InfoWorld articles from October 2004

InfoWorld archives from October 2004

Product Previews.
October 4, 2004... Cray XD1, MySQL 4.1, Business Objects Sarbanes-Oxley Analytic Solution, and NetIQ's AppManager Performance Profiler By InfoWorld staff Cray taps Linux for more affordable supercomputing Trying to expand outside its traditional...

Mercury Interactive empowers users - Tool brings business users into the application testing process.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Mercury Interactive has introduced a new application-testing tool designed to allow business users to work along with quality-assurance staff during the entire application lifecycle process. Dubbed Business Process Testing, the tool is the...

Gluecode delivers open source BPM engine - Company calls it the last piece for Java apps stack.(Business Process Management)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Hoping to put in place the last missing piece of the Java stack, Gluecode Software and the Apache Software Foundation this week unwrapped Project Agila, which the companies claim is the first embeddable open source BPM engine. Gluecode's...

PalmOne unveils Tungsten T5 - File-transfer application turns T5 handheld into portable hard drive.
October 4, 2004... In a crowded corporate market where handhelds and handsets are fighting it out for supremacy, PalmOne will introduce a device this week it hopes will cut through the noise. The $399 Tungsten T5 claims bragging rights to having more storage...

Ex-BEA execs launch open source startup.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Three former BEA Systems executives who left the company earlier this year have resurfaced as founders of a Seattle startup that plans to begin integrating and supporting a variety of open source server software applications next year. Byron...

IBM Unwraps Masala.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... IBM has delivered its long-awaited DB2 Information Integrator, code- named Masala, which contains a sophisticated search engine that allows corporate users to dig out and analyze data across a wide range of IBM and non-IBM information data...

Sun, IBM, HP Dig Into RFID.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard separately revealed new RFID (radio frequency identification) initiatives. HP announced two RFID partnerships and said it plans to invest $150 million during the next five years on RFID projects. IBM...

Network Appliance, EMC refine security strategies - Storage vendors add security appliances and software to protect enterprise systems.
October 4, 2004... Network appliance will announce this week additional capabilities and partnerships for its NetApp NetCache line of Internet security appliances. Meanwhile, EMC will unveil a major upgrade to its ILM (information life cycle management) product...

Red Hat Grabs Pieces of Netscape.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Red Hat has gone scavenging among Netscape's remains, saying it has agreed to pay America Online as much as $23 million in cash for the assets of the Netscape Security Solutions unit. The deal brings Red Hat the Netscape Directory Server and...

Salesforce.com expands Call-Center Support.(Supportforce.com)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Hosted CRM vendor Salesforce.com began a campaign this week to draw attention to its customer-service support functionality, launching a new Web site and announcing a batch of partnerships with top call-center infrastructure vendors. Called...

Dell Introduces New Compact Desktop PC.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Dell updated its line of slim consumer Dimension desktop PCs Tuesday with a multiformat expansion card reader, the first time such a feature has appeared in a Dell PC, a company spokesperson said. The new Dimension 4700C is the first Dell PC to...

Sun upgrades J2SE platform - Borland bolsters CORBA, Compuware lays map for supporting Visual Studio 2005.
October 4, 2004... Application developers got several new options last week as Sun Microsystems updated J2SE, Borland upped its CORBA ante, and Compuware announced products that will work with Microsoft's Visual Studio 2005 toolbox. Sun's new Version 5.0 of...

STRATEGIC DEVELOPER: IP telephony: Why wait? Skype is good fun, but VoIP's real benefits have yet to arrive for most of us.
October 4, 2004... The other day I had one of those living-in-the-future moments. An important phone call came in, but the colleague I needed to bring into the call wasn't available, and the caller couldn't wait. So, with the caller's permission, I recorded the...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Mobility's Mayflower sets sail - Europe's enviable wireless solutions are finally headed for this side of the pond.
October 4, 2004... In the field of wireless technology, the United States still lags in third place behind Europe and Asia. So, it's no surprise that Nokia revealed its aggressive new enterprise mobile strategy in Amsterdam instead of San Francisco. Nokia's...

CTO CONNECTION: My PowerBook odyssey - Great hardware and OS design goes a long way, but I still need my ThinkPad.
October 4, 2004... About a year ago, I enthusiastically switched to OS X running on a PowerBook laptop. Since then I've experienced the ups and downs of managing enterprise IT from a PowerBook. As a personal device, my PowerBook has become the center of my...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: America rats out Bill, cell phoners get their fill - Life without the Net.
October 4, 2004... So Yahoo published the results of its Internet deprivation study last week, and I can't say I'm surprised. Subjects who had their Net connections shut off for two weeks became disoriented and unable to look up phone numbers or read a map...

REALITY CHECK: What, price lettuce? As the volume of product data mounts, IT must find ways to meet business demand for massive data repositories.
October 4, 2004... What has IT got to do with the price of lettuce in China? I'll give you a hint. At the end of the day, a single shipment of lettuce might have as many as 476 attributes. This could include regulations about lettuce, descriptive data (such...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Seeking spyware remedies - It's time for enterprises to take the threat seriously.(Editorial)
October 4, 2004... We've all been hearing a lot lately about spyware, those nasty little apps that secret themselves onto your computer, hog resources, change your default settings, and maybe even steal personal information and send it to third parties. Despite...

RightNow completes the suite - RightNow CRM 7.0 adds sales to service and marketing.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... RightNow Technologies is spreading its wings by year's end with the introduction of RightNow CRM 7.0, an integrated CRM suite that builds on RightNow's e-services framework. To the company's already strong customer support and marketing tools,...

APM gets smart with ProactiveNet's latest - ProactiveNet 6.0 takes APM to the next level with Intelligent Thresholds, smooth interface.(Application Performance Management)
October 4, 2004... Intelligent software is the Holy Grail of application development -- especially in the APM (application performance management) arena, where system administrators are perpetually on the lookout for more efficient ways to sift through mountains...

Entercept intercepts threats - McAfee's host-based IPS impresses with multipronged protection.
October 4, 2004... Network-based intrusion detection and prevention systems protect the company LAN from outside threats, and they can guard against evil traveling from one busy internal segment to another. But due to their network focus, they can't guarantee the...

Control Tower hits new server management heights - Upgraded solution has deeper monitoring, stronger automation.(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 4, 2004... Control tower, RLX's application for managing its server blades and blade chassis, has long been one of the best server administration tools available. With the newest release, 6G, it gains new capabilities for detecting problems with an RLX...

Counter-spies on the LAN - For networked, enterprise-wide spyware and adware protection, both Computer Associates and Tenebril are strong contenders.(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 4, 2004... In days past, help desks trotted out their anti-virus kits when asked to minister to sickly PCs. But today they must also bring to bear an array of anti-spyware tools. Spyware -- with its adjunct, adware -- is fast becoming the No. 1 problem...

When is a virus not a virus? Spyware and adware are becoming as big a problem as viruses, but the major anti-virus vendors have yet to make their move.
October 4, 2004... Many of the leading anti-virus vendors are looking for ways to incorporate anti-spyware capabilities into their products, but there's still a long way to go before virus and spyware protection will be fully integrated. Reviewing spyware...

Spyware and adware rogues' gallery - The ranks of spyware and adware expand daily, but some take root more often than others. Here are six of the usual suspects.
October 4, 2004... These spyware and adware mischief-makers have taken root on more than their share of hard disks. Symptoms include performance and compatibility problems, not to mention continuous pop-up invasions. 1: Name: CoolWebSearch Aliases: CWS...

Spyware infiltrates the enterprise - Spyware and adware are pouring into enterprise desktops. How severe is the threat? And what can be done about it?
October 4, 2004... Desktops littered with pop-up ads, computers grinding to a halt under the weight of snoopy software, private data snatched off networks and sent to a server somewhere in Siberia or San Francisco... all these unfortunate occurrences can be...

Storage vendors push decentralization - StorageTek 'Flexes' lineup, Adaptec updates Snap Appliance.
October 11, 2004... Storage vendors StorageTek and Adaptec this week will boost their offerings with products that further decentralize data and storage for branch and remote offices. Customers are moving to manage and protect remote storage assets because of...

Product Previews.
October 11, 2004... F5 FirePass 4100 and TrafficShiled 4100, Vivecon supply-chain forecasting apps, Attachmate Synapta, and Windows XP Embedded with SP2 By InfoWorld staff F5 bolsters firewall family The latest additions to F5 Networks' lineup are two...

IBM rolls out WebSphere 6.0 - WebSphere 6.0 finally rolls.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... IBM has put the finishing touches on the next major release of WebSphere, which company officials see as an integral building block for its SOA (service-oriented architecture) and On Demand strategies. Although enhancements to WebSphere...

Sun settles Java suit with Kodak - Settlement of $92 million has potential to stifle Java innovation.
October 11, 2004... Sun on Thursday announced that it settled the lawsuit Eastman Kodak had brought against it, but the charge that Sun's Java violated software patents held by Kodak brought to light the major impact patents can have on software techniques. ...

Undaunted PeopleSoft rolls out business apps - CRM and back office to share UI and customer data.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Although the threat of Oracle's hostile takeover continues to cast a shadow over it, PeopleSoft is pressing on with plans to integrate into its product mix the enterprise applications it picked up last year in its acquisition of J.D. Edwards....

CA Snaps up Netegrity.(Computer Associates)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Computer Associates announced plans to buy identity- and access- management software maker Netegrity for $430 million in cash. CA will integrate Netegrity's products with its eTrust Identity and Access Management group, as it looks to...

Plumtree Boosts Portal Package.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Plumtree Software this week is extending its portal-based Web applications building platform with upgrades to its Content and Collaboration servers, APIs for search and collaboration, and support and services for J2EE and .Net platforms....

Qwest Extends VoIP to Enterprise.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Qwest Communications rolled out IP Centrex Prime, an IP-enabled interface that helps enterprise customers migrate from traditional PBX connections to VoIP. By using IP Centrex Prime, enterprises can migrate to an IP-converged voice and data...

Dual-core chip plans explored - Chipmakers tout benefits of future designs at Fall Processor Forum.
October 11, 2004... Chipmakers at last week's Fall Processor Forum presented their plans for dual-core processors alongside a discussion of how the innovative designs will improve system performance. In order to keep improving performance, chipmakers are...

CTO CONNECTION: Why can't Johnny compute? Readers weigh in on whether users' basic computer literacy should be IT's responsibility.
October 11, 2004... When I suggested in a recent column that a problematic 5 percent of employees account for 75 percent of the IT support burden, I expected a wave of "right on!" letters from IT support staffers. After the column was published, the letters did...

REALITY CHECK: A break with tradition - Business processes and technology continue to reshape roles and duties.
October 11, 2004... If you think of your business as a car and your IT infrastructure as the road it travels on, then your business processes are the tires that let the car move along the road. What we are seeing now, at an ever increasing rate, is CFOs asking...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Motorola's savvy spin-off - Freescale will turn heads and grab headlines with its dual-core PowerPC processor.
October 11, 2004... During the last recession, few suffered as much as Motorola. After layoffs and other painful cuts, many expected the company to sell or shut down its semiconductor business. But Motorola chose a smoother path, spinning off its semiconductors as...

STRATEGIC DEVELOPER: Playing with data using XML - ECMAScript for XML provides the latest method of using XML to mold data.
October 11, 2004... Last December at XML 2003, I met with Jonathan Robie, one of my XML heroes. You'll find his name on such core XML specifications as DOM, XML Schema, and XQuery. Jonathan is both a co-inventor of XQuery and, as XML program manager at DataDirect,...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: McAfee knocks, Scotch on the rocks - You call that spam?
October 11, 2004... I know spammers are usually a few transistors short of a full circuit, but lately it seems like they've become even more addled. During the past week, I've been buried with spam for (ahem) personal enhancement pills from senders with names like...

EDITOR'S LETTER: IT's secret sauce - It takes more than a dash of business to make technology tasty.(Editorial)
October 11, 2004... Successful IT often requires as much insight into business as into technology. For instance, a technology consultancy came to Niteo Partners, an NEC subsidiary, seeking help in setting up a CPM (corporate performance management) system....

Barbedwire DP Inspector boasts an impressive security resume - Despite management shortcomings, the solution proves a one-stop shop for network security.
October 11, 2004... How many network security functions can you stuff into one box? Barbedwire Technologies' DP Inspector appliances start with a firewall/IPS, VPN, anti-virus, anti-spam, and URL filtering, and allow you to add more services, including IDS and...

EnCase keep tabs on compliance complexity - Flexible forensics tools closely tracks and records incidents.
October 11, 2004... It's a sad fact that many a network manager will skip this review. This in spite of Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley. This in spite of identity theft, corporate espionage, and a bucket full of other white-collar crimes. Network...

Softek nails multi-platform storage management - Storage Manager 2.5.1 handles varied storage systems, devices, SANs with aplomb.(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 11, 2004... When SANs emerged, one much-touted benefit was that all enterprise servers would use a central storage facility, with the capability of increasing or decreasing the amount of storage available to each server. For most networks, the reality...

Tomorrow's Windows apps today - Xamlon 1.0 XAML toolkit builds Longhorn- style interfaces.
October 11, 2004... Developers eager to begin whacking on Microsoft Longhorn-style XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language) applications can stay ahead of the (sometimes receding) curve with the help of Xamlon. Sounding like an alien race, Xamlon is in...

The right information, right now - CPM software offers an elegant way of to measure business indicators against assumptions, giving upper management new insight.(corporate performance management)
October 11, 2004... Ask any corporate executive the secret to success and there's a good chance you'll hear that the management team must work on the same goals using the same assumptions and facts -- with transparency to the CEO and board. Yet most companies...

Security supply and demand - Cybertrust's Russ Cooper says Microsoft customers share the burden of building safer systems.(Interview)
October 11, 2004... It's easy to point the finger at Redmond when Microsoft products fall vulnerable to exploits and attacks. But according to Russ Cooper, senior scientist at IT security company Cybertrust, consumers play as much a part as engineers when it comes...

Hardware-based security: The bug stops here - A new feature in Windows XP Service Pack 2 aims to put a stop to buffer overrun exploits, with the help of major chip vendors.
October 11, 2004... Buggy code is a fact of life: That's the message from Microsoft these days. Or rather, the company recognizes that as software grows in complexity it becomes increasingly difficult to prevent bugs from sneaking in under the radar. This...

Is Microsoft trustworthy yet? One year after Steve Ballmer promised to make security Job One, it's time for Redmond to face the music.
October 11, 2004... In the '90s, Marc Andreessen famously joked that Netscape would reduce Windows to a set of poorly debugged device drivers. By the turn of the century, critics were instead arguing that Microsoft itself had reduced its own software to a...

Blue Coat jackets networks from spyware - Proxy appliance deploys URL filtering and blocking.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... With concerns about spyware rapidly mounting, Blue Coat Systems is introducing a proxy appliance to combat the problem. Blue Coat System's Gateway Anti-Spyware product aims to block spyware installations, prevent spyware agents from...

Content networks deliver on-demand apps - Akamai, Speedera roll out application-centered offerings.
October 18, 2004... Once limited to Web content and images, content delivery network providers are shifting focus to tackle the on-demand delivery of distributed applications. To that end, Akamai Technologies this week plans to introduce four J2EE-based Web...

Actional, Westbridge merge for Web services - Company to focus on 'SOA enablement'.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Web services management vendor Actional and Westbridge Technology, which sold security infrastructure for Web services, are merging to focus on what company officials call "SOA (service-oriented architecture) enablement." The new company,...

Macromedia upgrading Flex presentation server - Data display, styling boosted.
October 18, 2004... Macromedia on Monday will introduce an upgrade to its Flex presentation server and framework for building rich Internet applications, with improvements in data display, visualization, styling, and performance. Version 1.5 of Flex ships in...

SAP Upgrades Business One App.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... SAP is rolling out a new version of its SAP Business One software with several functions designed for small and midsize manufacturers. A key capability of the release is integrated MRP, which gives small manufacturers greater control of...

Motorola Adds NFC to Phones.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Motorola said it plans to add a payment function based on NFC (Near- Field Communication) technology to its line of cell phones. NFC is a short-range wireless technology that can be used for functions such as payment, identification and...

Oracle Unveils Planning App.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Oracle added a planning and budgeting solution, Oracle EPB (Enterprise Planning and Budgeting), to its enterprise application offerings. The application will replace the current Financial Analyzer and Sales Analyzer. Using what it calls Express...

IBM powers up high-end disk arrays - Users gaining upper hand in market.
October 18, 2004... IBM took a major step last week in its plan to remain at the forefront of storage technology by introducing two new disk arrays -- the DS6000 for the upper midrange market and the DS8000 for the high-end market. Both systems are designed for...

CTO CONNECTION: Join the CTO club - Feeling lonely at the top? CTO clubs provide a great venue for mutual support.(chief technology officers)(Column)
October 18, 2004... In my years writing this column for CTOs, the positive e-mail I've received often boils down to a simple message: At last, someone out there understands what I'm going through professionally each day. Most CTOs don't have others in their...

REALITY CHECK: Middleware domino theory - Software superpowers IBM and Oracle are waging a cold war, and PeopleSoft is caught in the middle.
October 18, 2004... No matter how the struggle between oracle and PeopleSoft turns out, the larger strategy driving Oracle will remain unchanged. It is a battle over middleware and infrastructure -- and the real target Oracle has in its sights is not PeopleSoft...

TRATEGIC DEVELOPER: The Wiki way - To grow organically, information systems need a special mixture.
October 18, 2004... In 1997, I built a Web-based group calendar using in-memory Java objects that were serialized to disk only for safekeeping. That was my first encounter with servlet technology, and it led me to predict -- correctly, as it turned out -- that...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: A portal for the loo, Gates gets his due - Readers hot under the collar.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Looking at the steam coming off the mail in my inbox this week, I definitely need a place to lay low for a while. One reader kindly recommended Geek Cruises, where I could work on my tan and my Perl programming skills at the same time. He also...

EDITOR'S LETTER: Search takes smarts - High-level computer science drives enterprise search.
October 18, 2004... Google has spoiled us. We type in a few keywords and a screenful of Web site links magically appears, ripe for the clicking. Of course, the Google engine searches a homogeneous environment, consisting primarily of Web sites and documents,...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Mobility's end game - Titans battle it out for domination of the mobile client platform.(popularity of pocket computers)
October 18, 2004... It's like the browser wars all over again: Two vendors are battling to win the hearts, minds, and debit cards of users and developers. The browser wars were really platform wars, based on the assumption that the browser would be the nexus...

Product Previews.
October 18, 2004... Veritas i3 7.0, V-Span engageWeb, Zantaz Exchange Archive Solution, and Silex Mini-Combo By InfoWorld staff Veritas delivers i3 app performance update Making good on promises sworn at its user conference in May, Veritas Software...

Google and Thunderstone deliver plug and search to the enterprise - Search appliances serve up admirable results.
October 18, 2004... If you need to overhaul an aging or inadequate intranet or Web search service, search appliances afford a suitable option. There are plenty of software solutions such as Verity Ultraseek, but by the time you install and configure the software...

SalesLogix closes in on full-service CRM - Self-service portal, SpeedSearch additions aid v6.2, but there's still room for improvement.
October 18, 2004... Best Software's SalesLogix is a Windows-based sales, marketing, and support application that gives SMBs a universal view of the customer, from identifying initial leads to managing ongoing service contracts. The 6.2 release shapes up...

iNet neatly transforms .Net code into J2EE - Easy to install, Stryon's solution expands your application deployment options.
October 18, 2004... At first blush, a product that converts .Net code to J2EE may seem a little strange. However, there are at least two business scenarios for which iNet's ability to convert to J2EE makes a lot of sense. The most obvious one highlights the...

Better SQL server backups - Idera's SQLsafe brings compression, encryption, ease, and speed to backups of Microsoft's database.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Idera's SQLsafe -- a backup utility for Microsoft SQL Server -- was designed to compete directly with Imceda's LiteSpeed. Similar to LiteSpeed, SQLsafe improves on native SQL Server backups with compression, encryption, faster backups and...

Big tech for small networks - Just as Fortune 500 companies do, SMBs struggle with VoIP, SANs, Gigabit Ethernet, and new security nightmares.(small to medium-size businesses)
October 18, 2004... Four big technology challenges face IT managers who work at small to medium-size businesses. And guess what? The challenges look a lot like the ones confronting large organizations: VoIP, SANs, Gigabit Ethernet, and security. Few IT shops, big...

Investing in staff - How to hire for a changing network environment.
October 18, 2004... With security, storage, and VoIP all hot-button issues for SMB IT departments, the question of how to staff for these challenges is a subject of furious debate. Generalist or specialist? In-house or outsourced? For managers and staff...

Simple advice for complex search solutions - Regardless of the interface, search fields should be prominent and easy to use.
October 18, 2004... When they work as designed, search applications are wonderful, delivering up-to-date information that helps avoid faulty decisions. But getting your search infrastructure tuned to this point takes forethought and precise execution. Experts...

Refining enterprise search - Enterprise search is reaping relevant results thanks to new platforms and technologies.
October 18, 2004... Anyone who has been transfixed by a gymnast or a figure skater knows that the magic happens when they perform flawlessly and yet make it seem easy. That's how a search should work: Enter a query, and the right results appear in simple, elegant...

PeopleSoft, RIM partner to deliver sales application - Scaled down SFA application is readied for remote users.(Research in Motion)
October 25, 2004... Research in Motion (RIM), the company that first pushed e-mail over wireless, is teaming up with PeopleSoft to offer corporate users PeopleSoft Enterprise Sales for BlackBerry, a sales application with similar push technology. Custom...

Windows Server SP1 arrives - Features include configuration wizard.(Service Pack)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Hoping that 2005 will be a breakout year for its server operating systems, Microsoft by year's end will ship the first Release Candidate of its SP1 (Service Pack 1) for Windows Server 2003 and an SDK for the High Performance Computing version...

Cisco, Microsoft shake hands on security - Security architecture interoperability will allow sharing of enforcement decisions.(Cisco Systems Inc.)
October 25, 2004... Cisco and Microsoft have gotten the word: IT managers are tired of constantly plugging security holes in their networks. As a result, the two technology giants have hatched an agreement to develop and promote interoperability between their...

Borland touts UML modeling - Company reconfigures Together apps development package.(Borland Software Corp.)(Unified Modeling Language)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Borland Software this week is breaking up its Together ControlCenter package for UML modeling into separate products for developing, designing, and architecting applications. The move is intended to align the Together platform with the...

Microsoft Plans IM Client.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Microsoft is developing a new front-end application for its upcoming LCS (Live Communications Server) 2005 IM server that links LCS 2005 with end-users' telephones. Code-named Istanbul, the app is scheduled to ship before the end of June 2005...

AMD Pushes Desktop Performance.(Advanced Micro Devices)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has unveiled its most powerful desktop processors to date, the Athlon 64 FX-55 and the Athlon 64 4000+. The Athlon 64 FX product line is for the most demanding PC users and applications, whereas the Athlon 64 is...

Wavelink Unites Wi-Fi Management.(wireless fidelity)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Wavelink last week introduced Wavelink Managed Security, an integrated platform for the management of IEEE 802.11x networks, devices, and security. Wavelink Managed Security also incorporates the Mobile Manager Authentication Server, a RADIUS...

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Tell me something I don't know - IT pros deserve to hear more about technology they aren't already using.
October 25, 2004... "We don't see penetration of Apple into the enterprise." That line arrived in an e-mail from an editor shaping my feature on server virtualization. The timing was interesting. At that very moment I was watching the lights come up on a...

REALITY CHECK: The middle of the (open) road - Middleware platforms may prove to be the next big market for open source software.
October 25, 2004... Over the past several months, I've written about the clash of the titans for dominance in the middleware platform space. Looking at the market, we have BEA and IBM as market leaders, with Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP in the second tier. But I got...

STRATEGIC DEVELOPER: Under Gmail's hood - A browser user interface that trumps many desktop apps? Here's how they did it.
October 25, 2004... I'd been experimenting for a few months with Gmail, Google's Web mail system, without really taking it seriously. But this week I decided to take the plunge and try using Gmail not only as a mail search engine, but as a replacement for Outlook...

CTO CONNECTION: Open source or outsource? Commercial software has its place, but open source and hosted solutions now dominate.
October 25, 2004... One of the proverbial back stories of IT operations has always been the battle between the "suits" and the "techies." From the techie point of view, the hapless but disturbingly powerful suits are the business guys who put more thought into...

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Gadget expo in bloom, PeopleSoft awaits doom - Stalking the Swedish game girls.
October 25, 2004... Between TechXNY and last week's Digital Life trade show, I feel like I've been living inside a suitcase. At least DL had a pulse, thanks largely to Google, which announced its new desktop search engine there. The show was sponsored by a gadget...