eWEEK EDITORS

It exploded onto the software development scene 10 years ago and quickly grew to become a dominant force in programming for millions. Now, on its 10th anniversary, Microsoft Corp.s Visual Basic programming language is facing its biggest challenge yet. But unlike past threats from Borland Software Corp.s Delphi or Sun Microsystems Inc.s Java, the latest […]

HELP DESK GWI Software, of Vancouver, Wash., this week at Microsoft Corp.s TechEd conference in Atlanta will announce a shrink-wrapped help desk application for IT departments built on Microsofts Exchange messaging platform. c.Support IT for Microsoft Exchange offers capabilities for problem, knowledge and asset management; support representative and user portals; and self-support—all via a Web […]

IT SPENDING Euro e-com firms want it their way European e-commerce companies want that personal touch from software vendors, according to a recent report from market researcher Frost & Sullivan Inc., in Mountain View, Calif. Given the need for companies to remain competitive, along with their natural fears of being surpassed by competitors, Frost & […]

Lojack for laptops? After testing a preview version of Absolute Software Corp.s Computrace 8.0 software/ monitoring service combo, eWeek Labs found it hard to avoid the analogy. In this case, police do not track a radio beacon but are ultimately provided a warrant and a street address, courtesy of a covert call (IP or phone) […]

BOOKS Charles Babbages Analytical Engine (circa 1838) never executed a program, but it probably could have. Although Babbage pushed metallurgy and machining to new precision, he was too far ahead of his time to build his pioneering designs—affordably. In “The Difference Engine,” Doron Swade, head of collections at Londons Science Museum, tells the story in […]

As developers converge in Atlanta for this weeks Microsoft TechEd conference, Microsoft should seize the opportunity to set an agenda thats good for the future of enterprise IT. The following are our suggestions. First, Microsoft must condense some reality from the vapor of its .Net marketecture by moving decisively toward the long-awaited release of a […]

Marketplaces hit tough times Last week was another difficult one for industry-sponsored exchanges. Aerospace e-marketplace Exostar—which has the backing of such industry stalwarts as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon—lost its CEO, Andrew Pyler. He apparently left to pursue other business opportunities. Another industry consortium, MetalSite, shut down its marketplace and laid off most of its […]

Punch Networks first filed for its patent in November 1997, and the Seattle companys management team believed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was close to ruling on its application when this Interactive Week reporter called early this month. The reporter mentioned he had seen something about one of the companys patents on the USPTO […]

Spending may be stagnant and inventories may still be chin-high, but no flies are gathering on chipmakers during the telecom slowdown. Four companies that make chips or subsystems for telecom networks announced breakthroughs last week, claiming higher speeds and energy savings. Broadcom announced cable headend technology that the company said provides three times the line […]

Big Cuts Nortel Networks plans an additional 10,000 job cuts, on top of the 20,000 it announced in April, after warning of deeper losses and less revenue than expected. Another telecom gear maker, JDS Uniphase, also said its revenue would be much lower than expected. Bell Setback The efforts of U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., […]

Peregrine Buys Rival Peregrine Systems will buy Remedy, a competing maker of helpdesk and customer relationship management software, in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion. San Diego-based Peregrine, which sells asset management software, says that by acquiring Remedy it will broaden its potential customer base to small and midsize businesses. MS Exec Departs Paul […]

Internet service companies are getting close to establishing a nonprofit organization to monitor the pipes of about 20 members, in an effort to keep Internet Protocol networks critical for national security up and running at all times. Managed services firm Genuity, Web hoster Conxion and the Internet Operators Group, an industry consortium, are setting up […]