InfoWorld articles from July 2001

InfoWorld archives from July 2001

Lowering IT's handicap - Data systems integration and report writing features meet PGA members' needs.(information technology; Professional Golfers' Association)(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... THE PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS' ASSOCIATION of America is responsible for promoting the game of golf to millions of adults and children of all skill levels and has provided some of the most memorable sports figures and events of the 20th century. The...

Business intelligence goes wireless - PDA ubiquity has created a pent- up demand and a platform for wireless BI.(Technology Information)
July 2, 2001... A KEY ELEMENT of a successful BI (business intelligence) implementation is ensuring that people have access to the information in the system whenever and wherever they need it. For this reason, vendors are rushing to provide access to back-end...

Bridging businesses - CTO strives to realize a vision of automated business relationships on a global scale.(Company Business and Marketing)(Interview)
July 2, 2001... WITH THE RISE of business-to-business e-commerce, the need to conduct transactions across multiple sites has become an acute requirement. But the ability to accomplish that task is beyond the ken of most IT organizations. With that thought in...

Privacy by design - Data privacy protection makes customers feel welcome while maintaining their anonymity.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... WITH A FIRESTORM of debate raging around the loss of privacy in the Internet age and pressure mounting for new protective regulations, IT professionals are discovering that they have a new job: adopting online data privacy protection measures...

ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES: Mining for prophets - Data inundation swamps our ability to forge clear strategies, but business intelligence holds the lifeline.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 2, 2001... YOUR CUSTOMERS are trying to tell you something. But with so many automated transaction systems and customer touch-points entering the enterprise, would you even be able to recognize them? The spiffy data warehouse your company installed...

CTO DIRECTIONS: Set a leadership course - We know leadership when we see it, but do you recognize it within you?(Industry Trend or Event)(Column)
July 2, 2001... UNDERSTANDING leadership is like watching a video about programming: You don't get it until you've written your first hash. Unlike programming, leadership is not something you do, it is something within you. So, how do you recognize your own...

SURVIVAL GUIDE: Blame Perry Mason - If you're a lawyer-manager who needs proof for everything, you may be stifling your IT department.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... MANAGEMENT SPEAK: I guess my thinking at this point in time is that it may be prudent to wait until such time as we could gain a better understanding of where we are going with this issue by studying it a little further. TRANSLATION: I...

SECURITY ADVISER: The cybercrime blues - Beltway spinmeisters try to exempt businesses from Freedom of Information Act to avoid embarrassment.(Government Activity)
July 2, 2001... WOULD IT COME as a surprise to you if I proclaimed my skepticism of the new round of cybercrime legislation being proposed on Capitol Hill? No, probably not. After all, some of you are convinced that my California residency means that I must be...

THE OPEN SOURCE: JSP in Harms' way - David Harms nails down JSP programming in his latest book, offering substantial tips for those in the know.(Technology Information)
July 2, 2001... I'VE ALREADY RAVED about the Python language for Web application development, so equal time for Java is in order. As big a fan of Python as I may be, I must admit that for server-side Web applications development Java is by far the most mature...

WINDOW MANAGER: Livingston's Top 10 - Ten years of writing columns for InfoWorld has producedmore than a few big winners.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... MY FIRST InfoWorld column appeared at the end of June 1991, so it's my 10th anniversary. I promised my readers they could nominate their 10 favorite columns -- but rather than merely looking back, I'll explore how these topics affect Windows...

To the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2001... Why we program THANKS FOR publishing Michael Vizard's interview with Alan Cooper (see www.infoworld.com/printlinks). Mr. Cooper definitely had some different points of view that made me think. I most certainly enjoyed his comments...

WIRELESS WORLD: Reducing the cost of DBAs - Database administrators could dramatically increase their productivity by operating remotely.(Product Information)
July 2, 2001... I'LL LEAVE IT to my readers to quantify the amount of time and money their companies would save if their DBAs (database administrators) could remotely, and wirelessly, make changes to their databases. Imagine the efficiencies in not having to...

CTO CONNECTION: A CTO's frustration - CTOs at the CTO Forum agree: Today's most innovative technology is still too complicated for daily use.(Technology Information)
July 2, 2001... RECENTLY I TOOK a welcome break from budgeting to attend InfoWorld's second annual CTO Forum. Gratefully, I entered a realm of incredible energy that changed my perspective on the future of our industry and the economy at large. Although...

THE GRIPE LINE: UCITA running on empty - Black Sunday in Virginia has come and gone, and it looks as if UCITA opponents may have won this round after all.(Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act)(Government Activity)
July 2, 2001... THIS PAST SUNDAY was the day opponents of the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) had been dreading for a long time: On July 1, UCITA was formally enacted as law in Virginia. Now that the day has passed, however, it turns out...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: The big boys return as ASPs.(rumors)(Company Business and Marketing)
July 2, 2001... JUST CALL ME Mr. Smooth. Most of you said I should call Amber after our second encounter, so I took the advice. We're going to take the Hog through the hills above Silicon Valley next weekend. And yes, I am being careful about dating an IT...

E-BUSINESS PULSE: A checklist won't cover it - Checklists will not reduce your workload; true change requires time and buy-in from IT and business.(Industry Trend or Event)(Column)
July 2, 2001... THE COLUMN I wrote a few weeks ago on IT burnout (see June 11) generated tons of e-mail, mostly from battle-scarred IT veterans who have tried to change the culture of IT and encountered significant resistance. Their responses were so good that...

Palm posts more losses, hints at turnaround.(Company Financial Information)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Palm last week reported fourth-quarter revenue of $165.3 million, with a pro forma net loss of $89.2 million, or $0.16 per share, edging above both its own guidance and analyst estimates. Palm said it is "cautiously optimistic" about the...

VA Linux exits hardware business, cuts staff.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Linux server maker VA Linux Systems has announced it will stop selling hardware and focus on its applications and online businesses in a move that may significantly cut into the company's short-term revenue but is expected to reduce costs in...

Alcatel abandons manufacturing plants.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... France-based networker Alcatel has announced plans to sell most of its manufacturing facilities by the end of 2002, becoming the latest vendor to outsource production facilities. The company plans to slash the number of plants it operates from...

Oracle pricing still under gun.(Product Information)
July 2, 2001... ORACLE'S RECENT PRICE reduction for its 9i database might have catered to users seeking per-processor pricing models akin to those offered by IBM and Microsoft, but the database aggressor is not out of the woods yet. CTOs are not as...

Great Plains apps move to .NET.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 2, 2001... MICROSOFT GREAT PLAINS is poised to roll out its ERP (enterprise resource planning) software for Microsoft's .NET Web services infrastructure in a move to challenge the biggest ERP players in the lucrative middle-tier market. Great Plains,...

Covisint gets back to basics - Exchange looks inward as it trims its usage of integrators and outsourcers.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 2, 2001... AS COVISINT ACTS to prove that it is more than a project started by the Big Three automakers, the business-to-business marketplace is idling consultants and focusing on its value-added offerings. Covisint is pushing its essentials as it...

Red Hat offers open.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Eager to outgrow its Linux-only strategy, Red Hat introduced three services last week as part of its open-source consulting launch. The suite of services is designed to help enterprises migrate their infrastructures to Linux and a host of other...

Infusion of push technology helps deliver portal content.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 2, 2001... BackWeb Technologies threw its hat into the enterprise portal ring last week with the announcement of the ProactivePortal line of products and integration services. ProactivePortal is built with the company's content-delivery technology, which...

Sun plugs in remote point.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Sun Microsystems, in partnership with POS (point-of-sale) vendors Wincor Nixdorf and ADS Retail, announced a remotely managed supply- chain and transaction system for retail stores last week. The server feeds inventory and business transaction...

At last, .NET enters Beta 2.(Product Announcement)
July 2, 2001... With the exception of key partners, no one outside of Microsoft had seen anything new on the .NET front for nine months. A lot of anxious developers were sick of hearing, "It'll be in beta 2," when they inquired about bug fixes and...

Compaq drops alpha, standardizes on Itanium.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Compaq announced last week it had struck a multiyear agreement with chipmaker Intel to move all of Compaq's high-end systems to Intel's Itanium processor platform. Under the terms of the deal, Compaq will consolidate its entire 64-bit computing...

Microsoft releases code.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Microsoft will release the source code for its toolset that will allow customers to build Web services and other applications based on its .NET initiative. Microsoft will work with Corel to build a noncommercial version of its C# programming...

Compaq, Toshiba tout Intel mobile processor.
July 2, 2001... Combining an upcoming low-power Intel chip with its newly redesigned Evo line of computers, Compaq announced plans last week to begin shipping an Evo Notebook N200 powered by Intel's 1.13GHz Tualatin chip later this year. Toshiba officials also...

Microsoft nails temporary win.(antitrust case)(Company Business and Marketing)
July 2, 2001... AFTER THREE years and a staggering legal price tag, Microsoft escaped a corporate breakup last week in a decision industry observers and users predict will give it renewed energy to pursue its technology agenda. Although Microsoft has...

Microsoft banks on XP rollout.(Product Information)
July 2, 2001... THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH of Windows XP is not until Oct. 25, but already Microsoft is taking extraordinary measures to foster widespread adoption of the operating system. The jury is still out, however, on whether XP's rollout will spark a surge in...

An unfriendly Ghost - Difficult-to-use interface, required reboots, and other drawbacks mar Ghost 7.0's appeal to enterprises.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
July 2, 2001... WHEN COMPUTERS were first introduced into the workplace, they increased efficiency by streamlining workflow and automating or eliminating tedious, repetitive tasks. Ironically, as generations of system administrators and technicians have...

Your way, right away on the Web - Dynamic content acceleration speeds up personalized Web-content delivery without the need for pricey hardware.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
July 2, 2001... IN THE ONGOING battle to attract and retain customers online, more businesses are turning to site personalization to deliver dynamic, relevant content that can be tailored to enrich user experience. The process, however, can quickly bring...

SAN routing helps realize quick ROI - As storage routers hit the networking scene, IT staff can use current knowledge to easily build storage networks.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... THE CONVERGENCE OF networking and storage tools recently has taken an interesting turn. Much of the debate has focused on the merits of inexpensive NAS (network-attached storage) versus expensive, high- performance SANs (storage area networks)....

Infrastructure innovation - The quest for storage and other e-business needs promote development of new technologies.(Technology Information)
July 2, 2001... TECHNOLOGY ISN'T the answer to every business problem. But technology is at the heart of e-business, and it addresses the two major challenges facing enterprises: grappling with an explosion of data and making that data available to employees,...

Hard drive costs low with UltraATA - UltraATA/100 devices pack the most storage into the least space, compensating for its slightly slower spin times.(WD800BB Disk Drive)(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
July 2, 2001... WHEN SIZING UP a new server or workstation, speed, capacity, and availability are carefully weighed against the application and budget. Yet when purchasing storage, the most critical component, the hard drive, is rarely given much thought....

Wireless interface card makes waves - AirCard 400's network interface design provides the fastest, easiest Ricochet wireless connections.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
July 2, 2001... TODAY'S CORPORATE WORKERS are more mobile than ever, and with so many employees trying to get work done away from the office, providing them with real-time access to e-mail and other critical data is necessary for keeping them productive and...

Defying the downturn - Looking for a good long-term bet for both your personal and professional lives? Check out these up-and-coming regions.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... Things are tough all over with layoffs and missed earning announcements. No city has fully escaped the nation's economic downturn, but some are better equipped to survive the storm. As the economy has changed, the balance of technology...

Buenos Aires: Telecommunications hub.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... The big city on the right bank of the Rio de la Plata has many nicknames: the Queen of the Plata, Capital City of Tango, the New York City of the Southern Cone, or simply the Port. Call it what you will, Buenos Aires, Argentina, is among the...

Sophia Antipolis: I.T. on the Med.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... Viewed from the air, Sophia Antipolis resembles above all a luxury vacation village. How could a place so idyllic, amid shady pine woods and along the deep blue Mediterranean sea of France's southern coast, be a center for high-tech industry?...

Seoul: Wired for Net success.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... Tucked away in Asia's northeastern corner, the capital of South Korea can justifiably claim to be one of the most wired cities on earth. Ever since the Asian economic crisis began ravaging the South Korean economy in 1997, the government...

Bangalore: I.T. hot spot.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 2, 2001... On Bangalore's crowded streets, hand-pulled carts compete for space with trucks, cars, and make-shift food kiosks, often bringing traffic to a snail's pace. The heat, grime, pollution, and potholes may daunt newcomers. But look more closely....

Stairway to success - Yodlee CTO steps out of the ivory tower to try his hand at business in the world of finance.(People)
July 9, 2001... IN 1997 VENKAT RANGAN left the ivory tower for the rough-and-tumble world of business, and by 1999 he thought he was ready to create a brand with a high profile. Yodlee, a content aggregation provider for financial services firms,...

The road to profitability.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... ACCORDING TO Michael Drapkin, chair of e-commerce management at Columbia University, "Everything that a CTO does needs to be tied back to profitability. [A good CTO] ends up becoming an investor in the company." Although the paths to...

Putting privacy into practice - P3P will answer some data safeguard questions and help consumers help themselves.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... THE RACE IS ON for enterprises with any significant Web presence to make their sites compliant with a new standard called P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences), which mandates that Web sites provide machine- readable versions of...

Taking off with wireless - Airports bet on the future business and revenue benefits of wireless networks.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... WHETHER IT IS due to bad weather, mechanical difficulties, or stacked- up runways, business travelers often find themselves stuck waiting in an airport terminal. As the airport becomes more and more like a second office for road warriors,...

ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES: Ready for a revolution? Web services may not be fully ready, but their underpinnings promise to relieve some of today's inefficiencies.(Technology Information)
July 9, 2001... I'M NOT SURPRISED that so many of you have been writing me to profess your skepticism about Web services and their ability to drive the next great software evolution. History has demonstrated, too often, that the cure du jour for our IT...

SURVIVAL GUIDE: Where trouble begins - The fatal flaws of 'marks,' zealots, and politicians bring about their management downfall.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... MANAGEMENT SPEAK: Yeah, but the thing is... TRANSLATION: I'm not going to let the facts get in my way. -- IS Survivalist John Priebe doesn't allow obfuscatory phrasing to interfere with our comprehension. GROUCHO MARX ONCE...

SECURITY ADVISER: Respect your ex-staff - Outgoing employees are more likely to retaliate if treated like crooks; civility fosters cooperation and goodwill.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... IT HAD TO happen. With layoffs threatening to replace baseball as our national pastime, my colleagues in the computer trade press are worrying about the security threat posed by disgruntled ex-or soon-to- be-ex-employees, especially those on...

E-BUSINESS PULSE: No channel conflictThe reason I'm buying my next dishwasher on the Internet is why the Maytag Man is still employed.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 9, 2001... ISN'T IT STRANGE that some companies sell their well-known brands on the Web while others simply offer you brochureware and point you to a nearby store? I find it increasingly frustrating when I can't buy a product online. I suspect I'm not...

THE OPEN SOURCE: Stop the desktop insanity - Debunking the 'Linux isn't for the desktop' theory will help improve your bottom line, not Microsoft's.(Product Information)
July 9, 2001... I AM TRULY encouraged by the number of letters calling for me to continue to debunk the recent rash of "Linux is not for the desktop" punditry in the mainstream media. It appears more people are considering the move to Linux on the desktop than...

WINDOW MANAGER: You heard it here first - Microsoft provides ample fodder for InfoWorld columns, from DOS to Internet Explorer.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 9, 2001... THIS WEEK I continue the top 10 subjects readers have nominated to mark my 10th anniversary as an InfoWorld columnist. The end of MS-DOS: When Window Manager began, MS-DOS was Microsoft's most important product, and Windows 3.x ran on top...

To the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
July 9, 2001... The shift from 'e' to no 'e' BARB GOMOLSKI IS way off (see E-Business Pulse, June 18). When she's out of her office today, I challenge Barb to look around -- most people couldn't even define what e-business means if you asked them. Barb,...

WIRELESS WORLD: Time for CrashXpo - It's unfathomable why vendors create defective products, but their lemons deserve a day of shame.
July 9, 2001... FOLLOWING A RECENT column about my problems getting a Pocket PC to be fully functional, I was inundated with an overwhelming number of e- mails from users detailing many more problems and some of the absolutely insane work-arounds used to fix...

CTO CONNECTION: FAQ on CIOs and CTOs - The frequently asked question about the difference between the CIO and the CTO is a management issue.(Industry Trend or Event)(Column)
July 9, 2001... SINCE I BEGAN writing this column four weeks ago, most of the e-mail I get asks the same question: What is the difference between a CIO and CTO? People I meet in person ask me this question frequently, too. I offer the following instructive...

THE GRIPE LINE: Resellers feeling stung - ACCPAC resellers acquired in the SBT Accounting Systems deal take action after reading new contract's fine print.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... IT IS REMARKABLE WHAT happens when people actually read their contracts. If enough of them do so, in fact, they might even manage to get the contract changed. Computer Associates subsidiary ACCPAC International seems to have stirred up a...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Angry developers mouth off.(rumors)(Column)
July 9, 2001... I'M PLEASED TO REPORT Amber liked the Harley. We spent last Saturday cruising the hills of "SiliValley" and to my surprise hardly talked IT at all. And for you folks concerned about her privacy: Yes, she knows who I am. I realize talking about...

FOR THE RECORD: Computer Associates opens the doors, at last.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 9, 2001... It might not be a shared sentiment in CA's boardroom, but you could argue that the timing of CA World this week could not be any better. CA Chairman Charles Wang and President and CEO Sanjay Kumar might otherwise prefer to focus on the...

Accenture, SAP jump into bed.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 9, 2001... ACCENTURE AND SAPMarkets, SAP's exchange company, have waded further into a market bulging with complexity and agreed to develop and deliver private trading exchanges based around MarketSet, a product developed jointly by SAPMarkets and...

Lucent and Alcatel refocus - Companies unveil management strategies for converged networks.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 9, 2001... IN A BID to reverse their recent misfortunes, struggling networkers Alcatel and Lucent Technologies have adjusted their network management strategies to capitalize on specific market segments. Lucent's play takes aim at the service provider...

BSA, Microsoft push audits - Small, midsize users urged to get a better grip on their software licensing or else.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... IN AN EFFORT to reduce the amount of unlicensed or pirated software running on corporate desktops and servers, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and Microsoft last week took steps to encourage small and midsize companies to better manage the...

Vendors extend analytic reach.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE vendors are doing their best to spread analytic applications throughout the enterprise by making them easier to use. The aim is to make analytics more attractive and effective for a new range of users, analysts said. ...

IBM sews up Informix.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2001... IBM completed last week its acquisition of Informix, formerly the fourth-largest player in the shrinking field of database vendors. IBM is adding 2,500 Informix employees in sales, marketing, and development to its database unit, officials...

WorldCom finalizes Intermedia deal.(Intermedia Communications)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2001... WorldCom completed its merger with Intermedia Communications last week, a deal that gives WorldCom full control of Intermedia's Web-hosting subsidiary Digex. The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal in January on the condition...

IBM to lay off.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2001... IBM will lay off about 1,000 U.S. employees in its IBM Global Services division as part of an effort to align the skills of its work force with demand from customers, an IBM official said last week. The move echoes a similar step taken by IBM...

Net tax proposals heat up.(Government Activity)
July 9, 2001... AS THE CLOCK runs down on the current ban on new Internet taxes, lawmakers have once again become embroiled in a sideline issue: what to do about taxes already owed on e-commerce purchases that go uncollected by states. And that's not the...

MSN messenger falters.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2001... A disk controller failure crippled parts of Microsoft's instant messaging service last Thursday, cutting off all or part of the service to nearly one-third of its customers around the world. Microsoft's free instant messaging software is used...

Itanium pricing unveiled.(Product Information)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2001... Intel released prices last week for its Itanium 64-bit processor, which comes in four models featuring two different clock speeds and two Level 2 memory cache sizes. Cache size, not speed, seemed to decide the chip prices. Both the 800MHz and...

Microsoft readies XP release candidate.(Product Development)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2001... Microsoft has made the first full testing version of Windows XP available for evaluation, the company announced last week. The testing version, Release Candidate 1, is the version of the operating system that businesses will be able to put...

CA attempts strategic U-turn.(Company Business and Marketing)
July 9, 2001... AS IT KICKS OFF its annual CA World user conference this week in Orlando, Fla., systems management juggernaut Computer Associates International finds itself under siege on several fronts. Since its last user event, the Islandia, N.Y.-based...

P-to-P gets to business - NXT 3 simplifies the management of distributed content.(from NextPage)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
July 9, 2001... INTELLIGENT AGENTS will appear on the next-generation Internet to link distributed business processes and possibly tighten application integration. Technology leaders who plan to take advantage of this innovation should put the best solutions...

Infiltrating the enterprise - Content networks are leading the charge to formalize p-to-p technologies to reduce corporate costs and increase collaboration.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... NAPSTER HAS BEEN front and center in the controversy surrounding music sharing, but behind the scenes, other industry groups and vendors have begun to examine what business benefits peer-to-peer implementations might offer. The promise of the...

From poor to powerful - Although HornShark's p-to-p play proves paltry, Groove 1.0 packs a project-based planning punch.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
July 9, 2001... BUSINESS APPLICATIONS employing peer-to-peer technology have been slow to emerge. Two p-to-p collaboration platforms, Groove 1.0 and HornShark, occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. Groove is a potent and striking Windows- only application...

Toward a lean and mean IT machine - Flexible Changepoint 6.0 gives IT managers a grip on projects, costs.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
July 9, 2001... ADOPTING PSA (professional services automation) software can boost the efficiency of your IT department and generate a cascade of benefits, including greater satisfaction among the departments they serve and increased awareness of the cost of...

Insider's knowledge - To protect businesses and employees, trade secrets must be specifically defined and spelled out in binding contracts.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... STEALING SOFTWARE CODE from a former employer is no laughing matter. Ask executives of the Freemont, Calif.-based Avant. Bringing an end to the accusations, an investigation, and soon to the related case in Santa Clara County, the CEO and other...

Certifiably secured - The politics of managing information security is redefining InfoSec certifications.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 9, 2001... AFTER TWENTY YEARS in the United States Navy, Steve Akridge had the technical skills for a private sector career in information security. Navigating cryptic industry jargon such as InfoSec (Information Security) and ComSec (Communications...

Protecting vital data - NetVault backup technology helps a small southern city cope with big storage problems.(Product Information)
July 16, 2001... WHEN AN INFUSION of information technology rapidly changes the way an organization does business, it becomes important that efforts to protect data keep pace. Less than two years ago, Alexandria, La., a city of 50,000 nestled on the banks...

Expensive! Complicated! Takes on a life of its own! But you can't escape from CRM.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 16, 2001... IT WAS 1997 when a monster last terrorized IT town. ERP (enterprise resource planning) was loose, and corporate clients were smarting under high costs and lengthy engagements that characterized the replacement of financial and other...

Sprinting forward - Telecom industry executive looks for opportunities on the business horizon.(Fred Harris of Sprint)(Company Business and Marketing)
July 16, 2001... WITH CLOSE TO 40 years in the telecommunications field, Fred Harris is one of the more experienced executives in the business today. As vice president of research, architecture, and design at Sprint, Harris decides what technology...

Optical networking zooms ahead - Sales of 40Gbps equipment with increased fiber-optic capacity offer carriers enhanced services.(Technology Information)
July 16, 2001... OPTICAL-EQUIPMENT manufacturers are on the brink of releasing equipment that supports 40Gbps network transmission speeds -- four times current data rates, and the equivalent of transmitting seven CD-ROMs worth of data in one second. The...

ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES: Mountains to mole hills - Automating the supply chain can be complex, but judicious increments can lead to monumental results.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 16, 2001... THERE IS A sizeable disparity between recognizing the need for collaborative supply-chain enhancements and knowing where to enact those changes. Extending the supply chain, a system with many integration touchpoints, into enterprise...

To the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
July 16, 2001... Life after Windows BY ALL MEANS, I hope Nicholas Petreley carries on with his Linux-for- the-desktop arguments (see The Open Source, June 25). Three months ago, I had no intention of deviating from a mostly Microsoft course. Then Microsoft...

WINDOW MANAGER: Monopoly money - Microsoft's mistakes over the years have taught us caution, but what have its executives learned?
July 16, 2001... THIS WEEK completes the stories nominated by my readers as the Top 10 of my first 10 years at InfoWorld. A free personal firewall. I was one of the first journalists to write about ZoneAlarm, a "software firewall" that's free for...

THE OPEN SOURCE: Windows on the Qt - Windows freedom means freedom from Windows, thanks to developments from Trolltech and KDE.(Product Information)
July 16, 2001... I WASN'T PLANNING on continuing with the abandon-the-Windows-desktop- for-Linux theme this week, but the good folks at Trolltech (www.trolltech.com) and the talented developers of the K Desktop Environment (KDE) had to go and raise the stakes....