Outsourcing
C|net, 1/15/04: Doctors to receive PCs, handhelds
By David Becker
Health insurer WellPoint announced a $40 million program on Wednesday to equip doctors with handheld computers and PCs. The program, a partnership with Microsoft, Dell and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, will be offered to 19,000 physicians in WellPoint's regional network.
Doctors will have the choice of a wireless handheld based on Microsoft's PocketPC software and outfitted with special software and services for electronic submission of prescription orders, or a Dell PC and printer combo to help with processing claims and using Internet resources.
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C|net, 1/15/04: Study: Outsourcers need industry savvy
By Ed Frauenheim
Companies looking for a technology outsourcing partner would be wise to consider candidates' business knowledge and not just their technology chops, according to a new study.
Research firm Meta Group studied 15 companies in North America that provide outsourcing services. These businesses take on information technology duties, such as help desk operations or software application maintenance, and provide business process services, such as administering employee benefits.
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Managed Services
Computerworld, 1/15/04: ISS scoops up content security company
Story by Paul Roberts
Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS) moved to bolster its content security capabilities yesterday, announcing that it purchased content security company Cobion AG for $33.4 million.
The acquisition will add Cobion's content analysis technology to ISS's Proventia product line, helping the company compete in a growing market for "all-in-one" security appliances that combine antivirus, firewall, anti-spam as well as Web and e-mail inspection features on one hardware device.
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PC Industry
Computerworld, 1/15/04: HP regains lead in PC shipments in Q4
But Dell held on to its lead in shipments for the full year
Story by Tom Krazit and Robert McMillan
Hewlett-Packard Co. regained the lead in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2003, but Dell Inc. held on to its lead for the full year, as the PC industry recorded one of its better years in recent memory, according to preliminary figures released yesterday by IDC and Gartner Inc.
HP shipped 7.5 million PCs worldwide in the quarter, up 21% from its fourth-quarter 2002 shipments of 6.2 million. Dell followed with worldwide shipments of 7.2 million units, up 19.7% from its fourth-quarter 2002 tally of 6.1 million units, market research company IDC said in a statement.
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Security
eWeek, 1/16/04: PC viruses spawn $55 billion loss in 2003
Trend Micro, the world's third-largest antivirus software maker, said Friday that computer virus attacks cost global businesses an estimated $55 billion in damages in 2003, a sum that is expected to increase this year.
Companies lost roughly $20 billion to $30 billion in 2002 from the virus attacks, up from about $13 billion in 2001, according to various industry estimates.
"The economic and financial impact of virus attacks will continue to climb in 2004," Lionel Phang, Trend Micro's managing director told Reuters in an interview. He did not have a forecast for the year.
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Values
Computerworld, 1/15/04: Setting clear priorities
Advice by Esther Derby
Most of us have more work than we can hope to accomplish in any given week. So one of the first bits of advice I give to new managers is to establish priorities early so that they can focus on the most important work, and triage work that doesn't contribute to meeting department goals.
When priorities aren't clear, people will choose what to work on at random. That may suit individual needs (for example "I enjoy working with Jane, so I'll do the widget fix first" or "I hate working on the Floo product, so I'll do that last"), but this type of decision-making probably won't help the group as a whole meet its goals.
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Otherwise
The New Yorker, 1/19/04: ANGRY MIDDLE-AGED MAN
by JAMES KAPLAN
Is Larry David funnier than everyone else, or just more annoying?
…
David relishes everyday ambiguities, like the one that arose over the question of who would pay for the meal with the notable and his wife. “You know, if I don’t pick up that check, this guy’s never gonna talk to me again,” he said. “And I’m not picking up the check, ’cause he invited me out to dinner!
“Every relationship is just so tenuous and precarious,” he went on. “One tiny miscommunication or mistake and it could be all over. I’m talking about siblings! A Thanksgiving thing that somehow goes wrong—bringing the wrong dish—all of a sudden, sisters aren’t talking after forty-five years!”
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