Opinion

The Net net

Dear Bob … Recently I was promoted to VP of Information Systems for a large corporation. My expertise is software development, task lifecycle management, and quality assurance. Although I was not promoted for my knowledge

No magic IT formulas

Technology is designed to be a means to an end when it should be crafted to be a creative partner

Automation is like riding a bike

Watching how humans learn can teach us a lot about effective scripting

Toward an end-point security standard

Cisco and Microsoft want to keep your client PCs clean

Time to restock your sys admin toolbox

The new year has already yielded some nicely polished Microsoft utilities

Computer joyrides

It's easy to take someone's computer for a spin when they leave the doors unlocked

IT’s next challenge: healthcare

The health care sector is still largely computer- and storage- agnostic, but things are changing — slowly

Barriers to SOA entry 

The new outsourcing

Tighter integration, higher fees for applications and business processes

Is Open Source Enterprise Ready?

There's been a lot of buzz lately on open source DBs. This topic comes up now and then when one of the vendors talks a SQL guy with a pen into writing something on the usefullness of open source. I guess it works too, because here I am putting m

Rain Design Inc. iLap review

Product: iLap (17-inch widescreen model reviewed) Rating: Must have Vendor URL: http://www.raindesigninc.com Price: $49.90 to $69.90 Remember when notebooks used to be called laptops? That was before the big batteries, quick chargers, fast CPUs and D

70 percent again

Dear Bob … How does an employee define his/her position when management is unable to do so? My company recently outsourced its infrastructure. I was part of a group which was split in half, due to the (incorrect) belief that our responsibilities w

DBA Certification: Is it the new Confederate dollar?

One of my biggest complaints with the IT industry is the state of certifications. Microsoft has done a good job of making the exams harder, but they're still far too easy to cheat on. Everyone I come across has an MCDBA cert, so I don't eve

A suitable punishment for instant messaging?

Dear Bob … I just can't agree with the recent newsletter on Instant Messaging. Yes, people will try to sneak in things that violate security policy. They should be treated extremely harshly. Solitary confinement at Devil's Island would be

The rewards of improving performance

Dear Bob … Interesting article and approach on how to cure a complacent organization. I've been on the wrong end of an organization that was complacent. The place was run by engineers; highly intelligent people, but terrible

Why IM?

Dear Bob …   I've been hearing about IM in the media for a couple of years now, and frankly, I don't get it.    We don't use IM here, and there hasn't been much call for it.  Our e-mail is ins

Know thy hacker

The dollars and cents of hacking

Project Elixir could prove potent

Opening Outlook to easier integration with Microsoft CRM, for free, is a smart move

The age of the industry-specific PC

Is Intel planning build-to-order components for vertical markets?

The incredible shrinking SAN

Compact, manageable, affordable, and easy to set up: What's not to like?

Microdrive battle heats up

Drives from Hitachi and a new player Western Digital further enrich this desirable market

When time-shifting and telepresence collide

Technology is changing the significance of time and distance for today's workers

Into the Mac trap

The skeptic journalist clocks Apple’s luxury car sales strategy but  almost gets run over

Toward an instant messaging policy

Dear Bob … Your advice on the importance of creating a good IM strategy is sound. As a private company of about 50 people, we probably face very different issues to those faced by large multi-national corporations. Any suggestions or poin

How to talk to the board

Dear Bob … Our CIO has to report to the board. He has asked us to put together some information that gives them a snapshot without boring them to tears. The main points should emphasize the impact to customers and end users. We are working

Where was desktop search when we needed it?

The network cloud is fast replacing traditional storage tools

Welcome to the Mac, Oracle

Now that it's buying into Mac platform, IT should dig deeper into Apple's server lineup

Living on the Razor edge

Mark Loveless offers words to live by: 'To catch a hacker, think like a hacker'

Apple quietly raises the stakes

An almost timid announcement adds the new SAN file system to Xserve RAID

Supercharge your WAN

New technologies and techniques can help you make the most of your wide-area links

Enterprise apps: on-demand or on-premises?

There's room for more than one business model

Metro networks go wide

Nontraditional carriers are bringing high bandwidth links to far-flung areas

Microsoft crams its anti-virus technology into Malicious Software Removal Tool

MSRT and AntiSpyware can effectively provide a second line of defense

IT tackles phishing

IT aims to protect corporate reputations and thwart attacks against the datacenter

Phishing ploys reflect savvy technical skills

The force of the phisher’s arsenal gets stronger as IT implements more countermeasures

Reeling in the phishers

Coalition is prepared to move in as soon as phishy activity surfaces

Service-oriented architecture 

Adopting an SOA design philosophy can reduce costs while making IT more nimble 

Publishing a book, part two

Dear Bob … I really appreciate the advice on writing/getting published.  It's been one of my goals for quite some time. Unfortunately, I have spent more time thinking about it than doing it. I do have a few follow u

Storage conundrum

Dear Bob … Wow, what an empowering statement – to stop worrying about storage management since it's so cheap to just keep adding storage. And that's an easy policy to follow since that's basically all we have time for anyway – get b

Mac mini, dual-layer Superdrive

I heard these items from Apple booth workers who weren't supposed to talk to the press: The DVI output on Mac mini is compatible with newer HDTVs, but the auto-sensing process that mates a display adapter to an HDTV monitor isn't reliable o

ITIL update

The comments and correspondence on ITIL (the "best practices" framework for managing IT infrastructure) have been illuminating. Based on what I've learned since the last posting or two, here are what I hope is a somew

Microsoft deploys its counterspyware agent

MAS beta proves a capable agent but will benefit from additional training

Spotlight on storage security

Neoscale appliance offers seamless encryption between remote sites; new storage blog debuts

InfiniBand flies

Getting data from point A to point B as swiftly as possible is now job No. 1

Seeking CTO Stars

Time is running out to nominate candidates for InfoWorld's CTO 25 

Welcome to the big time

IE isn't alone — Firefox and Mozilla aren't completely immune to security flaws

Exploring the deep structure of code

Move over, text editors; here comes a new programming paradigm

Modernizing product development

It's time for a new approach to product lifecycle management, and the ball is in IT's court

Yes, iPod does play MP3s

Correcting a statement I made in my Macworld Expo news analysis: I stated that Apple's iPods only play music encoded in Apple's proprietary format. I muffed on the word "only;" iPods do play MP3s.The point I intended to put across

A de-ethics pill?

Dear Bob: I know that there were many letters and viewpoints on ethics in the past, but I have a (hopefully) simple question. No more debate about good and evil or right and wrong. But first a little background. I’ve been involved in several d