Computer Weekly articles from February 2008

Computer Weekly archives from February 2008

News.(Department of Health plans appointments)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... The Department of Health is to make two key IT appointments after the departure of Richard Granger, former head of the National Programme for IT [NPfIT], an internal letter has revealed. The letter confirms the government is conducting a...

News.(Microsoft's bid for Yahoo )
February 12, 2008... Microsoft/Yahoo Cliff Saran Microsoft's bid for Yahoo points to a radical shift in how the company perceives the internet. Many believe that Microsoft's existing approach to selling software - particularly its market-leading...

Opinion and Letters.(risks of online social networks)
February 12, 2008... Each month Computer Weekly poses an information security question to a panel of experts, drawn from: (ISC)2, British Computer Society (BCS), Gartner, National Computing Centre (NCC), Information Security Forum (ISF), Information Systems...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Two out of five US retailers do not have a bricks and mortar store thanks to the internet, and websites are out-earning real stores, according to a report by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Eugenia Steingold, DMA senior research...

News.(Survey)
February 12, 2008... Retailers are losing the battle against IT security threats because most have no strategy for their long term defence and merely respond to incidents, says a report from management consultancy Deloittes. "Consumer businesses have a tactical...

News.
February 12, 2008... Shrinkschool for Jaeger Ian Grant Classic British clothing brand Jaeger is to roll out a loss prevention programme based on data mining to cut theft and fraud by a fifth and boost its profit margins by 2%. Steve Hearn, head of...

News.(United Kingdom's National Identity Register)(Viewpoint essay)
February 12, 2008... Whether citizens like it or not, their governments are anxious to know everything about them. There are plenty of technologies they can harness to this purpose. But the trick is to find a politically and culturally acceptable way to apply...

News.(Standard Life Assurance Co. uses service oriented architecture for it's information technology strategy )
February 12, 2008... Standard Life is pushing the use of a service oriented architecture (SOA) to the heart of its IT strategy as it seeks to share information more effectively across the company and to make its business processes more effficient. Standard...

News.(National Health Service staffs lost more than 4,000 smart cards )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... NHS staff have lost more than 4,000 smart cards that allow them to access patient records, according to figures released by Connecting for Health (CfH). Responding to Freedom of Information Act request from Pulse magazine, CfH, which is in...

Career Moves.(Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise conference)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... A meeting to discuss the sharing of clinical documents and integrating workflow has been set up by the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) organisation in association with the BCS. The event will take place in Oxford on 9 April 2008....

News.(Online banking security)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... E-security opens up back doors Online banking may be the favoured method of working with banks but it's still held back by security fears. Well, for all the Luddites out there, a recent incident at an HSBC branch in North Yorkshire might...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Save the planet, improve your health and power your 10 mobiles at the same time. Reports this week of a high-tech knee brace that generates electricity and recharges batteries while you walk made Downtime think of the money that could be...

News.(banks new trading platform Project Rainbow)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Rainbow warriors While investigating a story about yet another trading platform seeking a technology partner, I realised the importance of names in today's Googlesphere. Project Rainbow is the codename of an alternative trading...

News.(Microsoft's bid for Yahoo Inc.)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Downtime has been wondering how Yahoo will change if Microsoft succeeds in its $44bn bid for the search company. One suggestion is to rebrand Yahoo as Yahoft. Or how about Microho? The del.icio.us social bookmark site could be renamed...

News.(Information technology workers recruitment)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... The government is outsourcing heavily to help it overcome IT skills shortages, the Cabinet Office CIO, John Suffolk, said at a recent conference. There are 55,000 people currently working in central government public sector IT and...

News.(Small and medium sized companies tapping information technology market)
February 12, 2008... Small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) are struggling to attract IT talent in the face of competition from big-name employers. But as long as they listen to what people actually want from a job, they will succeed in attracting good IT staff,...

Windows and the web.(Opinion and Letters)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Its bid for Yahoo will see Microsoft betting the future of the company on the internet. Microsoft's software is getting better, and that means it is harder for users to justify upgrading to the latest version. At the same time, Google is...

News.(Computer Weekly and David Taylor Associates to launch executives conference )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Computer Weekly and David Taylor Associates have joined forces to launch the CEO-CIO Summit conference - an event for senior board executives that is aimed at increasing understanding on the issues CEOs want addressed by their CIOs. David...

News.(Grid computing )
February 12, 2008... John-Paul Kamath john-paul.kamath@rbi.co.uk The IT department at Cern, birthplace of the World Wide Web, is creating the world's largest computing grid to help scientists study the origins of the universe. Grid computing is...

News.
February 12, 2008... An influential House of Lords committee is to re-open an enquiry into e-crime and the security of personal data on the internet after members of the committee branded the government's reactions to its recommendations as "vacuous, idle and...

Opinion and Letters.(Letter to the editor)
February 12, 2008... In the Gartner Executive Programs 2008 CIO survey, the average CIO's expectation was that their IT budget would be rising by just more than 3% in 2008, writes Dave Aron, vice-president and research director in Gartner Executive Programs. ...

Radar.(solving compatibility issues on Microsoft Windows Vista with AppDNA's Apptitude )
February 12, 2008... AppDNA's Apptitude promises a smoother migration to Vista Experiencing migration pains? The move to Vista need not be so difficult Barely a day goes by when someone I am speaking to or swapping e-mails with does not moan about...

Opinion and Letters.(risks of online social networks)(Viewpoint essay)
February 12, 2008... Social networking sites are enticing and offer a glamorous opportunity for self-publicity, writes Daniel Dresner, head of standards at the National Computing Centre. They can add a new angle of interest to make the otherwise mundane seem...

Opinion and Letters.(Letter to the editor)
February 12, 2008... Gartner research director Andrew Walls sets out the security risks in using social networks. Risks to the individual Most social networking sites incorporate a personal profile as the fundamental expression of a person's or...

Opinion and Letters.(office staff's usage of online social networks)
February 12, 2008... Although our blue-chip members find that allowing staff to use social networking sites can have significant advantages in terms of knowledge sharing and market research, they also see that the risks of using such sites must be understood and...

Opinion and Letters.(Letter to the editor)
February 12, 2008... Do we really care what bands you like? Or what the name of your dog is? Well evidently yes, this is demonstrated by the enormous popularity and interest generated by social networking sites. But by being a user, are you not providing potential...

Opinion and Letters.(Letter to the editor)
February 12, 2008... As a result of the strong human desire to connect, social networking websites have encouraged online behaviour where security and privacy are not always the first priority, writes Andrea Simmons, consultant forum manager at the BCS Security...

Opinion and Letters.(Letter to the editor)
February 12, 2008... Social networking presents a number of challenges, writes Patrick Tarpey, head of information security for a leading UK public body, and member of (ISC)2. Most organisations allow, to a certain extent, personal web surfing during employee...

Opinion and Letters.(Letter to the editor)
February 12, 2008... Social networking and other Web 2.0 sites have created a mini dotcom boom driven by media companies eager for a captive mass-market and users hungry for what they offer, writes Gary Wood, research consultant at the Information Security...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Central government should look to local government for ideas about best practice in data security, according to the Parliamentary IT Committee (Pitcom). The information commissioner should have "sharper teeth", permanent and contract staff...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Socitm to report on council web accessibility Antony Savvas Public sector IT managers body Socitm is to add an accessibility supplement to its annual report on local authority websites, due out on 3 March. In previous years,...

News.(Ashurst Morris Crisp)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... International corporate law firm Ashurst has replaced its audio conferencing system with CityDesk from MeetingZone to speed up response times to lawyers' requests. Ashurst chose the system to link 200 partners in 13 countries because of...

News.(British Airways new communications network at Heathrow)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... British Airways' IP-based communications network at Terminal 5 at Heathrow has been fully tested and will go live next month, when the terminal opens to the public. The Fast Ethernet Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is designed, deployed...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... BP's IT staff await fate Europe's second largest oil company BP is to cut 5,000 jobs from all parts of the business by the middle of 2009 to cushion the effects of lower profits. The company announced a restructuring programme...

News.(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Outsourcer EDS posts 52% increase in net profits Antony Savvas Outsourcer EDS increased net profit from [pounds sterling]235m in 2006 to [pounds sterling]358m last year, a jump of 52%. In addition, full-year total revenue for 2007...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Capture IT innovation with closer links to industry, says EU chief - by John-Paul Kamath Universities should develop their relationships with industry to ensure that innovative R&D work in IT can be used in commercial applications, the...

News.(Financial Services Authority hires external consultants)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... FSA brings in the consultants The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is bringing in external consultants to benchmark its investment in new systems and ensure its IT processes and controls are in line with industry standards. In its...

News.(Google launches Apps Team Edition)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Google apps luanches team edition for enterprise John-Paul Kamath Google has launched its Apps Team Edition to help staff to collaborate. Once users verify their business or school e-mail address, they can instantly share...

News.(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... A "fragile" tax credits computer system at HMRC is contributing to billions of pounds of losses each year, according to MPs on the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC). The report said of the software, implemented in 2003, "Serious problems...

News.(Cloud Computing research)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... IBM and the European Union have launched a joint research initiative for Cloud Computing. IBM is leading a joint research initiative of 13 European partners to develop technologies that help automate the fluctuating demand for IT resources...

News.(IBM acquires Cognos)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... IBM completes [pounds sterling]2.5bn Cognos Information on Demand acquisition Antony Savvas IBM has completed its [pounds sterling]2.5bn acquisition of Cognos to enhance its business intelligence Information on Demand strategy. To...

News.(IP Version 6 telephone numbers activated)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... A new range of internet "telephone numbers" will be activated today to allow more devices to connect to the internet in the future. The release of the new standard will allow more devices to connect to the internet in the same way that...

News.(information technology management survey)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Only 12% of firms have adequate IT governance in place, says a poll of 100 IT professionals. The survey, by website IT Governance, found that 12% of businesses take technology seriously enough to operate full board-level oversight of their...

News.(Information Technology market up by 4.7% in the United Kingdom)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... UK IT market up 4.7% Antony Savvas The UK IT market grew 4.7% last year, driven by consumer demand for mobile devices, according to the GfK IT Barometer Report. Anthony Norman, business group director at GfK, said, "We expect to...

News.(Fraud cost reach 1 billion pounds sterling)
February 12, 2008... Fraud levels reach [pounds sterling]1bn Antony Savvas Britain's fraud problem shows no sign of abating, with over [pounds sterling]1bn of fraud coming to court in 2007, a large chunk of which was web- or IT-related. According to...

News.(top phishing e-mails)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... McAfee publishes top phishing and malware threats Antony Savvas McAfee's Avert security lab has reported on the biggest phishing and malware threats, and the top brands used by phishers to trap web users. The top 10 headers for...

News.(search engine market trend)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Microsoft could, for once, welcome the regulators if Google approaches Yahoo to form an alliance in an attempt to stave off Microsoft's [pounds sterling]22bn bid for the search-engine company. Microsoft last week made a cash and stock...

News.(MSN Video contract with Sony BMG and MTV Networks)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Microsoft has set its sights on the UK online video market, with the signing of two major content agreements to help boost web advertising revenue. MSN Video has announced deals with MTV Networks and Sony BMG to provide free video content...

News.(O2 introduces professional services unit)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... O2 launches professional services unit Antony Savvas O2 has launched its O2 Professional Services unit for enterprise customers to help them get the most from mobile technology. "Whether it's a special application to connect with...

News.(Robert Hughes Limited implements private mobile networks)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... UK property development company Robert Hughes Limited has begun implementing private mobile networks at its construction sites to improve communications and cut costs. The company is using Rapid Deployment Units (RDUs) from GSM network...

News.(Microsoft starts production of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 enter manufacturing phase Antony Savvas Microsoft has released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 to manufacturing. The company said the new client and server operating systems...

News.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC case against Electronic Data Systems Corp.)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... BSkyb's ongoing court action against EDS will cost it [pounds sterling]18m in legal fees this financial year - a rise of [pounds sterling]6m on the total in 2007. The EDS court case had cost Sky [pounds sterling]7m in the three months...

News.(French finance minister Christine Lagarde asks for ways to prevent trading fraud)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... French finance minister Christine Lagarde has asked the bank at the heart of a [pounds sterling]3.6bn trading fraud, what new systems can be put in place to prevent it happening again. Lagarde described how rogue Trader Jerome Kerviel used...

News.(total cost of change and total cost of ownership)
February 12, 2008... Never mind the TCO, turn to the TCC Antony Savvas Companies should adopt a total cost of change (TCC) buying formula instead of the traditional total cost of ownership (TCO) calculation when buying business software such as ERP and...

News.(Tui Travel group cuts IT spending)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... The Tui Travel group plans to cut its IT spend by 20% to contribute to the [pounds sterling]150m it is aiming to save following the 2007 merger of Thomson Holidays and First Choice. The other savings will come from integrating processes and...

News.(Adobe Systems releases security fix for Adobe Reader)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Adobe has fixed a vulnerability in its widely used document-viewing program Reader, but the firm is not revealing the details of the security flaw. Because of this, security analysts believe the flaw is serious, and that users should...

News.(Aerophone offers mobile phone calls from planes)
February 12, 2008... Antony Savvas A new platform from Aerophone could allow users to make cheap worldwide mobile phone calls from planes. The Israeli firm said call costs could be as low as 80p a minute for passengers and still offer a decent margin to...

News.(Apple releases iPhoto software security patch)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Apple has issued a security fix for its iPhoto software to stop users being infected with malicious photos. The bug being plugged could have allowed an attacker to entice a victim into subscribing to a maliciously crafted photocast. ...

News.(Birmingham City Council and Places for People improves services)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Birmingham City Council and housing and development organisation Places for People are seeking to improve the services they offer their customers through mobile services. At Places for People, the new system, provided by Northgate, will...

News.(trends in broadband prices )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... UK broadband prices have hit an all-time low, says price comparison website uSwitch.com. The website says the price of an average standalone broadband connection has tumbled 36% in four years to [pounds sterling]17 a month, with a maximum...

News.(Chorley Borough Council restructures IT facilities)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Chorley Borough Council has saved [pounds sterling]800,000 through IT as part of a three-year council transformation. The council has split into three departments, based on three groups of customers: business, neighbourhoods and...

News.(survey of chief executive officers on climate change)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... About 70% of global executives within all industries consider climate change an important consideration in protecting their reputation and brand, but far fewer CEOs are taking it seriously, according to a Mckinsey global survey. Green...

News.(survey on European businesses impact on environment)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... European businesses will struggle to meet government targets for reducing carbon footprints because they have no easy and consistent way of measuring their impact on the environment, according to a study by Coleman Parkes. The study,...

News.(Epson America Inc's EpsonNet Authentication Print )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Epson unveils secure printing option for shared offices Epson has released a print security and authentication product for shared offices. EpsonNet Authentication Print aims to prevent a document being seen or picked up by anyone other...

News.(skills shortage in IT and business)
February 12, 2008... New IT/business skills shortage threatens business growth Antony Savvas A shortage of skills and talent in IT and business is threatening business growth, according to analyst Gartner. Research by the analyst has revealed that...

News.(Birmingham City Council must learn from Amazon's customer relations)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... The public sector should learn from Amazon when it comes to building up trust with individuals, said Glyn Evans, transformation policy leader at Birmingham City Council. Evans said citizens should have individual information accounts to...

News.(Halton Borough publishes information on street works and street lighting systems via council's website)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Halton Borough citizens given online feed from street furniture Antony Savvas Residents of Halton on Merseyside are being kept up to date with web-based information taken from Halton Council's street furniture. Using a web...

News.(Government says Holocaust Ban email chain letter a hoax)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Government counters Holocaust Ban email chain letter Antony Savvas The UK government is taking unprecedented steps to combat an internet chain letter that claims the Holocaust will no longer be studied in UK schools because of fears of...

News.(International Business Machines Corp's products and services)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... IBM has revealed an array of joint IBM-Cognos products and services, including new business intelligence products. These products are designed to enable firms of all sizes to gain better insights from their data, improve decision-making,...

News.(London Connect partners with Capital Ambition and London Centre of Excellence)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... London Connect joins forces to deliver improved e-government Antony Savvas London Connects, the e-government group for the capital, has agreed to work in partnership with two other local organisations in attempt to make greater...

News.(trends in online securities trading)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Electronic trading between London and Italian markets up 85% Antony Savvas Electronic trades across the London and Italian stock exchanges during January were up 85% year on year. New records were achieved in trading on the equity...

News.(software industry to form testing standard for anti-malware products)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... The security software industry has taken the first steps towards forming a standard for testing anti-malware products. More than 40 security software firms and anti-malware testers from around the world recently met in Bilbao, Spain to...

News.(City University London offers masters degree in computer games technology )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... City University London is launching a masters degree in computer games technology for graduates who want to pursue a career in the thriving industry of computer games development. The MSc will be offered by City's School of Informatics from...

News.(Microsoft releases security patches)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Super Tuesday for IT managers with seven critical Microsoft patches Antony Savvas Microsoft will issue 12 security patches on Tuesday, with seven of them deemed "critical". Four of the seven critical patches affect the Office...

News.(Mimecast appoints Mike Hedger as chairman)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Web-based e-mail management company Mimecast has appointed ex-KVS chief executive Mike Hedger as non-executive chairman. Hedger led the growth of e-mail archiving company KVault from its inception in 1999 to its sale to Veritas for [pounds...

News.(Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology develop a more energy efficient chip design )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a chip design that is much more energy efficient than processors currently used in mobile devices. The design is being shown off at this week's International...

News.(Microsoft's bid for Yahoo Inc.)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Microsoft's planned acquisition of Yahoo could boost the company's efforts to deliver software as a service over the internet. Gartner said both Microsoft and Yahoo could benefit from a relationship. According to Gartner only a few...

News.(Fujitsu has been awarded a services contract by Police Service of Northern Ireland )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Northern Ireland police service awards [pounds sterling]100m IT contract to Fujitsu Antony Savvas The Police Service of Northern Ireland has awarded an ICT managed services contract to Fujitsu to improve IT service quality, reduce...

News.(RWE Npower PLC implements Callidus' salesforce management system )(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... The UK's largest electricity supplier RWE npower has implemented a salesforce management system to improve its processes for rewarding sales staff. The utility company said the Callidus software would automate the payment of commissions,...

News.(UK banks fails online shopping test)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... UK banks flunk online shopping test Karl Flinders Simple online enquiries during a mystery shopping study carried out by IT suppliers stumped over half of UK banks and building societies. Over 50% of the organisations tested in the...

News.(trends in information technology)(Viewpoint essay)
February 12, 2008... Where have my network boundaries gone? In the good old days, it was all much simpler and most corporate networks had limited or no external connections. I can recall from about that time my first "corporate" contact with the internet via a...

News.(Pipex's broadband for SMEs)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... Pipex expands business broadband for SMEs Antony Savvas Pipex has introduced faster ADSL2+ business broadband packages for small businesses. The range of services go from entry-level - suitable for very small or start-up...

News.(National Police Improvement Agency)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... A report on the future of policing in England and Wales has found that better use of technology will be needed to help cut red tape and enable officers to spend more time on the street. The review, carried out by chief inspector of...

News.(remote worker behavior)(Brief article)
February 12, 2008... A study of 2,000 remote workers and IT professionals has confirmed a need for greater diligence towards security. The research, conducted by Cisco, looked at remote workers' security awareness and online behaviour, and showed how they can...