Competing with brains, not brawn
Unhappiness over Microsoft licensing program remains.
Microsoft Licensing: Still A Sticking Point For Some Enterprises [TechWeb]
Sell To LOB Managers
The discussion of how cost-justification duties are increasingly falling to line-of-business managers overlooks the larger trend - that LOB managers are increasingly driving all aspects of IT acquisitions. It's no longer adequate - arguably, it never was - to simply target the IT organization in sales and marketing efforts.
Business units inherit more IT cost-justification duties [Computerworld]
Sony to Put $20 Million Into Palm Software. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Sony Corp. agreed to invest $20 million Tuesday in Palm Inc.'s software division, which the handheld computer maker plans to spin off next year. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: Technology]
Fear Of Spam Impacts Newsletter Effectiveness
"Legitimate e-mail is at war with spam, and spam may be the ultimate winner," said Nielsen Norman Group's Jakob Nielsen.
E-mail makes surfers emotional. E-mail marketing works[cedilla] say internet experts[cedilla] but spam could undermine their effectiveness. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
NetIQ Snaps Up Pentasafe
Leaves the clock ticking for other smaller security vendors who need to be acquired, or risk being out-marketed by larger, more market-savvy competitors.
NetIQ to purchase PentaSafe for $255 million. Deal is latest example of consolidation in security software industry [InfoWorld: Top News]
Marketers Must Work To Ban Spam
With the amount of spam increasing exponentially - now representing 38% of all e-mail traffic, up from 8% last year - marketers who hope to continue to use email to communicate with customers need to act to help shape and define laws to control the deluge. You're going to get laws - if you don't get involved, you may not like the results.
Needed Now: Laws to Can Spam [Business Week: Technology]
Ballmer: Don't Need No Services...
MS chief Ballmer rules out services buys. No consulting arm? Shurely shome... [The Register]
Selling Security: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt
This is all a bit like the movies in driver's ed where teachers attempt to scare young drivers into responsible behavior. Doesn't work any better when applied to security.
Tech Managers Say They Still Struggle To Show Value Of Security [TechWeb]
Tech Marketers Need To Embrace Branding
Futurist: Technology And Branding No Longer Strangers [TechWeb]
Combine an economy in disarry and ongoing concerns over the safety and convenience of travel, and the only surprise is that it's taken this long for major shows to start going under the knife. In one interesting development, TechTarget has begun promoting shows where attendance is free and hotel rooms are comped for qualified attendees.
Tech trade shows face axe. The dot.com collapse has finally brought down a series of trade fairs which once attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
The Network Is The Computer?
StarOffice, it seems, will set you free. It turns out that Sun's strategy isn't all that new and different after all, just a retread of the network computing model with Linux as the starring player.
Sun's punts cheap PCs at blue collar workers. Our hairball is cheaper than their hairball [The Register]
Watch Me Pull A Rabbitt Out Of My Hat
General Magic, once the hottest property in the tech market, throws in the towel. A high profile and good technology seemingly weren't enough to establish momentum in any market.
General Magic calls its quits. The formerly hot Silicon Valley company once enjoyed investments from Apple and Microsoft and let rabbits wander free around its offices to inspire creativity. [CNET News.com]
You know you're off to a bad start when the media start to refer to your plan as a "Frankenstein-like" strategy. Of course, if the shoe fits... Perhaps all will be clear after the official announcement, but at the moment, there doesn't seem to be much reason to buy into this, unless of course, you really hate Microsoft. But even there, with all the frustration expressed with Microsoft few people appear to have taken the step of kicking them out. IDC data reveal that the penetration of Linux on the desktop has increased for six straight years - but it still rests at only a 1.7 percent share of the client market.
Sun to shed light on desktop Linux plans. Linux play to be spelled out at SunNetwork conference [InfoWorld: Top News]
"Innovation" In The Eye Of The Beholder
Round-up of the latest and greatest tech offerings, including some that don't seem all that new. For example, Microsoft's 802.11 network in a box may bring a new level of ease of use to the Windows environment, but Apple - with Airport - has been offering an exceptionaly simple to use wireless network offering for several years.
DemoMobile launches high-tech hopefuls. New monitors, wireless network management, and roaming on display [InfoWorld: Top News]
Expect Further 3G Delays
Rally round the lawyers as IP issues slow adoption of the standard.
Analysis: Patent disputes could further complicate 3G. Intellectual property issues threaten to hamper 3G adoption [InfoWorld: Top News]
As recently as June, IDC projected growth of 4.7 percent in PC sales for 2002, and 11.1 percent for 2003. Now, the research firm sees total shipments of only 135.5 million in 2002, an increase of 1.1 percent. The projection for 2003 was cut to growth of 8.4.
Researcher Cuts Sales Forecast for Computers Through 2003. Citing growing fears of the effect of a prolonged economic malaise, International Data is scaling back its forecast on personal computer sales for 2002 and 2003. By John Markoff. [New York Times: Business]
Cybersecurity: All Hat, No Cattle?
Concerns over IT security have so far failed to translate into increased spending on products and services.
Year After 9/11, Cyberspace Door Is Still Ajar. Despite heightened fears of online security that followed Sept. 11, few have responded with new measures to safeguard their computing systems. By John Schwartz. [New York Times: Business]
Windows: Dare To Dream?
Microsoft takes the long view with Windows.
Microsoft's Allchin touts future of Windows server platform. Exec exhorts DevCon attendees to build systems to last for decades [InfoWorld: Top News]
.NET Server: Dessert Topping and Floor Wax?
Microsoft pitches 'no separate app server' approach. Windows .Net Server 2003 will be all you need, exec says [InfoWorld: Top News]
An Alternative to Microsoft Gains Support in High Places. Governments around the world, afraid that Microsoft has become too powerful in critical software markets, have begun working to ensure an "open source" alternative. By Steve Lohr. [New York Times: Technology]
New Life For LANDesk?
Technology Briefing: Software. INTEL TO SELL MOST OF SOFTWARE UNIT; NEW VERSION OF WINDOWS MEDIA INTRODUCED;. [New York Times: Technology]
IBM Moves Into Access Management Marketplace
And a lucrative market it is. TechWeb cites IDC figures indicating a 30% compound annual growth rate for the identity management market.
IBM To Acquire Identity-Management Company Access360 [TechWeb]
Will Mesh Nets Displace 3G?
At wireless speeds of up to 144Kbps, 3G is promised to bring us high-speed wireless access. But what if a cheap, easy to implement technology offered links at 6Mbps - or over 400Mpbps? One can anticipate several barriers to implementation - not the least of which is the billions invested by carriers in 3G licenses and plans. It's definately a technology to watch.
Making a mesh on the move A new way to give us fast mobile net access spells further trouble for 3G, reports Peter Rojas. The Guardian
The Line For The Bandwagon Forms Here
Over 50 vendors are looking to join the web services security organization at their meeting this week.
OASIS fuels security agenda. Coalition ranks swell to address corporate concerns over Web services adoption [InfoWorld: Top News]
Mac On x86 Rumors Arise Again
In this case, the people talking about at least have a clue about what's going on...
August 30, 2002, Apple Keeps x86 Torch Lit with Marklar
By Matthew Rothenberg, and Nick dePlume, Think Secret
As Apple Computer Inc. draws up its game plan for the CPUs that will power its future generations of Mac hardware, the company is holding an ace in the hole: a feature-complete version of Mac OS X running atop the x86 architecture. According to sources, the Cupertino, Calif., Mac maker has been working steadily on maintaining current, PC-compatible builds of its Unix-based OS. The project (code-named Marklar, a reference to the race of aliens on the "South Park" cartoons) has been ongoing inside Apple since the early days of its transition to the Unix-based Mac OS X in the late '90s."
Apple Carves Out Rack Mount Server Niche
Users cite Unix base with Mac ease-of-use.
Apple's Xserve appeals to new breed. Server sales gather speed [InfoWorld: Top News]
Astounding. Apple is using the DMCA as a club in a case that has about as much to do with copyright as my big toe does.
News.Com: Apple: Burn DVDs--and we'll burn you. At issue in the legal threat is Apple's well-received iDVD application, which permits users to burn DVDs only on internal drives manufactured by Apple. In unmodified form, it does not permit writing to external drives manufactured by third parties. [Tomalak's Realm]
Brand Management: The Long, Long View
So, how do you keep a century old brand interesting? Personally, I'd vote for better prrizes and more peanuts...Cracker Jack: A Survivor in the Snack Business [NPR News (Audio)]
Controlling Market Direction, Dominence Through Standards
Steering the course. Vendors struggle to control the direction of Web services standards [InfoWorld: Top News]
Buyers Fight Back On Licensing Negotiations
Software buyers have begun to rely on consultants to help negotiate software licensing deals, driven in no small measure by the economy. Times are tight, and buyers are looking much more closely at costs.
Negotiating the software pact maze. Faced with increasingly complicated licenses, technology buyers are turning to third-party negotiators to squeeze the best deal out of software makers--and to avoid the contract tender traps. [CNET News.com]