Jim Rapoza

2003 was full of developments that had a big impact on IT. Unfortunately, most of what happened was bad. If you didnt lose your job entirely, your job certainly got a lot harder. For IT staff at most companies, dealing with the near-tidal wave of spam was one of the biggest hassles. Market researchers have […]

Macromedia Inc.s Flash has become one of the most popular environments for developing rich, Web-based applications, but it generally doesnt work as well for developing stand-alone applications that run outside Web browsers. This occurs even though most Flash applications appear to be identical in function to many stand-alone applications. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Central Developer Release Macromedias […]

While most IT managers are mainly focused on the day-to-day grind of keeping corporate technology infrastructures running, stable and up-to-date, the job description of some IT managers also entails keeping one eye on future technologies to maintain their companies competitive edge. Doing this requires the ability to cut through hype. It can be a difficult […]

Symantecs $69.95 Norton SystemWorks 2004 isnt a must-have, but it can still be useful for trouble-shooting systems. Along with the classic disk and system management utilities, SystemWorks 2004 includes the CleanSweep program uninstaller, the Norton Goback system recovery tool, several Internet checkup tools and the new Norton AntiVirus 2004. The only other new feature in […]

The newly released Adobe Creative Suite Premium is the first package that includes all Adobe Systems Inc.s popular design development tools. It offers users the opportunity to effectively and affordably use these products to create and edit images, print content, and generate online content in an integrated and collaborative work environment. Adobe Creative Suite Premium, […]

In the late 1990s, NetObjects Fusion went toe-to-toe with Macromedia Inc.s Dreamweaver for the title of best WYSIWYG Web site design tool. But while products such as Dreamweaver and Adobe Systems Inc.s GoLive evolved into popular and powerful tools for professional Web developers, NetObjects Fusion slipped into obscurity. Despite what some may think, NetObjects Fusion […]

One of the most common complaints I hear from IT pros concerns the lack of knowledge (OK, the ignorance) of company executives regarding information security. For many CEOs and high-level executives, security is at best barely understood and at worst completely misunderstood. Some execs tolerate security procedures and expenses, while others view them as a […]

Microsoft Corp.s Windows Rights Management Services for Windows Server 2003 offers very capable, simple-to-use digital rights management capabilities that can help control the flow of documents inside and outside a company, making sure documents are seen only by those who should see them. eWEEK Labs used Windows Rights Management Services, which shipped last month, to […]

Theres a program on your computer system. It installed itself without your knowledge, and it runs stealthily so you wont notice its there. Its recording information about you and sending it on to others. On top of that, its slowing down your system and potentially opening it up to serious security problems. And its not […]

Wouldnt it be great if you could book an entire trip, flight, hotel and car on sites of your choosing without having to log on to more than one site? The Liberty Alliance Project, a consortium of IT vendors and customers dedicated to creating identity management standards, thinks so, and its just-released Phase 2 specifications […]

In last years Tech Outlook, we predicted that 2003 would be like most other years when it came to security. We were wrong. It was one of the worst years on record for security incidents. This was highlighted in August, which saw Blaster and SoBig and was the worst month ever for damage from worm […]

Hey, software vendors, would you like to keep your customers happy and encourage new sales? Heres how: Dont put activation in your products, and if youve put it in, take it out. Plenty of vendors responded to my recent column criticizing the implementation of activation technologies for software products. With the goal of reducing piracy […]