John Taschek

Death, taxes and the fact that your computer systems are vulnerable are the only things that are certain—at least in our lifetimes. Unfortunately, many companies will find this out at least once. The problem is that they rely on vendors to disclose problems, and by then its way too late. Large companies, such as IBM, […]

Broadwing, formed in 1999 by a merger of IXC Communications and Cincinnati Bell, has the first all-optical network with paying customers. The network consists of about 18,500 miles of long-haul IP fiber, which lowers the number of times a signal must be regenerated to every 2,500 miles or so. This also means the network will […]

“Unbreakable” is the tag line for the newest version of the Oracle9i database. Whether the name is derived from the good but misunderstood movie about a reluctant superhero with a fear of drowning or is just a marketing term conjured up to inspire hackers to beta test Oracles security scheme, Oracle is intensely interested in […]

In the real world, passports give people the liberty to travel the world. In the computer industry, liberty alliances are formed to get people to throw away their passports. Suns Liberty Alliance was set up in direct reaction to Microsofts Passport. The main goals of the alliance and Passport are to solve authentication problems for […]

Wireless networking keeps getting better and better. 802.11a-based devices are more than fast enough for most applications. And assuming you can find them and stomach the possibility that theyll be obsolete by years end, youll be a happy camper. The newest 802.11a devices are just as polished as the 802.11b on the market. They should […]

A new year and already the hype has started over some arbitrary technology thats supposed to change the world. Its got to stop. Hype is a bad, bad thing, and yet I get a strange sense of belonging when I write about whatevers being hyped. This year, apparently, its ebXML, a series of specifications that […]

eWEEK Labs tests of some of the first 802.11a-based equipment out of the gate show that the new specification makes wireless networks better, stronger and faster—up to five times as fast as 802.11b-based systems. This increase in throughput will not only boost users productivity but will also make wireless LANs an acceptable conduit for applications […]

Surprisingly, writing this column never gets old. I tirelessly examine interesting enterprise architectures; match them to the vendors hyperbolic claims; compare them with what I believe readers actually need; and, once in a while, take potshots at unsuspecting vendors, just to break out of writers block. Well, maybe the last part is right. What I […]

Oracle is banking that release 2 of its 9i application server will erode the market share of its competitors. Oracle previously touted support of standards and performance as 9iAS main advantage over competitive offerings from BEA and IBM. Now, Oracle is focusing on caching. There are two new features in Release 2: clustering of the […]

The biggest problem with information is that people dont share it: Some people will hold back a key piece of data as if it will raise their level of importance in an organization. There are exceptions, of course. Overwhelmingly, however, Ive had a jaded opinion of collaboration software since it tries to force people into […]