Hot review: Application server provider BEA Systems shines in terms of manageability with WebLogic and AquaLogic ESB releases, maintains Andrew Binstock in this review. “If the new mission statement for BEA is Java cum SOA, these two products help move the company squarely in that direction. The solid management features common to both products makes the combination particularly inviting.” Columnists’ corner: Keeping the SOA theme alive, editor-in-chief Steve Fox writes that Dilbert knows SOA. “I don’t usually rely on comic strips for IT inspiration, or for reads on the tech zeitgeist. But Dilbert is the exception,” Fox explains. Perhaps even more comical, in Open Enterprise Neil McAllister opines that the Internet is flat, but AOL doesn’t know it. “AOL has dubbed its SDK Open AIM, but how open is it really? It’s not open source: that much is clear.” Exactly what AOL is thinking, however, is not so transparent. Telecom: Based on recent departures among the executive ranks at Vodafone, significant changes to the company’s core strategy may be afoot, one analyst suggests. Vendors at Cebit say that mobile VoIP won’t be a commercial reality until operators enhance their networks for high-speed uplinks. Best of the blogs: Greg Nawrocki on open source identity management and the grid, Ed Foster aims to determine the point at which it is fair for vendors to cease offering updated drivers, and Matt Asay finds a way to compare open source with the world’s most exciting sport. Technology Industry