IT Week (UK) articles from July 2007

IT Week (UK) archives from July 2007

Remote fixes for smartphones.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Remote fixes for smartphones Daniel Robinson LogMeIn is bringing its Rescue remote control helpdesk tool to smartphones. The move will enable technicians to solve user problems much faster and more easily...

Oracle offers support to startups.
July 2, 2007... Byline: James Murray Oracle offers support to startups James Murray Oracle has launched an initiative for UK technology startups that will see it offer a range of products and services designed to help them get their products to a...

An excusatory culture is deluding IT staff.
July 2, 2007... Byline: James Murray An excusatory culture is deluding IT staff An acceptance of the problems and some accountability are needed if IT project failure rates are to fall I always suspected my article a fortnight ago entitled "Why...

The green bandwagon is overcrowded.(Viewpoint essay)
July 2, 2007... The green bandwagon is overcrowded Genuinely green credentials deserve applause, but opportunistic marketing risks a customer backlash I am as concerned about the environment as the next bloke, demonstrably so given that I always cycle...

Warning: user-generated sites may contain nuts.(Viewpoint essay)
July 2, 2007... Warning: user-generated sites may contain nuts Real news and informed opinion are being drowned out by conspiracy-fuelled drivel n Philip K Dick, in his story If There Were No Benny Cemoli, conceived the "homeopape", an abbreviation of...

Should proprietary IT get our vote?(Viewpoint essay)
July 2, 2007... Should proprietary IT get our vote? E-voting is coming, but the issue of who supplies the systems could have major implications for our democracy Reports suggest that e-voting may soon become a reality in the UK. E-voting systems could...

The IT manageri?1/2s guide to WEEE.
July 2, 2007... The IT manager's guide to WEEE IT Week explains the steps IT chiefs must take to comply with the new e-waste directive After two years of procrastination and delays, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive...

Traffic blind-spots block 3Gi?1/2s progress.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Traffic blind-spots block 3G's progress High costs and patchy coverage are not the only reasons why corporate uptake of 3G broadband remains slow The cost of mobile data access is one of the factors...

High-speed Wi-Fi comes at a price.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens High-speed Wi-Fi comes at a price Firms looking to deploy 802.11n kit must brace themselves for some potentially costly infrastructure changes The march towards high-speed wireless networking continues apace,...

Toolkit builds mobile forms.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Toolkit builds mobile forms n Sybase's iAnywhere subsidiary has released a toolkit enabling the rapid creation of mobile forms. The toolkit uses web-based technology, but produces forms that can be used to...

Devices combat Web 2.0 threats.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Devices combat Web 2.0 threats Phil Muncaster Internet security specialist eSoft last week launched a range of appliances designed to secure web, instant messaging (IM) and peer-to-peer (P2P) applications,...

Content filter ups reporting.(Corporate Guardian 6)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Content filter ups reporting n SmoothWall, a developer of open-source security tools, last week updated its flagship content filtering product, Corporate Guardian, adding enhanced reporting capabilities. ...

Google should snap up Salesforce.(Viewpoint essay)
July 2, 2007... Google should snap up Salesforce Google's financial clout and youthful ambition would help the software-as-a-service firm attract blue-chips There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune; Omitted,...

Brown knows what technology can do.(Gordon Brown)(Letter to the editor)
July 2, 2007... Brown knows what technology can do n In your leader last week (Brown's opportunity, 25 June, www.itweek.co.uk/2192768) you describe Gordon Brown as a "self-confessed computer ignoramus" who "needs to master the technology brief, and...

ReplicatorX range updated.
July 2, 2007... ReplicatorX range updated n NetApp has updated its range of ReplicatorX disaster recovery solutions with more targeted offerings, and has introduced a pricing model aimed at smaller enterprises. New enterprise and standard editions of...

IP telephony options grow.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey IP telephony options grow n Network infrastructure software vendor 3CX is taking on the giants of IP telephony by launching an enterprise edition of its 3CX Phone System for Windows. 3CX chief executive Nick...

Intel extends reach of HPC cables.
July 2, 2007... Intel extends reach of HPC cables Martin Courtney Intel has come up with a sleeker, longer distance alternative to the copper cabling used to interconnect InfiniBand and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) high-performance computing (HPC)...

1TB Raid drive saves energy.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey 1TB Raid drive saves energy Hard drive manufacturer Seagate has unveiled two models boasting 1TB of storage, one designed for desktops and the other for datacentres. The Barracuda ES.2 has both Serial ATA (Sata)...

Oracle tailors BI for midmarket.
July 2, 2007... Byline: James Murray Oracle tailors BI for midmarket James Murray Oracle continued its push into the business intelligence (BI) software market with the launch last week of a suite aimed at midmarket firms with up to 50 BI users....

Plaxo 3.0 address book draws on host of sources.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Plaxo 3.0 address book draws on host of sources Martin Veitch Plaxo has released a free beta of its latest online contacts program, adding an address book that can suck from, and send data to, a host of...

Green IT undermined by ignorance and extra cost.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Green IT undermined by ignorance and extra cost James Murray IT vendors' attempts to drive adoption of green and energy-efficient technologies are being hampered by customer concerns over cost and ignorance of the environmental impact...

DES adds full disk encryption.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson DES adds full disk encryption Daniel Robinson Data Encryption Systems (DES) is to add full disk encryption to its DESlock+ security tool later this year, bringing an extra level of safety for data stored on...

WEEE threatens explosion in data breaches.
July 2, 2007... Byline: James Murray WEEE threatens explosion in data breaches James Murray The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive came into full effect on 1 July, amid fears that many firms remain unaware of their...

Google improves tools.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Google improves tools Phil Muncaster Google last week added several new features to its Docs & Spreadsheets and Google Apps services to boost usability and encourage take-up of the tools. The search giant...

iPhone clones on the way.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch iPhone clones on the way Martin Veitch Apple's iPhone is already garnering excellent reviews after its launch last week, making it likely to spark a host of lookalike touch-screen smartphones. Although...

IT skips iPhone fever.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: martin veitch IT skips iPhone fever Last week's iPhone launch is proof positive that technology can still generate a huge buzz if reputation, product specification and marketing are fully aligned. And with the iPhone at least,...

Over half of IT projects fall short of expectation.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Over half of IT projects fall short of expectation Martin Veitch Many IT endeavours are still falling short of expectations, according to an in-depth survey of IT project failure carried out by the Economist...

Cheap roaming for the asking.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Cheap roaming for the asking n European travellers will be able to take advantage of cheaper mobile calls from the end of July, as a result of new roaming rules that came into force across the EU on 30 June. ...

Savings on request.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Savings on request European mobile operators should all be busy this month readying their new "Eurotariff" options for customers wanting to use their phones while travelling in Europe. However, the opt-in clause negotiated by the...

Can security and convenience coexist?
July 2, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Can security and convenience coexist? The head of Secure Trading discusses ways to improve online payment systems IT Week: As the new chief executive of secure payments solutions provider Secure Trading, can...

Admin suite detects human error.(Spectrum Network Fault Manager 8.1)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Admin suite detects human error Dave Bailey Enterprise IT management firm CA has today released an update to its Spectrum Network Fault Manager tool featuring new capabilities that aim to eliminate human error...

Cures for virtual headaches.(ScriptLogic Corp.'s Jon Rolls talks about implementation of desktop virtualization)
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Cures for virtual headaches ScriptLogic's Jon Rolls discusses recent advances that should ease implementation of desktop virtualisation Desktop consolidation via virtualisation holds out the promise of...

IT managers need an autopilot.
July 9, 2007... Byline: James Murray IT managers need an autopilot Tideway's Richard Muirhead says IT chiefs need to be set free from mundane responsibilities IT Week: What do you think is driving the increase in demand for automated IT...

Microsoft interest buoys MDM.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Microsoft interest buoys MDM Martin Veitch Master data management (MDM) remains a term that is still unknown to most IT departments but Microsoft's entry into the sector could help change matters. In...

Hot air will not stop global warming.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Hot air will not stop global warming Companies in the developed world must take the lead on cutting carbon emissions, but are networking vendors doing enough to help? The recent report by the Foreign...

Dell helps firms digest virtualisation.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Courtney Dell helps firms digest virtualisation The vendor's fledgling virtualisation consultancy service offers sage, though limited, advice The virtualisation consultancy service announced by Dell last month has...

Multi-threaded apps will boost Google.
July 9, 2007... Multi-threaded apps will boost Google Google's acquisition of PeakStream provides the technology to offer SaaS on an unprecedented scale Google's recent acquisition of a small software company called PeakStream has raised a few...

Looking back in anger and frustration.(forecasting information technology services and job market)(Column)
July 9, 2007... Looking back in anger and frustration The past few years in the IT industry have been marked by failure, waste, incompetence and wilful neglect It's been four years since I started writing a column for IT Week, and looking back over...

Technology is more than just an IT issue.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Alistiar Dabbs Technology is more than just an IT issue System overhauls are far less likely to encounter user resistance in firms where there is effective co-operation between IT and HR departments With a pained...

Why basing the iPhone on GPRS/Edge is a good call.
July 9, 2007... Why basing the iPhone on GPRS/Edge is a good call Using 2.5G comms in favour of 3G makes sense in light of Apple's commercial goals n Looking back on the iPhone frenzy, it's clear that Steve Jobs has got it pretty much right. What he...

Youth worship will put economy on its knees.
July 9, 2007... Youth worship will put economy on its knees The reasons given for venerating "tech-savvy" Generation Y are not new and yet again fail to convince Where is work going? In a recent Financial Times supplement entitled Understanding the...

Tiered internet divides experts.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Tiered internet divides experts Phil Muncaster The debate about net neutrality came to the fore again recently after analyst firm Jupiter Research warned ISPs about the dangers of creating a two-tiered...

Apple gives plug-ins the raspberry.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Tim Anderson Apple gives plug-ins the raspberry No Flash, no Java and a Safari browser; the iPhone is set to change the course of mobile web development Apple's iPhone is the latest attempt to bring about radical...

City ignoring Wi-Fi risks.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey City ignoring Wi-Fi risks London firms are still using insecure wireless encryption Revelations earlier this year that poor wireless security contributed to the theft of 45 million credit card numbers at US...

Mandriva to provide local Linux support IT Week staff n Linux vendor Mandriva now has a presence in Britain after the formation of Mandriva UK Limited. The company said it aims to provide local distribution of Mandriva Linux and other open-source applic.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Mandriva to provide local Linux support IT Week staff n Linux vendor Mandriva now has a presence in Britain after the formation of Mandriva UK Limited. The company said it aims to provide local distribution...

Overworked? Give virtualisation a try.(Column)
July 9, 2007... Overworked? Give virtualisation a try n Recently, everyone has been talking about virtualisation (Virtualisation goes over users' heads, 25 June, www.itweek.co.uk/2192656). I was under the impression that it was really for huge...

Vendors neglecting virtual tools.
July 9, 2007... Vendors neglecting virtual tools IT Week staff Systems management vendors are drag- ging their feet when it comes to accommodating virtualised IT environments, and the tools that do exist often fail to work with different platforms,...

Flood-damaged data retrievable.(Brief article)(Column)
July 9, 2007... Flood-damaged data retrievable n Too many companies wrongly assume that data backups stored on flood-damaged tapes and hard drives cannot be recovered, and fail to include lost data on insurance claims. Bill Margeson, president and...

Glitches mar broadband services.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Glitches mar broadband services Dave Bailey A new report commissioned by utilities price comparison site uSwitch reveals that a quarter of residential customers are not satisfied with their broadband provider....

Ultraportable from Dell comes with Flash option.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Ultraportable from Dell comes with Flash option Daniel Robinson Dell has launched a new ultraportable laptop designed for business users that travel frequently and need a lightweight system capable of...

Microsoft pursues XPS standard.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Microsoft pursues XPS standard Martin Veitch Microsoft's plan to seek standardisation for a document format that challenges Adobe's ubiquitous PDF is dividing observers. XPS (XML Paper Specification) has...

Will faster Ethernet life begin at 40GbE?
July 9, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Will faster Ethernet life begin at 40GbE? The IEEE is facing growing pressure to come up with a standard for 40Gbit/s Ethernet A report released by the US Internet Industry Association on 1 May called The...

USB 2.0 drive holds 300GB.(universal serial bus)(Brief article)
July 9, 2007... Byline: David Neal USB 2.0 drive holds 300GB Fujitsu last week unveiled a compact 300GB External Hard Disc Drive (HDD) that should appeal to mobile workers looking to transport and secure large amounts of data. The USB 2.0 device...

NetSuite tests market waters.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch NetSuite tests market waters Martin Veitch NetSuite has filed to go public in a move that could lift the profile of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) movement yet further and test the appetite for business...

Google buys into web telephony to rival Skype.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Google buys into web telephony to rival Skype Dave Bailey Search giant Google ramped up the pressure on Skype, Microsoft and others last week by acquiring web telephony startup GrandCentral Communications for...

Autonomy to mitigate data risk.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Autonomy to mitigate data risk Martin Veitch UK enterprise search pioneer Autonomy last week agreed to buy Zantaz, a specialist in archiving and discovering data for use in legal and regulatory processes. ...

Igel gears up for virtualisation.(using Leostream's Connection Broker software)(Brief article)
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Igel gears up for virtualisation Thin client vendors are updating their products in response to the growing interest in virtual desktop infrastructure among enterprise customers. Igel said it has upgraded...

IT teams urged to rethink web and network security.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster IT teams urged to rethink web and network security Phil Muncaster Internet and network security are on converging paths, prompting vendor mergers and changes in the way IT departments approach data...

Government acts on skills n The newly-formed Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills will mark its arrival today with the launch of a campaign to enhance the UK's skills base, with IT likely to be high on the agenda in light of growing concern.
July 9, 2007... Byline: it week staff Government acts on skills n The newly-formed Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills will mark its arrival today with the launch of a campaign to enhance the UK's skills base, with IT likely to be high...

Data breach law divides experts.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Data breach law divides experts Phil Muncaster Security experts at an RSA Conference roundtable last week renewed calls for the government to enact a US-style data breach notification law, arguing that it...

AMD quads due in August.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson AMD quads due in August Daniel Robinson AMD has confirmed that its quad-core processors will ship in August, with the first systems using them expected as early as September. The announcement came amid...

Data rules up for review.
July 9, 2007... Byline: David Neal Data rules up for review David Neal The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a consultation on its new Data Protection Strategy. With its new interpretation of the Data Protection Act, the ICO is...

SAP's ethics in doubt after Oracle admission.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch SAP's ethics in doubt after Oracle admission Martin Veitch SAP last week admitted that staff had wrongfully downloaded Oracle documents -- an admission that could harm the reputation of the German enterprise...

Corporates set to pick up iPhone.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Corporates set to pick up iPhone Martin Veitch The early sales success of the iPhone is fuelling speculation that there could be a business role for the device. Watchers such as analyst Gartner have...

Giants jostle for enterprise search crown.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Giants jostle for enterprise search crown Martin Veitch IT giants are taking divergent routes to become the default search option for enterprises, with free tools, appliances and integration with discovery...

Tough role for Intel's new chip.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Tough role for Intel's new chip Panasonic has released the first model in its range of Toughbook ruggedised laptops based on Intel's latest mobile platform. The model's combination of performance, robustness and...

Security boost for remote users.(Secure Computing Corp. introduced SafeWord MobilePass)(Brief article)
July 9, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Security boost for remote users n Secure Computing has announced a tool to let workers generate one-time passwords for remote authentication using a smartphone, removing the need to remember passwords or carry...

Asset management can reduce costs.
July 16, 2007... Byline: James Murray Asset management can reduce costs Keith Dolby of Real Asset Management explains how IT audits can cut insurance premiums IT Week: How can improving your asset management processes and systems lower insurance...

Gearing up for the low-power century.
July 16, 2007... Byline: James Murray Gearing up for the low-power century Adapters waste huge amounts of energy, but new innovations could solve the problem At least once a week, someone will traipse around BusinessGreen's office asking if anyone...

Itanium 2 is here to stay.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Martin Courtney Itanium 2 is here to stay Doubts about the future of Itanium chips in the mainframe market are unfounded, insists Intel's Rory McInerney Rory McInerney, director of engineering at Intel, recently visited...

Energy Star tightens standards.
July 16, 2007... Energy Star tightens standards The revamped energy-efficiency scheme is once again ahead of the technology curve James Murray The Energy Star labelling scheme for energy-efficient PCs will receive its first revamp since 2000 this...

Servers and datacentres in the efficiency spotlight.
July 16, 2007... Servers and datacentres in the efficiency spotlight The Green Grid is close to an agreement on the best metric to measure datacentre efficiency James Murray The Energy Star standard for PCs is the first in a raft of new IT...

Unethical vendors becoming a bad joke.(information technology vendors and corporate social responsibility)(Column)
July 16, 2007... Unethical vendors becoming a bad joke In an increasingly competitive market, suppliers with a high social responsibility rating will have the last laugh For journalists, ethics is a county east of London famous for opinionated cabbies...

Desk phones are an endangered species.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Bill Pechey Desk phones are an endangered species If femtocells can make internal mobile telephony more reliable and cost-effective, who needs fixed lines? The onward march of the mobile phone continues and, nowadays, it is...

Flash disk gives laptops a lift.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Flash disk gives laptops a lift Samsung's new Flash disk can extend battery life and boost performance -- at a price Samsung's Flash solid state disk (SSD) is one of the first to be available as an upgrade...

Virtual apps get Windows dressing.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Virtual apps get Windows dressing Daniel Robinson Parallels has made a name for itself in the virtualisation market through its Desktop for Mac tool that enables Intel-based Mac systems to run Windows...

Should firms pick up the iPhone?(Column)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Should firms pick up the iPhone? While users may be drawn to Apple's shiny new iPhone, it lacks key features needed for corporate use I must confess to a distinct lack of excitement about the iPhone; I just...

VMware ACE 2 enables secure home working.(virtualization software from VMware Inc.)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... VMware ACE 2 enables secure home working Using ACE 2, IT chiefs can create centrally managed VMs and deploy them to USB devices VMware's Workstation 6 is not just a stand-alone product, but also available as part of the firm's VMware...

Wireless advances to next level.
July 16, 2007... Wireless advances to next level Dave Bailey Nortel has announced a plan to integrate so-called 4G wireless technologies such as WiMax, mesh and 802.11n into business network infrastructures, but the venture is not expected to bear...

A tour de force for wireless comms.
July 16, 2007... A tour de force for wireless comms As well as making sporting history, the opening leg of this year's Tour de France in London and Kent also broke new ground for UK comms You might know that the first few stages of the Tour de...

UK falls behind in PCI compliance.(Payment Card Industry)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster UK falls behind in PCI compliance Complexity and confusion delay takeup of the latest payment card security standard The deadline for all merchants to comply with the latest version of the Payment Card...

Finding clues to users' whereabouts.(Quova Inc.'s Marie Alexander interviewed)(Interview)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Finding clues to users' whereabouts Tracking online visitors has a growing number of applications, says Marie Alexander IT Week: As chief executive of geolocation specialist Quova, can you explain the...

Lack of privacy endangers the internet.
July 16, 2007... Lack of privacy endangers the internet If we aren't careful, people will stop venturing online and will warn others against doing so too The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has begun a new analysis of the way it implements the...

Spiceworks shakes up SMB market.
July 16, 2007... Spiceworks shakes up SMB market The free Spiceworks IT Desktop admin suite has had 100,000 downloads in less than a year IT management software vendor Spiceworks recently announced the 100,000th download of Spiceworks IT Desktop, its...