Jim Rapoza

Although Internet commerce and business analytics programs make it possible to infer and detect how customers behave and what they want from your business, the one sure-fire way to find out what customers are thinking is to ask them. For most businesses, the best way to do this is through surveys. And although many Web […]

It may not prove to be a threat to unique ID schemes such as Microsoft Corp.s Passport, but a new technology from Lucent Technologies Inc.s Bell Labs could revolutionize how systems and applications are securely accessed and managed. Bell Labs Factotum is essentially a more powerful, flexible and distributed implementation of SSH (Secure Shell). However, […]

At the recent Open Source Group Conference, Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, spoke out on the need to keep Web standards and Web services patent-free. He knows what hes talking about—not only do patents threaten the standards put forth by his World Wide Web Consortium, they have even threatened his very […]

Although Apple Computer Inc.s QuickTime format (see screen) is typically number three in market share behind the streaming media products from RealNetworks Inc. and Microsoft Corp., the release of Version 6 greatly increases QuickTimes position as the format of choice for media authors and those looking for excellent interoperability. Much of this capability comes from […]

The consensus baseline security settings for Windows 2000 make it possible for IT administrators to configure Windows 2000 workstations with a high level of security, although without the use of central group policies (such as those in Active Directory), this process could prove to be very time-consuming. The security settings were announced last week by […]

In the early 80s, there was a movement to boycott companies that dealt with the then-oppressive South African government. Recently, after several articles came out about companies aiding and profiting from censorship by oppressive governments, Im starting to wonder if similar tactics, especially in the technology area, are now necessary. Two pieces of news started […]

With the release of Version 6 last week at Macworld, QuickTime moves to the front of the streaming media line. The latest version of Apple Computer Inc.s popular media format is an important upgrade, including full support for the MPEG-4 format and thus excellent-quality video and audio in much smaller file sizes. Along with QuickTimes […]

The concept of categorization is based on standardization—that is, all content entering or in a system should be categorized according to a standard taxonomy. Standards for categorization are another story, however. Other than the use of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiatives Dublin Core (www.dublincore.org) for metatags, standards in this area are not widely used. As […]

Content categorization doesnt seem that hard—that is, until you start doing it. When human beings can disagree about where content should be categorized in even a small taxonomy, the task starts to seem impossible for software. The good news is that all three of the programs eWeek Labs tested in this eValuation provided excellent results, […]

Critical enterprise software platforms—including portals, content and document management systems, customer relationship management applications, and e-commerce systems—generate reams of data. But what good is that data if employees and business partners cant find the information they need or even figure out what they need? Categorization engines can do just that, working with each of these […]

In this column last week, I asked if it was time for the federal government to step in and help protect the Internet against security problems. I received a lot of interesting responses (most beginning with, “Are you nuts?”), but one that piqued my interest suggested that the government should build a powerful and much […]

Recently, the international hacker group known as Hacktivismo announced the upcoming release of its long-awaited Camera/Shy application. Camera/Shy is essentially a very simple steganography tool that allows users to encrypt information and hide it in standard GIF images, one of the most popular and common file formats on the Internet today. According to Hacktivismos claims, […]