All The News That's Fit To Rate?

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In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: All The News That's Fit To Rate?
2. Today's Top Story
    - Microsoft Patch Snafu Grows, Users Seek Workaround
    Related Stories:
    - Microsoft Readies 'Carmine' Virtual Server Manager
    - Rising RAM Prices May Make Vista More Expensive
    - Microsoft Working On Image Search For Mobile Phones
3. Breaking News
    - IT Employment Reaches Record High In U.S.
    - Beware Bagel Worms Updating
    - Getting The Most Out Of Search Engine Optimization
    - IBM's First Quarter Reveals Slow Growth In Crucial Services Business
    - SAP Calls On Community Feedback
    - Canadian Online Drug Sales To U.S. Customers Increase
    - Chinese Piracy Law Helps Windows; Gates Hosts Chinese President
    - New Subscriptions-Based Online Backup Service Offers Unlimited Storage
    - Navajo Nation Gets Networked
    - HP Rolls Out New LaserJet Printers
    - EMC Unveils Midrange Virtual Tape Library
    - Fort Wayne Gets Wi-Fi 'Hot Zone'
4. Grab Bag: News You Need From Around The Web
    - HD DVD Players, Discs Make Debut (BetaNews)
    - Photo Pool: Laptop Stickers (Flickr)
    - Companies Warn About EU Broadcasting Rules (Associated Press)
5. In Depth: Digital Entertainment
    - AT&T Wants Its Internet TV
    - Actors, Broadcasters Demand Payment For Downloads
    - James Cameron: Lights, Digital Camera, NAB
    - Google, Sony Pictures In Movie Promo
    - ABC Tests Free TV On The Net
    - Gaming Technology And Business IT Begin To Meld
6. Voice Of Authority
    - Wireless E-Mail Patent: What Did NTP Know And When Did It Know It?
7. White Papers
    - E-Mail Management And Recovery
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription

Quote of the day:
"A prudent question is one-half of wisdom." -- Francis Bacon

1. Editor's Note: All The News That's Fit To Rate?

A new site, Health News Review, rates health-related news stories on nine criteria, including accuracy, balance, and completeness. A panel--consisting of 20 journalists and experts in health services and medicine--vets each story, which winds up with a rating of between one and five stars. There are explanations of why each story received its ratings in all nine categories.

The basic notion is to give readers the tools they need to help decide whether to take a particular story or piece of advice seriously, or to perhaps ask their doctor about it, or whether to just dismiss something as plain crazy or something that's not applicable to their lives. It's taking the idea of a peer-reviewed journal and broadening it out to the general public so "regular" people can make more informed decisions.

It's a great idea, and I wish the founders much success. I just wonder if it can work.

Society today seems to be sending a mixed message regarding its desire for "expert" information versus the opinion of anyone who's inclined to give one. Bloggers are springing up everywhere, sometimes being incubated by journalism sites encouraging citizens to "speak truth to power," as the old activist's saying goes. There's, of course, nothing wrong with this; my only point is that one opinion is as valid as another--or maybe not. And thus the confusion.

Whose opinion to believe?

As we wait to gauge the reactions to, and usefulness of, these new kinds of information sites, I'm wondering if there's any applicability of the "rated news" notion to the technology field. Who would need to do the rating for it to be meaningful? As we all know, if you get five IT pros in a room, you're likely to get six different opinions. And would you believe anything they said anyway?

To read more about this, or weigh in with your own opinion, check out the rest of my blog entry.

Johanna Ambrosio
[email protected]
www.informationweek.com

2. Today's Top Story

Microsoft Patch Snafu Grows, Users Seek Workaround
More problems have been reported with one of Microsoft's recent security patches, and frustrated end users are taking matters into their own hands in search of a workaround.

3. Breaking News

IT Employment Reaches Record High In U.S.
An InformationWeek analysis of government labor data shows 3.472 million Americans employed in IT through the end of the first quarter.

Beware Bagel Worms Updating
One site, which belongs to a Slovakian real-estate firm, was sending out new editions of Bagle every 50 seconds, a security company warns.

Getting The Most Out Of Search Engine Optimization
SEO is an essential tool for small businesses to promote goods and services and generate leads. Here are some tips on employing SEO to your best advantage, giving you better play for your Web site on search engines like Google.

IBM's First Quarter Reveals Slow Growth In Crucial Services Business
While earnings posted a 21% gain over a year ago, sales of business and technology services fell 1.2% to $11.6 billion.

SAP Calls On Community Feedback
SAP AG, looking for input from customers, systems integrators, and developers, launches its Enterprise Services Community.

Canadian Online Drug Sales To U.S. Customers Increase
Canadian online pharmacies are seeing an increase in orders as American seniors seek to bolster their new Medicare benefits.

Chinese Piracy Law Helps Windows; Gates Hosts Chinese President
A new Chinese law mandates all computers sold in China must have paid and preinstalled operating systems. In related news, Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Microsoft this week.

New Subscriptions-Based Online Backup Service Offers Unlimited Storage
LogMeIn charges a monthly subscription fee to move data between the subscriber's own systems.

Navajo Nation Gets Networked
The Navajo Nation has received the first installment of a Cisco-provided IP network that will bring communications and distance learning to more than 250,000 Navajos.

HP Rolls Out New LaserJet Printers
The new models include two black-and-white laser printers, a monochrome four-function machine, and two color lasers.

EMC Unveils Midrange Virtual Tape Library
The Clariion DL210 is a hard drive-based array configured to act as a virtual tape library. Capacity scales from 4 Tbytes to 24 Tbytes.

Fort Wayne Gets Wi-Fi 'Hot Zone'
The system uses dual-radio access points that have been deployed on water towers, hospital rooftops, and fire stations.

All Our Latest News

Watch The News Show

In this episode:

John Soat With 'Like It Or Not'
The Feds still have problems with security, Symantec owes hundreds of millions in back taxes, the Japanese government is buying Dells, and more.

Eric Chabrow With 'The Secrets Of Wireless E-Mail'
You think you've heard the last of the NTP vs. RIM battle over BlackBerry technology? Eric points out why NTP may have violated federal law by not disclosing "prior art."

Elena Malykhina With 'IT Put A Spell On You'
See what happens when high-powered IT execs are hypnotized and forced to do very silly things. Very amusing!

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4. Grab Bag: News You Need From Around The Web

HD DVD Players, Discs Make Debut (BetaNews)
Tuesday marked the first day of availability for HD DVD discs, with two studios releasing three movies in the next-generation optical disk format. The releases are intended to coincide with the launch of the first HD DVD player from Toshiba.

Photo Pool: Laptop Stickers (Flickr)
Even mass-produced devices can have some individual touches, as these photos show.

Companies Warn About EU Broadcasting Rules (Associated Press)
An alliance of companies, including ITV, Yahoo, Vodafone, Intel, and Cisco Systems, warned that a European Commission proposal to impose rules for traditional broadcasters on new media providers could have "unintended consequences" and hurt investment.

5. In Depth: Digital Entertainment

AT&T Wants Its Internet TV
The service will provide video-on-demand, digital video, and Internet content such as photos and music through a set-top box.

Actors, Broadcasters Demand Payment For Downloads
Now that major networks are airing content over the Internet and other devices, artists are requesting 4 cents per download.

James Cameron: Lights, Digital Camera, NAB
The famed director will keynote the Digital Cinema Summit on Sunday at the annual National Association of Broadcasters show.

Google, Sony Pictures In Movie Promo
Called "The Da Vinci Code Quest on Google," the contest features puzzles that will be released each day in the form of six different challenges at four difficulty levels.

ABC Tests Free TV On The Net
The shows will features interactive ads that viewers have to watch.

Gaming Technology And Business IT Begin To Meld
The two worlds have a lot to learn from each other as businesses try to make applications more fun, and game developers learn how to manage large projects.

6. Voice Of Authority

Wireless E-Mail Patent: What Did NTP Know And When Did It Know It?
More evidence surfaced this past weekend suggesting that NTP, which last month received a $612.5 million patent-infringement settlement from BlackBerry provider Research In Motion, should never have been granted its wireless E-mail patents. Eric Chabrow explains.

7. White Papers

E-Mail Management And Recovery
One major reason why companies fall short when it comes to E-mail archiving and restoration is the technical difficulty involved in the process. This paper looks at the issues involved in restoring and searching E-mail archives using Exchange.

8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek

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