eWEEK EDITORS

MySQL AB is planning major changes to its namesake open-source database technology by the end of the year. According to CEO Mårten Mickos, the company will launch its code in Version 4.0 this month and upgrade it to Version 4.1 in December. New with 4.0 is support for the Unicode character set, the Secure Sockets […]

Compaq Computer Corp. warned Monday that its quarterly earnings will fall far short of expectations, saying that fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and other factors produced “the perfect storm” that battered its business. For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the worlds second largest PC vendor expects revenue to be $7.4 billion to […]

Lynn Pregont experienced an odd feeling when she bought a pair of shoes on the first weekend after terrorists struck the U.S. The feeling wasnt buyers remorse — it was guilt. As a partner/affiliate of The E-tailing Group consulting firm in Chicago, Pregont knew that her purchase represented a small act of defiance to the […]

People want to stand together in the face of adversity, but they also want a focus for their anger: if not someone, then something, to blame. In our technology-centered society, our tools can easily become convenient scapegoats. When the open, international network, or the mathematics of strong encryption, are used—or even suspected of having been […]

Roy Leamon, EStyle.coms ninth employee, joined as manager of graphics production in March 1999. But it wasnt long before Leamon discovered he was in over his head. EStyle is a Los Angeles-based retailer geared toward mothers with growing families. Just the task of managing its digital assets forced Leamon to take on an assistant. “Basically, […]

To divine the future of DSL, think of the technology not as a service, but as a transport mechanism able to wring valuable bandwidth from a single copper pair. After all, says Edge Connections CEO Jim McKenna, High-bit-rate DSL technology is already used to leverage two copper pairs into 1.5 megabits per second of bandwidth […]

With the threat of a long war looming, the heat is on lawmakers this week to make tough decisions about the degree to which laws surrounding surveillance – including Internet snooping – should be changed to aid in the fight against terrorism. But the chairman of the Senates Committee on the Judiciary, Sen. Patrick Leahy, […]

When Sun Microsystems took to the pulpit last week to propose an alternative to Microsofts Passport, the move marked more than just another showdown between the technology industrys two fiercest rivals. This time, Sun and Microsoft are on a bigger quest: to create a standard for digital IDs. One of the Holy Grails of online […]

If DSL service does indeed emerge as the most promising, most ubiquitous access technology, then look for Asian and European countries to emerge the leaders in the race to become the best-networked societies in the world. The Yankee Group estimates that the number of European DSL subscribers will jump from 3.2 million this year to […]

Just as a typhoon cannot disrupt the ocean tides, neither can a terrorist attack permanently alter well-established economic patterns, experts say. As an encouraging illustration that business can return to normal quickly, online researcher and comparative shopping e-retailer BizRate.com reported that online sales — which dropped 39 percent the day of the attacks on the […]

The gridlock over spectrum for next-generation wireless data is easing, with changes likely to satiate the wireless industrys thirst for more airwaves and ultimately bring more and better services to users. While a few doors have likely closed to using some spectrum for souped-up wireless services, including video and audio, others may be swinging open. […]

Napster is shelling out $36 million to music publishers and songwriters, hoping to buy more respect from the industry as it prepares to launch its Internet music subscription service later this year. The music sharing startup — which had vigorously fought the recording industry — reached an agreement last week with associations representing U.S. music […]