SOA: Is Ajax really the face of SOA? David Linthicum asks, and stabs at an answer to, that very question. At issue is that SOA needs a common user interface, and whether or not we are oversimplifying things. “While it’s easy to draw a lot of services and place a user interface on them, that’s really not SOA,” Linthicum maintains. Related: Microsoft joins the OpenAjax Alliance. Hardware: Following up his post from earlier in the week on varying server prices, Paul Venezia confirms in IT Watchdogs and the Dell Mystery solved that Dell’s pricing is accurate, for the time being anyway. The vendor is selling systems for 30-40 percent lower than competitors to grab attention. “At $29K, it might be worth buying the server just for the RAM and procs.” Columnist’s corner: The lost laptop trend is not irreversible. “A dab of common sense will do you,” insists Oliver Rist. “So dig out your mobile security policies and skim down past Anti-Virus, Personal Firewalls, and Backups, and tack on a section called Theft Protection.” That ought to include the basics of data protection, hardware protection, and corporate exposure. The overarching goal here is to Protect mobile data from all sides. Speaking of, RIM’s co-CEO Mike Lazaridis says that wireless security must be the top priority for providers. Technology Industry