Quoteworthy: I wonder what the effect would be if piracy ended because all software went open source. Would services revenue make up for the loss of license fees? And would developing countries grow even faster? — Dave Rosenberg, in Software piracy and the global economy. Security: Every piece of software is a potential vector for attack, writes Roger Grimes, including Firefox, Flash, Google’s search bar, iTunes, QuickTime, RealPlayer, and even anti-virus software. Controlling what employees can and cannot download might draw a few whines, but it is for their own good. Many, if not most, companies balk at this advice, Grimes notes in Controlling the uncontrollable user. Columnists’ Corner: Intrigued by the show Grey’s Anatomy, David Margulius noticed that the cast makes it appear as if IT has not made any headway in healthcare. But, according to Forrester Research, four out of every five doctors claim that technology “makes life easier,” and, what’s more, doctors use IT systems constantly. “So if you’re an IT worker in the health-care sector, be proud you’re helping to save lives but don’t expect to ever have a sexy TV show.” The news beat: Today’s most acronym-laden headline is Siebel offers CRM services for BEA-based SOA. (Yes, BEA, technically, is an acronym for Bill, Ed and Alfred, I’m told, taken from the three founders’ names.) Keeping the TLA theme alive, Ecma moves ahead with the standards process for OpenXML, and is expected to submit it to ISO, Panasonic says it will kill its GSM phones, opting instead to focus on making 3G Linux-based handsets, and Gateway wins its ITC patent appeal over HP, regarding parallel port technology. I know, I know, enough with the acronyms. Software Development