Data management: DBAs need not be passive and, as Sean McCown instructs, being proactive can improve your company — and your career. “One thing I like to do is pretend everyone in the company is an external customer, and I’m a contractor. As a contractor, my income depends on how much business I can bring in. So, while I’m talking to users, I see what I can do to drum up their business,” he writes. Careers: For IT pros who struggle to hold onto jobs, or even those who might be on the cusp, Bob Lewis has some advice. “If you’ve lost more than one job by ‘speaking your mind,’ you might want to ask yourself whether the problem was with the organization, or with your message, or with how you delivered it.” It’s about doing what you’re paid to, Lewis insists in Disagreement on a style of management, or a disagreeable style of management? The news beat: Here’s one pretty much anyone who saw Cisco’s iPhone announcement could tell was imminent: Cisco sues Apple over iPhone name, a registered trademark of Linksys. Two U.S. senators say that the U.S. government data mining needs some oversight, particularly to ensure that the administration follows the law. And Microsoft partners are working to extend digital connectivity into automobiles. Technology Industry