaden Research Center hosts event was titled New Paradigms in Using Computers)
August 12, 2002... EVERY YEAR, IBM'S Almaden Research Center, in San Jose, Calif., hosts a day where scientists and technologists from various companies mix with the media and present some of their latest work. This year's event was titled New Paradigms in...

ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES: Friends and enemies - As with the school bully, it's best to play nice with MS or else risk getting hurt.
August 12, 2002... THE high-techindustry is heading for another painful round of consolidation. While researching our Microsoft .Next report (go to www.infoworld.com/news/hnmsreport.html), I developed some perspectives on intertitan relationships from...

CTO CONNECTION: Summertime reflection - There's value in stepping back and reassesssing strategy during the slow days of summer.
August 12, 2002... AS SUMMER DRAWS to a close, I'm thinking about what I would present in a hypothetical "what I did on my summer vacation" spiel on the first day of school, and how that relates to what other CTOs did during their summers. First of all, I...

SURVIVAL GUIDE: The straight scoop - Getting clear information is a fine art that IT managers can master -- if they don't rely on technology alone.
August 12, 2002... GIVEN CURRENT SEXUAL harassment law, you probably can't show Akira Kurosawa's brilliant film, Rashomon, at your next off-site staff meeting because the plot involves a sexual encounter (mentioned, not graphically depicted or discussed in...

THE GRIPE LINE: Open with caution - Readers report shrinkwrap agreements have migrated from software to books, complete with prohibitions on disclosure.(Column)
August 12, 2002... I SUPPOSE IT was inevitable. With sneakwrap terms showing up in everything from charity Web sites to pornographic spam, it was just a matter of time. Books with shrinkwrap license agreements have arrived. The first report of this...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: The death of e-mail - Where there's a will, there's a way, but Microsoft won't kill the messenger any time soon.
August 12, 2002... EVERY FEW WEEKS InfoWorld Editor in Chief Michael Vizard broadcasts an e-mail suggesting one story or another on spam. Every few weeks I try and make myself as invisible as possible until the thread dies down. Why? I don't care about spam....