Outsourcing
Computing, 5/8/02: Outsource, but do it selectively
Liesbeth Evers
Hidden maintenance expenses can double the cost of running a network, and have sparked debate on whether it is better for companies to outsource.
A new philosophy of selective sourcing has emerged, which combines in-house implementation with outsourcing to get the best technological developments at the lowest cost.
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Computing, 5/2/02: 2002 - the year of making do, says Holway
By Ian Lynch
The UK IT market is currently rather dull and uninspiring, with a certain air of resignation, according to the 2002 Holway Report, which will be published next week.
This year's cry from the boardroom is "how can we make do with what we've got?" rather than "where do we go from here?" according to the respected IT analyst house, now part of Ovum Holway.
The boardroom call to "make the best of what you've got" may be good news for outsourcers. "Outsourcing will increasingly become the preferred way of 'making do' - that is by 'making others do' at lower cost," the report says.
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IT Management
c|net, 5/7/02: IBM touts new backup services
By Troy Wolverton
IBM is introducing a new service that will allow companies to get their computer systems back up and running quickly in the case of a disaster, the company plans to announce Wednesday.
Targeted at financial services, retail and transportation companies, the new service involves the use of fast backup systems that duplicate not only data, but applications as well, said Roger Schwanhausser, director of storage services for IBM Global Services. As part of the initiative, IBM is also consulting with companies to assess their current disaster-recovery systems.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have forced businesses to focus on planning for disasters, Schwanhausser said.
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Infoworld, 5/9/02: Big Blue thinks small -- and medium
By Ed Scannell
HAVING CATERED TO developers and business partners focused on corporate accounts with several product announcements Wednesday at its developerWorks Live conference, IBM on Thursday turned its attention to the other end of the market with a new program and product bundles aimed at small and medium-size business (SMB) accounts.
IBM announced that its eServer Integrated Platform for e-Business, to be delivered and supported through the company's business partners, is intended to help smaller companies quickly build and implement Linux-based solutions around SuSE's version of the open-source operating system.
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Mobility
ZDNet, 5/8/02: Blacberry's got some Good competition
By Richard Shim
Good Technology detailed its upcoming wireless products, confirming earlier reports that the communications services start-up is working on software and hardware that will allow wireless transmission of e-mail messages.
As previously reported, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based start-up's products will be targeted toward large corporations, putting it in competition with Research In Motion. The company has not formally announced its plans, but expects to issue a release this week. Details of the company's products were posted Tuesday to its Web site.
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The New York Times, 5/9/02: The New BlackBerry
By DAVID POGUE
A COUPLE of years ago I accompanied my wife to a plastic surgeons' convention. There on the exhibition floor, among the booths hawking surgical instruments, implants and sutures, I came upon the strangest sight: a company selling hands. They were absolutely perfect prosthetic hands, staggeringly realistic even to the touch, complete with fingerprints, pores and tiny hairs. The price: $10,000 each.
I remember being struck by how differently people might view that price tag. Even though these were surely the world's finest hands, no average consumer would spend ten grand on one. For somebody who actually needed a prosthetic, on the other hand, $10,000 might well seem right on target, or even a bargain.
That's how I feel about the new BlackBerry 5810, a wireless e-mail palmtop and cellphone from Research in Motion, or RIM (www.blackberry.net). It's certainly the finest product in, well, whatever its class is — the Rolls-Royce of something or other. The question is, what kind of person will discover its value?
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Technology Economy
c|net, 5/8/02: Chambers' "show me" tech economy
By Ben Heskett
LAS VEGAS--Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers may have said it best in his opening remarks: "What a difference a year makes."
Cisco CEO points to productivity
Fresh off a quarterly earnings report Tuesday that gave some hope that the tech downturn may be bottoming out, Chambers seemed humbled by Cisco's travails this past year but happy with 2 percent year-over-year revenue growth--which would have been a laughable pittance during the go-go late 1990's telecommunications boom.
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High Tech Marketing
Wired News, 5/9/02: Flash: Blogging Goes Corporate
By Farhad Manjoo
This year, Macromedia -- the company that makes Flash and Shockwave -- has posted a $305 million quarterly loss, laid off 110 people and lost a $2.8 million copyright infringement suit to Adobe.
But for all the company's apparent troubles, in the last week there's been a lot of good feeling directed toward the firm, with people saying that Macromedia is one of the few companies to appreciate the new topography of the Web.
That's because Macromedia is blogging.
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High Tech Life
The New York Times, 5/9/02: An E-Mail Affliction: The Long Goodbye
By JOYCE COHEN
GETTING out of an e-mail exchange ought to be easy: you simply don't answer.
So how is it that some people often find themselves stuck in e-mail limbo, going back and forth with confirmations that the message was received, restatements of points already made, choruses of "Thank you," "You're welcome," "Thanks again" and "No problem"?
Misty Young, a heavy e-mail user, attributes the problem to a lack of context and expression, which leads to "this neediness for more interaction to feel you've really `gotten' it."
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Wired News, 5/9/02: Really Cheesy Party in the Alley
By Noah Shachtman
NEW YORK -- There'll be champagne by the case. High-powered corporate bigwigs. Wide-eyed arm candy. Velvet ropes manned by thick-necked bouncers. And boogying under the stars.
But one of the biggest parties in Silicon Alley -- New York's Internet community -- since the dot-com collapse won't be taking place at the stately Waldorf-Astoria or the ultra-hip Spa nightclub. It'll be at a Manhattan McDonald's instead.
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