Privacy Protection: Progress, Of Sorts
Reasonable minds can argue over the specifics in these bills, and they should. But whatever passes, and I do hope that happens soon, at least those bills form some sort of basis for nailing thieves and for holding accountable the companies that are the repositories of our most sensitive data. It also speaks to a beginning of a public policy of sorts.
Next Version of Google Talk Leaked
Screenshots and installation software for a major upgrade version of Google's instant messaging application, Google Talk, have apparently been leaked online. The new Google Talk appears to have "themes," color schemes and so on for how conversations look, and the equivalent of what rival AOL Instant Messenger calles "Buddy Icons." Here's a look at the screenshots.
Ethics Aren't Just For The Classroom
My colleague Paul McDougall has been taking quite a beating in the comments section of the InformationWeek Weblog for suggesting that it's a bad idea for executives to take massive gifts from vendors bidding on company business. Paul is making the crazy, wild-eyed assertion that bribery is, perhaps, ethically speaking, the nonoptimal solution. You might even say it's wrong.
The Nerdy Way To Better Health
As junk food, alcohol, cigarettes, prescription drugs and inactivity increasingly take their toll on our health, people are looking for ways to get healthy. Of course, there's no getting around the need to consume fewer toxic substances and excercise more. The good news is that you can employ gadgets and computers to help you out -- and make getting healthy easier and more fun.
Microsoft Security Flaws Create A New Market
It's happened again: Someone other than Microsoft has ridden in on their white horse and delivered a patch designed to protect Microsoft customers while Redmond readies its next regularly scheduled download of fixes. Russian programmer Ilfak Guilfanov, senior developer with Belgian software maker DataRescue, opened the barn doors in January when he issued an unauthorized piece of workaround code to help companies
Globalization, Or Sailed Ships And Election-Year Politics
The car's left the driveway on the globalization of IT, but the United States apparently still thinks it has the keys. International deals of all sizes have been coming under increasing scrutiny over supposed security questions, and the atmosphere doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. Well, at least until after November.
Tips On Information And Records Retention Management
Knowing that proper information management can be the most effective means of reducing risks and bolstering regulatory compliance efforts, ARMA International, the not-for-profit professional membership association for records management professionals is offering some simple tips on setting your records and information management policies.
Oracle's BI Play
Oracle is pushing a new product line that it hopes will cover companies' BI needs from top to bottom.
Justice Department Spreads Subpoenas
Search engines aren't the only companies being sent subpoenas. As part of its campaign to demonstrate the futility of Internet filtering, the U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed at least 34 Internet companies and software makers. The story is now posted on InformationWeek.com.
I discovered this thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request I filed with the Department of Justice. The DOJ complied, though r
Maybe It's Just That Nobody Gives A Cr-- Uh, Darn
Nonprofits and political organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are campaigning against America Online's plan to give preferential treatment to some E-mail newsletters and other bulk mail, provided that the senders are willing to pay a fee.
Bennet Haselton, of the political group Peacefire.org, posted an explanation on Slashdot. It's thoughtful--but demonstrates why Peacefire and the EFF are missing the
It Takes An Indian Village To Buy An Intel Laptop
Intel Corp. has dropped the other shoe in its defense of its laptop processor business against whatever threat Nicholas Negroponte's One-Laptop-Per-Child project poses.
In December Intel Chairman Craig Barrett bad-mouthed the $100 laptop Negroponte, founder of MIT's Media Lab, plans to distribute in Third World countries, and earlier this month Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, the other half of the "Wintel" combine, did the same thing.
Even though he dismissed Negroponte's design as "the $100 g
Big IT Takes Step To Influence Tech Policy In U.S.
Influencing public policy in Washington and throughout the country requires more than hiring K Street lobbyists to push a legislative agenda. Look at the success of the modern conservative movement in shaping public policy. Its roots date back to 1973 with the founding of the think tank, The Heritage Foundation. Big IT vendors are tearing a page out of the right-wing playbook by establishing their own think tank.
What Happened To Morgan Stanley Could Happen To Any Of Us
Reading over the tawdry details of a disgruntled employee's lawsuit against Morgan Stanley, any reasonable person is going to break out in a cold sweat and get a feeling that what happened to Morgan Stanley executives could happen to any one of us if we fail to follow some commonsense rules about doing business.
Morgan Stanley E-Mails Reveal Outsourcing's Dirty Little Secret
If you're an outsourcing vendor looking to crack the financial services market, it might help if you're about to go public or need an ADR listing in the U.S. According to E-mails disclosed this week in a lawsuit against Morgan Stanley, vendor selection is at times based on more than just domain expertise, CMM Level 5 capability, full ITIL compliance, or any of the other bullet points that service providers li
Oracle's Wookey Talks Up Fusion, Open Source
Most customers won't make the jump to Oracle Corp.'s Fusion applications for years, but the software maker says it has begun working with companies to make the transition.
Along with the transition, Oracle's focus has been on delivering industry-specific features, similar to tools from Microsoft Business Solutions and SAP AG.
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One-Gigabyte SD Card Costs Just $20
It's amazing how quickly the price of removable mobile storage drops. The price of Secure Digital (SD) cards is now so low you can buy one for $19.95 -- and shipping is free.
It Takes One To Know One, Stephen Toulouse
I am sorely tempted to heap ridicule on Stephen Toulouse, the program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center who had the unmitigated gall to lecture Apple on how to do security alerts. But I won't. It's too easy. Mr. Toulouse doesn't need me piling on. He's self-satirizing. But I hope he and other Microsoft employees do learn a little lesson from this. Nobody from Microsoft has the right to tell anybody anything about secur
Problems Pile Up For Upcoming Vista, Office Upgrades
Problems continue to pile up for Microsoft as it tries to push out the latest versions of its major products: Windows and Office.
Microsoft said earlier this week that it won't ship Windows Vista in time for the winter holiday season.
Meanwhile, Office has its own problems. For years, users have complained that Office is too bloated; Microsoft is reacting to those complaints by piling on new features that
The Skinny From Bill Gates
Microsoft's desktop strategy is slated to take its next step forward later this year, with the release of Office 2007. Gates, now Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, talked with our sister publication InformationWeek last week and held forth on an array of topics related to corporate data and information-sharing, including a server-based version of Excel, enterprise data search and corporate blogging.
Dell and Alienware: A Mismatch Made In Heaven?
I've been trying to think of apt similes for "Dell Buys Alienware." It's like "Kia Buys Ferrari," or "J. Howard Marshall II Marries Anna Nicole Smith" -- something that at first glance seems sort of ridiculous, and the longer you think about it, the less sense it makes. Dell's been going through a bad patch and could use a shot of good PR, but is being laughed at the kind of PR it really wanted?
'V For Vendetta' Phone Coming To U.S.?
In the film "V For Vendetta," all the movie's office yuppies carried identical cell phones -- a sweet black and very thin rectangular gadget that (like all technology in the movie, including old-school Dell PCs) seemed oddly primitive for the year 2020, but that would nevertheless be a very cool phone to have now. And soon you may be able to buy one.
Readers: Less Faith In Database Analytics?
A comparison of two Business Intelligence Pipeline polls indicates that readers have less confidence in database makers' ability to deliver built-in analytics than they did a year and a half ago.
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