Thief Steals 26.5 Million Veterans' Identities

In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Open-Source Java: What's It To You?
2. Today's Top Story
    - Thief Steals 26.5 Million Veterans' Identities
    Related Stories:
    - Companies Urged To Prosecute Ex-Employees For Bringing Info To Competitors
    - Yahoo IM Worm Hijacks Browsers, Plays Migraine Music
    - Online Poker Site Dealing Trojan
3. Breaking News
    - Bill Gates Outlines His Answer To Google
    - 7 Answers To Key Questions About Java's Move To Open Source
    - Seagate Lays Off 6,000 As It Closes Maxtor Deal
    - Smart Cards Poised To Offer Wireless Access In Korea, Fight Fraud In Qatar, And Expand In U.S.
    - Internet Registry Fights For .XXX Domain
    - Verizon Makes Treo 700p Available
    - Microsoft Posts Commerce Server Release Candidate, Starts Talking LCS 2007
    - Intel Unlikely To Slash Jobs In Efficiency Review
    - Apple Adds Seven Patents To Creative Labs Countersuit
    - Startup Wants To Offer Free Nationwide Wireless
    - Dell, HP Deliver POS To Retail
    - Samsung Working On Fuel Cell-Powered Mobile Phone Prototype
4. Grab Bag
    - Company Offers Online Content-Delivery System (Associated Press)
    - Tales From Packaging Hell (Wired News)
    - Internet Takes Graduations Worldwide (Baltimore Sun)
5. In Depth: Microsoft
    - Windows System Hardware Requirements Since 1990: More Power, Less Bucks
    - Microsoft To Beef Up Virtualization Tools
    - MSN Phisher Sentenced To 21 Months
    - Microsoft Says Symantec Suit Won't Delay Vista
    - Analysis: Microsoft's Security Ambitions
6. Voice Of Authority
    - Will Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11 Take A Bite Out Of Apple?
7. White Papers
    - Remote Support Helps Customer Reduce Support Costs, Increase Employee Satisfaction
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription

Quote of the day:
"No man can discover his own talents." -- Brendan Francis

1. Editor's Note: Open-Source Java: What's It To You?

With all the posturing and PR around the announcement of Java going open source, key details are missing. Even more of a mystery is how this will help corporate Java customers going forward.

Let's review: The key concept of Java, going back to its inception, was to help enterprises develop software in a saner fashion. The notion of "write once, deploy anywhere," though it had been much talked about, had never before been achieved in any kind of major commercially available environment.

OK, so now that it's mostly working, does a model for Java that's Linux-like make sense?

Although the core software itself will be free, that doesn't mean there aren't costs involved. Sunil Joshi, a Sun senior vice president, made this point last week when he said open source is "about making money," not about making a charitable donation to the IT industry.

There will be some cost benefit to customers, sure, but at what price? I'm wondering if the other side of the coin will be a longer development cycle and more contention over what new features and functions will be included in subsequent generations of Java. My colleague Charles Babcock points out in his story, "7 Answers To Key Questions About Java's Move To Open Source," that Linux hasn't forked--in other words, there hasn't been serious enough disagreement to cause two or more distinct development paths with Linux.

But that doesn't mean it won't happen with Java. Unlike Linux, which is just starting to make some serious money and become a major force in the corporate world, Java's got a lot of mouths to feed. I can only imagine the ensuing mud wrestling by the software vendors making their living off of and around Java.

What do you think? Will you continue to use Java if and when it goes open source? If not, what's the alternative? What benefits and downsides to open-source Java do you see? To read more, or to comment, please check out my blog entry.

Johanna Ambrosio
[email protected]
www.informationweek.com

2. Today's Top Story

Thief Steals 26.5 Million Veterans' Identities
Identity data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans and spouses has been stolen, the Department of Veterans Affairs says.

3. Breaking News

Bill Gates Outlines His Answer To Google
Finding information through keyword searches is just a beginning, Microsoft's chairman tells his CEO audience.

7 Answers To Key Questions About Java's Move To Open Source
Sun CEO Schwartz isn't offering a lot of details. Here's our take.

Seagate Lays Off 6,000 As It Closes Maxtor Deal
The cuts, representing half of Maxtor's workforce, will be spread out over the next six months as Maxtor is integrated into Seagate.

Smart Cards Poised To Offer Wireless Access In Korea, Fight Fraud In Qatar, And Expand In U.S.
Smart cards are being used for applications such as wireless networking and government IDs in countries like South Korea and Qatar. The U.S. is lagging, but catching up.

Internet Registry Fights For .XXX Domain
It's not just about porn—supporters of .XXX say the decision to reject the domain is an example of the U.S. exerting too much influence over Internet policy.

Verizon Makes Treo 700p Available
The smart phone is available today online from Verizon Wireless for $499 with a two-year contract.

Microsoft Posts Commerce Server Release Candidate, Starts Talking LCS 2007
Just two weeks ago, company spokespeople were calling it by the 2006 moniker.

Intel Unlikely To Slash Jobs In Efficiency Review
Instead, a senior executive said the emphasis will be on improving the overall efficiency of Intel's operations and that closing factories is a very expensive option.

Apple Adds Seven Patents To Creative Labs Countersuit
Apple accused Creative Labs of infringing on seven patents, ranging from a PC processing card for decoding operations to icon displays and several types of user interfaces.

Startup Wants To Offer Free Nationwide Wireless
M2Z Networks says it wants to provide "near ubiquitous" coverage at speeds of about 384 Kbps for downloads in the 2.1 GHz spectrum band.

Dell, HP Deliver POS To Retail
Both companies separately introduced complete point-of-sale platforms for retail on Monday.

Samsung Working On Fuel Cell-Powered Mobile Phone Prototype
Samsung is partnering with MTI Fuel Cells to develop phones powered by methanol-based fuel cells for global markets.

All Our Latest News

Watch The News Show

In the current episode:

John Soat With 'The Real Sin City'
Three-quarters of U.S. adults are taking steps to prevent ID theft, the .XXX domain won't take no for an answer, and the new Apple store in NYC open 24/7.

Jennifer Zaino With 'The Future Of Security'
Jennifer interviews Internet Security Systems CEO Tom Noonan.

Stephanie Stahl With 'Monkey Shines'
Yahoo says its new Yahoo Tech site is so easy even a monkey can use it. We'll see about that!

----- The latest research, polls, and tools -----
Linux Plans
Learn how more than 300 business technology professionals are planning to use Linux in their IT infrastructure in this recent InformationWeek Research report, "Linux: The Impact of Service and Support."

Do You Access Our Content From A BlackBerry Or Treo?
Many of our readers do, and we want to ensure that you get the best experience in using our content. So we've created a PDA-friendly version of our news content, with similarly streamlined content pages, that should make the PDA experience a good one. Check out our latest enhancement.
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4. Grab Bag

Company Offers Online Content-Delivery System (Associated Press)
A startup company plans to launch an online commerce system Monday that would give people more options in how to get and use digital downloads, including games, songs, and videos.

Tales From Packaging Hell (Wired News)
Can't wait to get your hands on the newest version of your favorite software? You may have to wait because it may take a half-hour to open the darn thing.

Internet Takes Graduations Worldwide (Baltimore Sun)
When 17-year-old Reyniza Sherrell was handed her high school diploma, two of her family members watched with admiration--from thousands of miles away.

------- Now Hiring ----------------------
S.E.C. seeking Assistant Director of Enterprise Systems in D.C.

S.E.C. seeking Branch Chief of Network Engineering in D.C.

Ajilon seeking hands-on Project Manager in San Francisco

HSBC seeking Distributed Systems Analyst in Salinas, CA

American Broadcasting Company seeking Satellite Distribution Svc. Mgr. in NYC

For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services, please visit CMP Media's TechCareers.

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5. In Depth: Microsoft

Windows System Hardware Requirements Since 1990: More Power, Less Bucks
For some added perspective on Windows Vista's minimum hardware specs, here's a look at Microsoft's stated requirements, along with hardware prices, for each major Windows release since 1990's Windows 3.0.

Microsoft To Beef Up Virtualization Tools
Microsoft will accelerate delivery of its Viridian tool and debut its Carmine management platform this week. Microsoft is also in talks to buy vendor Softricity.

MSN Phisher Sentenced To 21 Months
Microsoft has filed 125 civil lawsuits against phishers to date and secured takedowns of more than 2,000 phishing Web sites, the company says.

Microsoft Says Symantec Suit Won't Delay Vista
Microsoft's chief executive said Monday that the lawsuit filed last week by Symantec won't delay Windows Vista from launching later this year and early in 2007.

Analysis: Microsoft's Security Ambitions
Microsoft continues to reveal its security ambitions in very obvious ways. Its $75 million acquisition of SSL VPN vendor Whale Communications last week shows just how deep it wants to go against the established leaders of various security technologies.

6. Voice Of Authority

Will Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11 Take A Bite Out Of Apple?
Microsoft's release of its Windows Media Player 11 in beta is the first part of a two-legged, do-or-die push to field a successful rival ecosystem to Apple's iPod, Alexander Wolfe says.

7. White Papers

Remote Support Helps Customer Reduce Support Costs, Increase Employee Satisfaction
When Retalix comparison-shopped for various remote control solutions, NTR's remote control solution InQuiero stood apart from the competition. Read more about how NTR's InQuiero solved Retalix's remote control challenges.

8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek

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