Dale Gardner: Technology

Low Cost PCs Threaten Ability To Innovate

Fri, 11 Oct 2002 10:26:28 GMT

Maintaining that "someone" is subsidizing the actual cost of low-cost PCs ($199 at Wal-Mart) running the LindowsOS, Microsot's Steve Ballmer insists Microsoft won't cut costs to be competitive. Ballmer: Windows prices are firm [ZDNet Tech News]

Barrett: Clap Really Hard If You Believe

Wed, 09 Oct 2002 12:43:46 GMT

Intel chief talks up tech rebound. Craig Barrett, boss of semiconductor giant Intel, says the long awaited technology sector recovery is just around the corner. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]

Happy Birthday ThinkPad

Wed, 09 Oct 2002 11:58:57 GMT

IBM's ThinkPad turns 10. The computer maker's notebook design set a standard for other designers to follow. Where does it go from here? [CNET News.com]

Linux: A Rising Tide?

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 11:50:59 GMT

Linux continues to gain in viability at the corporate level. I.B.M. Agrees to Expand Its Use of the Linux Operating System. I.B.M. and the software company Red Hat plan to announce a multiyear alliance to greatly expand the range of I.B.M. computers and software products that run Linux. By Barnaby J. Feder. [New York Times: Business]

"Innovation" In The Eye Of The Beholder

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 11:29:33 GMT

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]

Linux Worm Spreading

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 11:20:58 GMT

Check those web servers... Linux worm creating P2P attack network. A new worm that attacks Linux Web servers compromises more than 3,500 machines, creating a rogue peer-to-peer network that has been used to flood other computers with data. [CNET News.com]

Expect Further 3G Delays

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 10:56:28 GMT

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]

Windows: Dare To Dream?

Thu, 12 Sep 2002 12:38:52 GMT

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]

Move Along Folks, Nothing To See...

Tue, 10 Sep 2002 03:11:58 GMT

MS "solves" cause of hacking spree [ZDNet Tech News]

Will Mesh Nets Displace 3G?

Tue, 10 Sep 2002 02:23:39 GMT

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

Will 2004 Be Like 1984?

Tue, 10 Sep 2002 02:04:52 GMT

Who's watching you? A surveillance society [CNN - Technology]

Apple Carves Out Rack Mount Server Niche

Mon, 09 Sep 2002 12:25:57 GMT

Users cite Unix base with Mac ease-of-use. Apple's Xserve appeals to new breed. Server sales gather speed [InfoWorld: Top News]

Banks To Rely On Tissue Paper For Security

Fri, 30 Aug 2002 15:34:14 GMT

It's thought the new measure will be an improvement over existing techniques. Sigh. Expert demonstrates MS hack [ZDNet Tech News]

NAI Buys Big Brother Technology

Fri, 30 Aug 2002 14:57:06 GMT

NAI to buy Net monitoring software company. Company will integrate DragNet software into its Sniffer products [InfoWorld: Top News]

New and Improved Spam?

Fri, 23 Aug 2002 13:30:59 GMT

I'm sure this could be really useful and fun. I'm also sure that it will be used to produce ever more 'efficient' spam and other annoyances. Technology marches on. Invited or Not, Get Ready for Video by E-Mail. Talkway Communications, makes software that enables people to send video messages over e-mail. What sets the product apart from other such programs, according to Talkway, is that the recipient does not need any special software to open and observe the videograms. By Matt Richtel. [New York Times: Business]

Real Cuts To The Bone

Thu, 08 Aug 2002 12:23:42 GMT

As it focuses on the strategy du jour, Real retrenches and cuts staff by 10%. This won't help. Real's problem is that it does not seem to understand the enterprise market it seeks to dominate. The company is largely focused on selling its software and does a poor job of supporting partners who can offer the applications that would drive the use - and growth - of their streaming technology. RealNetworks to Cut 10 Percent of Staff. RealNetworks Inc. said it would cut more than 10 percent of its work force and take a restructuring charge of up to $6 million as it moved to cut costs in response to slack corporate spending. By Reuters. [New York Times: Technology]

Apple On Intel? Not Likely.

Thu, 08 Aug 2002 02:48:32 GMT

Neff obviously hasn't seen the Phil Schiller "Megahertz Myth" presentation. While OS X makes this more feasible - BSD will run on the x86 architecture - the effort to get the OS and apps moved would be tremendous. Remember that some vendors still haven't moved their apps to OS X from OS 9 - a move to a completely new architecture would be an extremely difficult sell. Analyst: Apple to lie down with Intel. Will the Mac maker pick up Intel's chips? Signs point to yes, says Andrew Neff, the analyst who foresaw the HP-Compaq merger. He also predicts Sun will ally with Dell. [CNET News.com]

SALT Those Apps?

Thu, 08 Aug 2002 02:35:28 GMT

I've got a Mac that tells a pretty good "knock-knock" joke. The kids love it, but I admit it's not that practical. Maybe this will be the trick. Talk to the Hand(held) [Technology Review - Software]

No Rush For .NET Server?

Tue, 06 Aug 2002 13:08:42 GMT

Analysts don't see much movement to .NET server, currently available in a release candidate version. Those organizations that have already pulled the trigger have moved to Windows 2000 and have little motivation to migrate again to to .NET. The toss-up is focused on Windows NT users - while some have been patiently waiting for .NET, others plan to stay on Windows NT until the bitter end (sometime next year, after suppor ends). The bottom line? Don't expect a sharp uptake in adoption. Analysts question move to .Net Server [ZDNet Tech News]

Security Flaws Disclosed From Afar

Tue, 06 Aug 2002 02:05:53 GMT

Heh. The last time an Elcomsoft employee publicly disclosed a security flaw in the Adobe Reader product, it landed him in jail. The company revealed a third flaw from afar, skipping the step of informing Adobe after the developer alledgedly ignored another warning. ElcomSoft: Getting even with Adobe? [ZDNet Tech News]

What's Good For The Goose?

Mon, 05 Aug 2002 12:43:43 GMT

A couple of interesting debates intersect. On the one hand, the argument is made that it should be ok to attack machines that are responsible for propagating worms and viruses such as Nimda. There is much to be said for this - the worms affect the entire Internet, and - especially with attacks such as Nimda - it's not like the administrators, using the term loosely, of the offending systems have not been both warned of the existence of the worm, as well as an easily applied patch to cure the problem. On the other hand, the entertainment industry wants the right to hack into computers that are exchanging files. Governmental sources interviewed for this piece seem to believe that the 'defensive' hacking is wrong and inappropriate. We'll see if the same attitude applies to the 'offensive' hacking proposed by the representative from Disneyland. Computers Under Attack Can Hack Back, Expert Says. A security researcher says people should be allowed to neutralize a computer that is unwittingly spreading destructive Internet worms like Nimda. By Reuters. [New York Times: Technology]

Biometric Vendors Still Hoping To Cash In on Death and Suffering

Sun, 04 Aug 2002 03:29:26 GMT

And it's still not working. The technology that is - the effort to cash in seems to be going pretty well. Face recognition fails in Boston airport. The patriotic scam goes on [The Register]

Real Moves Around Windows Media

Sun, 04 Aug 2002 03:21:24 GMT

Further details on Real's effort to undercut Microsoft's media server business. Real to steal Microsoft's media thunder?. In an effort to fend off rival Microsoft, RealNetworks plans to unveil "Helix," a new open source version of its media streaming software that supports multiple file formats. [CNET News.com]

Software Gets Smarter

Wed, 24 Jul 2002 13:14:51 GMT

IBM tests "self-healing" software. Big Blue takes aim at Oracle with its new database management software that can anticipate problems and give database administrators advice on how to fix them. [CNET News.com]

Vendors Tackle Increased Management Complexity

Wed, 24 Jul 2002 13:12:19 GMT

Emerging - and established - vendors are taking on the task of managing the performance of complex, distributed systems. Tools target app speed. Performance-monitoring software extends self-healing [InfoWorld: Top News]