IT Week (UK) articles from April 2005

IT Week (UK) archives from April 2005

CRM hosts extend their range.(Customer Relationship Management)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. The strongly contested market for customer relationship management (CRM) software is heating up as leading vendors prepare new releases for the growing hosted sector. UK business software giant Sage will next...

MPs make the case for tougher IT laws.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: David Neal. MPs will this week call for a strengthening of the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) after criticism that the law is too weak to cope with the latest threats. However, security experts said even the new proposals do not go far...

Security Watch - Apple OS X patches.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Apple has released a cumulative security update for Mac OS X desktop and server versions 10.3.8 and earlier. The update fixes buffer overflows and a local privilege escalation. - www.tinyurl.com/3vj8q.

Security Watch - Mozilla suite.gif flaw.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The common library used to render.gif images in the Mozilla browser before version 1.7.6, the Firefox browser before 1.0.2 and the Thunderbird email client before 1.0.2 contains a heap-based overflow. Users are advised to upgrade all three...

Security Watch - Telnet client vulnerability.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The Sans Internet Storm Center has advised those using Telnet on their networks to disable all Telnet daemons and use SSH instead, after two similar flaws affecting Telnet clients were discovered that cause buffer overflows. FreeBSD, Linux...

Sainsbury's regains IT.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: James Murray. Sainsbury's has revealed plans to move its Accenture-controlled IT team back into its London headquarters. But experts warned there is a danger that such reversals in IT outsourcing deals could be counter-productive....

Verizon set to purchase MCI.(A)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Telecoms carrier Verizon seems to have landed the winning blow in its battle to gain control of MCI, with a new bid of approximately $7.6bn. Subject to the usual approvals, the Verizon deal will build a large, financially stable company...

SunGard to sell out.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Disaster recovery leader SunGard Data Systems is to sell out to private equity groups in a deal worth about $11.3bn. The company said the move will make it a more nimble competitor. SunGard, which protects many...

Virtualisation via AMD chips.(Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... AMD has disclosed the first details of the virtualisation technology it will add to its Opteron and Athlon 64 chips, which it said will enhance software-based virtualisation tools with dedicated hardware support. The technology, codenamed...

Oracle buys into ID management.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Oracle has acquired identity management software developer Oblix in a move that will help secure access across the enterprise giant's burgeoning software lines. The purchase is part of a wave of recent merger...

Leaders - Better late than never.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Microsoft's release of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) late last week will come as welcome news to IT managers, many of whom will have burnt much midnight oil trying to ensure that infrastructure is as safe as possible from outside...

Leaders - Will HP lose its Way?(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... In his first media conference call since accepting the post of HP chief executive last week, Mark Hurd could say little concrete but it was pretty clear that his focus will be on bringing hard-nosed efficiency to the company. Aside from a...

Comment - Who holds IT vendors to account?(Column)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Butler. As internet difficulties grow, it is unclear whether the private sector is the solution or the problem It takes only a quick trawl through the technology-related news sites to realise we are all in serious...

Comment - Unsafe at any speed.(Column)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Lem Bingley. Regulators should look again at the bundling of IE with Windows - on the grounds of public safety. Roadside speed cameras are, we're told, there for our own safety. There is a well-known fund-raising element to...

Enterprise Week - Java apps face 64bit penalties.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. Independent tests of popular Java virtual machines (JVMs) running on 64bit Xeon chips show Java applications may run slower in 64bit environments, because Java vendors have yet to optimise software for the new chips....

Enterprise Week - MySQL database update promises better views.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. Developers of the MySQL open-source database have released the first public beta of version 5. The series 5 release adds important new capabilities, including support for stored procedures, triggers and updatable...

Enterprise Week - Alteris adds safety audit capabilities.(Alteris)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: IT Week staff. Automated software provisioning specialist Alteris is to acquire audit and vulnerability management specialist Pedestal Software for around $65m. Pedestal's tools complement Alteris's suite of desktop and server...

Enterprise Week - Comment - CRM suffers from a PIMs hangover.(customer relationship management)(Personal Information Managers)(Column)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. Most CRM tools are glorified personal information managers, and like PIMs they offer limited value. I must confess that when it comes to customer relationship management (CRM) software, I took my eye off the ball...

Enterprise Week - Windows opens up to Unix. Operating systems Analysis by Martin Banks.
April 4, 2005... How would firms benefit from the inclusion of Services For Unix in Windows Longhorn? Is Microsoft planning to put Services for Unix (SFU) into the upcoming Longhorn version of Windows? Currently the company is promoting SFU as a way of...

Internet Week - Macromedia upgrades its web controls.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: David Neal. Macromedia is offering free downloadable updates to users of its Contribute web content management and publishing system - available from the Macromedia web site at the first URL below. The updates bring Contribute...

Internet Week - Comment - The threat of m0d3rn language.
April 4, 2005... Byline: David Neal. The way people use the English language online may horrify purists, but can firms resist the trend? According to language experts in the US - not an oxymoron - critics of "leet netspeak" are wrong. It seems that the...

Client Week - Tool mobilises legacy applications.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. NetManage last week introduced an update to its OnWeb product family for web-enabling enterprise applications, giving firms the ability to extend access to staff using mobile and wireless devices. NetManage's...

Client Week - Red Hat plays host to diskless boot system.(Qualystem Technology)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Qualystem Technology has released a new version of its Lan-PC software that enables diskless workstations to boot from a server instead of a local copy of Windows. The updated version improves performance and adds...

Client Week - New battery recharges in minutes.
April 4, 2005... Byline: IT Week staff. Toshiba last week announced a new type of battery that can be charged much faster than those made using previous technologies. This means that mobile staff may in future only have to wait minutes for their laptop or...

Client Week - Comment - Familiar Windows shuts out Linux.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney. Firms considering alternatives to Microsoft on the desktop still face a steep and costly learning curve Any standard is better than no standard at all is a mantra that many veterans in the technology industry...

Client Week - Smartphone navigates via satellite. T-Mobile SDA Review by Roger Howorth.(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 4, 2005... T-Mobile's Windows smartphone supports an optional GPS system for mobile staff T-Mobile's SDA is a compact handset based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile for Smartphone 2003 software. The device is smaller and lighter than many rival Windows...

Network Week - Operators unite to boost security.(Fingerprint Sharing Alliance)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. A number of industry giants have joined forces to form the Fingerprint Sharing Alliance, a global initiative to help network operators quickly and automatically respond to global infrastructure attacks. Rob...

Network Week - WiMax must move quickly to beat DSL.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. WiMax broadband wireless technology needs to make fast progress if it is to be a mainstream competitor to DSL landlines, according to Ian Keene of analyst firm Gartner. Speaking at a recent WiMax event at the...

Network Week - Comment - Approach VoIP with caution.(Voice over Internet Protocol)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Bill Pechey. Voice over IP services for teleworkers seem like a good idea in theory, but there are some drawbacks. Hardly a week goes by without a new voice over IP (VoIP) offering being announced, and if you have a broadband...

Management Week - Report finds e-government faults.(Work Foundation)
April 4, 2005... Byline: James Murray. The Work Foundation last week criticised the government's IT strategy, claiming that mismanagement means the public sector is failing to maximise return on investment (ROI) from e-government projects. The...

Management Week - Microsoft beefs up its business intelligence.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: James Murray. Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) will enhance its business intelligence (BI) capabilities this month with new functionality for its Great Plains 8.0 business applications suite. At the heart of the launch is a...

Management Week - CA acquisition adds identity access options.(Computer Associates International Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Madeline Bennett. Computer Associates has acquired an identity and access management system for mainframes, designed to protect firms against security attacks by closing down obsolete user access codes. CA announced its...

Management Week - Comment - Video conferencing means business.
April 4, 2005... Byline: James Woudhuysen. In future business will depend much more heavily on video systems for face-to-face communication. Do a Google search for "productivity benefits of videoconferencing" (including quotation marks) and you'll find...

Management Week - Unified reporting aids decision-making. Business intelligence Case study.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. Antivirus firm F-Secure needed a unified reporting tool to make it easier and quicker to compile and analyse business data, while at the same time ensuring accuracy. Like many firms, Finland-based F-Secure, a...

Government leads way to digital Britain.(new digital strategy )
April 4, 2005... Byline: David Neal. The government launched a new digital strategy last week, designed to get all UK citizens online. IT chiefs could find themselves called on for support, as a core element will be forging closer ties with industry. ...

Metrics man leads at HP.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... HP is likely to focus on efficiency rather than R&D after naming NCR veteran Mark Hurd as chief executive. Hurd presided over a multiplying of the firm's stock price in his two years as NCR boss and has been called "a master of the...

Pack protects Win Server 2003.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. Microsoft has released the first service pack for Windows Server 2003 (WS2003), to strengthen security and potentially save IT managers a significant amount of time and effort. Experts said the improvements are long...

Comment - Will scammers cause major identity crisis?(Column)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Madeline Bennett. The success of online attackers who fool consumers and elude banks' security systems does not bode well for the UK's proposed national identity card scheme. Internet users are being bombarded by all manner of...

EMC software controls SANs.(Storage area networks)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Storage giant EMC beefed up its storage control capabilities last week by launching management software specifically for storage area networks (SANs). EMC ControlCenter SAN Advisor features an automated data import engine that allows firms...

2005 to be year of smartphones.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... IT managers are showing growing interest in smartphones as business tools, and 2005 is expected to be the pivotal year for enterprise adoption, according to mobile software specialist Intuwave. Research released last week showed 47 percent...

Xeon MP powers mid-tier servers.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch and Roger Howorth. Intel has introduced a new family of Xeon MP processors, bringing its 64bit extensions to four-way and higher servers for the first time. The five new chips in the Xeon MP line are aimed at...

Microsoft scheme helps boroughs to share data.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. The first fruits of Microsoft's push towards sharing apps between public-sector peers appeared last week, as the London boroughs of Newham and Kingston showed off programs that will be available to their counterparts...

Doubts delay RFID rollouts.(radio frequency identification, forecast)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) wireless tags is in danger of stalling, due to increasing doubts over reliability and fears of rising costs. According to a report due this month, RFID - Seen the Pilots, Now What?, from...

Familiar Windows shuts out Linux.
April 4, 2005... Familiar Windows shuts out Linux Firms considering alternatives to Microsoft on the desktop still face a steep and costly learning curve Any standard is better than no standard at all is a mantra that many veterans in the technology...

CRM suffers from a PIMs hangover.
April 4, 2005... CRM suffers from a PIMs hangover Most CRM tools are glorified personal information managers, and like PIMs they offer limited value I must confess that when it comes to customer relationship management (CRM) software, I took my eye off...

Who holds IT vendors to account?
April 4, 2005... Who holds IT vendors to account? As internet difficulties grow, it is unclear whether the private sector is the solution or the problem It takes only a quick trawl through the technology-related news sites to realise we are all in...

Unsafe at any speed.
April 4, 2005... Unsafe at any speed Regulators should look again at the bundling of IE with Windows -- on the grounds of public safety Roadside speed cameras are, we're told, there for our own safety. There is a well-known fund-raising element to...

The threat of m0d3rn language.(net chat is effecting english language)
April 4, 2005... The threat of m0d3rn language The way people use the English language online may horrify purists, but can firms resist the trend? According to language experts in the US -- not an oxymoron -- critics of "leet netspeak" are wrong. It...

Video conferencing means business.(trends in communications )
April 4, 2005... Byline: 28 Video conferencing means business In future business will depend much more heavily on video systems for face-to-face communication Do a Google search for "productivity benefits of videoconferencing" (including quotation...

Viruses exact higher price.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... - Malware is hitting more and more systems and firms are taking longer to recover, according to research by security certification firm ICSA Labs. The number of virus and worm attacks rose to almost four million last year, up 40 percent...

Tests measure dual-core pay-off.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Early tests of Intel dual-core chips suggest dual- and multi-core systems will improve performance without pushing up clock speeds. In tests carried out last week by IT Week's sister publication Personal...

Police fail to cope with e-crime.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. Firms need to step up their IT security to prevent attacks, as police are unable to cope with the growing problem of computer crime. This was the message given to delegates at last week's E-Crime Congress in London....

SAP tempts PeopleSoft and JDE software users.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. SAP is sweetening its lures to attract PeopleSoft and JD Edwards (JDE) customers away from their new supplier Oracle. The new offers are among many trade-in deals that point to intensifying competition in the...

HPC Windows pushed back.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Microsoft has delayed the release of a version of Windows for supercomputers until next year. The firm said customer and partner feedback had persuaded it to make the move. The new operating system, to be called Windows Server 2003 Compute...

Comment - Labour deserves the technologist's vote.(Column)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. This government has done more than any other to harness the potential of IT to improve lives and increase wealth, and for this it deserves your support Technology has been the most transformational industry of...

IBM and NetApp challenge EMC.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... IBM and Network Appliance signed an agreement last week that will see the computing giant badge and sell NetApp's storage kit. The firms said the offering could tempt corporates away from rival storage giant EMC. Initially IBM will resell...

Software alerts firms to IM risks.(Instant messaging)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Instant messaging (IM) security vendor FaceTime will launch a threat-alert system today, to warn firms of the latest attacks according to risk level. The new IMPact Index system will offer subscribers a daily email update of IM and...

SP2 blocker expires on Win XP.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Firms will no longer be able to block delivery of Microsoft's Service Pack 2 update onto Windows XP machines from tomorrow if they have the Windows Automatic Update mechanism enabled. Released last August,...

Firms ignore USB threat.(Universal Serial Bus)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: David Neal. Firms are finding it hard to cope with the illicit use of USB-type devices, leaving them vulnerable to data theft and virus infections, according to new research. A survey by auditing specialist Centennial Software...

Directory 192 offers more.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Directory services firm 192.com has relaunched in the UK and is trying to position itself as the leading site for business-related searches. The company announced a new search facility for its web site last week, which it said could index...

Security Watch - CA intrusion detection flaw.(Computer Associates International Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Security firm iDefense has reported a flaw in version 3.0 of Computer Associates' eTrust Intrusion Detection system, which could be exploited to cause a denial of service. Packets using TCP port 9191 can cause the intrusion detection function...

Security Watch - BakBone NetVault overflow.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Version 7.1 and earlier of BakBone's NetVault backup and recovery system for Windows and Unix has multiple flaws due to heap overflows triggered when handling specially crafted variables and packets. There is no patch, but a workaround is to...

Security Watch - JavaScript engine Firefox flaw.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Security firm Secunia has warned of a flaw in versions 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 of the Firefox browser, and the Mozilla Suite. Attackers could expose information on affected systems. As a workaround Secunia advises users to disable JavaScript support....

Email control cuts risk.( email management systems )(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: James Murray. Interest in email management systems is rising, as companies face pressure from insurers and auditors to improve regulatory compliance and as they try to reduce insurance costs. The practice of offering cheaper...

Fujitsu rivals Superdome.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Technology giant Fujitsu Siemens has launched an Itanium-based multiprocessor server to lure customers away from HP's Superdome. The high-end Primequest server is currently available in 16- and 32-processor versions. The system is certified...

Microsoft to offer direct support.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Microsoft is tweaking its enterprise support and licensing programmes as it seeks to improve interaction with customers. The software giant is getting rid of its Microsoft Authorised Premier Support (Maps) programme...

Neoware acquires Qualystem.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Thin client vendor Neoware has acquired Qualystem, which markets software to let PCs boot from a server instead of a local hard disk. Neoware said the move will help its customers improve the security and management of their desktops. -...

Flash disk configures WLANs.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... USB Flash drive maker M-Systems has announced its DiskOnKey range is now compatible with Microsoft's Windows Connect Now technology, which allows wireless LAN configuration settings to be stored on the device and propagated to other computers...

Kyocera's new colour printer.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Kyocera's new colour laser printer for workgroups, the FS-C5020N, prints up to 16 pages per minute and has a monthly duty cycle of 85,000 pages. Running costs are 0.89p per mono page and 3.97p per colour page, the firm said. It costs [pounds...

Government extends IT recycling deadline.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: James Murray. IT experts have welcomed the UK government's decision to delay implementation of the European IT recycling directive, and said this provides an opportunity to clarify who will be responsible for the cost of...

JBoss reassures users.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... JBoss has upgraded its indemnification coverage for customers of its JBoss Enterprise Middleware System. The scheme now includes unlimited coverage for legal defence, repair and replacements involving any intellectual property claims, subject...

Gmail storage rises to 2GB.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Google has doubled the capacity of its Gmail email service and added new features. Account-holders now get 2GB of storage, the ability to send up to 10MB of photos in a single message and free POP access. - www.gmail.com.

DNS system in need of upgrade.(internet Domain Name System)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... The internet Domain Name System (DNS) requires both a technical and political update if it is to meet future challenges from hackers and accommodate further growth, according to a new report from The National Academies Research Council.

Comment - Who wants to be a detective?(computer forensics)(Column)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Neil Barrett. To be an expert witness working on computer forensics can be fascinating, but there are drawbacks Let me tell you about a wonderful career option. Interested in TV series such as CSI and Cracker? Enjoy police...

Comment - Thumbs down for net voting.(Column)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Lem Bingley. More use of internet voting will not avoid the kind of electoral fraud revealed in Birmingham. Earlier this year, as you will no doubt be aware, Iraqis went to the polls. Those who voted were reminded of the fact...

Enterprise Week - Lawsuits push SCO to the brink.(Santa Cruz Operation Inc.)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. The long-running legal actions between Unix vendor SCO and IBM over rights to Unix code may soon be over, if only because SCO is running out of money to pursue its claims. This news was revealed by SCO in its...

Enterprise Week - Python development coils around Windows.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. The Python programming language is set to become more popular among enterprise software developers following the release of version 0.7 of a Microsoft dot-Net Common Language Runtime (CLR)-compatible edition of the...

Internet Week - European e-trade to overtake US.(Interactive Media in Retail Group )
April 11, 2005... Byline: David Neal. The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) has published its annual report on the state of UK e-commerce. It said online trade continued to increase last year, and mobile commerce was a growing trend. This year it...

Internet Week - Application analyser combats online threats.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: David Neal. WholeSecurity last week released Confidence Online, a product designed to limit firms' exposure to virus infection at the internet gateway. WholeSecurity chief executive Pete Selda said the system analyses the...

Internet Week - Government scheme aids accessibility.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. A new government initiative should help firms meet their legal obligation to make their web sites and online services accessible to people with disabilities. In a document entitled Connecting the UK: the digital...

Internet Week - Comment - Will simpler APIs burst Soap's bubble?(Simple Object Access Protocol)(Applications Programming Interface)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Tim Anderson. Easy-to-implement web services protocols such as Rest are proving to be popular alternatives to Soap. There is an intense debate among developers over the best architecture for web services. Soap, the Simple (or...

Client Week - Adobe adds tools to graphics suite.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Adobe last week announced a new version of its Creative Suite, a product that brings together many of the firm's graphic design and document handling tools into a single integrated design environment. The updated...

Client Week - Dell ultraportable is lightweight contender.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Dell has introduced a new ultraportable PC that weighs little over a kilogram. It is designed for staff who need to remain productive on the move but do not want to carry the weight of a standard laptop, the firm...

Client Week - DVD-RW disk will record up to 8.5GB.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: IT Week staff. JVC has developed new media technology that can support rewritable single-sided dual-layer DVD disks for the first time, the company said. The move makes it possible for rewritable DVD disks to hold up to 8.5GB of...