IT Week (UK) articles from May 2005

IT Week (UK) archives from May 2005

Comment - High street must take e-trade to its heart.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Madeline Bennett. Retailers such as Marks & Spencer and WH Smith should learn from the model of Tesco, unshackle their online divisions and see e-commerce as a core business Tesco is a prime example of a traditional bricks and...

Hard disks blur phone features.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Nokia announced its first phones with Wi-Fi and hard disks last week. The disks will add much-needed capacity but could also make devices more vulnerable to physical damage and security threats. The first of the Nseries line will go on sale...

Outsourcing deals rejigged.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Firms wanting to outsource may find it pays to negotiate harder and more carefully with their service providers initially, and so reduce the time and expense of renegotiations during the lifetimes of their contracts, according to new research....

SAP reveals enterprise alliances.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: David Neal in Copenhagen. SAP last week announced a range of new partnerships aimed at integrating its products with other enterprise systems, and offering European customers better support options. At its Sapphire user event...

Smartphone sales balloon.(Sales figures of wireless products)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Global sales of wireless handhelds and smartphones have continued to grow strongly, with market leader Nokia shipping a record 5.4 million smartphones in the first quarter this year, according to new research....

IE promises cleaner style sheets.(Internet Explorer)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Web developers have responded enthusiastically to Microsoft's promise to improve consistency for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and offer full support for PNG graphics in the long-awaited next version of the Internet...

Security watch - Netscape gif processing flaw.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Versions 7.2 and earlier and 6.2.3 and earlier of Netscape's browser have multiple problems that may be exploited by malicious web sites to execute arbitrary commands. The problem occurs when processing a Netscape-specific extension block...

Fake Google site warning.(Sans Internet Storm Center)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... The Sans Internet Storm Center (ISC) is warning that mistyping Google as Googkle takes users to a malicious site registered as a domain. Accessing the URL installs many pieces of spyware, blocks access to antivirus vendor sites, and points to...

Windows Explorer problem.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Security firm GreyMagic has reported a flaw in the Windows 2000 version of Windows Explorer. In default mode a specially crafted author's name can be processed by the preview pane, leading to execution of script code if the file is selected....

Duo up WLAN protection.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... WLAN security vendor AirMagnet and WLAN vendor Colubris are to integrate AirMagnet's Enterprise software into the Colubris Intelligent Multiservice System (CIMS). The system will be available from Colubris in the third quarter. -...

Trend Micro updates signature.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Antivirus vendor Trend Micro has updated signature 594 after Windows Server 2003 and XP systems experienced high CPU utilisation when scanning with this pattern. Trend Micro has released advisories for susceptible versions of its OfficeScan...

Veritas updates email archiving.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Murray in San Francisco. Veritas last week extended the reach of its email archiving system to integrate with additional messaging systems, and unveiled forthcoming tools for continuous backup of files. At its Vision user...

CRM hosting scales up.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Hosted apps provider NetSuite is attempting to move upscale to deployments of hundreds of users with today's release of its CRM+ service. The move underlines the way hosts are targeting large firms. CRM+ is an...

Yahoo search gets personal.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Yahoo has launched a beta version of a personal search tool to give web users a way to save, retrieve and share online content. The search specialist described its My Web tool as a "personal search engine", which lets users create their own...

Ofcom reviews WiMax spectrum plan.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney. Internet service providers have called on Ofcom to reserve a dedicated radio frequency range for future WiMax services. The move could lead to fixed wireless broadband connections being offered to more UK...

Comment - Stranger and stranger in a strange land. Bill Gates, German CEOs and IT managers all have to be very careful not to get lost in translation.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Lem Bingley. The Germans are often derided for their lack of humour, but this national characteristic has furnished the world with some hilarious situations. And not just in Fawlty Towers. Take, for example, the brouhaha...

Comment - Pay attention to the important bits. How will emerging dual-core processors and 64bit applications affect the way businesses work?(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Butler. In the IT industry we are used to fast innovation and frequent changes to systems on which organisations depend. It is surprising then that we are only just talking about the move to 64bit computing for mainstream...

Special report: ECM - Analysis - ECM answers the compliance challenge. In the second of four fortnightly pages, IT Week looks at how content management tools can aid corporate governance.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Outside of the macro economy, perhaps the most important stimulus affecting the level and direction of IT spending since 2000 has been the series of checks imposed by governments and industry regulators. Often bound...

Special report: ECM - Comment - Governance governs purchases. Regulatory pressures are steering firms' content management strategies.
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Burckhardt, head of research at IT Week publisher VNU. Some IT topics gain a lot of media coverage before research reveals that buyers may be less interested in them than vendors. That, however, is not the case with corporate...

Enterprise Week - Giants improve storage controls.
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Murray in San Francisco. Storage software giant Veritas last week launched version 6.0 of its backup management toolset, NetBackup, at its annual user conference in San Francisco. NetBackup 6.0 was developed through...

Enterprise Week - Single sign-on kit upgrades token security.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. Single sign-on (SSO) specialist Imprivata previewed a software upgrade for its OneSign appliance at the Infosecurity Europe 2005 show in London last week. Omar Hussain, vice-president of marketing at Imprivata,...

Enterprise Week - Comment - Will multi-core dwarf Moore's law? Dual-core processors could be just the starting point for advances in multi-core technology.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Banks. This year is the 40th anniversary of Moore's Law, which was derived from a paper written by Intel's Gordon Moore for Electronics Magazine. The law suggests the number of components that can be squeezed onto a chip...

Enterprise Week - EMC AX100 - EMC lowers cost of SAN storage. The AX100 Raid controller SAN unit lets firms carry out robust site-to site replication.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. EMC broke the mould when it launched the AX100 Raid array last summer because the unit, also sold via Dell, is very cheap compared with other storage area network (SAN) kit. Packed into a compact 2U (3.5in)...

Enterprise Week - High-end servers - Analysis - Will Itanium servers beat Risc? Will the combination of Microsoft's upcoming Longhorn server operating system and Intel's 64bit Itanium chip end the dominance of Risc and Unix in high-end servers?
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Banks. Microsoft has announced its upcoming Windows Longhorn server, due in 2007, will be closely allied to Intel's Itanium 64bit processor. Microsoft is promoting Longhorn and Itanium as an alternative to Unix and Risc...

Internet Week - IT criminals get more organised.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Iain Thomson. At last week's Infosecurity Europe show in London, experts warned that the increasing number of online criminals means that firms must rethink their security practices. Meanwhile, critical national infrastructure is...

Internet Week - Comment - Why online stores are streets ahead. Online shopping has become so slick that it is a mystery why anyone would want to brave the high street.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: David Neal. This week I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of a set-top box, an addition to the house that is sure to do as much for my social life as an ad in a national newspaper claiming that I have a social disease. For the...

Internet Week - Spies Among Us - Book - Computer crooks alter their tactics. A new book by one of the leading security experts in the US explains how online crime is changing and how attackers exploit common weaknesses in companies' defences.(Book Review)
May 2, 2005... Byline: David Neal. IT managers wanting a clear picture of current security threats could benefit from reading Spies Among Us by Ira Winkler and his team, who are no slouches when it comes to circumventing security. The fact that in an...

Client Week - Laplink extends remote PC access.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Laplink Software last week updated its Laplink Everywhere remote access service for Windows PCs. The new release adds web-based interface options that let users access email and files on their office PC without...

Client Week - Vodafone to offer push email service on phones.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Mobile carrier Vodafone is to offer push email to business customers, to help staff stay in touch with colleagues via remote access to email, contacts and calendar data on Vodafone handsets. Vodafone is to...

Client Week - Peripherals go wireless for office staff.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: IT Week staff. Logitech is introducing a new range of wireless keyboards and mice aimed at corporate users rather than its traditional consumer customers. The kit uses a new wireless standard to avoid interference in office...

Client Week - Comment - Performance versus security. Deploying endless security tools to the desktop slows performance and user productivity.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney. There are apparently more holes in Microsoft operating systems than there are in a Swiss cheese, and this continues to present a dilemma to both consumers and businesses. One course of action is to accept and...

Client Week - Mobile working - Firms to share out mobile IT benefits. Soon the typical user of mobile applications at work will no longer be an executive.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Mobile data access is often seen as the preserve of top executives armed with BlackBerry handsets, but blue-collar workers are now set to overtake them as more applications are being rolled out by companies,...

Network Week - Giants offer WLAN security tips.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. Concerns that the perceived security problems of wireless networks of all sizes could cause companies to delay deployment has prompted three industry giants - BT, Cisco and Intel - to issue Wireless Security Guidelines...

Network Week - Extreme kit safeguards high-speed networks.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. Extreme Networks last week announced a network-wide security system to help Ethernet service providers and other enterprises protect multiple links running at gigabit and 10-gigabit speeds. Mark Slater, UK...

Network Week - Mobile users have to wait for faster 3G.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney. UK telecoms operators were last week accused of being too quick to promote future mobile broadband data services based on third-generation (3G) High-Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) technology, because handsets...

Network Week - Europe's broadband power struggle.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Access to broadband services through power lines may be dead in the water, due to DSL advances. Last September, I wrote a piece about power-line telecommunications (PLT) and its uncertain future as a broadband access technology....

Network Week - Device tests VoIP phones.(Voice over Internet Protocol)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. Fluke Networks last week released a voice over IP (VoIP) update for its NetTool inline test system, giving IT staff a new handheld option to ensure VoIP phones are set up properly. "Most QoS (quality of service)...

Management Week - Spam filters send email astray.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. Many anti-spam systems are causing problems by blocking items of legitimate email as well as junk messages, according to research published last week to coincide with the release of new anti-spam tools. ...

Management Week - SAP tailors analytics for specific industries.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: David Neal in Copenhagen. German software firm SAP has announced more than 100 industry-specific analytics applications to help firms better manage core processes and make more informed business decisions. Using SAP's NetWeaver...

Management Week - Good practice needs leaders' commitment.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. A leading IT consultant has warned that poor project control and a lack of commitment from business managers is preventing firms from successfully adopting the IT Infrastructure Library (Itil) series of best...

Management Week - Comment - Offshoring - a fatal distraction? Many firms worry that outsourcing will bring legal risks, while bigger dangers are ignored.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Woudhuysen. Why do I get bored so quickly with discussions about outsourcing and its international cousin, offshoring? I shouldn't. Going to a Gartner summit on the subject, I encounter no fewer than 700 vendors and their...

Management Week - Analysis - Flexible working - Home working brings IT challenges. Firms must ensure their systems can scale up to support the growth of mobile and home working, and they also need to improve security and training for end-users.
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Murray. Recent reports confirm that the trend towards flexible working is gathering momentum. A DTI survey found nearly 65 percent of UK workers are aware of their right to request flexible working, up from 41 percent two...

Management Week - Mobile working - Interview - Security and control for mobile staff. Alastair MacLeod, vice-president of Orange Business Solutions, explains how tools and services are improving to make it easier for firms to support staff on the move.(Interview)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. IT Week: As vice-president of Orange Business Solutions, can you explain your firm's strategy to support mobile working? Alastair MacLeod: What we're doing falls into two strands. First, we're trying to...

SAP builds axis with rivals against Oracle.
May 2, 2005... Byline: David Neal in Copenhagen. ERP leader SAP is forging closer ties with two of IT's biggest heavyweights, in a bid to cement its position in enterprise systems. SAP announced new partnerships with IBM and mid-market rival...

Gates targets PDF and 64bit.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Microsoft's Bill Gates last week laid out plans to attack Adobe's PDF format and Unix's role in 64bit computing. The PDF challenge will arrive in a feature codenamed Metro - to sit in Longhorn, the next major Windows release. Metro will be...

Next-generation network emerges.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney. This week's Interop show in Las Vegas will see Cisco launch new ADSL2+ and Metro Ethernet-enabled routers. The products could eventually be used as customer premises equipment (CPE) in BT's 21st Century Network...

Rights controls attract business.(rights management)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. Rights management tools and security dashboards will be increasingly adopted by firms to help them manage risk and comply with regulations, according to security expert Stuart Okin at last week's Infosecurity Europe...

Symantec and Veritas detail product roadmap.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Murray in San Francisco. Symantec and Veritas last week outlined how the proposed merger of the security and storage vendors would lead to more efficient and cost-effective systems. Speaking at last week's Veritas Vision...

Juniper buys WAN strength.(Wide Area Networks)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Switch and router vendor Juniper last week moved to enhance its application delivery portfolio, announcing plans to acquire wide area network (WAN) optimisation firm Peribit Networks and application delivery specialist Redline Networks for...

WinServer R2 beta to go public.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch and Roger Howorth. Microsoft will this month release the first public beta-test version of Windows Server 2003 R2, with extra productivity tools and security updates folded in. Along with Windows Server 2003...

BT adds WAN QoS options.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney. BT has said it can improve the performance of corporate IP virtual private network (VPN) links by assigning more specific priority to critical traffic on a per-data-packet basis. The carrier's Six Class of...

Treo 650 mobilises Exchange email.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. PalmOne's Treo 650 smartphone is now available in the UK. Compared with the Treo 600, the new device adds several key improvements for business users, including the ability to link directly to Microsoft Exchange...

Corel revamps its office suite.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Corel last week announced a new version of its productivity suite, WordPerfect Office 12 - Small Business Edition. The software will be available in Europe shortly and includes a new email client that offers spam blocking as well as updated...

Comment - Getting to grips with the people problem.(Column)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. The US debate on H1-B visas should be reflected by similar concerns here, not by an acceptance that mass outsourcing is best and an offshore shift is inevitable. Bosses of IT companies frequently go head to head,...

SOA adoption hit by confusion.(Service Oriented Architecture)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Leading IT vendors have formed a committee to develop reference models for future service-oriented architectures (SOAs). SOAs allow the reuse of apps and data by rendering software components as services. The committee, which includes...

HP cuts costs of business laptops.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... HP is cutting the prices of selected laptops to attract more business customers in Europe. Some models will also be offered under the firm's build-to-order programme. The thin and light HP Compaq nx6610 and widescreen nx8220 have had their...

FOI requests tax public servants.(Freedom of Information Act)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. Public sector departments are struggling to cope with a large number of complex enquiries under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, and each FOI request is taking six hours of work on average, according to a...

Software guards home APs.(Access Points)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Dave Bailey. Aruba last week launched Personal AP software to protect wireless access points (APs) for home offices and teleworkers. The system could appeal to companies wanting to protect remote staff and reduce calls to...

Open source guide garners praise.(Australian Government Information Management Office)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. The Australian government has published a guide to open source software, offering useful advice to organisations considering the technology. The report, published by the Australian Government Information...

Security Watch - Apple's monthly patch.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Apple has released its monthly security patch, correcting 20 flaws in client and server versions of Mac OS X 10.3.9. The flaws can be remotely or locally exploited allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands, cause denial of service or...

Security Watch - HP OpenView flaws.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Security firm Qualys has identified two flaws in both HP's OpenView Event Correlation Services (ECS) and OpenView Network Node Manager (NNM) that could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands or cause a denial of service on...

Security Watch - ICMP vulnerability.(Internet Control Message Protocol )(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... A flaw in the handling of specially crafted Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error messages could be exploited by remote attackers to cause denial of service. The National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) in the UK...

Security Watch - Sober virus variant at large.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... A new version of the Sober mass-mailing worm is in the wild. Called Sober.O or Sober.P by antivirus vendors, the worm entices users to open an attachment that leads to the virus harvesting email addresses that it then spams. Users should update...

Sun tightens Office integration.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Sun will release a new version of its StarOffice productivity suite in July, forging tighter links with Microsoft Office. According to Sun's web site, the beta-testing programme for StarOffice 8 has now closed...

Handheld mail takes off.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Mobile email is driving sales of wireless handhelds, particularly those with qwerty keyboards, research by analyst Gartner has revealed. According to Gartner's report, published last week, 3.4 million wireless...

Suite guards finance data.(Statesoft)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Risk control specialist Statesoft will launch a new version of its user interface control platform this month, to ensure that staff within financial services organisations can only access approved options. The firm's Martin Hogan said...

EMC looks to expand.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. EMC is likely to add a systems management company to its shopping list as it seeks to fill holes in its product line. In an exclusive interview with IT Week, EMC vice-president in the UK, Adrian McDonald, said...

IP telephony advances go on show.(Internet Telephony)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney at Interop, Las Vegas. Last week's Interop show in Las Vegas saw network specialist Avaya extend the reach and availability of its IP telephony offerings, with new gateway and software products, while AT&T unveiled...

Virus fears taint handsets.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney at Interop. The fear of viruses is holding back deployment of IP handsets, according to Avaya chief executive Don Peterson. However, he said more secure IP phones will become available. Peterson said the split...

Cisco unveils box of security tricks.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Courtney at Interop. Cisco used Interop to unveil a new multifunction security appliance - the latest weapon in its "self-defending network" armoury. The Adapted Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 series combines IP Security...

Startups bolster role of Linux.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Martin Veitch. Former Sun executive Mark Tolliver last week joined startup Palamida, underlining the growth of new firms with ambitions to bolster the role of open-source software in enterprises. Palamida's software is designed...

Businesses splash out more on IT consultancy.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Phil Muncaster. UK organisations have increased their spending on IT consultancy services by 13 percent over the past year, according to a new report from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA). The increase reflects a more...

Comment - How much is security worth?(Column)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Neil Barrett. What is the best way to put a value on IT security and justify spending on protective systems? One of the joys of being an information security professional is the chance to run around and announce loudly, "The...

Comment - Google rewrites online advertising. In the hazy world of online advertising, Google's sharp focus on searching could prove seductive.(Column)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Lem Bingley. Google's recent decision to start selling cost-per-thousand advertising came as a bit of a surprise. Widely known as CPM advertising, this approach is about "eyeballs" rather than click-through rates. Advertisers can...

Enterprise Week - Sun puts Opteron before Sparc.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. In a move that might spell the beginning of the end for its UltraSparc processor, Sun Microsystems last week announced a new Sun Grid Rack System based on AMD's Opteron chips. The new system includes...

Enterprise Week - Time Warner loses personal data backups.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. Media giant Time Warner said last week that it had lost backup tapes containing personal information about some 600,000 current and former employees. The news may lead to court actions against Time Warner, and has...

Enterprise Week - Comment - The storm before the calm.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Roger Howorth. Will a long period of stability follow the new wave of 64bit computing? At the risk of sounding like Bill Gates when he said 640kB of RAM ought to be enough for anyone, 64bit processors ought to be enough for...

Enterprise Week - Will firms take 64bit bait? Windows servers Analysis by Martin Banks.(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 9, 2005... Microsoft's recent launch of Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions has set the scene for the next decade of enterprise server systems. There will be support for 64bit and 32bit applications in the next version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn,...

Internet Week - Comment - Browser toolbars raise privacy concerns. Add-ons for browser toolbars may prove useful, but check the terms of service before installing them.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Tim Anderson. Yahoo's My Web, launched in beta form last month, adds a new twist to the web search theme. My Web saves your browser history online, letting you easily search or revisit web pages. It builds on the functionality of...

Client Week - Linux optimised for handsets.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Embedded specialist MontaVista Software has announced a version of Linux optimised for mobile and wireless devices. The platform is intended to allow phone handset makers to offer a range of devices, from low-cost...

Client Week - Orange improves service for worldwide travellers.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Mobile operator Orange has improved its roaming support to attract the custom of international business travellers. The firm last week said it had expanded its GPRS roaming agreements to cover over 140 networks in...

Client Week - Apple iMacs offer better performance.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: IT Week staff. Apple last week introduced new versions of its integrated iMac systems running OS X 10.4, the latest version of its Mac operating system. The new models come with faster graphics and built-in wireless networking. ...

Client Week - Comment - Do not rush to mobilise email. Before firms purchase mobile email kit they should identify their other mobile requirements.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Daniel Robinson. Mobile email is now one of the hottest sectors of IT, with a growing number of vendors jockeying to be the chief rival to Research In Motion (RIM) and its BlackBerry products. RIM has managed to establish an early...

Client Week - Treo phone links with Exchange email. PalmOne's Treo 650 supports ActiveSync for connection to corporate mail servers. Palmone Treo 650 Review by Daniel Robinson.(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 9, 2005... PalmOne's Treo 650 updates the firm's smartphone range with a better screen, Bluetooth support, and the ability to synchronise email over-the-air with Microsoft Exchange groupware servers. Its new features mean the Treo should be on any IT...