SOA: Back on the topic of VDA, as in vendor-driven architecture, David Linthicum points out that, “the notion of VDA is really something most enterprise architects understand far too well these days,” he writes in More thoughts on VDA. “If there is anything that bugs me about this business it’s the number of enterprise architects out there that don’t’ focus on the core business problems, and don’t learn to align technology to the business, SOA or not.” Thus the question of how to fix it. Admit vendor addiction and seek help. Related Podcast: Are you doing SOA or VDA?Sustainable IT: Supply-chain king Wal-Mart earlier this week announced that it is teaming with the Carbon Disclosure Project to track and reduce energy consumer and emissions produced by its suppliers. “This announcement is a huge one, and it should drive home the fact that it’s not just tree-hugger pols and nonprofits that care about energy waste, associated carbon emissions, and other greenhouse gases,” espouses Ted Samson in Wal-Mart throws its weight behind a greener supply chain. The move, Samson adds, could “prove a particularly pivotal moment in the rapidly evolving green movement, with some serious potential for a cumulative ripple effect.” The news beat: Michael Dell, meanwhile, says that his company will be carbon neutral by the end of 2008 via partnerships and programs designed to balance its emissions with activities that reduce carbon. Hewlett-Packard offers a data backup system for legal discovery, the HP Integrated Archive Platform, a bundle including hardware and software. Microsoft aims Live Search at its existing user base, it claims, rather than looking to lure new users from Google. And Cisco agrees to buy Latigent, a specialist of call center reporting tools. Show of the week: DEMOfall ’07 has certain rules for presenters. Chief among those, perhaps, is that the product you pitch must not have been previously announced. Well, mEgo either didn’t know that or chose to ignore it, I don’t know and won’t claim that I do, but just two weeks ago the startup unveiled its wares at the TechCrunch40 conference. Because of that, mEgo was asked leave DEMO and not refunded its $18,000 entry fee, Ephraim Schwartz reports. “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” Technology Industry