eWEEK EDITORS

Developers say theres a dirty little secret about Longhorn that few Softies are discussing publicly: Longhorn wont be based on the .Net Framework. Were still expecting that the .Net Framework will ship with Longhorn–on the CD and/or “in the box” in some way. But the .Net Framework wont be at Longhorns core, we hear. Instead, […]

A cult of well-meaning but delusional academics has hijacked the consciousness of a lot of our peers. The cult is busy leading IT groups into absurdly dysfunctional behaviors that suck the life out of projects and that will take down entire midsize organizations competitiveness. Their vision is built on two blind spots and two personality […]

SAN JOSE, Calif.—”Linux is our platform for the future,” said Dr. Dave Nagel, delivering a keynote talk to an audience of 1,000 attendees at the Palms annual developer event, renamed from “devcon” to “Mobile Summit” this year. Nagel talked little about Linux, however, focusing instead on wireless opportunities, 3G consumer and enterprise data services, and […]

NEW YORK—Microsoft is hardly the only vendor working to assemble the technology pieces that could comprise next-generation digital identity management platforms. Next week, Red Hat is planning to release into open source the Netscape Directory technology it acquired in September 2004. That is according to Joanne Rohde, Red Hat executive vice president, who spoke on […]

Microsoft Corp. made available for download on Monday an updated beta release of two of its future Windows subsystems: the “Avalon” presentation and the “Indigo” communication ones. As part of the new beta release—which Microsoft has christened Beta 1 Release Candidate (RC)—the company also is making available to testers a first beta release of a […]

Do users trust Microsoft enough to allow the Redmond vendor to secure their systems? Microsoft has been testing out, for at least two years, the concept of offering consumers security and management services on a hosted basis. (It did so via a prototype known as the PC Satisfaction Trial.) Earlier this month, the Redmond software […]

Good managers always want to get better and improve on their past. This is a natural law—that is, one with very few exceptions—and it is as likely to bring down good managers as mediocre ones. Thats the Law of Problem Evolution. The law is this: The problems a manager faces will evolve over time to […]

Microsoft has a grand plan for digital-identity management. And over the next few months, the company will begin to deliver Microsoft implementations of some of the pieces of that plan. At last weeks Digital Identity World conference, Microsoft officials explained a concept called the “identity metasystem.” In Microsofts view, such a metasystem could go a […]

Cub Foods has started testing a biometric payment system in four of its stores, claiming it will allow customers to leave their debit or credit cards at home and will make payments faster. The system, known as Pay By Touch, can access a customer’s checking account when a finger is scanned. To enroll in the […]

Microsoft is readying a new security tool to add to its arsenal. The newest member of Microsofts growing security-focused product family is the “Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP,” according to beta testers who requested anonymity. The toolkit, which is currently in private beta test, is designed for users who are sharing computers in […]

Remember when messages sent via the Internet started with the phrase, “Let me know if you get this?” Now, if messages arent delivered immediately, users are all over their help desk. Like it or not, messaging is probably the tool most often used in an IT environment. And I dont mean just desktop e-mail; I […]

I wasnt always a journalist. I spent years in IT doing everything from help desk (the horror! The horror!) to programming to system administration to network integration. I was, if I say so myself, pretty darn good at all of it. Im also 48, and from what my friends tell me, Id have a heck […]