Opinion

Security (finger)tip

I've been using an MXI Security Outbacker MXP for a few months now, and although I generally eschew portable storage devices (usually since I have a nasty habit of losing the power cords, if not the actual device itself), I like this one. At it&

The Source of Bad Software

Why is there so much buggy software? We're all getting so used to the continuing cycle of bad news about the consequences of poor-quality software that we take it for granted. But with the security stakes for flawed software rising, it's in

Can Viper put the bite on Oracle, SQL Server?

Analysts are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for IBM's latest database

Snakes on a database

IBM hopes its latest version of DB2 will be a summer blockbuster

Beware the blob

Intel's open source drivers keep proprietary code from creeping into the Linux kernel

Is IT Scared of SOA?

Phil Wainewright did a good job in his blog making the case that many IT shops are afraid of SaaS….

Testing client-side risks

How many of your employees can be tricked into opening malware? The answer may surprise you

Does “built to last” apply to IT?

Today’s innovation influences tomorrow’s products, but does Google have 100 years left in it?

Cacti makes network monitoring less painful

Quick to set up and easy to use, it's a good first step toward keeping an eye on your network’s health

Feeling vulnerable at the security-storage crossroads

Where do you feel most vulnerable? According to a recent survey, the answer could very well be "in my wallet"

Plextor Firmware Upgrade Turns Into Vaporware

When you see a sticker on a package advertising additional features for the product with a firmware upgrade, you might tend to assume that means the upgrade is already available for download. A reader who made that assumption about a Plextor DVD writ

Balancing Work and Study… and more Work

I got a comment from a reader that addressed an interesting topic. The point he made was that I’m sitting over here making comments about how you should study and keep your skills up, and still find time to do your job. Not only that, but you s

Racing to market with SOA

Zag, an Internet startup, adopted SOA mainly to meet a brutal launch date — without the need to re-architect later

Open SOA Collaboration and Step 3 of my 12 Steps to SOA

Open SOA Collaboration and Step 3 of my 12 Steps to SOA Download file…

Handling a non-delegating boss

Dear Bob,In general I have a good relationship with my boss.  She is competent, hardworking, and intelligent; I respect her as a professional and I would also consider us friends outside of work.  In general, she's an ideal bos

Roam the Net naked

Let a virtual machine play host to guests and give your wild side its own computer

Why Microsoft should open XAML

Open standards are the key to leading the rich Internet applications market

Handling an unpredictable, intrusive personality

Dear Bob …Thanks for your response to my question about how to handle an unpredictable peer ("Handling an unpredictable personality," Advice Line, 7/6/2006). There's one aspect of the situation I didn't make clear, which might c

Telcos want toll booths on the Internet superhighway

Unable to compete on price, network providers look for new ways to gain a piece of the action

The case of the disappearing datacenter

You hired experts to ship your equipment to a new location. Any other brilliant ideas?

More Synergy between Mashups and SOA

I've been spending my weekends cruising around looking for examples of mashups, which are now hot, but I'm pretty sure few enterprise architects understand them. A few blogs ago I covered the differences between non-visual and visual mashu

Moving up the IT stack

HP and IBM push top-down approach to asset management

VMware and Xen clash over Linux virtualization patch

Kernel quarrel proves that you don't have to be proprietary to be petty

The Long Arm of the EULA

Do software customers have any rights at all under the law, or does the industry's claim that its products are Licensed, Not Sold give software companies carte blanche? That is the real question raised by the case of Wall Data vs. the L.A. Count

Handling an unpredictable personality

Dear Bob …I'm the CIO in a mid-sized company – small enough that we should be focused and agile; more than big enough that our executives should know how to behave professionally.Emphasis on should. Another executive – a peer of mine on the or

Relaydelay patch

After I don't know how many years using and coding on Evan Harris's relaydelay Sendmail milter, I just recently found and fixed a small bug in the recipient whitelisting code on version 0.04. Prior to this fix, recipient whitelisting wouldn

A Matter of Trust

With some good reasons on both sides, software companies and software customers don't always trust each other a whole lot. But the more I delve into this Wall Data vs. the LA County Sheriff case, the more I'm struck by the fact that one sid

Small SOA Companies Continue to Disappear

More SOA buyouts to talk about. The latest is IBMs bid to acquire MRO "driven by SOA desire."…

Venture capitalist names his terms

Plus, growing pains in the technology licensing marketplace

The evolution of corporate security

As companies balance ease-of-use with security, they move up the steps of Grimes’ Hierarchy of Security Needs

Business continuity software is just the starting point

Effectiveness is based on company's investment in staff resources and attention to detail

In case of emergency, activate business continuity plan

Modeling your business and mapping interdependencies will get you up and running faster in a sustained crisis

Microsoft reveals Photosynth glitz and IE 7 bits

Redmond unveils a photo-transformation app plus a simpler way to upgrade Internet Explorer

Strengthening iSCSI storage

New products add variety, manageability, resilience to iSCSI networks

IT contractors: Read your contracts!

Take care before you sign up for that high-paying nonstaff gig. The devil is in the details

Observation: You Can’t do SOA by Committee

Just got a friendly e-mail asking me to dial into a conference call at a large Global 2000 company, and speak to a group of people about SOA. However, this was not just a group of people interested in learning about SOA, but the "SOA Committee,

Looking for an employer with good principles

Dear Bob,I am currently looking for a job and was wondering if you could list 5-10 companies that you have been really impressed with. Companies that make correct principles a part of their culture.So that you know a little more about me, for the pas

Tech believers, meet evolution

Technology marketers should study modern evolutionary thinkers

AMD talks about ATI

AMD’s recent acquisition raises a lot of questions, and AMD’s Hal Speed has answers

Cisco’s Network Management Push Raises More Questions than Answers

Handling a rude employee

Dear Bob …I can't go into details on this, because quite a few people in my company read Advice Line. I hope you can help, even though my description is going to have to be pretty generic.I'm one of the top-ranking executives in my compan

The upside to the death of locality

A VoIP-enabled, telecommuting world might actually benefit local communities

The Sheriff and Drive Imaging: A Case Study

I have a little story to tell you today. It's a tale of cops and robbers, and what many will think is a rather shocking case of outright larceny. But who are the good guys and who are the villains? You be the judge. In 1997 the Los Angeles Count

I Get Open SOA Collaboration…But Learn from the Mistakes of the Past

If you check out this news item, you'll see that: "An alliance of leading software vendors Wednesday announced progress on specifications to define a language-neutral programming model for application development within SOA (service-orient

Screencasts show off software

Functionality and features shine when they can be demonstrated online

Proprietary AJAX toolkits: The other side of the coin

Solutions from JackBe, Tibco, and Backbase have more integration, built-in IDEs for your app-dev pleasure

Forget about open source at Apple

An open source Mac OS would be great, but a Leopard can't change its spots

Surveying open-source AJAX toolkits

Packages from Dojo, Zimbra, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and OpenRico/Prototype showcase the variety of libraries available to AJAX developers

Do Software Customers Own a Copy?

When we a buy a book, we all pretty much understand what rights our ownership of that copy gives us. But what about software? Do we even own the copy, or does the inevitable "the software is licensed, not sold" assertion in the license agre

SOA and Data and Step 2 of my 12 Steps to SOA

SOA and Data and Step 2 of my 12 Steps to SOA Download file…