Computer Weekly articles from January 2003

Computer Weekly archives from January 2003

MS source code will be of limited benefit.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Mike Simons Microsoft's decision to reveal its software source code to government customers will have limited practical benefits, according to software experts. Since Microsoft will allow customers to view code but not compile,...

IT budget growth set to remain in single figures.(UK IT expenditures to increases by 7.5 percent in 2003)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Karl Cushing Any hopes that IT budgets would return to the double-digit growth of the late 1990s have been quashed by the latest research from Kew Associates, based on a survey of thousands of IT budget holders. IT expenditure in the...

IT departments invest in training.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Karl Cushing IT departments are increasingly turning to training and education as a means of addressing skills requirements, as the wider trend of sweating assets extends to human resources. The latest Kew Associates/ Computer Weekly...

IBM bows to scalability call with iSeries relaunch.(Ships i800, i810, i825, i870 and upgraded i890 servers)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... James Rogers Users have hailed IBM's $500m (pound sterling309m) relaunch of its iSeries servers as a sign that the company has heeded customers' demands for scalable systems. Ray Titcombe, chairman of council at the IBM Computer Users'...

Security concerns at immigration database launch.
January 14, 2003... Karl Cushing The European Commission's controversial new biometrics-based system for combating illegal immigration and processing asylum requests, Eurodac, was launched on 14 January amid security and data protection concerns. Eurodac...

Further integration from SAP.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Antony Adshead SAP has announced its next- generation integration and application platform, SAP Netweaver, which is inter-operable with Microsoft's .net and IBM's Websphere environments. The announcement, which was accompanied by the...

Study warns e-gov take-up will remain low for 10 years.
January 14, 2003... James Rogers Take-up of local government online services will remain low for at least the next 10 years, according to a study by research firm ICM, raising questions of how valuable the systems will be to the public. The research,...

Women race to leave IT despite family-friendly schemes.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Jane Dudman The government has failed to stem the growing problem of women leaving the IT sector faster than firms can recruit them, despite its efforts to encourage family-friendly policies. A report, titled Achieving workforce...

RFID sparks legal fears.(Radio Frequency Identification technology )
January 14, 2003... Daniel Thomas Companies planning to implement Radio Frequency Identification technology need to address the legal implications, lawyers warned this week. RFID tags, which allow goods to be electronically tracked along the supply...

Employers beware as staff database theft increases.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Bill Goodwin Businesses were urged this week to review their security policies following evidence that the economic downturn has led to a sharp rise in the number of civil actions against former employees for stealing their company...

New IT boss at Budgens.(Mark Trevorrow)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Daniel Thomas Supermarket chain Budgens has appointed a new head of IT, as it embarks on a two-year project to upgrade its point of sale systems across its 180 UK stores. Mark Trevorrow, formerly operations controller at Budgens,...

Government signs [pounds sterling]15m deal for Transport Direct portal.(government information service for travellers)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... James Rogers The Department for Transport has awarded a pound sterling15m, three-year contract to a consortium of companies led by SchlumbergerSema to deliver the Transport Direct portal, a "one-stop shop" information service for...

MG-Rover aims to save 40% with ERP implementation.(moves to new IT system )
January 14, 2003... Antony Adshead MG-Rover has projected 40% savings in IT costs as a result of rationalising its legacy systems following its departure from the BMW Group. The savings are expected to be delivered by the end of 2004 following the...

Data chief aims to avoid the courts.(Information commissioner Richard Thomas )(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Bill Goodwin The new information commissioner Richard Thomas said this week that he hopes to persuade businesses to comply with data protection legislation, rather than resorting to an aggressive programme of prosecutions to keep firms in...

Firms are unhappy with CRM.(customer relationship management software)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Daniel Thomas Most European firms are unhappy with their customer relationship management systems because they do not segment their customer data well enough, Forrester Research said last week. Current CRM services fail to integrate...

Windows 2003 unlikely to boost 64-bit take-up.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Cliff Saran and Karl Cushing Analysts have cast doubt on Intel's claims that the introduction of Windows 2003 in April this year will boost the take-up of 64-bit Itanium II power servers. Andy Butler, vice-president at Gartner, said IT...

Software blamed for ATM cash giveaway.(Coventry Building Society blames Alaric's credit card authorisation software )(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Karl Cushing Coventry Building Society is in "ongoing discussions" with supplier Alaric after a glitch in the firm's software resulted in cash card holders withdrawing pound sterling850,000 undetected from its ATMs over a five-day period....

Revenue staff visit illegal web sites in internet trial.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Tony Collins A small pilot project to give staff at the Inland Revenue access to the internet has led to officials trying to visit illegal sites, downloading screensavers with "unsuitable" images and clogging up tax systems. Senior...

HP to end support for Alpha Server.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Cliff Saran Hewlett-Packard has announced it will stop supporting its Alpha Server architecture by 2011. Speaking on Monday at the launch of a family of servers powered by HP's 64-bit Alpha processor, Rich Marcello, vice-president and...

Two years for virus writer.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Bill Goodwin Simon Vallor, a 22-year-old web designer and part-time DJ, today received a jail sentence of two years after pleading guilty to writing and distributing computer viruses. Vallor, appearing before Southwark Crown Court,...

UK's DNA database extended.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... James Rogers The government is expanding the UK's national DNA database with the profiles of up to 13,000 criminals as part of an initiative announced last week by Home Office minister John Denham. The Home Office described the...

Vallor displayed all the traits of a typical hacker.(Simon Vallor)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Bill Goodwin Simon Vallor, the 22-year-old Welsh hacker sentenced in Southwark Crown Court this week, has been described as the archetypal computer virus writer. The web designer and part-time DJ, is a young, skilled techie, with...

Blair and Blunkett prepare UK for electronic IDcards.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Parliamentary reporter Tony Blair and David Blunkett this week prepared the UK for the introduction of high-tech identity cards, but said the government was still considering practical and technical difficulties. The prime minister...

Housing staff walk out over outsourcing plan.(Housing Corporation)
January 14, 2003... Gateway Review process shown to lack teeth as Housing Corporation ignores its findings Mike Simons IT workers at the Housing Corporation have staged a series of walkouts protesting against an outsourcing project that has been given...

AT&T trials FSO cheap optical link.(free space optics)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Antony Adshead AT&T is trialling laser optical networking which could give 100mbps bandwidth at a fraction of the cost of fixed optical networking. The technology - known as free space optics (FSO)- costs up to 10 times less than fixed...

Debenhams seeks slick supply chain.(Department store chain implements business to business Web portal)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Daniel Thomas Department store chain Debenhams has embarked on an ambitious project to implement a private B2B portal for all its suppliers so stores can react more quickly to product demand. The B2B portal, which will be based on...

in brief.(Lothian National Health Service Board)(Belron)
January 16, 2003... Lothian NHS Board signs [pounds sterling]12m contract with C&W Lothian National Health Service Board has signed a [pounds sterling]12m five-year contract with troubled telco Cable & Wireless for the provision of a managed voice network...

Analysts urge caution over NHSNet upgrade.
January 16, 2003... James Rogers Experts have warned that the NHS must conduct thorough due diligence as it undertakes a major upgrade of its NHSNet internal network at a time of turmoil in the telecoms market. The NHS Information Authority is extending...

Suppliers line up for NHS contracts.(National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency )(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... James Rogers The Department of Health is examining the responses from potential suppliers interested in providing the technology backbone for the Government's ambitious plan to overhaul health service IT. A spokeswoman for the...

NHS signs Civica to roll out Microsoft licensing.(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Mike Simons The National Health Service has awarded a Microsoft licensing contract worth up to [pounds sterling]60m to public sector software specialist Civica. The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency has signed a three-year deal with...

Spending slowdown continues.(Information technology spending)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... James Rogers Despite the injection of cash into public sector IT, in most sectors the spending slowdown of 2002 seems set to continue, according to the IT managers and directors surveyed in this week's Computer Weekly/Harvey Nash Big...

next move.
January 16, 2003... I recently arrived in the UK from New Zealand, where I worked for the New Zealand Health Information Service for six years as a technical analyst, developer and datawarehouse specialist. I will be here for one year. I am British and have 30...

events.
January 16, 2003... JANUARY 19 SAN DIEGOOracle Apps WorldFour-day conferencewww.oracle.com 21 NEW YORKLinuxWorld Four-day expowww.linuxworldexpo.com 22 LONDONWomen in IT - engaging and retaining for successOne-day conferencewww.intellectuk.org ...

diary.
January 16, 2003... JANUARY 16 London Central BranchAlways on, always connected. 45 King William Street, London. Contact: sales@asment.com. 16 Project Management Specialist GroupPublic standards for managing projects. 6.30pm, Microsoft Campus, Thames...

inside the bcs.
January 16, 2003... Two pioneers in the emerging field of grid computing have been awarded the prestigious BCS Lovelace Medal. Carl Kesselman, professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, and Ian Foster, professor of computer science at...

Don't be an ostrich in a crisis.
January 16, 2003... It is a bear market. And with the bears come the ostriches - those directors and managers who fail to recognise the collapse of their business, writes Michael Clinch. The truth is that those directors who are alive to the realities are the...

in briefa.
January 16, 2003... Lothian NHS Board signs pound sterling12m contract with C&W Lothian National Health Service Board has signed a pound sterling12m five-year contract with troubled telco Cable & Wireless for the provision of a managed voice network linking 38...

IT grows up and slows down.
January 16, 2003... richard holway opinion I first saw the Rolling Stones on their UK tour in 1963 just before I joined a new UK IT services company called Hoskyns (now Cap Gemini Ernst & Young). I have been fortunate to have been involved in an...

Computing growth is just beginning.
January 16, 2003... Charles Ross opinion It is easy to look at the phenomenal development of computing over the past 50 years and conclude this explosive growth must soon come to an end. However, this is to misunderstand the nature of the computer...

Reduce your software costs.(asset management teams)
January 16, 2003... rakesh kumar opinion A good asset management team could save your business more than 30% Although asset management programmes continue to struggle to live up to expectations, they still provide the best opportunity for both...

Are you an unwitting pirate?
January 16, 2003... Many software programmers may be guilty of software piracy without even knowing it, writes Andrew Lucas. The law states that computer programs are protected by copyright as a literary work under section 3 of the 1998 Copyrights, Designs and...

PHP makes things easy for e-developers.
January 16, 2003... PHP is the open alternative to ASP for Web sites, writes Nick Langley nWhat is it? PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor - one of those recursive acronyms like GNU (GNU's Not Unix) which confirm prejudices about geeky humour. ...

SAP R/3 users must upgrade or pay extra.
January 16, 2003... With 12 months to go until four of the six SAP R/3 versions become unsupported, analysts have warned that users of the popular enterprise resource planning software will be forced to make a choice between upgrading or paying for more support,...

MS .net uses firewall port most targeted by hackers.(Port 80)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... nolSecurity firm Internet Security Systems has warned users that Microsoft .net could represent a potential security threat to their corporate networks, writes Cliff Saran. The .net technology communicates over the Web using firewall Port...

Gartner: wait to download latest MS Exchange beta.(Microsoft Exchange 2003 beta)
January 16, 2003... A beta release of the next version of Exchange is now available on the Microsoft Web site, but businesses should think carefully before downloading it, writes Cliff Saran. In the current economic climate, justifying a software upgrade is...

Know the risks and take charge.(IT governance)
January 16, 2003... Getting the board to support IT governance is tough, but scary stories and non-executive directors are powerful allies, writes Julia Vowler Interest in IT governance has shot up in recent months. In December 2002, a joint meeting of the...

Islington becomes transparent.(report decision tracking system)
January 16, 2003... People in the London Borough of Islington can now monitor council decisions online, writes Ross Bentley Islington Council has installed an IT system to make its decision-making process more transparent and make it easier for members of the...

Follow the IT diet - get fat.(Column)
January 16, 2003... Jack Schofield tech talk The idea that we are moving towards ubiquitous thin clients is the opposite of the truth We are all getting fatter, and so are our clients. Not in the corporeal sense, I trust, but in computing terms. "Fat...

Teachers get science news via SMS.
January 16, 2003... A new text message service is helping science teachers keep up with new discoveries, writes Ross Bentley The Association for Science Education this week launched a text message service which aims to help teachers keep abreast of new...

Gillette to trial RFID tags.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Antony Adshead Gillette is to trial Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in US and UK stores in the biggest test so far for the electronic tracking technology. The personal hygiene products manufacturer has taken delivery of 500...

HSBC offers credit card authentication system.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Nick Huber HSBC is to offer its retail customers a new service to authenticate card payments online and help reduce disputed transactions, a problem which has cost UK retailers tens of millions of pounds annually. The high-street...

Police seek tenders for PNC disaster recovery.
January 16, 2003... James Rogers The Police IT Organisation (Pito) has invited companies to tender for a contract to relocate the disaster recovery system behind the Police National Computer. The decision to move the disaster recovery system from its...

Parliament calls for firms to build new IS.
January 16, 2003... James Rogers The houses of Commons and Lords authorities are looking for companies to build a parliamentary information services system. The proposed set-up will replace the main Parliamentary On Line Information System, which supports...

IT governance set high on agenda.
January 16, 2003... Julia Vowler IT governance is set to be one of the key issues on the IT agenda in the coming year. The collapse of Enron and WorldCom, as well as the regulatory force of the stock exchange's Turnbull report, have made companies more aware...

letters.
January 16, 2003... Consolidation is best option From Tony Parker The article regarding HBos' single platform plans (Computer Weekly, 5 December 2002) was interesting but, based on my experience, I disagree with the comments surrounding the inappropriate...

Microsoft chief joins Leeds United board.
January 16, 2003... The news that Microsoft UK's managing director Neil Holloway has joined the board of Leeds United FC surprised few IT watchers. Holloway is, after all, quite used to being on the side everyone else loves to hate. Pundits are predicting the...

M-commerce: a false start?(Industry Overview)
January 16, 2003... A survey of UK businesses reveals that economic uncertainty stifled the predicted m-commerce boom in 2002, but analysts say widespread mobile adoption is still very much on the cards, writes Daniel Thomas This time last year, analysts told...

Cash for school IT.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... James Rogers The Government has outlined its plan to boost technology in schools and colleges following last year's spending review, which allocated nearly pound sterling1bn to develop IT in the education sector. Speaking at the Bett...

JP Morgan drops Pinnacle Alliance in favour of IBM.
January 16, 2003... Nick Huber JP Morgan Chase will not renew a $2bn (pound sterling1.25bn) outsourcing contract with a consortium of suppliers including CSC and Accenture, following a shake-up of its IT infrastructure. The investment bank, which last...

Suppliers slam BBC e-learning plan.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... John Riley A wave of anger swept through the IT educational supply industry last week after the Government approved the BBC's plans to spend pound sterling150m to produce free e-learning materials for schools. E-content providers fear...

Safeway buyer to inherit benefits of innovative IT.
January 16, 2003... Supermarket chain Morrisons will aim to exploit a number of IT initiatives developed by Safeway if its pound sterling2.9bn bid for the rival supermarket goes ahead, analysts have predicted. Morrisons, the UK's sixth largest supermarket...

DTI says no to e-shop regulations.(Department of Trade and Industry)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Daniel Thomas The government has rejected calls from the Consumers' Association to introduce regulations on online shopping, following the group's decision to scrap the Which? Web Trader online trust scheme. The Consumers' Association...

Upgrade this year, Seattle warns NT 4.0 Server users.
January 16, 2003... Cliff Saran UK USERS still relying on the Windows NT 4.0 Server operating system have less than a year to upgrade before Microsoft drops mainstream support. IT managers must decide whether to sign a potentially expensive custom...

Microsoft extends security scheme.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Cliff Saran Microsoft plans to take its Trustworthy Computing initiative beyond its internal focus in the next 12 months and bring security to the larger developer community. One year ago Microsoft launched the scheme to make security...

NHS calls on SAS for anti-fraud initiative.
January 16, 2003... Bill Goodwin The National Health Service is to unveil plans to develop sophisticated computer systems to tackle losses estimated at more than pound sterling1bn a year through fraud by patients, practitioners and NHS suppliers. The...

Two IT directors, one job.(if Morrisons takes over Safeway)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Speculation over a possible acquisition has raised doubts about the future of Safeway's chief information officer Ric Francis. If Morrisons is successful and the two IT departments are integrated, Francis is the more likely candidate for...

Safeway's IT staff face an uncertain future.(if taken over by Morrison's)
January 16, 2003... IT staff at Safeway face an uncertain future following Morrisons' takeover bid. Under the proposed terms of the deal, announced last week, Safeway's head office operation in Hayes would close, leading to the loss of 1,200 jobs among...

Platforms are for life, not six years.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Just as a puppy is for life, not just for Christmas, so proprietary software should be, if not for life, then at least for a more substantial period of time than the current rate of product churn by the major software suppliers allows. ...

IT jobs fear as Reuters plans for more cuts.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Nick Huber IT staff at Reuters are bracing themselves for job losses following speculation that the news and information group is planning to shed 1,000 jobs across the company as part of a further cost-cutting drive. Reports this week...

Firms 'too busy' to help police.(prosecute computer virus writer)
January 16, 2003... Bill Goodwin Police have criticised businesses for failing to co-operate in the prosecution of the 22-year-old computer virus writer responsible for infecting 27,000 computers around the world. Simon Vallor, a Web designer and...

Linux to grow in datacentre.(according to Goldman Sachs' research)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Daniel Thomas An increasing number of companies will choose Linux as the server operating system for their datacentres in the coming years, according to new research from investment bank Goldman Sachs. The report, Fear The Penguin,...

User group calls on Oracle to improve software quality.(Oracle Application User Group)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Cliff Saran The Oracle Application User Group has called on Oracle to improve the quality of its software. Speaking ahead of the Oracle Appsworld conference in San Diego next week, OAUG president Tom Wyatt said, "I want to ensure...

London Transport opts for SAP.(and Axon)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Mike Simons Transport for London and London Underground have signed a 10-year pound sterling29m partnership with SAP and integrator Axon to update the capital's transport IT infrastructure. Axon will replace 30 back-office systems,...

Revenue staff break data law by snooping on stars.
January 16, 2003... Tony Collins Staff at the Inland Revenue are breaching the Data Protection Act by gaining unauthorised access to the computer records of taxpayers, including celebrities, and in some cases selling information. In an internal...

Bacs looks to India as IT overrun drives price hike.
January 16, 2003... The UK clearing house is raising its charges, considering outsourcing and cutting its staff by up to 20% Nick Huber EXCLUSIVE Bacs, the UK clearing house, has increased charges to its bank members to boost revenue as it struggles...

ID card plan is too complex.(according to British Computer Society)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... Bill Goodwin Project management experts commissioned by the British Computer Society have urged the Government to simplify the objectives of its proposed electronic ID card system or risk the project failing. A working group has raised...

EDS stops final salary pensions for recruits.
January 16, 2003... only guarantees how much EDS will pay into a scheme, not what the pension will be worth when its holder reaches retirement. However, EDS will retain the option of reopening the final salary schemes when bidding for contracts. Pensions...

dpm's diary; c p bound.
January 16, 2003... Monday The 12 days of Christmas over, we shooed away the lords a-leaping and Mavis packed away the decorations. Suddenly an ashen-faced Charlie burst in and required my presence in the programming office. Two modern-apprentice trainees...

What lies ahead? ; lies ahead?(Industry Overview)
January 16, 2003... The next 12 months will be a time for further consolidation, integration, and increased competition, with IT playing a huge part in the drive to increase revenue and cut costs across sectors. Computer Weekly's writers assess which trends will...

Sack data abusers.(Inland Revenue )(Brief Article)
January 16, 2003... In blowing the whistle on computer misuse by Inland Revenue staff, Revenews, the department's in-house organ, has taken a brave and enlightened step. Its December issue highlights a litany of misdemeanours, including accessing pornography,...

Do you know your jargon?
January 16, 2003... A new pocket dictionary called The A2Z of IT Bullshit aims to debunk the jargon that permeates our industry. Ross Bentley invites you to test your knowledge with a quiz based on the book When David Albert, a sales executive for an IT...

E-mail overload causes stress for UK managers.(according to report by BCS and Henley Management College)
January 16, 2003... Irrelevant and poor-quality e-mails are causing stress among UK executives, according to a study by the BCS and Henley Management College, writes John Kavanagh. Even though 81% of bosses see e-mail as the communications technology that has...

Google's biological future?
January 16, 2003... Glyn Moody getting wired A service that uses real people to rank Web pages is helping academics find data online In the early days, the Internet was essentially a medium for communicating: the main two services that ran across it...

NHS gives IT jobs market a boost.
January 16, 2003... The hunt is on for IT professionals to help to deliver the largest technology project ever seen in the UK. James Rogers looks at some of the job opportunities offered as part of the strategy to overhaul NHS IT Few IT professionals can claim...