Jim Rapoza

About

Jim Rapoza, Chief Technology Analyst, eWEEK.For nearly fifteen years, Jim Rapoza has evaluated products and technologies in almost every technology category for eWEEK. Mr Rapoza's current technology focus is on all categories of emerging information technology though he continues to focus on core technology areas that include: content management systems, portal applications, Web publishing tools and security. Mr. Rapoza has coordinated several evaluations at enterprise organizations, including USA Today and The Prudential, to measure the capability of products and services under real-world conditions and against real-world criteria. Jim Rapoza's award-winning weekly column, Tech Directions, delves into all areas of technologies and the challenges of managing and deploying technology today.

CorelDraw 12 Eases Freehand Work

In digital graphics, theres an often-underserved middle ground: users who are too savvy to use novice-oriented tools but who find high-end Adobe and Macromedia tools to be overkill. Corel has probably served these users most effectively and for the longest time, and the recent release of the $399 CorelDraw 12 graphics suite carries on this […]

Microsoft Embraces Open Standards

With its broad open-standards support, multiple integration options, and some of the best process development and design tools available, Microsoft Corp.s BizTalk Server 2004 is one of the best BPM systems around and earns eWEEK Labs Analysts Choice honors. The product is a must-have for any Microsoft shop doing business integration—and even non-Microsoft shops should […]

SQL Server Needs Revision

From Windows server 2003 to exchange Server 2003 to SharePoint 2.0 to BizTalk Server 2004, some of the best technology coming out of Microsoft lately has been on the server side. But all of these great server products have one problem: They are standing on an aging, creaky and often damaged base—Microsoft SQL Server 2000. […]

TeamPage a Strong Contender

Traction Software refers to its TeamPage product as an “enterprise Weblog platform.” However you classify it, TeamPage 3.01 is a strong competitor against collaborative Web publishing portals such as Plone, PHP-Nuke and SharePoint Services, even though most of its rivals are either freeware or bundled features in a Windows Server. TeamPage 3.01 also competes with […]

Plone Improves Usability, Flexibility

With the release of version 2.0 this month, the free, open-source Plone has taken what was already probably the best option in Web publishing portals and made it the clear leader in this field (as well as an eWEEK Labs Analysts Choice honoree). Plone 2.0 includes important new features that greatly improve the administration, usability […]

BehaviorTracking Keeps Fine Tabs

Most Web users would probably agree that few Web sites take site search capabilities seriously. And if sites arent working hard to make sure their search is accurate and helpful, they probably arent doing anything to leverage the valuable product and customer information that can come from a search. However, if your company takes searching […]

Veritys Ultraseek Hones Web Searches

Verity Inc. has continued to make slow-and-steady improvements to its Ultraseek search product—the recent release of Version 5.2 is only the second new edition since Verity acquired Ultraseek from Inktomi Corp. in 2002 and integrated it with Veritys existing search technologies. Although the new features in Version 5.2 arent flashy, they represent welcome improvements, especially […]

Less Can Be More

I like ease of use. I like intuitive interfaces that make it possible for me to carry out the tasks I must do in whatever way is most efficient for me. For example, I like Web authoring tools that allow me to choose whether to edit in code, hierarchical tagged environments or full-on WYSIWYG. Basically, […]

Savvy Vendors Know Every Customer Counts

I wonder if i could cut my workload if i stopped writing for a small percentage of my readers. Maybe I could leave work early! Nah. I cant afford to lose a single reader, just like most businesses cant afford to lose a single customer. Imagine if Ford decided to stop sales of its cars […]

Microsoft Gets Data Into the Right Hands

For many companies, creating useful reports from databases and enterprise applications is only the first step. The more pressing problem is getting these reports into the hands of those who need them. And thats where eWEEK Labs found the main benefit of Microsoft Corp.s SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services, which provides a flexible, simple means […]