Satyam acts to address World Bank remarks /Costs will dog HK mobile TV operators


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Satyam acts to address World Bank remarks
Costs will dog HK mobile TV operators
Google, Microsoft, Apple sued over preview icons
Apple files 'swipe-gesture' patent application
Holiday report: E-commerce dips, electronics plummet
RIM 'sues' Motorola over hiring blocks
SaaS may not live up to 'recession-proof' tag
 

Satyam acts to address World Bank remarks

The Indian IT services company wants its former client to withdraw and apologize for recent bribery allegations, amid evaluation of "possible options".
Friday, December 26 2008 12:44 PM
Find more stories in::  Services, IT outsourcing, World Bank Group, Statement, Group

Costs will dog HK mobile TV operators

Hong Kong authorities will auction off mobile TV spectrum licenses in 2009, but operators may find it hard to translate opportunity into revenue, says Gartner.
Friday, December 26 2008 04:31 PM
Find more stories in::  Business structures, Sales/revenue, Business models, Pricing, Bureau

Google, Microsoft, Apple sued over preview icons

Michigan-based networking company sues the tech giants for allegedly infringing on a patent related to document thumbnails used in operating systems.
Monday, December 29 2008 08:44 AM
Find more stories in::  Patents, Lawsuits, Web sites, Web browsers

Apple files 'swipe-gesture' patent application

Technology lets touchscreen users perform certain common functions, such as inserting a space or backspacing by swiping across the key area rather than tapping a particular key.
Monday, December 29 2008 08:46 AM
Find more stories in::  Patents, Handhelds

Holiday report: E-commerce dips, electronics plummet

One of the first reports out on holiday sales shows that e-commerce was down 2.3 percent year over year, while the electronics category took a 26 percent dive.
Monday, December 29 2008 08:42 AM
Find more stories in::  E-commerce, Sales/revenue

RIM 'sues' Motorola over hiring blocks

Research in Motion claims Motorola is blocking it from hiring recently dismissed Motorola staff.
Friday, December 26 2008 10:47 AM
Find more stories in::  HR policies and procedures, Lawsuits, Motorola Inc., Research In Motion Ltd., Moto

SaaS may not live up to 'recession-proof' tag

In theory, software-as-a-service vendors such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite should thrive in a downturn, but in practice things may prove a little tougher.
Friday, December 26 2008 04:31 PM
Find more stories in::  Software-as-a-service, ERP
track

READ MORE - Satyam acts to address World Bank remarks /Costs will dog HK mobile TV operators

6 new features in Gmail

The Internet search leader Google has been adding more bells and whistles to Gmail as part of its effort to gain ground on the longtime leaders, Microsoft and Yahoo in free e-mail.

Latest on the list are To-do list, video chat and some other features. These features not only add Gmail's functionality, but also bring several new features right to your Gmail inbox. Here's looking into the six new features in Gmail. 

To-do list
Google Inc is testing a new Gmail tool designed to help users keep a better track of their daily tasks.

The company has announced a new tool called `Tasks' that is designed to help Gmail users create their daily to-do list. `Tasks' sits in the same kind of Window as chats, so is visible while users read email, use the search function or do other tasks. The feature, which is coming out of Google Labs, is still in the testing phase.

To enable Tasks, go to Settings; click the Labs tab. Select `Enable' next to `Tasks' and then click `Save Changes' at the bottom. Then, after Gmail refreshes, on the left under the `Contacts' link, users can see a `Tasks' link. Just click on it to get started.

To enter a new Task, users just need to click on an empty part of their list and start typing. No buttons to click and it's saved automatically. Hit Return and there's a new task right there.

Gmail users can also easily convert emails into tasks: select one or more messages and go to More Actions > Add to Tasks. (Or turn on keyboard shortcuts).

However, there is no time frame for the new feature to be officially added (if at all) to Gmail.


TwitterGadget
The Gmail Twitter Gadget lets users Tweet directly from Gmail, complete with a number of emoticons.

The new TwitterGadget for Gmail helps users cut down on desktop and browser clutter by letting them sign into and use Twitter from within Gmail.

It enables the user to toggle on/off various display elements such as user thumbnails, timestamps, and post sources. Refresh intervals can be set from 3 to 30 minutes or manual only. Additional information about a poster is available, at a glance, by hovering over their thumbnail image.

To get the gadget on your Gmail, go to Gmail Labs and turn on Gadgets Tool. The Gadgets Tool will become another tab at the top of your Gmail settings. Click on that and insert http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml into the text box. Click Save. Go back to Gmail, sign in, and you can use Tweet right from your inbox. 




Turn email into Google Doc
Google is testing a new feature for Gmail Labs that in one simple click, `Create a document', converts an email into a Google Docs document.

This means no more copying and pasting the text from your email -- just open the message you wish to convert, click the `Create a document' link on the right side of the page, and you have a brand new document which can then be modified and shared!

In case, you're not interested in converting any of your current messages into documents, you can easily open up a blank doc by hitting `g' and then `w' (just make sure you have keyboard shortcuts on).

To turn on this feature, go to the Gmail Labs tab under Settings, select `Enable' next to `Create a document' and hit `Save Changes' at the bottom. 

Gmail Video
Gmail and Google App subscribers can now choose to speak with friends on a video screen and simultaneously instant message them in a Google Chat box. The video screen can be popped out of the chat box and moved around a user's computer screen. Users can also change the size of the screen and expand it to full-screen size.

The condition being that both the user and his contact have computers equipped with Web cameras and microphones. Businesses that have bought an enterprise version of Gmail, found within the Google Apps software package, will also receive the feature at no extra cost. 
Gmail gadget for Google Desktop
Though strictly not a GMail gadget, it is a handy utility for Google desktop users that will allow them to read, search and send Gmail messages while in Google Desktop. Users can also Star messages and use keyboard shortcuts. The plug also utilises keyboard shortcuts and contact autocomplete.

In a blog post, James Yum, Developer Programs Engineer, Google Desktop, said, "You can Star messages, use the same keyboard shortcuts, and we didn't forget about contact auto-complete. It doesn't take up much space in your sidebar or desktop, and you can also resize it to show as few or as many messages as you'd like."

Presently, the application is Windows-only and requires Google Desktop version 5 or higher.

Google Desktop was released in October 2004. The application aims to make searching a PC as easy as searching the Web. Google Desktop provides users full-text search over email, files, music, photos, chats, Gmail and Web pages viewed.

The application also includes other gadgets that allow users to be shown new email, weather updates, photos and personalised news. 



READ MORE - 6 new features in Gmail

Biggest technology farewells of 2008


It's time to bid adieu to the year 2008, the year which witnessed the farewells of some of the biggest names in the technology world -- some of the marking the end of an era.

While most of these were ceremonious exits with some moving to take up their passions or philanthropy, others in pursuit of greener pastures. There were also some unceremonious exits, where some CEOs were made to resign penalising them for falling revenues and constant battering of their company's stocks at the bourses.

Here's looking into some of the most high-profile exits of 2008.

  
Arun Sarin, Vodafone
One of the most successful CEOs of British telecom giant Vodafone, Arun Sarin, quit the company in the July 2008 to don a new challenge.

During his five year tenure at the world's largest mobile firm, Sarin is credited for acquiring a controlling stake in one of India's biggest mobile phone companies, Hutchison Essar. Under him Vodafone posted group revenue of 35.5 billion pounds for the year ending March 31, an increase of 14.1 per cent, and organic growth of 4.2 per cent. This came in marginally higher than market consensus, provided by the company, of 35.2 billion to 35.4 billion pounds.

Under Sarin, Vodafone expanded aggressively into emerging markets, including Romania, the Czech Republic and Turkey. Sarin visited India before his exit along with his successor to participate in Vodafone-Essar board meeting, triggering speculation that he may join Tatas, but officials of the Indian conglomerate debunked any such report.

Post-exit Sarin planned a trekking trip to Himalayas before settling in California. Recently, Sarin, 53, who quit Vodafone at the pinnacle of his career, was speculated to be the most sought-after contender for the position of Yahoo CEO, after the Jerry Yang's exit.

Sarin, however, said he was not keen on the position. Sarin is looking at alternative roles at other US public companies as well as at a private equity firm, the Financial Times wrote recently.

The India-born US citizen is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and has an MBA degree from University of California, Berkley.  


Bill Gates, Microsoft 
This was surely the biggest farewell of 2008. The exit of Bill Gates marked an end of era. Gates retired from Microsoft, the company he co-founded with college-friend Paul Allen in 1975.

In June, Gates quit as full-time chairman and software architect of the world's largest software company to work full-time at his charitable organisation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates will remain the company's non-executive chairman.

A Harvard College drop out, Gates has been a permanent fixture in the Forbes Richest people list, holding the numero uno slot for 15 years in a row between 1993 and 2007. In 2008, Gates was topped by investor Warren Buffett and Mexico's telecom tycoon Carlos Slim in the world's wealthiest list.

Bill Gates' key creation is Microsoft, a company with sales of $51 billion as of June 2007 with 78,000 employees across 105 countries. Almost 90 per cent of the estimated 1 billion computers (desktop and laptop) in the world run on Microsoft's Windows and Office. The company has products across the layers network, operating system, database, middleware, application software.

Gates departure comes at a time when Microsoft is engaged in an escalating rivalry with Google and other competitors who are using the internet to chip away at its software dominance.

During his recent visit to India, Gates launched a major initiative for India’s public healthcare with a special focus on eradicating polio. 



Jerry Yang, Yahoo
After a rocky tenure at Yahoo, co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as chief executive this November.

Among the Silicon Valley dotcom billionaires, Yang was named CEO in June 2007 after Terry Semel exit. As CEO, Yang struggled to turn around the company's dwindling fortunes. The rejection of Microsoft offer and a failed advertising deal with Google marred his brief tenure.

Earlier this year, Yang rejected a $33 per share offer by Microsoft for Yahoo worth a total of more than $47 billion. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer later withdrew the offer after Yang sought $37 per share. The negotiating breakdown triggered a shareholder revolt led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who called for Yang's ouster in July. Since then Yahoo has been trading at between $10-12 a share.

With a fortune estimated at $2.23 billion, some shareholders accused Yang of putting his personal affection for the company he created over the interests of its shareholders. After squandering the opportunity to sell to Microsoft, Yang tried to boost Yahoo's profit by forging an advertising partnership with Google. But this backup plan too fell when Google walked away from the deal to avoid a court battle with the US Justice Department, which concluded that the partnership may throttle competition in the online advertising market. 


Sanjay Jha, Qualcomm
Indian engineering whizkid Sanjay Jha left Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) group as COO and president this year to join beleaguered US telecom major Motorola as CEO of Mobile Devices.

At Motorola, Jha holds a key task to pull the American cellphone pioneer which slipped to the fourth position in global handset sales and the downslide has been quite sharp.

What top's Jha's priorities is reversing the fortunes of the company’s loss-making handset business -- comprising over one third of Motorola’s total business worth $36.6 billion.

Forty five-year-old Jha started as a senior engineer at Qualcomm VLSI (very large scale integration) group in 1994 and was promoted as senior vice-president of engineering in 1998.

He was elevated as the president of QCT in 2003 when the chipset and software division was started at Qualcomm. For the past five years, this division of Qualcomm has been ranked among the world's largest fabless semiconductor producers, and was rated as being ahead of the leader Texas Instruments last year. Qualcomm had sold its own CDMA cell phone business to Kyocera in February 2000.


Ben Verwaayen, British Telecom

British Telecom Group, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Europe, saw the departure of its CEO Ben Verwaayen in the month of April.

Having served BT for almost six years, Verwaayen headed back to the US to take up a position with a venture capital firm. Verwaayen joined BT in January 2002 after quitting his job from US equipment vendor Lucent.

During his tenure at BT, Verwaayen initiated a complete broadband overhaul of BT's aging infrastructure. He mended fences with Ofcom, the UK's version of the FCC.

Fifty-six year old Dutch national was also awarded an honorary knighthood for services to the communications industry. Verwaayen helped BT buy a slew of US-based companies including Infonet, Radianz, Counterpane and INS pushing the telecom giant into a number of emerging markets.

Ian Livingston, who was chief executive of BT Retail, succeeded Verwaayen.  

Lee Kun-hee, Samsung
In one of the most sensational and controversial exits of the year, Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, resigned following an indictment on tax evasion charges after a counsel investigation.

Known to be the most powerful Korean tycoon, Lee was charged with $133m tax evasion and breach of trust during his 20-year tenure at Samsung. Lee was also charged with damaging the interest of other shareholders. He was accused of forcing Samsung subsidiaries to sell shares to his son at unfairly low prices.

However, the company was cleared of the most serious allegation that it raised money to bribe influential citizens and ministers in its native South Korea.

Joining Lee in stepping down were Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo and Lee Jae-yong, the chairman's son and heir apparent to the Samsung throne. Nine other senior executives also left Samsung following the charges.

Sixty six-year old Lee is credited of having built $160-billion Samsung Group which is Korea Inc's pride, accounting for roughly 21 per cent of the country's total exports. 

Farewell in the wings: Steve Jobs?

Apple recently announced that its Chief Executive Steve Jobs will not deliver the keynote address at the Macworld trade show next month. The announcement once again revived investors' concerns about the state of his health and sent the company's shares down.

Apple spokesman, however, denied that Jobs was missing the show due to health issues. Instead of Jobs, Philip Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, will deliver the keynote.

However, Samuel Wilson, an analyst at JMP Securities, said Jobs' absence at the event was important. "It's like the first time in a long time he hasn't spoken in Macworld. Why is he not speaking this year would be the question."

Investors have been concerned Jobs health after he was diagnosed with cancer some years back. In 2004, Jobs, 53, said he had undergone successful surgery to remove a rare type of pancreatic cancer. In September, Jobs, who is often perceived as irreplaceable as Apple's leader, appeared thin but jaunty as he introduced new iPod digital music players.

Macworld is a cultural event that draws thousands of Apple fans and technology aficionados to San Francisco, where they have been treated to major announcements from Jobs in past years, including the launch of the iPhone in 2007.
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READ MORE - Biggest technology farewells of 2008

Satyam asks World Bank to apologise

BANGALORE: Satyam Computer Services said it has asked the World Bank to withdraw "inappropriate" statements about the Indian outsourcer and to issue an apology for harm done to the company.

The World Bank said Satyam had been declared ineligible for direct contracts with the bank for eight years, effective from last September.

New York-listed Satyam said it had asked the World Bank to issue a new statement apologising to Satyam and provide it with an explanation of the circumstances relating to its statements.

"Satyam further advised the Bank that Satyam would evaluate all possible options in view of both the Bank's inappropriate public statements and its response to Satyam's requests," it said in a statement.

The World Bank said by it stood by its earlier statement. "The Bank stands by the statement issued on its India website on 23rd December," said Carl Hanlon, a World Bank spokesman in Washington.

The Bank said that, "Satyam was declared ineligible for contracts for providing improper benefits to Bank staff and for failing to maintain documentation to support fees charged for its subcontractors."

Shares in Satyam, India's No 4 software services outsourcer, fell after the Bank said it had barred it from business.

The stock was already under pressure after the firm said last week it would pay $1.6 billion for two infrastructure firms in which its management held stakes.

It dropped the plan within hours after investors reacted angrily but its shares have since plunged 40 per cent. 
READ MORE - Satyam asks World Bank to apologise

Pinkslips coming at Microsoft?

NEW DELHI: Internet is abuzz with reports that software giant Microsoft may be readying pink slips. Some speculations suggest that layoffs could be as high as 10 percent of Microsoft's over 90,000 full-time employees.

According to site newsoxy.com, "Insiders who work for the company say that things are looking grim while a few managers have leaked information about substantial workforce reductions on January 15, 2009."

Blogger Mini-Microsoft writes, “Come 22 Jan., 2009 Microsoft will be asked by the analysts what it is doing to contain costs.” He continues, "And I believe Microsoft will have an answer. I think this is one solution that you don’t want to be a part of. I’m all for cutting back, but it should have been done long ago, responsibly, vs. forced upon us.” He speculates that the axe will fall on January 15, 2009, and will take 10 percent of the company’s workforce when it does.

However, here’s a caveat: Mini-Microsoft is not an official company blog, and it is written by an anonymous author.

Incidentally, responding to speculations of possible layoffs, Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Brad Reback wrote in a report this week that layoffs at Microsoft would be "well-received" by Wall Street and "signal that profitability is more important than revenue growth during this very difficult time."

Microsoft has said that the company's hiring plans are under review. The company has sharply cut back on hiring, reportedly adding only 380 employees to its work force last month, down from 1,000 in October. 
READ MORE - Pinkslips coming at Microsoft?

Asian banks not in 'hibernate' mode



Asian banks not in 'hibernate' mode
S'pore R&D spend pushes forward
Notebooks outnumber desktops for first time
Tech innovations for tough times
Why Obama can't ignore education tech
Print news is fading, but the content lives on
Mobile features that could succeed in 2009
Verizon awarded 'largest-ever' cybersquatting judgment
5 security precautions to take for the holiday break


Asian banks not in 'hibernate' mode

Region's financial entities will lean toward innovation to ride downturn--even the more conservative will invest to be more efficient, say industry watchers.
Wednesday, December 24 2008 11:41 AM
Find more stories in::  Budgeting/cost control, Business planning, Project management, Pay-for-performance, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

S'pore R&D spend pushes forward

The country's overall spending on research and development last year hit an "unprecedented" high of US$4.3 billion, according to government agency.
Wednesday, December 24 2008 01:05 PM
Find more stories in::  R&D, Singapore, Finland, Japan, public sector

Notebooks outnumber desktops for first time

Global notebook PC shipments exceeded desktop shipments during the third quarter by about 100,000 units, according to new figures from iSuppli.
Wednesday, December 24 2008 01:11 PM
Find more stories in::  Desktops, Notebooks and tablets, Sales/revenue, Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co.

Tech innovations for tough times

Companies like GE are using alternative techniques, such as the theory of solving inventor's problems (TRIZ), to make R&D more efficient.
Friday, December 26 2008 09:42 AM
Find more stories in::  Innovation, Business development/management, R&D

Why Obama can't ignore education tech

Not only is it a proven way to generate significant economic benefits, the cost would be only a few drops in the bucket of his stimulus plan.
Friday, December 26 2008 09:29 AM
Find more stories in::  Web sites, Personal broadband

Print news is fading, but the content lives on

A Pew survey shows the Internet has overtaken newspapers as a main source of news, but newspapers still supply much of the seed news content that's refactored by millions of bloggers.
Friday, December 26 2008 09:09 AM
Find more stories in::  Internet, Web sites

Mobile features that could succeed in 2009

2008 already proved the success of open mobile operating systems, GPS and touchscreens, but next year's recession-hit scene is likely to show only incremental advances.
Thursday, December 25 2008 05:06 PM
Find more stories in::  Mobile/Wireless, Development/design, Mobile applications, Mobile platforms, Mobile commerce

Verizon awarded 'largest-ever' cybersquatting judgment

A federal court awarded Verizon US$33 million in a case against an Internet domain registrar the company claims chose names to be easily confused with legitimate Verizon sites.
Thursday, December 25 2008 10:05 AM
Find more stories in::  Web sites, Domain names, Verizon Communications Inc., Cybersquatting, Northern California

5 security precautions to take for the holiday break

What do you think about when Christmas approaches? Some of us think about how vulnerable our networks might be while we're away on vacation.
Thursday, December 25 2008 10:18 AM
Find more stories in::  Network security, PC security, Data security, Disaster Recovery, Authentication


READ MORE - Asian banks not in 'hibernate' mode

100 things you needed to know in 2008



100 things you needed to know in 2008

Notice to subscribers: Due to the holiday season, Daily Digest will not be delivered on Dec. 25, 2008.

It's been a download-packed year at TechRepublic, with more than 500 new items added to the downloads library. Topping the charts: our ever-popular 10 Things lists. So we thought it only fitting to wind up the year by sharing, well, 10 of them. Here are the ones you liked best.

Subscribe to TechRepublic's Downloads RSS

Sponsored
Want to find out the TCO for initial deployments of server blades?

Download the IDC white paper to find out why TCO analysis favor blade server systems over rack-optimized server systems.


#1: 10+ essential (and free) Windows applications
See how to make the most of your computer without spending a dime on software by installing these handy, well-behaved apps.

#2: 10 Firefox extensions you can't live without
Whether you want to speed access to your favorite Web sites or protect your system from dangerous active content, there's a Firefox extension to help you out.

#3: 10 ways you might be breaking the law with your computer
Legislation that affects the use of Internet-connected computers is springing up everywhere. In fact, you might be breaking the law without even knowing it.

#4: 10 Windows XP tricks and timesavers
Take advantage of top tips, from gathering MAC addresses to creating custom characters to removing resource-consuming device drivers you no longer need.

#5: 10 fundamental differences between Linux and Windows
Before debating the relative merits and shortcomings of Linux and Windows, it helps to understand the real distinctions between them.

#6: 10 things to love (and hate) about IE 8
Does IE 8 offer legitimate enhancements -- or is it just more of the same? One IT pro says IE 8's new features include some big improvements.

#7: 10+ things you should know about rootkits
Malware-based rootkits fuel a multibillion dollar spyware industry and generate untold amounts of spam. Here's a look at what rootkits are and what to do about them.

#8: 10 ways to survive office politics
Gossip, rivalry, power plays, deceit -- fine for movies and TV, but potentially disastrous in the workplace. Learn about issues that could unravel company culture and hurt your career.

#9: The top 10 Vista sidebar gadgets
Not everyone is a fan of Vista gadgets, but Deb Shinder has a collection of them that she finds very useful. Here are her favorites.

#10: 10 ways to improve your office etiquette (and avoid being the annoying co-worker)
These guidelines will help you -- or maybe the irritating colleague in the next cube -- avoid distracting and potentially obnoxious behavior.

What about last year?

Revisiting the biggest concerns of years past can often be illuminating. The hottest 10 Things download for 2005? 10+ things you should know about troubleshooting a slow PC. For 2006? 10 customization tricks to save you time in Windows XP. And here's a look back at some of the top downloads of 2007:

What about next year?

We've said it before, but it's always worth reiterating: Our downloads are designed to help you get your IT work done as painlessly and efficiently as possible. We're continually looking for ways to improve the usefulness of these resources, but we need your feedback. Please take a minute to drop us a line and tell us what to focus on in 2009.

Happy holidays from The TechRepublic Content Team!



READ MORE - 100 things you needed to know in 2008

Asian SMBs still lack green IT awareness /India's logistics sector to up IT spend



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Asian SMBs still lack green IT awareness
India's logistics sector to up IT spend
Microsoft probing SQL Server vulnerability
Mobile data use still growing
Intel starts shipping 160GB solid-state drives
Check Point to acquire Nokia's security appliance business
The cloud: From monolith to federation
Project Playlist and Sony BMG strike deal
Consumer electronics hit by inventory glut
 

Asian SMBs still lack green IT awareness

Small and midsize businesses in the region are still not clear what green IT entails, analyst says, adding that government and industry bodies need to do more.
Tuesday, December 23 2008 06:42 PM
Find more stories in::  Green IT, Infrastructure/architecture management, Government, Green IT, NEA

India's logistics sector to up IT spend

Overall growth of India's logistics players is set to boost IT spending by a 20 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years, according to study.
Tuesday, December 23 2008 06:18 PM
Find more stories in::  Supply chain, Supply chain management (SCM), logistics industry, India, Supply chain

Microsoft probing SQL Server vulnerability

The vulnerability opens system to remote code execution but only affects certain versions of the database software.
Wednesday, December 24 2008 08:22 AM
Find more stories in::  Network security, Server platforms, Microsoft Windows

Mobile data use still growing

Mobile data usage nearly doubled in the last quarter, and data rises may be due to to better designed devices, according to Orange.
Wednesday, December 24 2008 08:40 AM
Find more stories in::  Storage, Data security, Database

Intel starts shipping 160GB solid-state drives

The 2.5-inch laptop drives are currently shipping, with the 1.8-inch version set to ship in January.
Wednesday, December 24 2008 08:40 AM
Find more stories in::  Memory, Storage

Check Point to acquire Nokia's security appliance business

With the purchase, security company Check Point aims to broaden its presence in the appliance market.
Tuesday, December 23 2008 11:34 AM
Find more stories in::  Firewalls, Applications and tools, Security Appliance Business, Security, threat management

The cloud: From monolith to federation

Organizations around the world are coming to terms with cloud computing, but what can we expect from this technology over the coming year?
Tuesday, December 23 2008 11:03 AM
Find more stories in::  Software-as-a-service, Virtualization, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Cloud

Project Playlist and Sony BMG strike deal

This is the first major-label deal for the social music Web site, which has been hammered by lawsuits and seen its widgets banned from MySpace.
Tuesday, December 23 2008 11:48 AM
Find more stories in::  Web sites, Music, MySpace, Warner Music Group Corp., RIAA

Consumer electronics hit by inventory glut

Inventories pile up for manufacturers of computers, mobile phones and TVs, signaling a worse-than-forecast fourth quarter.
Tuesday, December 23 2008 11:21 AM
Find more stories in::  Hardware, Sales strategy, Sales/revenue, Cost control, Business development/management



track

READ MORE - Asian SMBs still lack green IT awareness /India's logistics sector to up IT spend

IT Dojo: Bloopers 2008


IT Dojo: Bloopers 2008

IT Dojo

We've aired over 30 episodes, since launching IT Dojo. And, we've filmed a lot of bloopers. This holiday season, we're celebrating with an episode that's dedicated entirely to our host screwing up. Watch as Bill Detwiler flubs his lines, growls at the camera, and even does a few bad impressions.

XML imageSubscribe to the IT Dojo RSS feed.

Most popular (and most talked about) posts for Tech Managers

Top 10 sites to debunk urban legends
Tim Malone
compiled this list of sites in an effort to educate users who are guilty of sending urban legend spam.

IT managers: Prepare for the millennials!
No, not the millennium. That's over and done with. I'm talking about the millennials, the generation of workers born roughly between 1977 and 1995, also known as Generation Y, who represent the biggest shift in the U.S. workforce since the baby boomers came of age.

A subordinate refuses an assignment
Here is the dilemma: This was a subordinate refusing an assignment from his direct manager in front of the rest of the IT staff. I was a relatively new manager and was still trying to establish a good team atmosphere. We worked in a high pressure and somewhat stressful environment with several dozen support requests each day among four of us.

When your network admin hijacks your system
The situation has finally happened. A network admin has brought a city to its knees by changing the master system password. What IT leadership needs to learn from this situation. And what they need to do to cope.

Note to IT: Stop whining
IT, like every department in the company, has a thankless infrastructure element that no one acknowledges until it breaks. So it's time to buck up and stop whining.

Photo gallery features

OpenSuse11.1openSUSE 11.1
The latest and greatest openSUSE 11.1 desktop from Novell, running on KDE 4.1

Replacing iPhone glassRepair the cracked glass face of an Apple iPhone 3G
When TechRepublic Cracked Open the Apple iPhone 3G we accidently put a small crack in the glass face. After awhile, the small crack became a big one bisecting the entire screen. The staff looked upon that crack as mark of dishonor and we decided fix it and record the process in a Photo Gallery.

Solar panelPhotos: GreenBuild comes to Boston
Many of the green-building products on the conference show floor were aimed at building professionals and architects, with an emphasis on recycled and sustainably sourced materials along with some renewable energy products.



READ MORE - IT Dojo: Bloopers 2008

Cluster configuration recovery tools in Server 2008

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Cluster configuration recovery tools in Server 2008

By Rick Vanover, Special to ZDNet Asia
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 11:04 AM


Microsoft clustering services on versions prior to Windows Server 2008 used a command line tool to fix drive issues. Windows Server 2008 puts this in the interface, making drive tasks more accessible.

If you've done moves of shared storage in a cluster configuration, you may have had to use various recovery tools in versions prior to Windows Server 2008.

Specifically, the resource kit tool dumpcfg.exe is used to repair drive signatures depending on certain conditions that could cause the shared storage hard drives to lose the disk signature. This can be quite a scary endeavor, and the frantic search for the resource kit tools to get the dumpcfg.exe tool from the install media only then offers little comfort on the repair of the situation.

Remember that this situation is a safeguard of the clustering services, and that with the proper recovery techniques, the system can be running again quite quickly.

Windows Server 2008 offers key improvements in the clustering services functionality, and drive recovery is one of the more important features.

Read more »

Recent Windows Server TechGuides

 

Kicking the tires with Perfmon in Server 2008

Over the years, there have been few changes in how we measure Windows performance. Windows Server 2008 introduces a new key functionality to the Perfmon tool.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:35 PM
Find more stories in::  Operating systems, Server platforms, Servers

Classic Windows NT tip: Dump Registry to text files for tracking

Figuring out what changes occur to the Windows registry is difficult. This tip shows how you can do so in Windows NT by exporting to text files. It worked in 1999, and still works today.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:50 AM
Find more stories in::  Microsoft Server 2003

Key features in Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft plans to release an R2 edition of Windows Server 2008 in 2009 or 2010. Here are the key features of the R2 release that you need to know.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 03:24 PM
Find more stories in::  Microsoft Windows, Server platforms, Virtualization

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Blog Central

International open source communities focus on China International open source communities focus on China
The OW2 Consortium, an independent industry community dedicated to developing open source middleware announced the launch of its Chinese Web...Read more »
Open Source - Sunday, December 07 2008 09:58 PM
The German rule of order The German rule of order
I'm back in Germany for another stopover this week, after catching a quick flight from Vienna, and staying with some...Read more »
By The Way - Friday, December 19 2008 04:51 AM

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