US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops... Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug ... Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda

HP CEO Hurd to brief reporters on spying scandal ... Germany to make hacking a crime ... Samsung executive pleads guilty to fixing DRAM price


HIGHLIGHTS

News: US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops
News: Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug
News: Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
News: Jailed Chinese journalist to sue Yahoo
News: AOL cuts deal to sell AOL France
News: Yahoo promotes Flash, Ruby mashups
News: Wall Street beat: Software looking good
Interview: As BI matures, companies should too
Opinion: Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.


NEWS UPDATES

US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that 1,137 laptops have been lost or stolen since 2001, with 249 of them containing some degree of personal data.

Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug
A critical bug in the Internet Explorer (IE) browser also affects users of the Outlook 2003 e-mail client, making it much more serious than previously thought.

Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
The next Linux distribution that IBM Corp. throws its weight behind is likely to be China's Red Flag Linux, suggesting that for businesses elsewhere in the world the Linux market will remain a two-horse race for the time being.

Jailed Chinese journalist to sue Yahoo
A Chinese journalist jailed in part due to e-mail evidence provided by a Yahoo Inc. subsidiary plans to file a lawsuit in the U.S. against the Internet company within the next few months.

AOL cuts deal to sell AOL France
AOL LLC continued its strategy of separating its Internet access and content businesses in Europe, with the sale of its France Internet access business to Neuf Cegetel SA. The deal, announced Thursday, is worth ?288 million (US$366 million) and includes an ongoing partnership between AOL and Neuf Cegetel, a broadband operator.

Yahoo promotes Flash, Ruby mashups
Yahoo Inc. has added sections for Flash and Ruby to its Web site for external developers. The goal is to promote the creation, using those two popular programming languages, of third-party applications that interact and integrate with Yahoo online services.

Wall Street beat: Software looking good
Despite financial and accounting problems at Dell Inc., Novell Inc. and Yahoo Inc., underlying faith in the software sector and a solid first-day performance on Riverbed Technology Inc.'s initial public offering indicate that the end of the year may yet reward IT investors.


INTERVIEW

As BI matures, companies should too
Business intelligence software is evolving into its older sibling, business performance management, a combination of planning, budgeting, reporting and benchmarking tools, according to the father of BI, Howard Dresner. At the same time, the main obstacle to BI or BPM adoption remains cultural rather than technological, he said.


OPINION

Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
By Sean McGrath

Some time ago I upgraded my satellite TV service to include the
ability to record programs very easily via an integrated hard disk. In
effect my satellite receiving box became a computer known as a Digital
Video Recorder (DVR).

In the intervening period between then and now I have become a
significantly less useful individual to TV advertisers. Here is why
this is so ...

HP's Hurd knew of spying campaign ... Munich begins Linux migration

Today's IT News Audio Update
Hewlett-Packard's CEO could become implicated in the spying scandal at the company ... BenQ Mobile is closing down a handset facility in Taiwan ... AOL is inviting users to test a new version of its search engine


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Report: Hurd knew of planned deception campaign
News: Munich begins Linux replacement of Windows
News: IBM unveils new tape virtualization engine
News: Novell faces delisting from Nasdaq
Opinion: Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
ITwhirled: Spice up your e-mail sig


NEWS UPDATES

Report: Hurd knew of planned deception campaign
Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd knew of plans for a disinformation campaign designed to find the source of leaks from boardroom discussions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Munich begins Linux replacement of Windows
Munich has begun its migration to Linux on the desktop, a year later than planned and nearly three years since the city announced its move to open source software.

IBM unveils new tape virtualization engine
IBM Corp. is unveiling Thursday a new virtual tape drive management system for mainframes that compares to similar technology introduced last spring by rival Sun Microsystems Inc.

Novell faces delisting from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. has confirmed the receipt of a notice from the Nasdaq stock market warning that its shares will be delisted from the exchange after the software company delayed filing its most recent quarterly report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Dunn to 'set the record straight' in HP case
Embattled Hewlett-Packard Co. chairman Patricia Dunn told an appreciative audience in San Francisco Wednesday night that she looks forward to the opportunity to "set the record straight" regarding allegations that she oversaw an internal investigation of the company which may have broken the law.

Symantec on the attack over Vista security features
When Windows Vista ships next year, customers might have a tougher time getting their security software to work properly, executives from Symantec Corp. said Wednesday.

Qualcomm sees wireless device boom
A perfect storm is brewing in wireless communications, which may soon boom like the PC business did in the 1990s as the Web took off, a Qualcomm Inc. executive said Wednesday.

Security vendors SecureWorks, LURHQ merge
Managed security services companies SecureWorks Inc. and LURHQ Corp. have merged. The combined company is known as SecureWorks and is based in Atlanta. SecureWorks chief executive Mike Cote remains as chief executive officer (CEO) and former LURHQ CEO Tony Prince will be executive vice president responsible for product development.


OPINION

Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
By Sean McGrath

Some time ago I upgraded my satellite TV service to include the ability to record programs very easily via an integrated hard disk. In effect my satellite receiving box became a computer known as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).

In the intervening period between then and now I have become a significantly less useful individual to TV advertisers. Here is why this is so ...


ITWHIRLED

Spice up your e-mail sig
Whether you're talking about specific programming languages or overall concepts, these epigrams are good for insight and for spicing up your e-mail sig. Probably the only collection of programming-related quotes to contain one from Flannery O'Connor.

Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales ... Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal

Today's IT News Audio Update
Oracle has reported another strong quarter of financial results ... Patricia Dunn, the embattled chairman of HP, will answer questions on the spying scandal next week ... Amazon.com is offering to host online stores for small and medium-size businesses


HIGHLIGHTS

News: U.S. computer firm admits selling banned exports to Iran
News: Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales
News: Mambo Foundation releases Mambo 4.6
News: HP's Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Storage Tip: Rules for differentiating between operational and disaster recovery
ITwhirled: In Soviet Russia, mouse clicks YOU


NEWS UPDATES

Schneier: We are losing the security war
Companies are losing the battle to secure their IT systems from attacks by hackers and other threats, warned Bruce Schneier, the founder and chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security Inc.

U.S. computer firm admits selling banned exports to Iran
A California seller of servers and other computer components has pleaded guilty to selling products to Iran in violation of federal export controls, the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco reported Tuesday.

Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales
A slowing U.S. economy may already be impacting Yahoo Inc.'s Web advertising sales growth, the head of the company said Tuesday, a trend that does not bode well for other ad-supported Internet sites.

Mambo Foundation releases Mambo 4.6
The Mambo Foundation has released Mambo 4.6, the first major release of its open-source content management system (CMS) in almost two years, the group said Wednesday.

HP's Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn will answer questions on the spying scandal that has embroiled her company during a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill next week.

iTunes nets $1 million in movie sales for Disney in a week
In only one week, Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Store generated $1 million in movie sales for Walt Disney Co., and that's "just the beginning," the head of Disney said Tuesday.

Microsoft to ease Vista upgrades with one-DVD plan
In an effort to simplify the distribution of Windows Vista and make it easier for customers to upgrade, Microsoft Corp. will include the various retail versions of the OS on one DVD instead of having separate DVDs for each Vista edition.

Oracle celebrates strong Q1 with some SAP bashing
As Oracle Corp. executives patted themselves on the back for their company's reporting another strong financial quarter, they also couldn't resist having a go at prime applications rival SAP AG.

Microsoft to add HD DVD to Xbox 360
Microsoft Corp. will launch an HD DVD drive add-on for its Xbox 360 console in November, a company executive said Wednesday.


STORAGE TIP

Rules for differentiating between operational and disaster recovery
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

Differentiating between operational recovery and disaster recovery is not always clear-cut. Fortunately, most problems are operational problems not disaster recovery problems. Here are some guidelines for when a failover to a remote site is an operational recovery problem and not a disaster recovery problem.


ITWHIRLED

In Soviet Russia, mouse clicks YOU
Those Soviets sure did make some wonderfully clunky computer hardware. Here's the best of computer mouses from the USSR. Our favorite label: "The Manipulator For Graphical Information."

Toshiba offers to replace 340,000 laptop batteries ... Microsoft launches YouTube rival

Today's IT News Audio Update
Toshiba is offering to replace 340,000 laptop batteries ... Microsoft has launched the beta version of a new video download service ... EMC will spend $175 million to acquire security equipment provider Network Intelligence


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Toshiba offers to exchange 340,000 notebook batteries
News: EMC buys Network Intelligence
News: Motorola to buy Symbol for $3.9 billion
News: Microsoft tests YouTube competitor
Opinion: Pray for tape; its demise would be disastrous for small businesses
ITwhirled: Next must-have iPod accessory: The iZod?


NEWS UPDATES

Toshiba offers to exchange 340,000 notebook batteries
Toshiba Corp. has offered to exchange 340,000 notebook computer batteries, but said they do not pose a fire hazard. Instead, defective batteries could unexpectedly cut power to the notebooks, causing users to lose unsaved work.

EMC buys Network Intelligence
EMC Corp. will spend $175 million to acquire security information provider Network Intelligence Corp. This latest acquisition, expected to close late Monday, underscores the growing importance of security technology to EMC. Also on Monday, EMC announced that it had completed its $2.1 billion purchase of RSA Security, which will form the basis of a new RSA-branded security division within the company.

Motorola to buy Symbol for $3.9 billion
Motorola Inc. plans to acquire wireless mobile device developer Symbol Technologies Inc. for $3.9 billion, the companies announced Tuesday.

Microsoft tests YouTube competitor
Microsoft Corp. hopes to bank on the popularity of online video-sharing services such as YouTube and Google Video with its own competitive service, which goes into beta on Tuesday.

Napster exploring sale, tie-up
Napster Inc., the remade version of the popular Internet music sharing service, is in talks over a sale or possible strategic partnership, the company said Monday.

DHS picks cybersecurity czar
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally named a leader for its cybersecurity efforts on Monday, fulfilling a promise made last July by an agency that has drawn poor marks for digital security.

Microsoft files 20 more antipiracy lawsuits
Continuing its worldwide assault on software piracy, Microsoft Corp. has filed 20 lawsuits against resellers accused of distributing unauthorized copies of its software.

New AIM worm may prove difficult to fight
A sophisticated computer worm spreading via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is setting up a botnet that may be difficult to combat, security researchers said.

Motorola, Nokia, BenQ bid Cebit adieu
BenQ Corp., Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. will participate at next year's Cebit trade show, and rumors abound that other vendors, particularly in the consumer electronics segment, might also skip the annual event.

T-Mobile top bidder as 3G auction ends
T-Mobile USA Inc. came out the biggest spender in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Advanced Wireless Services spectrum auction, which ended Monday.


OPINION

Pray for tape; its demise would be disastrous for small businesses
By Joel Shore

Sitting just a few feet from me in my home office is 2 terabytes of RAID 5 storage, in a cabinet barely bigger than a one-gallon milk bottle. Lying on my desk are four 8-gigabyte Compact Flash cards, each no bigger than a fifty-cent piece. Is it any wonder that few people seem to talk about tape for the SMB market anymore?


ITWHIRLED

Next must-have iPod accessory: The iZod?
What with a new batch of iPods coming out, you're going to want to show that your MP3 player is classier than the rest. That's why you've got to get the latest in iPod-wear, better than iPod socks: The iZod. Look, it's even got it's little collar popped!

HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking ... New iPods priced for profits

Today's IT News Audio Update
Freescale accepts acquisition bid from investment firms ... Microsoft sued over use of Forefront name ... Unisys subcontractor arrested for stealing VA computer


HIGHLIGHTS

News: HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
News: Apple's new iPods priced for profits, not market share
News: Security measures seen doing more harm than good
News: Gartner forecasts trouble with rootkits, ID theft
Windows Tip: Resolving IP address conflicts
ITwhirled: 12 startups to launch now ... Lucrative ventures in unlikely places


NEWS UPDATES

HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
Hewlett-Packard Co. board members and journalists were under physical surveillance by investigators trying to find out who was providing information to reporters, and private investigators tried to put tracking software on a journalist's computer to keep tabs on e-mail, according to a New York Times report.

Apple's new iPods priced for profits, not market share
Apple Computer Inc.'s recent introduction of several new iPods shows the company is looking for better profit margins, not gaining market share, according to researcher Gartner Inc. And the move could boost its rivals.

Security measures seen doing more harm than good
Many of the security measures put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York are doing more harm than good, said two speakers scheduled to present at the Hack In The Box Security Conference (HITB) this week.

Gartner forecasts trouble with rootkits, ID theft
Research analysts at Gartner Inc. are predicting a sticky web of security hazards for IT professionals over the next two years, ranging from targeted financial attacks to spyware to rootkits.

EMC launches new data management software
Network storage vendor EMC Corp. Monday introduced a new data storage management product that is the fruit of three software acquisitions the company has made in recent years.

Freescale accepts $17.6 billion equity buyout
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has agreed to be acquired by a group of investment firms for US$17.6 billion.

Gartner: Security costs fall with good policies
Enterprises will increasingly face skilled IT criminals trying to infiltrate corporate networks for sensitive data stored in databases, but adopting new policies to evaluate risk should help drive the cost of defense down, computer security analysts said Monday.

Cross-site scripting the top security risk
Web administrators beware: cross-site scripting vulnerabilities are now far more attactive targets than more notorious bugs such as buffer overflows, according to new figures from Mitre, a U.S. government-funded research organization.

Caspian Networks may be acquired
Caspian Networks Inc., a one-time core router startup that today makes devices to improve network performance, is on the block.


WINDOWS TIP

Resolving IP address conflicts
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

A basic but often hard to troubleshoot issue that can arise on a TCP/IP network is an IP address conflict. This occurs when two computers on a network are assigned the same IP address, and this situation can arise in three different ways. First, you might misconfigure your network by manually assigning two computers the same static IP address. This is a common occurrence on smaller networks especially when computers are in a workgroup not a domain. Second, a DHCP server on your network might assign an address to a client computer that conflicts with a static IP address assigned to some other network device such as a router or printer. And third, if you have two DHCP servers on the same subnet that have overlapping scopes, you're likely to get client computers with duplicate addresses.

What I've discovered is that troubleshooting these situations not only requires clear thinking but sharp eyesight as well. For example...

Read the full article here


ITWHIRLED

12 startups to launch now ... Lucrative ventures in unlikely places
In 10 nations on four continents, the editors at CNNmoney.com have uncovered a dozen of the most intriguing new business opportunities in the world today. No 1: Build cheap Wi-Fi networks for Brazilian resorts.