Computer Weekly articles from March 2009

Computer Weekly archives from March 2009

News.(CMA)(communications services)
March 3, 2009... Communications - Life-blood of Enterprise Communications Services for the Public and Private Sectors - 2010 and beyond: CMA's Manifesto for the next General Election Introduction CMA has a vision for the future of communications...

Feature.(CMA)(UK plc)(United Kingdom. Communications Act 2003)
March 3, 2009... CJ Kimber, CMA Chairman Conference Speech, 1245 24th February My Lords, ladies and gentlemen We live in interesting times. acents Last week the Council of Ministers met in Prague to discuss the future structure of telecoms in...

News.(Office of Government Commerce)(Information Tribunal)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... An online news first This is the first publication of an entire gateway review by an online news service. Computer Weekly is publishing it because the Office of Government Commerce, which is part of the Treasury, has argued -...

News.(project management)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Computer Weekly journalist Tony Collins, co-author of Crash, a guide to avoiding computer failures, gives some project management tips, which draw on years of investigative reporting. 1. Projects with realistic budgets and timetables don't...

News.(Office of Communications)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Obliging communication providers to supply a broadband service to every citizen will be Ofcom chairman-elect Collette Bowe's highest priority when she takes over the UK's communications regulatory agency. Speaking at the Communication...

News.(United Kingdom. Communications Act 2003)(UK plc)
March 3, 2009... The government's policies on high-tech communications have failed UK plc, the body that represents the UK's business communications users, said this morning. Launching the Communication Managers' Association (CMA) mainfesto for a new...

News.(Office of Government Commerce)(Information Tribunal)
March 3, 2009... The Office of Government Commerce is almost obsessive in its anxiety to keep secret Gateway reviews - which are already five years old - on the feasibility of the ID Cards scheme. It has lost an appeal before the Information Commissioner...

News.(Google Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Google is scrambling to identify what caused its global mail service to fail at around 1.30am Pacific Time. "A number of users are having difficulty accessing Gmail. We are working to resolve the problem," a spokesperson from the company's...

News.(IT services)
March 3, 2009... If respected IT market analyst Richard Holway is right, the end of the recession is likely to bring a world where if it ain't mobile and on the net, it ain't gonna sell. Seeds of change Technology in development Worldwide smart...

News.(Microsoft Corp.)
March 3, 2009... If suppliers can save firms money they should be grinning from ear to ear, says IT industry analystRichard Holwayin the wake of a report that predicts a deepening slump in sales of hardware and software. Many hardware and software...

News.(Information Tribunal)(Office of Government Commerce)(Identity and Passport Service)(United Kingdom. Identity Cards Act 2006)
March 3, 2009... Publication of internal reports into the feasibility of the government's ID cards programme would have jeopardised support from government agencies. The claim was made by Robin Woodland, director of policy at the Identity and Passport...

News.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Japan's cybercrime cases jumped by 15.5% to a record 6,321 in 2008, the country's National Police Agency (NPA) said yesterday. This was treble the number of cybercrimes of 2004, and included internet-related cases of threat, libel, illegal...

News.(United Kingdom. Computer Misuse Act 1990)(Brief article)(Case overview)
March 3, 2009... McKinnon The director of public prosecutions will not prosecute self-confessed hacker Gary McKinnon, despite McKinnon's willingness to plead guilty in a UK court to breaking the Computer Misuse Act. The decision opens the way for...

News.(cybersecurity)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The American equivalent of GCHQ is being promoted as the guardian of the US's cybersecurity, according to reports. Congress yesterday heard National Intelligence director Admiral Dennis Blair say the National Security Agency (NSA) should...

News.(Apple Inc.)(O2 Ltd.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... A million sales of Apple's iPhone helped TelefA[sup.3]nica's O2 mobile network outperform its UK rivals, the company revealed today. Matthew Key, chairman and chief executive of TelefA[sup.3]nica Europe, said O2's UK business showed 10%...

News.(ruling on gateway reviews )(Office of Government Commerce)
March 3, 2009... The credibility of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has taken a beating, after a ruling this month that two early gateway reviews on the ID Cards should be made public. The OGC is the government's adviser on IT. Its chief executive...

News.(Southwest One)
March 3, 2009... Southwest One, a ground-breaking joint venture to provide IT and other services to the public sector in Somerset, ought to be the object of desire for dozens of councils, police forces and even companies in the private sector. Many local...

News.(Office of Government Commerce)(Information Tribunal)(Freedom of Information Act)
March 3, 2009... The Office of Government Commerce has spent at least [pounds sterling]140,000 on legal fees to keep secret two early Gateway reviews on the national ID cards scheme. Costs will rise further if government lawyers appeal against a new order...

News.(dialogue with George Stathakopoulos)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Secure software engineering skills are difficult to find, says George Stathakopoulos, general manager, Trustworthy Computing Security at Microsoft. "There is a huge shortage of defenders [in the software industry]" he told Computer Weekly...

Opinion & letters.(Information Commissioner's Office)(Viewpoint essay)
March 3, 2009... With data breaches coming to light in organisations of all sizes and calibres, it is encouraging to see that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched an initiative to address data security, writes Mike Gillespie managing...

Business & technology.
March 3, 2009... Scott Herold has seen it all before. Companies buy virtualisation in a bid to make their operation more efficient. Then admins start creating virtual machines at the drop of a hat, to satisfy the whims of developers and other users who need a...

Business & technology.
March 3, 2009... Virtualisation can bring cost reductions through IT consolidation and the efficient use of resources. In fact, the technology is so transformational, according to analyst firm Gartner, that it will be the highest impact, trend-changing...

News.(Playboy.com to launch mobile website)
March 3, 2009... Worm found in computer News that a worm destroyed a computer last week may not seemsurprising at first, but when it turns out to be a real worm, as in the slimyinvertebrate type, that killed it off, then it is a shock. Yes, one of our...

Feature.(IT4Communities)
March 3, 2009... The number of opportunities for IT workers to donate their skills to a good cause is growing, withcharities crying out for their help. IT skills in demand Professional approach Valuable input Rewarding experience Skills...

News.(France 24 Live)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The first live TV channel to be delivered via a 3G mobile network is French, but you'll need an iPhone to watch it. The free application, France 24 Live, is available from App Store, which uses the Mobiclip video distribution platform. It...

News.(Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg)
March 3, 2009... Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is relying on the wisdom of crowds to guide its terms and conditions of use. Zuckerberg is asking Facebook members for their opinion on a new set of governance principles formulated after criticism that Facebook...

News.(survey)(Report)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... More than half of people take company information with them when they leave an employer, the US-based Ponemon Institute has found. The institute interviewed nearly 1,000 Americans who had been laid-off, fired, or changed jobs within the...

News.(Nokia Corp. CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Mobile phone maker Nokia may get into the laptop business. CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told Finnish national broadcaster YLE on Wednesday that the firm was "looking very actively" at the move, which was first rumoured late last year, Reuters...

News.(fighting terrorism)
March 3, 2009... The fight against terrorism justified a massive invasion of privacy by government, says the architect of the government's national security strategy. But this was "greatly preferable to tinkering with the rule of law, or derogating from...

News.(government to use open source software)
March 3, 2009... The government is getting serious about using open source as a building block in systems development. Yesterday its top IT policy-making body, the CIO Council, published a10 point action plan that frees central and local government...

News.(Information Commissioner's Office )(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Days after the Information Tribunal forced the government to reveal the results of the Office of Government Commerce's Gateway reviews of big public IT projects, justice minister Jack Straw has vowed to clamp down on Freedom of Information...

News.(Yahoo! Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... New Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz yesterday unveiled a centralised management structure that she hopes will make the advertisement-serving and search firm more responsive to customer needs. The reorganisation, the latest in a string that began when...

News.(British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. to contract with Parity PLC)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... British American Tobacco has signed a new [pounds sterling]2m a year IT services contract with Parity. The deal, until 2011, extends a ten-year relationship between the firms. The new agreement will improve the value of service for...

News.(Stephen Carter, Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting )(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Stephen Carter, theMinister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting, has defended the government's plans to establish 2mbs as the baseline for universal broadband access. Speaking at the National Endowment for Science, Technology...

News.(Stephen Carter, the Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Stephen Carter, the Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting, has defended the government's plans to establish 2mbs as the baseline for universal broadband access. Speaking at the National Endowment for Science, Technology...

News.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Companes hoping to exploit the economic downturn to hammer down prices on IT procurement could find vendors turning their backs rather than compete on price. The warning comes from Hewlett-Packard, which has walked away from several large...

News.(Office of Government Commerce)
March 3, 2009... An information tribunal has ruled the government must publish two gateway reviews on the progress of the ID card project. The tribunal upheld a decision by the information commissioner in July 2006 that the information must be released,...

News.(Microsoft Corp. to update Internet Explorer 8)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Microsoft has released a "reliability update" to stop the new pre-release Internet Exporer 8 browser crashing the Windows 7 Beta operating system. "The update will improve Internet Explorer's reliability for users running the Windows 7...

News.(winners of iT4 Communities Volunteering awards)
March 3, 2009... IT volunteers from across the UK were rewarded for their efforts last week at theiT4Communities Volunteering awards. IT4 Communities works to match willing IT professionals up with small charities and organisations who are in desperate need...

News.(e-mail fraud)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Jack Straw's constituency office has been hit by an e-mail fraud that saw hundreds of his contacts receive requests for money. The e-mails went out to Ministry of Justice Officials, Labour members, constituents and council bosses. They...

News.(members of parliament)(Survey)
March 3, 2009... MPs are increasing their use of technology to communicate with constituents, but the focus is still on top-down instead of interactive communication, a new report has said. The Hansard Society surveyed 168 MPs on their use of the internet...

News.(Nortel Networks Corp. to lay 3200 staff)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Nortel Networks is to lay off 3,200 staff worldwide over the next few months as part of business and financial restructuring plan to pull it out of bankruptcy protection. The one-time networking colossus has become the first major vendor...

News.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The UK government has endorsed the expanded use of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) platform and other open source software. "The announcement by the UK government reflects the growing demand and support for ODF, especially among governments,"...

News.(banking industry)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
March 3, 2009... Insurance firm RSA is cutting 1,200 jobs in the UK, includingIT roles. The company, which employs almost 9,000 people, wants to save [pounds sterling]70m by the middle of next year. RSA today posted a profit of [pounds sterling]586m...

News.(UBS AG)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Investment bank UBSblameda system error for a blunder which ledit to place an order on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for [pounds sterling]21bn instead of [pounds sterling]210,000. "Asystem error occurred in placing a cross-trade order in the...

News.(information systems)
March 3, 2009... The US has published a draft list of critical security controls to protect key national information systems from cyber attack. The move is the first step towards creating a comprehensive US national cyber security strategy as recommended by...

News.(Microsoft Corp.)(2009 Fiasco Awards)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Microsoft's Windows Vista has easily won the top prize in the 2009 Fiasco Awards, which were awarded in Barcelona yesterday (Thursday). Windows Vista has been ridiculed by users since its launch in January 2007. Its nomination stated, "An...

News.(Accenture)(Accenture and Cisco Business Group)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Accenture and Cisco are today launching the Accenture and Cisco Business Group to help large enterprises increase business agility by embedding collaboration and datacentre virtualisation capabilities into their key business processes. The...

News.(Adobe Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Adobe is urging users to be cautious when handling PDF files after hackers used a flaw in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat to attack users' systems. In a security bulletin, Adobe said it had received reports of attacks targeting a previously...

News.(Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Former home secretary David Blunkett is to call on the government to make sure new powers that allow sensitive personal data to be shared across Whitehall departments cannot be misused. Blunkett will give the 21st annual law lecture at...

News.(United Kingdom. Home Office)
March 3, 2009... The Home Office is introducing a range of new technologies at UK borders to increase immigration security. The new IT will support the UK Border Agency's efforts to screen every movement into and out of the UK by 2014. A spokesman...

News.(digital communications)
March 3, 2009... Lord Carter has acknowledged that there is room for further debate before he publishes his final report on the future of digital communications in the UK. Inhis first speech since he published his Digital Britain interim report last month,...

News.(Citrix Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Citrix Systems is offering its XenServer virtualisation platform for free to any user for unlimited production deployment. Although the basic Xen hypervisor is already a free product, Citrix will now provide its centralised multi-node...

News.(job opportunities)(Statistical data)
March 3, 2009... Job opportunities in the London financial services sector increased in January as usual, but there were less than during the same period last year. IT job-seekers will face severe competition as more candidates apply for vacancies...

News.(cloud computing)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Cloud computing could be more revolutionary than the invention of the PC in public sector IT, the Society of IT Managers has said. A report by the Society of IT Managers (Socitm) shows the potential benefits of the cloud for public...

News.(breach of contract)
March 3, 2009... IT consultants are facing an increased threat of legal action from dissatisfied clients as the economic downturn worsens. Hiscox, the specialist insurer, has warned that the economic downturn is likely to expose IT consultants to...

News.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... This is the worst time in recent memory for potential security breaches, according to a British Computer Society video debate. IT security should remain one of the highest priorities during the economic downturn, especially for companies...

News.(Survey)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Research shows that 60% of US staff who left their job last year "stole" company data when they went. The Ponemon Institute, a privacy and management research firm, surveyed 945 people in the US who had been laid off, sacked or changed...

News.(Dell Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Dell has posted a slump in profits for the full year ended 30 January, and it now plans to make a further $1bn in annual cost savings by 2011. The firm is already conducting a $3bn annual cost savings programme by 2011, which has led to...

News.(digital engagement)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The government is looking for a director of digital engagement to improve its use of social networking tools. The new director will be paid somewhere between [pounds sterling]81,600 and [pounds sterling]160,000. The Prime Minister's basic...

News.(DNA database)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The British government is reportedly planning to get around a European court ruling against its DNA database by retaining original samples taken. The European court ruling condemned the retention of DNA profiles of more than 800,000...

News.(eBay Inc.)
March 3, 2009... Auction site eBay has warned users of a Trojan horse affecting the Auctiva auction service. The virus affects users managing eBay auctions through Auctiva and also any eBay user who enlarges images of auction items that were uploaded via...

News.(online shopping)(Survey)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Online retailers are leading the way in customer satisfaction, a survey has revealed. The National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI-UK) was launched for the sector with a 0-100 point index scale. E-commerce came top with 82, followed...

News.(Facebook Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Two rogue applications are suspected to have hit Facebook in the space of a week, possibly harvesting thousands of personal details. The applications do not appear to be destructive but the first spread quickly and widely. The latest...

News.(mobile technology)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Accountants need to be contactable at all times during recession because clients need advice when faced with decisions that could make or break them. This is increasing the use of mobile computing equipment amongthe accountingfraternity....

News.(Sentencing Guidelines Council)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The Sentencing Guidelines Council has started a consultation on tougher sentences for computer fraud. The consultation run until May, but the Sentencing Guidelines Council says the government should recommend to judges longer sentences for...

News.(Google Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Google has blamed Tuesday's Gmail outage on routine maintenance in a European datacentre. Gmail's site reliability manager, Acacio Cruise, posted an explanation for what happened on Google's blog. He said, "There was a routine maintenance...

News.(gmail)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Gmail users have been hit by a phishing instant messaging attack, following this week's e-mail service blackout. IT security firm Sophos is warning Gmail users to be on their guard against phishing attacks, following news that the e-mail...

News.(Google Inc.)(Microsoft Corp.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Google has backed the European Commission's investigation into Microsoft's dominance of the web browser market. The investigation was made public last month and was instigated by a complaint from Norwegian browser company Opera. Sundar...

News.(Google Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Google is giving 15 days of free service access to subscribers who were affected by its Gmail outage this week. The 15-day credit will be given to firms and other subscribers who pay for productivity applications linked to the e-mail...

News.(computer hackers)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... A hacking competition, paying cash prizes of up to $10,000, will target the Apple iPhone and Google's Android OS among other gadgets and software. 3Com's TippingPoint security unit is sponsoring the prizes at the Pwn2Own contest on 18-20...

News.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Sun Microsystems Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Hewlett-Packard is making Sun's Solaris operating system available on its Proliant PC servers. The server rivals have expanded their partnership agreement to allow businesses using HP Proliant hardware to order Sun's Solaris operating...

News.(IT job)(Survey)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Nearly nine in 10 IT staff plan to change job in 2009, according to research from the IT Job Board. The IT Job Board surveyed 360 staff. Over 50% of respondents wanted a change to find a better career, and 45% wanted a new job to get paid...

News.(Apple Inc.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Apple has confirmed that founder and CEO Steve Jobs will miss tomorrow's annual shareholder meeting for the first time since he returned to the company in 1997. Jobs is currently on sick leave until the end of June to deal with previously...

News.(Logica PLC)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Despite experiencing a 17% increase in sales for the year ended December, IT services firm Logica saw operating and pre-tax profits slump 22% and 48% respectively. As a result, earnings per share were also halved. The bottom line was...

News.(Microsoft Corp.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Employees made redundant by Microsoft are being asked to repay cash after the firm claimed their severance amounts were too high. It is also believed some were underpaid, through the accounting mistakes made by Microsoft's human resources...

News.(Microsoft Corp. to axe 1,400 workers)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Microsoft is reducing by 10% the amount it pays employment agencies for supplying temporary workers, reports Seattle-based TechFlash. Microsoft's decision to cut agency rates will no doubt encourage others to do the same. The move comes...

News.(Microsoft Corp. to file infringement case against TomTom)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Microsoft has filed a patent infringement case against satellite navigation gadget maker TomTom. Microsoft said the legal action was taken after a year of negotiations with loss-making TomTom didn't result in a licensing agreement. ...

News.(smartphones users running Symbian operating system)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Smartphone users running the Symbian operating system are being targeted with a new Trojan worm that can steal their data and use their device as a spam relay station. The China-sourced Sexy View malware has been targeting handsets running...

News.(usage of mobile phones)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Mobile phones will be used to conduct almost 300 billion transactions worth over $860bn by 2013, according to researcher Informa. The $860bn figure is a twelve-fold increase in gross global transaction values in just five years. "The...

News.(Microsoft Corp.)
March 3, 2009... Microsoft Research has started a programme called Cloud Computing Futures, which aims to improve the efficiency of cloud computing. CCF has built prototype servers, based on Intel's low-powered Netbook processor, to run cloud computing...

News.(Microsoft Corp.'s UK managing director, Gordon Frazer)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Microsoft's UK managing director, Gordon Frazer, has said the recession could produce the next Google as the lack of jobs forces IT workers to rely on innovation. "Recessions in the past couple of decades have seen a large increase in the...

News.(Nokia Corp. to cut 600 jobs)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Nokia is planning to make 1,000 voluntary redundancies by this May as it continues to cut its operating costs in response to the recession. Nokia axed 600 jobs at the turn of the year on the back of poor results. Its Swedish rival Ericsson...

News.(Opera Mini )(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Opera Mini mobile browser usage in the UK has grown 63% in one year, according to the company. Opera's "State of the Mobile Web" report covers the Opera Mini usage of the top 35 countries where the browser is used. In the UK, users on...