InfoWorld articles from May 2006

InfoWorld archives from May 2006

Akimbi makes virtual labs real - Akimbi Slingshot brings impressive automation to virtualized testing environments.
May 8, 2006... Akimbi Slingshot is one of several products in a nascent product category called virtual lab automation. Slingshot and other tools, such as Surgient's Virtual QA/Test Lab Management System (VQMS), enable IT test sites to make good use of...

BlueSocket improves wireless gateway - Version 5.1 of BlueSecure controller, plus BlueView management and sensor APs, sport solid security, flexibility.
May 8, 2006... With Version 5.1 of its BlueSecure 5000 controller (BSC 5000), BlueView Management Suite, and companion APs, BlueSocket goes a long way toward eliminating IT managers' concerns about the risks of wireless networking. For example, you can...

Iona launches open source ESB - Iona's Celtix geared for SOA, departmental usage.(enterprise service bus, service oriented architectures)(Iona Technologies)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... A new open source ESB (enterprise service bus) from Iona will help companies integrate departmental applications for SOAs (service- oriented architectures) and Web services deployments, according to Iona Technologies, which is sponsoring the...

Product previews.(new product Ignition 3.0 from Identity Engines)(new product SoftGrid 4.0 from Softricity)(new server from International Business Machines Corp.)
May 8, 2006... IBM announces servers for virtualization; Softricity bolsters virtual app platform; InfoExpress and Identity Engines unveil NAC offerings; AirMagnet analyzer tackles VoIP over Wi-Fi By InfoWorld staff IBM primes x86 servers for...

Microsoft, SAP sing praises of Duet - Accessing mySAP via Office will be boon to knowledge workers.
May 8, 2006... Microsoft and SAP made good last week on a long-standing promise with "Duet," an integration of Microsoft's ubiquitous Office productivity suite and SAP's software. Duet, formerly known as "Project Mendocino," is the product of a year-...

SOA Software bulks up with Blue Titan - SOA pure-plays are going like iPods, as hunger for complete solutions drives fourth acquisition in seven months.(Blue Titan Software)
May 8, 2006... SOA pure-plays going like iPods as hunger for complete solutions drives fourth acquisition in seven months By now most big enterprise customers have had their SOA "aha!" experience. They get it, they want it, and they're on the prowl for a...

Sun's NAS appliance enters crowded market - McNealy faces uphill battle to win over customers.(Sun Microsystems Inc)(Scott McNealy )( Jonathan Schwartz )
May 8, 2006... Just weeks after moving former CEO Scott McNealy into a new role and installing Jonathan Schwartz as its new CEO, Sun made a major announcement in an area many analysts agree is key to its future survival: storage. Sun unveiled a new...

Interop still moving beyond data networks - Annual networking conference continues to expand horizons toward broader enterprise issues.(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... With networks judged by how well they support business processes, the annual Interop networking conference in Las Vegas continued the trend of recent years, expanding its horizons beyond data networks and toward broader enterprise issues, such...

OPEN ENTERPRISE: New models, challenges for open source businesses - Companies like Greenplum aim to buck the status quo of enterprise software.
May 8, 2006... An open source software company is something of a paradox. On the one hand, it has to convince customers that software is increasingly becoming commoditized, that proprietary software is limiting and expensive, and that standards-based,...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Sustainable SOA - Consolidation creates an impressive slate of end-to-end SOA solutions.(Editorial)
May 8, 2006... Here at the InfoWorld home office, we're in the feverish last stages of preparation for next week's two-day SOA Executive Forum, our sixth foray into wild, woolly SOA-land. If you're planning to be in the New York area on May 16-17, I encourage...

SECURITY ADVISER: Debunking the computer monoculture myth - When "monoculture" is just another way of saying "I hate Microsoft," security falls by the wayside.(Column)
May 8, 2006... Ever since Dan Geer was fired in 2003 from @stake.com for being an author of a paper on negatives of a computing monoculture, I've seen article after article recommending that administrators do away with their computer monocultures as a way of...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: CA execs cop a plea, Sun's McNealy set free - And time's up in the D-Link v. Kamp dispute.(D-Link Systems Inc.)(Poul-Henning Kamp)
May 8, 2006... Some stories do have happy endings. D-Link and Net timekeeper Poul- Henning Kamp have settled the dispute detailed in last week's screed. Current D-Link routers will continue to access Kamp's NTP servers, while future routers will ask elsewhere...

FROM THE ANALYSTS: Technology workers are the future - Innovation starts and ends with people, not mergers and acquisitions.(Column)
May 8, 2006... "How much love are we giving them?" I overheard this the other day from a woman -- undoubtedly a sales exec -- on her cell phone on the escalator at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Don't ask why, but I'd taken a flyer and spent two hours at...

STORAGE INSIDER: A new Sun set to rise on storage - Shortly after the CEO change of guard, Sun unveils its revamped storage strategy.(Sun Microsystems Inc.)(Jonathan Schwartz)
May 8, 2006... You don't very often see an emotional farewell like the one the new CEO of Sun Microsystems, Jonathan Schwartz, delivered saluting former CEO Scott McNealy. Try reading that speech in its entirety because it reveals some precious insights...

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Ready or not, 802.11n-compliant WLAN products are here - The good and bad about Cisco's new Linksys wireless router and PC Card.(Product/service evaluation)
May 8, 2006... Cisco's Linksys is making noise with its release of new 802.11n- compliant WLAN products, specifically the WRT300N router and the WPC300N PC Card. They're supposed to be faster, more secure, and priced like a Linksys, so we should be happy. But...

STRATEGIC DEVELOPER: Accessing the web of databases - A world of possibilities is revealed when you view the Web as a network of interconnected data.(Column)
May 8, 2006... I've just posted the fourth installment in my new series of Friday podcasts. It's an interview with Kingsley Idehen, CEO of OpenLink Software. OpenLink's flagship product is a universal database and application server, Virtuoso, which I last...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Virtualization and the client conundrum - When choosing solutions for VOA and dynamic resource allocation, don't forget the clients.(virtualization oriented architecture)(Column)
May 8, 2006... If you view system virtualization as an escalating priority, this is a good time to stop and think about client systems and applications before dipping your brush and drawing that first block in your grand virtualization architecture. My...

REALITY CHECK: Peer-to-peer device networking takes shape - New wireless technologies will make seamless inter-machine communication a reality.
May 8, 2006... The concept of SEDs (service-enabled devices) started way back in the '80s with something called tuple spaces, and later took shape as Jini nder the guidance of Sun Microsystems. Jini came about when Bill Joy, Sun's chief scientist, imagined a...

OFF THE RECORD: Sleazy software company plays the extortion game - Most patent infringement lawsuits have more to do with financial warfare than right and wrong.(SimiD's patent infringement case)
May 8, 2006... By Anonymous Sometimes you bring disaster on yourself. Other times, the horror comes out of nowhere, and by the time you realize you're in trouble, there's nothing you can do about it. My year of the living dead began midmorning on Dec. 7,...

NAS 6 automates and controls - Opsware Network Automation System 6 addresses network policy compliance, security, and enterprise scalability.(Product/service evaluation)
May 8, 2006... Opsware NAS (network automation system), formerly Rendition TrueControl, originally served as a sort of Star Trek Universal Language Translator for network devices, providing a single interface for configuring switches and routers from...

Organic SOA: Developing a sustainable lifecycle - Creating a scalable service-based enterprise ecosystem requires a broad architectural vision.
May 8, 2006... Nothing in enterprise IT should exist in isolation. That's the big idea underlying SOA -- leverage existing data and application assets by provisioning them as shareable services, and when you build new functionality, create it as a service so...

Planning an SOA: Gathering around the drawing board - Involve stakeholders from all over the enterprise, and with the right tools you can model a robust SOA foundation.
May 8, 2006... In almost all SOA initiatives, the most important initial steps have nothing to do with choosing or deploying software. First and foremost, modeling an effective transformation demands a comprehensive understanding of existing business...

SOA domain analysis: All about data and services - SOA is all about using what you have -- but discovering all the data and service resources already in place is a huge undertaking.
May 8, 2006... One of the first and more difficult steps in defining an SOA is developing a complete semantic and service-level understanding of your domain. Although the work required is pretty straightforward, the amount of effort and time required is...

SOA service design: Developing for the future - You can't separate service creation from the big picture, but start small and stick to standards if you want to scale.(service oriented architecture )
May 8, 2006... Services are not applications. If you remember one thing about services, that should be it. Instead, think of services as application functions -- both in their design and in how they are leveraged to form solutions. Each service should...

SOA management: Governance plus intermediaries - Management is what distinguishes SOA from a bucket of services. Here's how to publish and proxy services for a fully scalable system.
May 8, 2006... Web service deployments can sneak up on you. One group publishes a service for processing payments, another exposes the API for key functions in the HR system, and before you know it, you've got dozens or even hundreds of services. But this...

SOA services deployment: Putting theory into practice - Rigorous testing is the name of the game, complemented by policies that nail down what service consumers can and cannot do.
May 8, 2006... Services deployment is all about testing and early management. This is the phase during which you determine whether services work properly -- and which tools you use to diagnose problems. Next, you need to start getting serious about SOA...

JBoss and Liferay provide open portals to SOA - Broad standard support boost open source portals' appeal.(Service oriented architecture)(JBoss Group L.L.C)
May 8, 2006... Enterprise portals will be the first major application of SOA concepts for more than 50 percent of enterprises through 2007, according to Gartner. It's easy to agree with this projection, as the composite, extensible nature of portals -- plus...

JSR 170: A standard content repository - New spec helps streamline app dev efforts.
May 8, 2006... The databases underlying many applications aren't particularly suited for content management, due to special requirements specific to content management for handling objects such as documents and images. That's where content repositories...

Fabric7 promises high-end servers at low cost - An array of inexpensive Opteron processors plus commodity virtualization underlie the new, muscular server architecture developed by Fabric7's innovative engineering team.(Fabric7 Systems Inc.)
May 15, 2006... Server virtualization technologies are getting monstrous amounts of buzz because they encourage cost savings, permit greater deployment flexibility, and increase utilization rates. Today, most virtualization technologies focus on software...

Zimbra's Web-based platform takes aim at conventional e-mail - Using AJAX, Zimbra delivers a surprisingly rich Web-based e-mail client, but its mail server and extensive integration capabilities are equally impressive.
May 15, 2006... Managing a high-volume e-mail system using traditional tools can be a demanding and costly task. That's why Zimbra wants to rewrite the book on enterprise messaging. "It's a clean-slate view of the world," says CEO Satish Dharmaraj. The...

Charting startup investment trends - Our examination of the venture fabric turns up some common threads -- and some interesting possibilities for the near future.
May 15, 2006... Several clear trends emerged as we reviewed hundreds of startups in the course of researching this article. Venture capitalists have poured smart money into a host of enterprise technology areas, but security, virtualization, and -- cutting...

High-availability Exchange made easy - Azaleos and Teneros appliance- style solutions provide maximum uptime with minimal pain.(Azaleos OneServer)(Teneros ACA 2500E)
May 15, 2006... The obvious solution for bringing HA (high availability) to your Exchange server is to use Microsoft's own Exchange clustering features. Although Exchange's clustering is reliable and robust, this isn't an easy configuration to set up. It's...

Fonality packs Asterisk PBX in a box - Low-cost, feature-rich PBX appliance sports ASP management model.
May 15, 2006... When I looked at the open source Digium Asterisk PBX last year, one of things I noted is that implementation can be difficult, and that it would probably be necessary to call in an expert to set up an Asterisk phone system. Fonality aims to...

IBM's collaboration tools evolve - Lotus Notes and Domino 7 integration improvements advance productivity for admins, developers.(International Business Machines Corp.)
May 15, 2006... Introduced in 1989, IBM Lotus Notes 7 stays true to the original's ideals of efficient collaboration. In this release, Notes e-mail and calendar entries are even easier to manage, and the Domino 7 server embraces more standards, including Web...

Product previews.(Sun Microsystems Inc. introduces Solaris 10.0)(Network Appliance Inc.'s FAS6070 and FAS6070)(Business Objects S.A. (San Jose, California)'s Crystal Vision Server)
May 15, 2006... Sun Solaris 10 rev to include ZFS and PostgreSQL; Mercury Interactive unveils Change Control Management; Sun extends StorageTek virtual tape solutions; Business Objects bundle combines reports and dashboards; Bluesocket WLAN gear taps MIMO ...

EMC's focus still on virtualization, security - Kashya purchase, new services part of strategy.(Interlink Group Inc.)
May 15, 2006... EMC continued its buying spree last week by picking up Kashya, maker of data replication and protection software, for $153 million, and the Interlink Group, a professional services firm that specializes in Microsoft environments. The deals...

Analysts, users disagree on Vista pros, cons - Enterprise reality could dampen Vista's shock.(Microsoft Windows Vista)
May 15, 2006... As Microsoft slouches toward its first full operating system release in five years, code-named "Vista," Microsoft-watchers are beginning to debate the impact of the system's security enhancements, which could be more pain than gain. New...

IBM updates bring SOA to mainframes - Rational tools, software updates target younger crowd.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... The desire to access mainframe data and business logic has inspired many grand tech initiatives, including client-server, XML, and SOA. It's fair to say that most big, mature SOA implementations have been built on a foundation of mainframe...

Symantec sorting out Veritas mega-merger - Vision Conference offers promises, not products.(VERITAS Software Corp.)
May 15, 2006... Nearly a year after Symantec's $13.5 billion merger with Veritas Software, customers of both companies got a view of the new face of Symantec at the company's Vision 2006 user conference last week in San Francisco. After weathering a storm...

Companies may miss 20 percent of network printers - Stealth printers damage profits, compliance.
May 15, 2006... It's 10:30 a.m. Do you know where your printers are? In most enterprises, the answer, sadly, is "No." Even worse, IT's inability to locate and track printers is costing companies thousands -- even millions -- of dollars a year. A new...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Upstart startups - Today's agile enterprises are ready to bet on products from young companies.(Editorial)
May 15, 2006... Startups aren't typical fodder for InfoWorld stories. For that matter, we don't devote all that much ink to tech companies in general, preferring to focus on technologies, products, and strategies that help IT do what it needs to do. And...

OPEN ENTERPRISE: No love lost between Microsoft and OpenDocument - Third-party plug-in proves Microsoft's bad intentions toward the free document format.
May 15, 2006... Could any subject be less interesting than electronic document formats? Even programmers start to glaze over when the conversation shifts to how an application stores its data. For software end-users, the topic seldom even comes up. How...

SECURITY ADVISER: Blasting away security myths - Rethinking conventional wisdom can be a smart way to bolster security.
May 15, 2006... During my nearly two-decade computer security career, I've always been amazed by how many security myths are propagated as fact by readers, instructors, leaders, and writers. Just because most people say it's so doesn't make it correct....

FROM THE ANALYSTS: Coping in a world of IP-based telecom - Plus, will Microsoft's ploy against Google for online ad revenue pay off?
May 15, 2006... With all the talk about on-demand software, I'm amazed there isn't as much buzz about other on-demand services, such as telecom. That may be starting to change. Last week Forrester came out with a report titled "The Four Stages of...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Microsoft swoons, tech banker croons - Will the Feds ever learn how to use Google?(Microsoft stock price decreases)(Roger McNamee appreciation)(case between Apple Computer Inc. and Apple Records Inc.)
May 15, 2006... Are terrorists using video games as recruiting tools? That's the claim by U.S. Department of Defense officials, who point to a video sequence from Electronic Arts' Battlefield 2 in which fighters dressed in Arab garb shoot at American soldiers....

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Clustering the Microsoft way - If you have the need and the dough, Microsoft Compute Cluster 2003 is worth checking out.
May 15, 2006... I can't talk about the embargoed Longhorn meeting I had Tuesday, except to say that I got one Microsoft rep to say that Redmond doesn't think there'll be any more service packs after Longhorn sees daylight. But then he burst out laughing, so...

STORAGE INSIDER: Storage vendors rewrite the rules of the game - Market competition ramps up as EMC and Dell, IBM and LSI Logic, and NetApp unveil new products.
May 15, 2006... It seems inevitable, like death and taxes. Every year, storage vendors renew their portfolios, delivering significant changes if not complete redesigns of critical product lines. This week almost simultaneous major announcements from EMC-Dell,...

STRATEGIC DEVELOPER: A casting call for my screencasting experiment - Getting involved with screencasting could have benefits for InfoWorld's readers.
May 15, 2006... I'd like to invite some of you to join me in a journalistic experiment. As you know if you've been following my work through the years, I preach what I practice. My analytical perspectives flow from my own hands-on work. However, my experience...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Tech junkies don't want to hear that choice is bad - No one in the tech industry benefits from maintaining the pretense of a level playing field.
May 15, 2006... I saw Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's new CEO, speak at a pre-recession trade conference. It wasn't a conference to announce the recession, although Sun would have been the outfit to sponsor that shindig. Schwartz uttered three words that stuck in my...

OFF THE RECORD: Doing IT the Army way - Want to sell software to the military? Keep your head down and watch out for incoming fire.
May 15, 2006... By Anonymous Perhaps you've wondered why gazillions of tax dollars go to the military while our soldiers in Iraq have to buy their own body armor. I don't have insight into the body armor issue, but I think this story illuminates the...

REALITY CHECK: Gartner weighs in on the state of IT - My conversation with a Gartner fortune-teller reveals troubling times ahead.
May 15, 2006... Promising a reporter an exclusive is like dangling a sausage link in front of your dog. So of course when Gartner Fellow Ken McGee offered me an advance look at Gartner's presentation on the current state of IT -- to be unveiled at the Gartner...

Splunk combs log files for hidden problems - Plumbing the depths of log files and other metadata, Splunk helps IT find the telltale patterns that reveal what's really going on.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... More and more IT systems generate a glut of metadata -- log files, systems states, and so on. "And more and more of the IT budget is spent trying to keep systems up and running," says Michael Baum, CEO of Splunk. Much of that cost can be...

Sxip simplifies identity management across domains - How do you reconcile user identities across organizational boundaries? Sxip wants you to use its appliance.(Simple Extensible Identity Protocol)
May 15, 2006... Most enterprises have worked hard to properly authenticate users and manage access to systems. But as more enterprises subscribe to SaaS (software as a service) offerings or other provisioned services, managing identities and access privileges...

TrueDemand keeps retailers from running out of stock - Too much or too little inventory can kill a business. TrueDemand's heavy-duty analytics software keeps the supply of goods on track.
May 15, 2006... For 30 years, retail supply chains -- manufacturers, warehouses, delivery systems, and retailers -- have struggled to eliminate running out of stock. Not only does it kill sales for a given item, but studies show it also causes some buyers to...

XenSource rolls out cross-platform virtualization - Xen, the open source alternative to VMware and Microsoft Virtualization Server, goes commercial.
May 15, 2006... Thanks to its paravirtualization technology, the Xen open source hypervisor has won acclaim as a speedy competitor to commercial server- virtualization products such as Microsoft Virtual Server and VMware. The paravirtualization approach uses a...

Akimbi virtualizes the application test bench - With Akimbi's virtual environments, IT can test and deploy multiple configurations with far less overhead.(Akimbo Systems Inc.)
May 15, 2006... In the average datacenter, a lot of IT resources are spent on preproduction application testing. Servers, networks, databases, and applications must all be deployed, followed by a series of installs and uninstalls for various versions of the...

Zenprise spots Microsoft Exchange failures - Once Zenprise gets to know an enterprise's e-mail patterns, its knowledge base and adaptive analysis simplify mail server management.
May 15, 2006... If there's one enterprise application that bedevils IT, it's Microsoft Exchange. It can be difficult to manage, difficult to troubleshoot, and requires specialized storage management support in large enterprises. Not to mention that its client...

ConSentry locks down the network - With ConSentry's LANShield appliance, enterprises gain new control over network access without new switches or sluggish software solutions.
May 15, 2006... Traditionally, enterprise networks have been built on trust: Anyone connected is assumed to be authorized because they have to be on the premises. But the growing prevalence of wireless networks, remote access, and nonstaff workers have turned...

Determina pre-hacks applications against intruders - By drilling into applications, predicting what an attack would look like, and monitoring behavior, Determina's Memory Firewall provides a new line of defense.
May 15, 2006... Malicious hackers are constantly exploiting software vulnerabilities. Vendors and IT staff alike spend countless hours racing to update protection signatures and install patches before their exposed systems can be compromised. It's a...

Fortify scours code for security vulnerabilities - Fortify offers a code-level line of defense against those who would attack enterprise Web applications to wreak havoc or reap ill-gotten gains.
May 15, 2006... The old adage that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure sums up Fortify's approach to securing homegrown enterprise applications, which are frequently enticing targets for hackers and their malicious exploits. "It's these...

Gigamon offers one view of many monitoring systems - Today's network uses a range of monitoring systems; Gigamon's switch manages traffic into and out of them.
May 15, 2006... Compliance requirements, security threats, and the need for operational visibility require more and more monitoring of activities on the network. Vendors have responded by offering plug-and-play appliances to fill specific needs, yet nobody...

Jitterbit shakes up application integration - Do you really need a mile-high stack of middleware to integrate? Jitterbit thinks it can be a lot simpler than that.
May 15, 2006... Integrating applications usually involves at least one of three costly approaches: hand-coded software, complex EAI platforms, or design and deployment of an SOA. Jitterbit offers a fourth approach: integration by business analysts with no...

JotSpot delivers enterprise wikis and mashups - Take the wiki concept a fathom deeper, and you'll find JotSpot's platform for enterprisewide collaboration.
May 15, 2006... More and more IT departments uses wikis -- those Web pages that all authorized users can add to and edit -- as the platform for everything from document management to project planning to knowledge bases. They're easy to set up, easy to use, and...

Tech startups to watch - InfoWorld selects 15 startups whose technologies meet tough IT challenges and introduce intriguing new capabilities.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Startups are back! or at least, startup fever is back. Scan the latest numbers from PricewaterhouseCoopers and you won't find any hockey sticks -- the level of investment in enterprise-related technology startups has actually remained fairly...

Oversize monochrome printers from HP, Lexmark, and Xerox prove practical yet pricey - Speedy models demonstrate versatility.(Product/service evaluation)
May 22, 2006... Drab, discreet, and ordinary? Or affordable, reliable, and fast? What you see in monochrome laser printers depends on what you look for -- though from any perspective, printing monochrome documents is an essential part of the office...

Dell tape library is built to scale - PowerVault ML6000 has first-class management features, module structure.
May 22, 2006... Tape libraries recently experienced a dramatic evolution, changing from monolithic brontosaurs that you had to carefully size according to present and future demands, into more congenial devices, easily scalable for capacity and performance....

QEMU simulates with style - Open-source QEMU straddles virtualization- emulation line with aplomb.
May 22, 2006... Imagine walking up to a friend running Windows on a laptop and asking to borrow the machine for a moment. You plug a pendrive into its USB port, open a window that boots into Linux, log on to a Web site, and download a file, then close the...

Enterprise Search goes after BI - OneBox has Bigger Vendors talking BI, too.(business intelligence, MasterCard International Inc.)
May 22, 2006... Baseball is a tough game. It would be even tougher if the umpires decided to, say, change the distance between the bases. Consider, then, how IT and compliance folks at online merchants are feeling after a MasterCard International official last...

PCI standard to require application scans - Application vulnerability scans required by June.
May 22, 2006... Baseball is a tough game. It would be even tougher if the umpires decided to, say, change the distance between the bases. Consider, then, how IT and compliance folks at online merchants are feeling after a MasterCard International official last...

SSA buy spawns new software giant - Chairman Schaper says SOA platform will be non-proprietary.(SSA Global Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
May 22, 2006... Roll over, Oracle. Infor's acquisition of SSA Global for $1.4 billion last week creates a new enterprise software giant that claims to be ready to do battle with the big players. The combined company will have more than 37,000 customers and...

Verizon-NSA case puts companies on notice - Legal questions dog NSA data requests.
May 22, 2006... A shadowy "three letter" U.S. government agency calls your company and asks for copies of your private customer data... the kind you don't share with outsiders and can get sued for losing. The agency says it needs the data to track terrorists,...

NetSuite gets the boot, E3 nixes birthday suits - Pay no attention to the man behind the voting booth curtain.(Netsuite Development Corp.)(Electronic Entertainment Expo)(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers rejected the advancement of domain names)
May 22, 2006... So it turns out that hacking a Diebold touchscreen voting machine is just slightly harder than opening a box of Cracker Jack and stealing the prize inside. All you need is a PC Card, a little know-how, and a few minutes alone with the machine...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Lessons in learning - Ongoing education can be an effective employee retention policy.(Editorial)
May 22, 2006... You certainly can't accuse us of following the pack. Here it is, late May, with the world fixated on graduation and summer plans, and what's InfoWorld hawking? A special "Back to School" package, with one article on IT pros polishing up their...

OPEN ENTERPRISE: Sun still not answering the call to open source Java - Despite hints to the contrary, Sun is unlikely to give up lucrative license fees.(Sun Microsystems Inc.)
May 22, 2006... Have you heard? Sun Microsystems is open sourcing Java. "I think it's not a question of whether, it's a question of how," Rich Green, Sun's vice president of software, said at last week's 2006 JavaOne Conference. Cheers all around. ...

SECURITY ADVISER: Wrestling with Windows' hidden "features" - Windows- IE desktop integration issues may not be huge security risks, but they're still a bit scary.(Column)
May 22, 2006... One of the reasons Microsoft Windows frustrates so many people is its list of unexpected desktop integration issues that can lead to security issues. Is it a feature or a security bug? When I was teaching in Brazil last week, Jose Antunes,...

FROM THE ANALYSTS: Datacenter power crunch - Soaring energy costs are fueling server consolidation and systems virtualization.
May 22, 2006... If you watch the nightly news, it's hard to miss the relentless coverage about rising energy prices and the "pain at the pump." Occasionally they'll mention how oil companies are working to add refinery capacity or improve efficiency....

STORAGE INSIDER: Symantec looks beyond storage - Post-Veritas acquisition, Symantec trumpets its battle plans for total datacenter management at Vision 2006.(Column)
May 22, 2006... Last week in San Francisco was my first time at the Symantec Vision event, and I was surprised by the number of attendees (a crowd that would make Steve Jobs jealous) and by the relentless sequence of hands- on training and break-out sessions....

ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Windows Server 2003 R2 makes printer management a snap - Enhanced features ease setup and deliver a one-screen view of printers on your network.(Column)
May 22, 2006... I've been doing a lot of "hack" coverage lately -- cool things you can do with stuff you already own instead of having to go beg for new stuff. I'm looking to do another one of those for this column, but that'll take a little while to put...

STRATEGIC DEVELOPER: Web-based alternatives to PowerPoint - Online tools can deliver presentations that are just as rich, but a little less evil.
May 22, 2006... When Edward Tufte famously declared that PowerPoint is evil, I violently agreed. "If your words or images are not on point," he wrote, "making them dance in color won't make them relevant." PowerPoint isn't the only villain. I feel the...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Apple closes down OS X - Client kernel has gone proprietary, but it's not too late to set things right.(Column)
May 22, 2006... Thanks to pirates, or rather the fear of them, the Intel edition of Apple's OS X is now a proprietary operating system. Mac developers and power users no longer have the freedom to alter, rebuild, and replace the OS X kernel from source...

REALITY CHECK: The evolution of office document standards - OpenDocument may be the Homo sapien to Microsoft Office's native-format Neanderthals.
May 22, 2006... In high tech it has always been the same. What to an outsider may seem like an inconsequential piece of new technology, to an insider is visionary. This is the case with the recent ISO preliminary vote approving the OpenDocument format as a...

OFF THE RECORD: IT heroes -- and villains -- of 9/11 - Getting financial services back online after the planes hit involved some unexpected hazards.(Column)
May 22, 2006... By Anonymous In 2001, I worked for the Pittsburgh office of a large financial- services firm. I was engaged in a straight-through processing project, attempting to pass financial information to all parties involved in a transaction without...

Five technology skills for the global economy - Changing with the times demands acquiring skills spanning business barriers and cultural divides.
May 22, 2006... IT pros hoping to climb the corporate ladder need to understand how technology integrates with core business functions such as finance, marketing, operations, and compliance issues. To get ahead in the emerging global economy, new expertise...

Developing your IT staff demands new thinking - The boundaries are blurring between formal education programs and innovative on-the-job learning environments.
May 22, 2006... Forward-thinking IT leaders recognize how important it is for employees to have broad and deep technical and business knowledge, and not just a list of skills that looks good on a resume. They need employees who show good judgment as well as...