Timothy Dyck

Breaking new ground in a very mature market, Informatica Corp.s Informatica Analytics Delivery Platform Release 3, a database report creation and publishing system, does a great job delivering critical data to mobile workers, although it isnt as compelling for those using desktops. ADP consists of two packages, Informatica Analytics Server and Informatica Mobile. (Mobile cannot […]

Microsoft updated its IIS Lockdown Wizard for IIS 4.0 and IIS 5.0 last month. The 2.1 release now includes profiles for various server configurations such as a Microsoft Exchange Server or a FrontPage-enabled Web server, so that the tool can leave enabled the IIS features necessary for these server applications to work. IIS Lockdown Wizard […]

Although Windows .Net Server Beta 3 is not feature-complete, it is clear from eWeek Labs tests that Microsoft Corp. is acknowledging—and, better yet, working to fix—some of the fundamental security problems in its flagship operating system and Web server. Windows .Net Server, the follow-on to Windows 2000 Server, is also the first Microsoft operating system […]

Microsofts Visual j# .Net Beta 1, which re-creates an old version of Java as a .Net language, has been a major source of debate among eWeek Labs staffers. Visual J# (posted online at msdn.microsoft.com/visualj/jsharp/beta. asp) is a plug-in for Visual Studio .Net Beta 2 that lets developers write applications compatible with Java 1.1.4, the version […]

Businesses that want to use XML to organize documents or Web pages will find Ixiasoft Inc.s TextML Server 2.0 a good tool for the job. However, its lack of standard database features means it isnt well-suited for general data management tasks. In tests, after eWeek Labs imported a group of XML files into TextMLs document […]

As XML becomes an increasingly important data interchange format, it makes sense to look at new ways of storing information directly in XML and using XML-based tools for data query and manipulation. However, what those tools will look like is still very much up in the air. A native XML database market is emerging to […]

Administrators who want to measure how well their Windows 2000 servers are secured will find a free security scanner from the not-for-profit Center for Internet Security a real help. The Windows 2000 Level 1 Benchmark and Scoring Tool (at www.cisecurity.org/bench_ win2000.html) contains a security scanner (see screen), instructions on its use and detailed descriptions of […]

Battered by application server wars, SilverStream Software is shifting its focus to development tools, which were the traditional strength of the companys application server offering, anyway. SilverStreams first effort in this area is its Extend Workbench 1.0, which tackles J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) and Web services development. The software began shipping in late September […]

MySQL Abs MySQL has proved itself as a light, fast database for nonmission-critical applications. The alpha release of Version 4 (specifically Version 4.0.0), posted for free download at www.mysql. com last month, lets developers kick its tires in preparation for a beta release by years end and a stable release early next year. There isnt […]

In part 2 of eWeek Labs Special Series on enterprise security, we examine prevention—how to structure IT systems to minimize the risk of security compromises. Simply put, prevention is the bedrock of security. However, prevention and continuing vigilance (which well cover in Part 5 of this series) are also the two most time-consuming tasks in […]

Its been a rocky road for the Linux 2.4 kernel, which originally used a memory management system that was significantly more intricate than the one used in Linux 2.2. The new design hid a number of bugs that have proved hard to remove. The worst problems have been for users running heavy workloads that use […]

Samba, the Windows-compatible file and print server, takes a major manageability step forward with Version 2.2.2, providing new flexibility for administrators who want to use Unix servers as Windows file servers. The open-source Samba (downloadable from www.samba.org) also makes it easier than ever before to integrate Unix workstations into a Windows environment. The 2.2.2 update, […]