- Test Center Tracker: Patches? We don't need no stinkin' patches
- Test Center Tracker: ADU, take two?
- Intalio donates business process technology
- Review: cyScape BrowserHawk 10
- Test Center Tracker: Four new AJAX toolkit reviews
- Can't wait for IPTV? Neither can vendors
- Preview: Voyager Analyzer brings BI to library information system
- Test Center Tracker: Encryption meets tape
- Test Center Tracker: Ethernet to hit 100 Gig
- Test Center Tracker: A plethora of storage, and some turkey tech
November 30, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Patches? We don't need no stinkin' patches
Fresh from the Test Center: Is patch management making you nuttier than an overfed squirrel? Blue Lane's PatchPoint appliance may be the answer - it servers as a patch proxy, inspecting traffic and applying patches on the network packet stream. As Contributing Editor Roger Grimes puts it, "Think of it as Tivo for patches." And it also means you have some time to let vendors get all the bugs out of patches before applying them permanently to your systems. Read the full review for more details.
FRCP for all: There are less than 24 hours until the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedures (FRCP) go into effect. Judging from the wide-reaching effect of its regulations, FRCP could have a lot of companies investing in smarter storage and more intelligent search. Ephraim Schwartz recently outlined the role IT will have to play in ensuring corporate information can be found and shared; Mario Apicella delves into the specifics of archiving requirements in this week's Storage Insider column. Brush up and be ready in case a company memo hits the streets and a court case pops up.
Verizon video: Check out the newest video interview with Verizon Wireless' Vice-President of IT, Carl Eberling, and their experience with building out an SOA.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 30, 2006 06:00 AM
November 29, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: ADU, take two?
Microvell to exhume ADU?: Many a pundit has weighed in on the potential impact of the Microsoft-Novell pairing. Tossing in another two-plus cents is Tom Yager, who foresees the Microvell pact resulting in the return of Advanced Server for Unix (ASU), once a rival to Samba that fell out of favor in the IT world. "A proprietary ASU-like Windows interoperability product bearing Novell’s logo would become a standard purchase with practically every commercial Linux sale," Yager proclaims. But the implications are chilling.
Breaking down collaboration barriers: Jon Udell reveals how we at InfoWorld track our vacation days: HR sends us a calendar made in an Excel sheet. We download it, open it up, put Vs in the appropriate cells to denote vacation days, reattach it, and e-mail it back. There has to be a more elegant way to collaborate, Udell argues. The problem, he says, is that we lack a universal canvas, "an environment in which data and applications flow freely on the Web." Microsft and Google are both halfway there, at least -- but there's work still work to be done.
Know thy user's browser: Sometimes, your company's Web site is only as good as the browser it's viewed in. Some homegrown sniffers are capable of determining that, but InfoWorld Contributing Editor Mike Heck has found a useful commercial tool that achieves the task and then some: cyScape BrowserHawk 10. The solution "lets Web professionals accurately detect visitors' browser and system settings to make sure they have the best online experience."
Posted by Ted Samson on November 29, 2006 06:00 AM
November 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Intalio donates business process technology
Intalio has donated its BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) process modeler to the Eclipse Foundation.
The technology is available under an Eclipse Public License as part of the Eclipse SOA Tools Platform project.
The modeler will be used to build what the company calls "the first open source business process management system." It complements the BPEL engine donated by Intalio to the Apache Software Foundation and the Tempo BPEL4People Workflow framework hosted by Intalio.org, the company said. The three components form the foundation for Intalio|BPMS (Business Process Management System), a BPM solution to supporting a "zero-code" development model, Intalio said.
"While some BPM vendors give their proprietary process modeling tool away but charge for the necessary runtime components, we make our entire product available for free and give away the source code under open source licenses for its most critical components," said Ismael Ghalimi, founder and CEO of Intalio, in a statement released by the company. "Furthermore, the building blocks for Intalio|BPMS provide the most faithful implementations of relevant industry standards for BPM, namely BPMN, BPEL and BPEL4People. This is part of our mission to make BPM available to a mainstream audience, and today's donation is yet another step toward this goal."
Earlier this year, Intalio donated its Eclipse Modeling Framework model comparator to Eclipse.
The BPMN Modeler is available here.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 28, 2006 01:58 PM
November 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Review: cyScape BrowserHawk 10
Developers rely on all sorts of home-grown "sniffer" scripts to detect users' browser settings. It's a noble exercise, because having this information (especially which plug-ins are installed and enabled features) is essential to a positive Web experience. For example, visitors to an e-learning site might need to disable a pop-up blocker or have a certain version of Java; detection code can automatically instruct users how to perform these tasks. 
So why turn to a commercial product for this job? cyScape's BrowserHawk 10 quickly provided me with the answer: enterprise scalability; quick integration with ASP.NET, classic ASP, ColdFusion MX, and JSP sites; and accuracy.
Fundamentally, BrowserHawk's a server-side solution. In less than five minutes I'd installed the application on a Windows 2003 Server. As part of the install, the setup wizard asked which browser settings I wanted to detect and automatically generated the appropriate script snippet (just a few lines) that I easily placed within my class ASP code. The same process works with other server technologies, including .NET and Java.
There are several other important aspects of the product. The BrowserHawk Editor (which runs on the server) manages Browser Definition Files (BDF). These look at the User-Agent string of a person's browser or search engine spiders and determine the browser capabilities. Because cyScape pushes automatic definition updates to your server (if you enable this feature), you're assured that any new browser versions are detected without any intervention on your part.
The second interesting thing is that BrowserHawk automatically stores myriad data from each browser session in a Microsoft Access or SQL database. Like a traditional Web Analytics package, reviewing this data helps you determine whether site design changes are prudent – perhaps designing specifically for certain screen resolutions or to accommodate still-common dial-up or low-bandwidth DSL users.
Yet the real benefit of this solution is immediate use of this information. Usually with one line of ASP code I called the information BrowserHawk found and took appropriate action, such as instructing the user to upgrade a necessary plug-in. With the custom-built code I've used previously, this process was convoluted and I was always revising the scripts to handle new browsers.
Most impressive is version 10's new Page Load Time (PLT) technology. Unlike traditional load-monitoring tools (such as HP-Mercury LoadRunner) that estimate server response, BrowserHawk takes measurements from real page requests. By collecting data from actual users and accounting for all types of actions, such as mouse clicks, I saw exactly how long users waited for pages to load. I was even able to display this information in real time on my Web pages.
Although I didn't have it for testing, cyScape' CountryHawk provides the country of origin for each user. I can see real value in correlating PLT results with country data. For instance, if you saw extra latency from certain geographies you could adjust your Web server infrastructure to put more power in regional data centers.
The only item on my whish list is built-in reporting. A cyScape representative said they're considering a dashboard that will monitor the overall performance of the site and even let you drill down to individual user sessions.
cyScape BrowserHawk 10
Availability: Now
Pricing: From $399.00; Enterprise Edition tested is $1,140.
Verdict: BrowserHawk 10 lets Web professionals accurately detect visitors' browser and system settings to make sure they have the best online experience. This version's Page Load Time monitoring gives you real-time performance statistics to optimize your site and servers. These capabilities, plus saving all this information to a database for reporting, make BrowserHawk an essential tool for Web developers, support staff, and administrators.
Posted by Mike Heck on November 28, 2006 10:45 AM
November 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Four new AJAX toolkit reviews
Fresh from the Test Center: Following up on his summer evaluation of six free AJAX toolkits, Peter Wayner examined four AJAX toolkits from the proprietary side of the tracks: Backbase, Bindows, JackBe, and Tibco General Interface. While "AJAX" is still picking up steam, some of these vendors got on the bandwagon years ago - so according to Wayner, "it's easy to use adjectives including 'mature,' 'established,' and 'polished' to describe these wares." Find out the results of his tests in our special report, and view screencast demonstrations of several AJAX toolkits (both open-source and proprietary).
Database security: Microsoft vs. Oracle: Is Microsoft's SQL database more secure than Oracle's RDBMS? The latest report from David Litchfield says that Microsoft is less buggy. Read the report, post your comments to Roger Grimes' Security Adviser blog, and let the debate begin.
The SOA methodology tango: Vendors are jumping all over SOA, and while this can be good, it can also be very, very bad if you end up using a bad SOA methodology. That's the problem, says Dave Linthicum, who has a few pointers on what makes a good SOA methodology in his latest Real World SOA blog posting. (His guidelines to how much an SOA will cost are also invaluable if you're building out or planning an SOA.)
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 28, 2006 06:00 AM
November 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Can't wait for IPTV? Neither can vendors
Ruckus Wireless, yet another impatient Wi-Fi vendor unable to wait for the IEEE 802.11n standard to be ratified, not expected before 2008, announced today a pre-802.11n product.
So many companies have announced and are shipping pre-802.11n devices that the Wi-Fi Alliance this summer said it will begin certifying for interoperability pre-standard 802.11n products in mid 2007.
Karen Hanley, senior director of marketing at the Alliance said there is a great deal of interest in the 802.11n standard due to its promise of four to six times performance improvement over 802.11g with an improved range that will offer what Hanley called "whole home coverage" with a single access point.
Ruckus said today it will demonstrate at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas during the first week of January a Wi-Fi transport technology that will allow whole home coverage for multiple HDTV streams, digital voice, music and data simultaneously.
The Ruckus technology will support carriers wishing to offer IPTV service to its customers.
Besides its ability to offer multiple multimedia data streams, Ruckus also uses what it calls its BeamFlex smart antenna technology to steer Wi-Fi signals around obstacles to avoid interference.
Posted by Ephraim Schwartz on November 27, 2006 03:00 PM
November 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Voyager Analyzer brings BI to library information system
Data-intensive applications have always had reporting facilities (what's the use of pouring all that data or garbage in unless you can get it out?). But as business intelligence (BI) practices become more refined and users become accustomed to better flexibility and creative self-service, the demand for intrinsic output that's closer to BI output is on the rise.
One of the finer recent accomplishments in this area is the addition of interactive BI output to Endeavor Information Systems' Voyager, a library information system. The module, called Analyzer, is an interactive reporting and analysis system with a Web interface that works well alongside Voyager's existing model.
The Voyager library information system is built to manage the physical and digital media collections of research and academic libraries; it's used at organizations including Pfizer, Children's Hospital - Seattle, National Geographic Society, and the Library of Congress. Analyser, released in September, comes with preformatted and interactive ad-hoc designs for managing suppliers, acquisitions, circulation, lists, and even catalog printing.
More importantly, it takes the old ODBC connection model -- expensive to administer and maintain -- and moves it to a browser interface. The Query Studio utility gives users a drag-and-drop UI for developing outputs. A Report Studio allows more expert BI types to produce more complex results.
Librarians are, as a group, very metrics-oriented, and more than almost any other discipline are driven to research and examine the success and components of their work. 
Judging from what I've seen of Analyzer, it seems to do a good job of supporting that kind of iterative query. The product's design is solid, devoid of glitz, and sports no extraneous, showy surprises that might get in the way of its basic duties. On the administrative side, the operator can run the biggest outputs overnight as scheduled processes or by triggering them manually.
A future version of Analyzer will include management dashboards as an additional way to communicate dense results, continuing Voyager's push to incorporate external BI practice as an intrinsic part of their own data-intensive system. Endeavor is not the only vendor bringing such abilities into their applications, just one of the cleverest.
Voyager Analyzer
Cost: Starts at $6,500
Platforms: Solaris v9 or v10, Red Hat v4
Verdict: Endeavor Voyager's new reporting module, Analyzer, is in the vanguard for showing what can be done to deliver BI output within data-intensive environments, including a straight-ahead interface, dual interfaces with different levels of complexity for different types of users, and built-in domain expertise.
Posted by Jeff Angus on November 27, 2006 10:00 AM
November 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Encryption meets tape
Tale of the tape: Storage Guru Mario Apicella recently got his hands on Spectra Logic's T120, with brings encryption technology to the world of backup-tape libraries. Add flexible, easy-to-use management tools to the mix, and you've got an excellent tape library that can help you work and rest a little easier in this age of data leaks.
Virtual Vista: Our Chief Technologist Tom Yager took at look at virtualization solution Parallels Workstation earlier this year, and he liked what he saw: "CPU, disk, and network performance are exceptional and meet, and in some ways can exceed, the vendor's claim of native speed. Parallels has created a new class of virtualization." Well, David Marshall over in the InfoWorld Virtualization Report finds that Version 2.2 of Parallels Workstation is out, and among other things, it now brings support for Vista -- and it's a free upgrade.
Tiptoe through the wireless patches: If you were too busy digesting your post-Thanksgiving meal last Friday, you may have missed an important slice of advice from Security Adviser Roger A. Grimes: Patch your wireless drivers, stat. Yes, patching may be a bit of a bore, but more and more wireless exploits are emerging. "My gut feeling tells me that this round of wireless exploits won't be the next Slammer or Code Red, but who wants to be exploited by some jerk or professional criminal while computing in an airport or using a laptop in your own building? It's better to get patched." So patch on!
Posted by Ted Samson on November 27, 2006 06:00 AM
November 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Ethernet to hit 100 Gig
Fasten your Ethernet belt: In the next few years, Ethernet speeds will reach a blazing 100Gbps, 10 time faster than the current 10GbE we all know and love. So says the IEEE, Stephen Lawson reports, and that data-pushing power will come in handy for both enterprises and carriers. Buckle up.
It doesn't add up: Open Sources blogger Matt Asay has a number of patent-related questions about the Microsoft-Novell pact. Among them: If Novell has so many valuable patents and care so much about the open-source community, why isn't Novell using those patents to defend open source as it has promised to do, rather than just its quarterly revenue target?
Posted by Ted Samson on November 24, 2006 06:00 AM
November 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: A plethora of storage, and some turkey tech
Fresh from the Test Center: Storage encryption is a much needed (can you say "lost backup tapes"?) yet still rare feature -- but Spectra Logic is out to change that. The Spectra T120 tape library with hardware encryption is a nifty combination of security and solid management. Find out more in Mario Apicella's review.
Fast, cheap storage: Lots of storage talk going 'round today. This week's Storage Insider column introduces new switches from Dell and Cisco that may herald an era of faster and more affordable networked storage. As Mario Apicella puts it, "The way I read it, entry level customers will end up with a larger basket of affordable storage produce from which to choose." Meanwhile, Oliver Rist reviews an Iomega StorCenter 500 on the SMB IT blog. The StorCenter 500 packs 500GB of storage and several other tools into a single enclosure for about $440. Not too shabby.
Gobble, gobble: Tasked with Thanksgiving cooking duties this year? Looking for something a little more interesting, something a little less Norman Rockwell, something that the in-laws and cousins will be talking about for years? Check out Turkey Tek's instructables for directions to make a gravy fountain, fractal pecan pie, and more (the recent interview with MAKE Magazine is worth a read, too). Not a chef? Maybe the DIY HDTV is more up your alley. Either way, happy Thanksgiving to all. And please pass the pie.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 23, 2006 06:00 AM
November 22, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Spring LDAP capability improved
Spring LDAP, which is a Java library for simplifying LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) operations, has been upgraded, the Spring Framework community said on Saturday.
The new release, called version 1.1.1, adheres to the Spring Framework 2.0 internally. Spring LDAP complements Spring by making it easy to write applications that integrate with LDAP servers.
Other features in Spring LDAP version 1.1.1 include:
* An added capability to use server-side controls in search.
* Added lookup methods that can take an array of return attribute names.
* The DirContexAdapter.getnameInNameSpace() programming interface now returns a full DN (Distinguished Name), which is used to identify a directory entry.
* The DistinguishedName programming feature now supports multi-valued RDN's (Relative Distinguished Name) separated by a + sign, like "cn=Rod+sn=Johnson," for example.
An LdapTemplate class encapsulates plumbing work involved in traditional LDAP programming. Programmers can tend to more important issues such as where to find data.
Spring LDAP can be found here.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 22, 2006 03:22 PM
November 22, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Update: Dell PowerConnect line hits 10G
Editor's note: This entry has been updated with correct pricing information.
Dell today announced the newest member of its PowerConnect network switch line, the PowerConnect 6248. With 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports, including four dual-personality SFP fiber/copper ports, and full layer-3 switching capabilities, the 6248 seems very similar to the existing 6024, albeit with 48 ports. Similar, that is, until you turn it around. In the back of the 6248 are two module ports that can support two 10G interfaces each or handle 48Gbps stacking modules.
The 10G interfaces can be either XFP fiber or CX-4 copper, and both are available straight from Dell. The 6248 can also be used with Dell's RPS-600 redundant power supply.
All of this is well and good until you see the price. Straight from Dell without any modules, it's $2,649, which is amazingly low for a switch with these features. The high price of 10G bites into the cost savings with that implementation, as each 10G fiber module is $499, with XFP optics at $1,199. All together, however, it's still far cheaper than any other 10G-capable switch I've ever seen.
In addition to my Cisco and Extreme gear, I've been running Dell PowerConnect switches in my lab for several years now, and have yet to see a hardware problem with any of them, which definitely shows their capacity to take a licking and keep on ticking. This newest member joined them last week, and has been running for several days with two 10G interfaces as well as a few dozen gigabit Ethernet links to some big servers. I'll be doing a full review of the 6248 in an upcoming issue, but so far, so good.
Posted by Paul Venezia on November 22, 2006 09:30 AM
November 22, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Novell + MS = SCO II?
The Second Coming of SCO Weighing in on Microsoft and Novell's new buddy-buddy relationship, InfoWorld Chief Technologist Tom Yager observes that the techno duo appears poised to follow in the not-so-proud footsteps of SCO Group, which has gone after Linux vendors, claiming they were infringing on its patented technology. Microsoft, which brings even more intellectual property to the table, "is giving away 70,000 coupons for SLES to customers who want to run Windows and Linux together," Yager writes. "These are 'stay out of court free' cards that hope to derail customers’ existing relationships with other commercial Linux vendors."
Greening up the supply chain: More and more people are accepting global warming as reality, and they're taking the threat seriously. InfoWorld Lead Analyst Jon Udell notes that companies can play a role in alleviating the problem by paying closer attention to the environmental impact of their business activities -- and those of their partners. Yet how can an organization keep such a close eye on those details as its products move up the supply chain? Three simple letters: SOA.
Thorny patches: Imagine, if you will, your doctor telling you that you must undergo critical surgery -- but not explaining why. Ed Foster, of InfoWorld GripeLine fame, received a missive from a reader who faced a similar situation with Oracle. But in this case, the critical surgery was actually a critical patch for PeopleTools. The problem was, Oracle would not explain what the patch was for despite repeated requests, according to the reader. As a result, "Given that we cannot justify the interruption to MIS activities and a certain amount of inevitable system downtime in the face of no information from which to base a decision, [our decision] is to not install the latest patch. Risks be damned, Oracle be damned, but if no one will disclose the information we require, how can we justify any other decision?"
Posted by Ted Samson on November 22, 2006 06:00 AM
November 21, 2006 | Comments: (0)
More than a toy, PlayStation 3 does Linux
If you're one of the fortunate few to have scooped up a Sony PlayStation 3 (and not gotten mugged in the process), and you're looking for a tax break, I have some good news: You might be able to count your new "toy" as a business expense.
Seems that Sony was good enough to make available a download called Open Platform for PlayStation 3, which enables users to install third-party apps on their PS3s. Some Linux enthusiasts are already taking advantage of it by loading their shiny new systems with Fedora Core 5 OS.
Intrigued? Well, QJ.net has some instructions on how to go about doing the installation, and videos are popping up on sites like YouTube showing how it's done.
According to QJ.net, once you've put Fedora on your PS3, "you will be able to install any app as long as it has a PPC build of it. That includes most major applications like Mozilla Firefox, VLC player, and more."
Let's face it: The PlayStation 3 could be aptly dubbed The Work-and-PlayStation 3, representing a laudable convergence of home entertainment and the home office. Technologically speaking, it's really an intriguing piece of machinery, rivaling, if not trumping, the high-end desktop systems on the market. Just check out the specs. In addition to having Blu-Ray optical drive and built-in 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, it's the first commercial device powered by the Cell processor, a 3.2GHz chip that Sony developed with assistance from IBM and Toshiba. Boasting seven SPEs, the chip is said to perform at 218 gigaflops.
Plus it has six USB ports, convenient for plugging in your mouse and keyboard as you run Fedora, Firefox, or whatever applications you install on the system.
What do you think about the PS3? Have we witnessed an evolution in desktop computing here, or is it just another expensive toy?
Posted by Ted Samson on November 21, 2006 01:13 PM
November 21, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server 7.2 and Document Center
One of the problems with insider data leak (IDL) solutions is their complexity: You're always scanning networks, e-mail, and file shares trying to catch sensitive documents before they get into the wild. Often, a far simpler solution is to protect documents when they're first created by applying digital rights.
That's the role of Adobe's just-updated Policy Server 7.2 and its new hosted counterpart, Adobe Document Center. In the remote chance documents fall into the wrong hands, they can't be used.
I tested the trial version of Document Center, and found it effectively protected Acrobat, Microsoft Word, and Excel files. Further, employees shouldn't balk at using the system; it's simple to understand. For example, to secure a PDF file, I simply selected the Secure button from Acrobat 8's toolbar, selected the policy I wanted to apply, and saved the document. To perform the same task with Word or Excel, you install a small a plug-in.
Policy management's straightforward, too. From the Document Center site, I quickly added or edited policies from the portal's main dashboard. Policies are fairly comprehensive – from restricting printing and copying to specifying how long the document can be accessed.
Enterprises upgrading to LiveCycle Policy Server 7.2 can extend protection to Dassault Systèmes CITIA V5 engineering and design documents. What's interesting here is the granular level of protection. For example, commodity parts (perhaps the nuts and bolts used in an assembly) might not need protection; however, a proprietary electronics control module on a different drawling layer could be blocked from viewing or alteration, thus protecting your intellectual property.
In operation, document recipients need to have a Document Center account (or, in the case of LiveCycle Policy Server, be registered) and at least Acrobat 8 Reader. Once you try to open a protected document, the system asks for your credentials and only lets you perform operations specified by its usage rights policy. Significantly, these policies remain in force wherever the document resides – whether it's e-mailed, placed in a content management system, or copied to removable media.
Another important fact is that once I changed a policy (such as revoking printing), the change was immediately reflected in documents anywhere they lived. Adobe's got auditing covered, too. From Document Center, I saw in detail all actions (such as opening or printing) by every person who interacted with the document.
Yet with these positives there are some things Adobe could improve compared to similar solutions, which include SealedMedia and Liquid Machines. This solution should cover more document formats, which is something Adobe has planned. I'd also like to see more elaborate protection. For instance, if someone copies part of protected document into an unprotected one, then the second document should be infused with the original's protection policy.
Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server 7.2 and Document Center
Availability: LiveCycle Policy Server 7.2, now; Document Center, early 2007
Cost: LiveCycle Policy Server starts at $100 per author; Document Center starts at $19.99 per month
Verdict: Offered as software or hosted service, Adobe's rights management ensures sensitive information isn't disclosed and provides detailed audits for regulatory compliance. Currently, it only protects a few file types. Nonetheless, usability and cross-platform support make this a sensible enterprise DRM solution.
-- Mike Heck
Posted by Mike Heck on November 21, 2006 10:45 AM
November 21, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: The future of Mono
RIP, Mono?: Sun's open-sourcing of Java may have some potentially unfortunate side effects for the Mono Project, says Neil McAllister in this week's Open Enterprise column. Will the new availability of Java be a death knell for Mono, in the wake of the Microsoft-Novell partnership?
Here comes the judge: The newest version for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure puts IT in the hot seat when it comes to "e-discovery and e-hold" of business data -- and it goes into effect Dec. 1, which is a short week-and-a-half away. Thankfully, this version of the FRCP removes some of the confusion present in its previous incarnation, but there are still many rules and regulations to navigate. Get the lowdown on the five most significant changes, and how your organization can prepare.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 21, 2006 06:00 AM
November 20, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Sun shipped Version 5.5 of its NetBeans development environment in early November, giving the IDE -- which is certainly the most important competitor to Eclipse -- some significant and unique enterprise capabilities beyond those of the 5.0 release.
This version is the first Java IDE to so fully support Java EE 5, the replacement specification for J2EE. In addition to built-in API support, code completion, and tutorials for the new enterprise Java, NetBeans 5.5 offers support for the new Enterprise Java Beans 3.0 (EJB) session beans, including on-the-fly error checking. In terms of tool integration, version 5.5 integrates with Subversion source-code management software.
Java's new, simplified persistence layer gets new wizards for full CRUD code generation, as well as the ability to generate Java entity classes directly from existing database schemas. There's similar support for Web services: Wizards and specific IDE capabilities that enable extensive use of annotations deliver what Java enterprise developers have long been waiting for -- a simpler development model with native tools to support it.
Along with Version 5.5, Sun simultaneously released a set of add-on packs that extend NetBeans in new directions. The Enterprise pack, for example, has XML schema tools, a WSDL editor, and an advanced BPEL 2.0 editor (see screenshot) that facilitates Web services orchestration. Another pack extends NetBeans' reach in the mobile market by providing support for SVG graphics on handheld devices and for an increased number of mobile device platforms.
Finally, Sun also released a C/C++ pack update. It replaces Sun's earlier cpp and cpplite products and brings C/C++ development to Windows, Linux, and Solaris. Although this pack is technically a preview (it's at Beta 3), I found it a substantial, portable platform for developing, debugging, and building C and C++ applications.
NetBeans 5.5
Available: Now
Pricing: Free
Verdict: NetBeans has the most complete support for Java EE 5 of the open-source Java IDEs. It's an impressive collection of tools; developers contemplating enterprise Java applications should evaluate NetBeans before any other products. It is likely all they will need.
Posted by Andrew Binstock on November 20, 2006 10:29 AM
November 20, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: WinZip exploits, DCStat spotlight
Patch your WinZip 10: Roger Grimes has been following WinZip's release of a patch for version 10.0, closing up a potential exploit that "could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on a system with an unpatched installation of WinZip 10.0 if the user was to visit a malicious web page," according to WinZip's site. Unfortunately, it looks like there's a new buffer overflow exploit out there, so check your WinZip security if you haven't already. Or take a look at WinZip 11.0 and see if an upgrade is in order.
Government mash-up: InfoWorld's Jon Udell sits down with Dan Thomas of the Government of the District of Columbia for a discussion of Washington, D.C.'s DCStat program. DCStat offers up live data feeds of government agencies' operational data via RSS, XML, and Atom, so district residents and employees can view and share data quickly. Watch the interview here, and if you want to learn more about DCStat, check out Jon's blog and this Strategic Developer column. Jon also has a podcast with Thomas and DC CTO Suzanne Peck that's worth a listen.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 20, 2006 10:09 AM
November 17, 2006 | Comments: (0)
MyEclipse Workbench IDE is upgraded
Genuitec this week announced shipments of the MyEclipse Enterprise Workbench 5.1 IDE, which bundles the Java 5 runtime environment, Eclipse 3.2.1 and MyEclipse in one download.
This combination, made possible through the product's Developer Installer Stack, allows developers to quickly utilize all three technologies, the company said. MyEclipse features a toolset covering Java application development from the enterprise version of Java to frameworks such as Hibernate and Spring.
Also featured in version 5.1 is a wizard for building a Web service client from any WSDL file. JavaServer Pages performance has been improved as well.
Other features include improved support for the Sybase SQL syntax and Linux.
Version 5.1 is available for $49.95 for an annual subscription to the Professional Edition.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 17, 2006 04:10 PM
November 17, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Testing Enterprise RSS servers
Fresh from the Test Center: InfoWorld Contributing Editor Mike Heck fired up the test lab to put three enterprise RSS products through the gauntlet: Attensa's Feed Server, NewsGator Enterprise Server, and KnowNow 3 Enterprise Syndication Solution. All three use a central server to retrieve feeds once and distribute them to many users, saving precious bandwidth, and have a host of management and control features. The ultimate winner? Read the review and find out.
Guess the password, win a prize: The recent MySpace phishing scheme netted thousands of passwords and logon information. Roger Grimes picked up a couple of the files and came away with 34,000 different passwords, which proved to be a useful tool for emphasizing how easy it is to crack most passwords. This week's Security Adviser column crunches the numbers and provides some valuable insights into password probability.
Virtualization as Budget Helper: Brian Chee is looking into how much he could save on power costs by using blade-and-virtual-server combos, and it's a potentially hefty amount, especially if an incentive from the power company is involved. As noted in our special report, datacenter power and cooling costs are a growing concern. Could virtualizing servers be a good stopgap?
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 17, 2006 06:00 AM
November 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Cognos to deliver BI to Blackberry
Cognos, a vendor of business intelligence [BI] software announced this week Cognos 8 Go Mobile for SAP, mobile client software that will give SAP users the ability to access decision support information on handheld devices.
The rich client applet will be available for the Blackberry in the first half of 07 with a version for both Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems expected in the second half, according to Scott Lawrence, director of product marketing at Cognos.
The convergence of BI and mobile is not unexpected as the need for BI is being driven beyond C-level executives down to work group managers and knowledge workers while more and more companies are looking at mobile access to respond more quickly to events, according to Liz Herbert, a senior analyst with Forrester Research.
"If you just got off the plane and something happened that you need to know about a mobile solution is a must," said Herbert.
Other areas where mobile is playing an increasingly important role, said Herbert, is in team selling when one member of the team makes a change to the data and everybody else needs to know about it quickly.
Also, where products are commoditized as in relationship industries like financial services where a rapid response through mobility offers a way to differentiate other than on price.
Cognos 8 Mobile will allow users to view and interact with BI reports using SAP data sources as well as non-SAP transactional and warehouse data in a single view.
The application will give users views of dashboards, alerts and customer status among its numerous features.
Posted by Ephraim Schwartz on November 16, 2006 12:57 PM
November 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Google on Thursday released Google Web Toolkit 1.2, a free software development framework for building rich Web applications without having to deal with the quirks of JavaScript.
The upgraded toolkit simplifies development of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) applications by enabling developers to write in Java and then convert the applications to browser-compliant JavaScript and HTML.
In addition to bug fixes, the toolkit features full support for Mac OS X as well as faster debugging. A new HTTP request module provides functionality such as custom headers, status code and timeouts, all in one API.
Tree items can contain widgets such as a check box, text box or image.
The toolkit is downloadable here.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 16, 2006 12:47 PM
November 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Storage grids, IM security
Storage grid confusion?: Do you know what a storage grid is? Turns out that most people don't, due to lack of a consistent definition. That isn't stopping Crosswalk from touting its iGrid storage grid solution and the just-released iGrid 7100 Series and new version of the iGrid operating system (iGridOS).
There are still questions to answer, though - like Greg Nawrocki on the Grid Meter blog, Mario Apicella feels that until there's a more straightforward and clear idea of what a storage grid architecture is and how it works, it may be tough to sell the concept to the masses. Read more in today's Storage Insider column.
R U Secure?: Instant messaging security is once again a hot topic, thanks to the Mark Foley scandal, prompting the ePolicy Institute to remind us that business IM use needs to be carefully considered. One way to secure your IM is to go with an enterprise IM solution instead of public IM programs - check out our review of JabberNow and other messaging products for more secure options.
SOA Governance in the limelight: The second in our series of video interviews from InfoWorld's SOA Executive Forum is live: Jeff Schneider, CEO of MomentumSI, talks governance. Want more information on SOA governance? You'll find it in our special report.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 16, 2006 06:00 AM
November 15, 2006 | Comments: (0)
When was the last time you used WinZip? If you're like me, it's probably not once since using Windows XP. That's a pity because WinZip has so many more features than just the few compression capabilities embedded in the XP OS.
The just-released WinZip 11.0 includes new features that should appeal to both home and corporate users. My favorites are a powerful wizard that simplifies creating jobs for tasks such as scheduled backups of files and directories in compressed format, and the ability to explore directories of archived files as easily as directories of plain files.
Admins will like the option of using variables instead of the actual file name for common directories such as "My Documents," because jobs so created will work unchanged on multiple machines. You can also filter files by file type, and select from common backup options such as full, incremental, or differential.
Moreover, for each job you can specify which compression and encryption method to use and automatically maintain multiple versions of archived files.
Backup job targets include the standard disk drives as well as CDs or DVDs, for which the benefits of compression have become more appealing. For example, Winzip shrank a 60MB "My Pictures" folder to a CD archive that was smaller than 20MB.
With Winzip 11.0, you browse an archived folder via an Explorer-like view. In fact, you can view thumbnails without have to uncompress each file (as in the screenshot above), which comes in handy when searching for the right image to restore.
Another intriguing new feature adds AES 128 and 256 bit support to the simplistic encryption of previous versions of WinZip. AES encryption goes hand-in-hand with WinZip Companion for Outlook; the Outlook add-on is not free, but makes encrypting e-mail attachments, well... a zip. Just select which files to attach, and before sending your message, Companion will automatically compress them. You can also specify automatic encryption, which will trigger a window in Outlook asking for a password and for the algorithm to use. Obviously, the recipient should have similar capabilities to be able to unlock the attachments.
WinZip 11.0 also supports two more archive types (.BZ2 and .RAR File), adding to its already long list. In addition, to bypass possible restrictions set on your network, you can create archives with extension different from .zip (don't say you learned this from me, though!).
Something else to remember: WinZip 11.0 is no longer offered as free software. In fact, to access its full capabilities you need to buy at least a basic license. Other features -- scheduling, for example --are only offered with the more expensive Pro version; check this chart for more on the differences between the Standard and Pro versions. That may add a few dollars per machine, but getting the extra features seems worth the additional cost.
WinZip 11.0
Availability: Now
Pricing: Standard license, $20; Pro, $50; Companion for Outlook, $20; Pro-Companion bundle, $60
Verdict: Winzip 11.0 has more intriguing new features than I have space to mention, but it's worth remembering that it's no longer offered as free software. The new AES encryption options should guarantee that attachments are safe from prying eyes. Moreover, WinZip 11.0's reliable (and further improved) compression algorithms can stretch the capacity of your removable media and lessen the attachment burden on your Exchange system. Worth a try.
Posted by Mario Apicella on November 15, 2006 02:55 PM
November 15, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Securing virtual systems; SOA video
Virtual lockdowns: It may be the buzzword du jour, but conversations and conjectures about the future of virtualization need to take into account the need for security, says Tom Yager in this week's Ahead of the Curve column. How dangerous are the theoretical risks that Tom proposes? And how much faith do you put in virtual security tools (Roger Grimes has made his concerns known already)?
For your viewing pleasure: Check out our newest video, an SOA-focused interview with Oded Noy, CTO of Zag.com filmed at the recent SOA Executive Forum. Zag uses SOA as the underpinnings for its online car-shopping and financing business, and Noy has some interesting advice on the real-world hurdles he encountered during deployment. If you want a closer look at Zag's SOA project and more nitty-gritty details, we've also got an in-depth case study that should fill the bill.
Deja vu all over again: Well, it appears that Office 2007 and Vista have been cracked - that didn't take too long. And IE still has its own problems, as this phish-off with Firefox suggests. Are Microsoft's efforts "good enough"? An interview with Steven Toulouse of the MS Security Team Unit suggests that changes have been made in terms of how the company approaches security -- and this week's Patch Tuesday weighed in at a relatively light six patches. Should be interesting to see how Longhorn's security stacks up...
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 15, 2006 06:00 AM
November 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Opsware addition to manage VMware, Solaris virtual servers
Yesterday Opsware announced the virtual machine management product the company sketched out at its OPSWorld user conference in September. Called Opsware Virtualization Director, the software will be available as an add-on module to Opsware Server Automation System 6 come January.
Virtualization Director extends Opsware's prodigious server lifecycle management capabilities to VMware ESX hosts and guests, and to Solaris 10 Containers, allowing users to apply the same policies and best practices for provisioning, patching, and configuration management to virtual servers and physical servers alike.
In the initial release, Virtualization Director will allow Opsware SAS users to (click to view screen images):
Create, start, stop, and delete VMware ESX virtual machines and Solaris Zones
Track relationships between VMware and Solaris hosts and guests
Discover and visualize the dependencies among hypervisors and virtual machines
View and manage physical and virtual servers together
Opsware said that a subsequent release would tighten the integration with the VMware and Solaris Container management systems to support additional capabilities such as live virtual machine migration via VMware's VMotion. Support for Xen, and perhaps even Microsoft's "Viridian" platform, is also slated for the next release.
Posted by Doug Dineley on November 14, 2006 12:09 PM
November 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Icesoft offers AJAX technology to open source
Icesoft Technologies on Tuesday is making its Icefaces AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) development platform for Java available under an open source license.
Specifically, Icesoft is using the Mozilla Public License.
Icefaces is an integrated AJAX application framework for Java EE. It extends JavaServer Faces technology to enable Java developers to more easily build thin-client rich Web applications, Icesoft said. AJAX push technology allows for building of rich enterprise applications that provide instant feedback to users when server-side application events occur.
Also new to Icefaces is tighter links with IDEs. Integration with the JBoss Seam application framework also is featured.
Additionally, Icesoft is announcing Icefaces.org, which provides technical resources and fosters communication among the Icefaces community.
Enterprise support options are available for Icefaces, starting at $2,500 per year.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 14, 2006 06:52 AM
November 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: SOA and semantics
Just one word: Semantics: Fresh from InfoWorld's SOA Executive Forum last week (check out his thoughts on Day 1 and Day 2), Dave Linthicum is declaring this week "semantics and ontologies week" for the Real World SOA blog. He's starting off with a little introduction, and promises more on Web 2.0 to follow. Keep up with the discussion here.
Fresh from the Test Center: Need a new online meeting tool? Want something with a little AJAX, but without cookies? Genesys could be the answer you've been looking for - check out our exclusive review of Genesys Meeting Center 4.0 and get a bead on its abilities before the December release.
Java, Java everywhere: The open-sourcing of Java is creating quite a buzz (caffinated pun intended). Sun's Schwartz calls it "momentus"; the Apache Foundation might be willing to take Java under its wing, if it's offered; IBM (who tossed out the Apache idea in the first place) is being chilly about Sun choosing GPL. Keep an eye on our news page for the latest.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 14, 2006 06:00 AM
November 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Apple Xserve review wraps up
One last bite: Tom Yager's final segment of the four-part Apple XServe review is posted, and it's worth a look. In part one, Tom outline the system basics and it's role in Apple's eyes. In part two, Tom went "beyond Intel" to look more closely at the Xserve hardware, storage connections, and firmware. Part three of the review reported on the power, heating/cooling, and noise levels. And now, in the last installment, Tom puts it all together and presents his test results and verdict. (Don't forget the bonus notes on Tom's environmental test bed and baseline numbers.) All together, it's a pre-Thanksgiving Apple feast hosted by the Enterprise Mac blog.
Open source in the spotlight: It's looking like a busy week for the GPL crowd: Java goes open source under the GPL, the US Appeals court Samba's dev team is asking Novell to reconsider the Microsoft pact, and others are saying that the MS-Novell deal violates the GPL. Check out today's Open Enterprise column for Neil McAllister's take on the partnership and Microsoft's empty legal threats.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 13, 2006 09:24 AM
November 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Borland Software on Monday is unveiling the 2006 versions of the StarTeam and CaliberRM tools in the company's application lifecycle management platform.
CaliberRM is an enterprise requirements management product while StarTeam manages software change and configuration management, serving as a repository for managing software development assets. A key addition to StarTeam is it can now be deployed on Red Hat Linux systems.
The new CaliberRM offers customized tracing of requirements, based on roles in an organization. StarTeam offers a visual compare and merge capability enabling team members to coordinate work done on different branches of a software development project.
Also new in StarTeam is support for the Eclipse 3.2 and Visual Studio 2005 IDEs as well as for the latest versions of Borland's JBuilder and Delphi environments. Red Hat Linux is support now as well.
CaliberRM costs $2,000 per named user while StarTeam is $2,500 per named user.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 13, 2006 07:06 AM
November 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
With its acquisition of Rainfinity in 2005, EMC got a powerful tool to better manage file servers in heterogeneous environments. In fact, the Rainfinity appliance makes moving files to a different system transparent for both Unix and Windows users, with no downtime and minimum disruption.
By identifying servers that are overcrowded or overworked with numerous intuitive charts and reports, Rainfinity gives administrators a better awareness of which directories should be moved elsewhere to better allocate files according to capacity and frequency of access.
Moreover, Rainfinity further helps optimize storage allocation with the ability to assign available file servers to different tiers, such as grouping the most expensive and fast devices into an online pool and leaving slower but larger capacity enclosures for a nearline pool.
The upcoming Rainfinity 7.0 adds the option of managing archiving with a set of rules and policies to identify the files that should be moved. According to EMC, future versions of Rainfinity will be able to store files to archiving solutions from other vendors and will support multiple file sources and multiple file targets. (The only targets supported in 7.0 are Centera devices.)
Oddly enough, this first dive of Rainfinity into policy-guided archiving can manage only NetApp filers as a source, a choice that I believe is driven by competitive rather than technical motivations. A "soon to be shipped" (that's EMC's best estimate) 7.1 version should extend source files for archiving beyond the NetApp world.
Even with these limitations, my early peek at Rainfinity 7.0 was interesting. My test server was a Windows Server 2003 machine that had access to a CIFS share carved from a NetApp filer, hosting a variety of typical user documents including Office, .mp3, and .pdf files. A Centera machine was also connected to the same LAN.
I accessed the Rainfinity Console and the new File Management application via browser. My test system was already set up, but if you need to do so, a Configuration tab in File Management opens a wizard to add more source servers or Centera devices. To create an archiving policy, I selected the Policy tab, assigned a name, selected Centera as my destination device, and chose a retention time for files archived by that policy, which is expressed in accordance with Centera rules in days, weeks, months, or years.
Within a policy you can define rules, essentially one or more logical expressions that identify the files to archive according to their attributes. Rainfinity uses standard file attributes (file name, file type, modification date etc.) for those expressions, which makes it easy as pie to create a policy that archives all .pdf files not accessed for 90 days, for example.
Defining a policy doesn't automatically archive files. For that you need to define a schedule that runs a policy against a specific folder. Appropriately, a schedule can run only a simulation, listing which files would be affected by a policy but not archiving them. It's very helpful as a means to estimate the impact of policy.
After running my pdf files policy, I opened Windows Explorer and noticed that Acrobat Reader files older than 90 days had been removed as expected. Rainfinity replaced those files with stubs, a sort of shortcut having the same name as -- but much smaller size than -- the original file.
The stubs are placeholders between 4 and 8 kilobytes in size and indicate to your users that those files have been archived elsewhere. However, stubs also make it a snap to retrieve the original file when needed. In fact, when I double-clicked on one of the stubs, Rainfinity immediately replaced the stub with the original file, which I was able to open in Acrobat Reader. Seamless.
What happens if a stub is deleted? Obviously the user won't be able to access that file anymore, but there is an easy remedy: Rainfinity has an application to identify archived files without stubs and recreate the shortcut in the user directory.
I also like that users don't have direct access to archived files, which should guarantee the files' integrity -- definitely a plus when managing sensitive data. But as mentioned before, it's worth noting that this first release is oddly EMC-biased on the archive side and NetApp-biased on the source, although next versions of Rainfinity should remove those limitations.
EMC Rainfinity 7.0
Availability: Now
Pricing: Starts at $92,500
Verdict: I found the newly acquired archiving features of Rainfinity intuitive and easy to use. The application worked as expected in a streamlined yet complex setting. Rainfinity's flexible system of policies and rules has the potential to automate archiving of large volumes of files while maintaining a safety net that gives users instant recovery of a file with one mouse click.
I believe it's fair to say that archiving is a work in progress in Rainfinity 7.0. Future versions should extend not only the variety of platforms supported but also add more selection criteria (from applications such as InfoScape, for example) than just file metadata.
Posted by Mario Apicella on November 13, 2006 06:00 AM
November 10, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Vista lands, Cisco boosts WANs
Test Center exclusive: When networking guru Cisco offers you a first look at its new line of WAN optimization gear, you say, "Yes." Well, InfoWorld does, anyway, and the Cisco WAE-512 didn't disappoint analyst Keith Schultz. OK, so performance wasn't the best he's seen (compared to, say, the Riverbed Steelhead), but reporting was stellar, customization was a snap, and it comes loaded with Cisco's useful Wide Area Application Services.
The Vista has landed: You may have heard that this software company in the Northwest called Microsoft has been working on an upgrade to its OS line, called Vista. (InfoWorld has mentioned it a time or two.) Well, Microsoft this week released the RTM of Vista, and Windows maven Oliver Rist got his hands on a copy. Check out his latest hands-on analysis and slideshow, and find out what the company has nailed -- as well as what obstacles you might face if and when you choose to deploy it.
Posted by Ted Samson on November 10, 2006 06:50 AM
November 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Hands-on: Vista is ready. Are you?
I love it when Microsoft lays it on thick. Normally, we just get a DVD with a new OS installed. Not this time. This time, an HP DV9000 notebook showed up in my mailbox, pre-installed with Vista RTM, the latest build of Office 2007, and other sundries. The DV9000 is a wide-screen hi-def-capable machine, which was obviously designed to run Vista with the Media Center extensions.
Of course, this is InfoWorld, and we don't care so much about that. What we do care about is OS stability, software compatibility and business features. So first point: All the reviews you're reading in any press mag right now are on the Vista Ultimate SKU, because that's all that Microsoft is handing out right now. Business users, however, most likely won't be using this SKU unless it's that annoying exec who just has to have all the tools regardless of love or logic.
Odds are you'll be most involved in Vista Business or Vista Enterprise. Business is a $199 SKU, that includes all the Tablet features, a series of business-oriented help guides that can get a user or an inexperienced network admin through basic business networking tasks, as well as the full OneCare security suite — though remember that this isn't free with the OS.
Vista Enterprise is a step up from Business and can only be purchased as part of the Volume License program. It also includes a few more features than Business, including BitLocker Drive Encryption (see my SMB IT blog post on that) and built-in application compatibility via the Program Compatibility Wizard. Enterprise folks, however, will also want to download the Application Compatibility Toolkit.
Having the full security suite installed is nice, but there's no need to jump on that bandwagon simply for convenience sake. Calculate the ongoing costs and then compare it to what third-party anti-virus vendors are offering. I've been using F-Prot's Vista-compatible anti-virus program on the RC2 box for the last couple of weeks and it's great. OneCare is a fine option, but it's yet to prove itself on the corporate side (centralized desktop management and server protection, for example).
Tripping over wireless
Hands on, my experience with RTM so far has been fine, with the exception of wireless networking. This worked great using RC2 (read about my experiences here, here, and here) on a Dell M90 superbook: very fast connect times and flawless reliability. But it had continuous trouble using the DV9000. Most likely this is an HP problem, rather than a Windows problem, but it does go to show that even though Microsoft has significantly improved its networking stack, there's always room for flaws. Hey, it's job security.
I also tried some of the fancier new features, like ReadyBoost. This is a performance enhancer that lets Vista use the RAM from a USB flash drive to enhance RAM performance. Microsoft was kind enough to include a Kingston TravelDrive with the DV9000, so I figured I had to check it out. Turns out the USB drive needs to have ReadyBoost compatibility (which the Kingston did) and then offer the ability to use the drive as a cache.
Help, however, says that you're best off using either the same or up to double the amount of cache RAM as you have system RAM. The DV9000 has 2GB of system RAM, so that 2GB flash drive was maxed out trying to boost performance. It did seem to help, however, especially when I had nine simultaneous applications running.
Integrated search and file transfer both work well. Both are wizard-driven, which makes them simple for the likes of us system admin types, but users who don't understand terms like indexing or file syncing are still going to be calling the help desk.
Sync Center still didn't work for my Moto Q, but it did find my HP iPaq. Using Sync Center (which is basically an embedded vrsion of ActiveSync), you can automatically sync your phone's contacts, calendar and files with either Outlook Contacts and Calendar/Tasks or the new Windows Calendar and Windows Contact's that come included with Vista. Sounds great, but it has the potential to get confusing for some users because if you install Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007, so far I haven't found a way to sync Outlook with the Windows Calendar/Contacts. This has the potential for inexperienced users to setup two different calendar/contact stores. It would be nice if there was an option to simply keep the two synced in real-time.
That's about all my Vista RTM nitpicks, however. The rest of the OS is working just fine. I had no trouble working with networked printers or servers. Vista discovered and accessed both my Iomega and Western Digital shared network hard disks without requiring client software installs. And aside from the DV9000's wireless problem, network support was flawless.
Additionally, most XP and .Net-capable applications will run just fine (so far, I've run Office 2003 and Office 2007, Firefox 1.5 and 2.0, Paint.NET, Adobe Acrobat Reader and Creator, and more). The ones that died include third-party desktop firewalls and some open-source utilities. As Vista moves out into the world, however, these problems will cease quickly, including cell phone support and software compatibility.
Prepare for your migration
Even if you're happy with the operating system, there are still some basic Vista-only issues to ponder prior to deployment. First, set your users' expectations regarding Aero. The new video interface is fantastic and it's likely that all your power users have seen it by now. If you're not springing for PCs with enough video muscle to run it, let them know early.
Next, use Microsoft's Windows Image (WIM) file format to build yourself some deployment images. For Business and Enterprise users, pay special attention to new Vista features including User Access Control—that's the Unix-like system security layer that now makes it much easier to allow users to run as users and not administrators. This will require some application compatibility testing, so be sure to run through your whole portfolio before finalizing any images.
Next, carefully control power features especially BitLocker and Windows Update. The former can be big liability if users set it up themselves. The latter is much more powerful. Microsoft has added update features for optional add-ons, a link to third-party applications and even the ability to upgrade the whole OS. This needs to be locked down in a corporate setting.
And last, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Invest in some end-user training. It's a great new operating system, but things have definitely changed for those who find features by rote repetition. Set up a tutorial system and let them ask questions. Important points to walk through include the new networking interface, the new file browsing dialogs, Sidebar, OneCare (if you decide to go that route), and Windows Search. Teach them the basics now and you'll reap the reward later: They'll be eagerly awaiting the new features rather than dreading the change.
For a visual look at some Vista RTM, check out this slideshow. And stay tuned for more Vista news and analysis in coming weeks on InfoWorld.com.
Posted by Oliver Rist on November 9, 2006 05:15 PM
November 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Office Live as Web 2.0 success?
Fresh from the Test Center: Are you having problems coralling multiple storage backup apps? Have you had the unpleasant experience of a failed restore because a backup you thought was complete wasn't? If so, WysDM for Backups 3.51 may be an answer. Logan Harbaugh put the management app through its paces, and found WysDM did a good job of bringing together results from various backup applications into one easy-to-navigate UI. Check out his review here.
Microsoft as Web 2.0 innovator?: After getting his hands into Office Live Premium, Oliver Rist comes away suitably impressed. In fact, he says that "this is the best New Economy, Web 2.0 Internet move I've seen Microsoft make in a long time." And given his week spent using only browser-based apps, Oliver's probably quite familiar with the ups and downs of Web 2.0 apps. The verdict? Office Live's combination of employee management tools, accounting and payment tools, customer tools, and Web hosting is a tempting -- and extremely useful -- one, especially for SMBs. Read all the details in this week's Enterprise Windows column.
Storage performance that's up to snuff: Mario Apicella's latest Storage Insider column delves into the new high-end, high-performance from NetApp (the FAS3070) and Panasas (storage clusters). The emphasis on performance is so great that NetApp commissioned VeriTest to do a performance comparison study; the results are posted on the Storage Network blog. Take a look and post your comments on the need for storage speed.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 9, 2006 09:38 AM
November 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Simula hosts open source projects
Simula Labs this week announced availability of a hosted distribution platform for complimentary open source technologies, with its Community-oriented Real-time (CoRE) Network.
CoRE features a community marketplace that provides enterprises with a roadmap for adopting open source through its hosted service. Featured is subscription-based support for tested, version-controlled and indemnified distributions available from open source companies. A process framework is enabled for building and running open source technologies.
Developer- and production-level support, release maintenance and software lifecycle management practices are included for integrating hybrid software environments, such as applications with open source and proprietary artifacts and components.
"What we offer is a marketplace," Simula CEO Winston Damarillo said. "It's really enabling custmers to buy open source projects [reliably] and it's really enabling open source projects to become open source products."
CoRE provides access to open source runtimes, source code and dependencies, as well as tooling that includes integration, systems monitoring and management. Apache support provider Covalent Technologies with offer its solutions through CoRE.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 8, 2006 12:10 PM
November 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Virtual confusion
Adventures in Virtualizationland: Chief Technologist Tom Yager heads down the virtual rabbit hole in search of answers to not-so-simple virtualization problems: "the difficulty of identifying and addressing critical problems that manifest as something short of a full failure, and the fact that blind trust in a virtualization solution’s tendency to do the right thing guarantees reduced return on investment." He has some hints, but if you find yourself feeling curiouser and curiouser, perhaps check out InfoWorld's next Virtualization Forum in February.
Just the data, ma'am: "It's easy to make data available for reuse by human analysts or automatic services," notes InfoWorld Test Center Lead Analyst Jon Udell. Unfortunately, so many Web sites present data in a passive manner that makes it difficult for anyone else to transform or recombine it -- and there's no good reason for it. (A product such as Web database Dabble DB can help a bit by performing data scraping, but it's not enough.)
Not your father's cash register: A POS (point of sale) system is a must-have for many an SMB, notes Senior Contributing Editor Oliver Rist, and it can do so much more than handles payments. Top of the list: inventory management.: "The PC in your warehouse stays in touch with the PCs running your cash registers. It lets sales people know what's left in the warehouse, how much it costs and when you can expect new stock," he notes. Oliver has some handy advice for you if you're in the market for this type of hardware.
Posted by Ted Samson on November 8, 2006 06:00 AM
November 07, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Security double standard for Sun, Microsoft?
Blinded by the light?: Ed Foster's got a good question: Does Sun get the same security scrutiny as other vendors (read: Microsoft) when it comes to Java security updates? According to one GripeLine reader, the various releases and retractions of JVM patches is enough to make your head spin. Is this much nagging a curse or a blessing?
Ballots all around: It's election day today, and we've got you covered with a special report on the elections' ramifications for IT and a look at some of the security worries surrounding electronic voting machines (check out the report and video from Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy, too). Post your comments to our TalkBalk thread and let us know what you think. There's a technology voter's guide here, for those who want to check out how their state representatives in Congress have voted on tech-related laws. And if you need a little levity after punching buttons, filling in the arrows, flipping levers, or banging your head against the e-voting machine, you can always ask yourself: will it blend?
SOA in the Big Apple: InfoWorld's SOA Executive Forum is happening today and tomorrow in New York City. If you're not able to be there in person, stay tuned to our blogs and video pages for the latest comments, interviews, and more.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 7, 2006 06:00 AM
November 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Looking beyond Web 2.0
Weaving the Semantic Web: Contrary to urban legend, Al Gore never claimed to have invented the Internet -- but credit for the World Wide Web properly goes to Tim Berners-Lee. Senior Editor Neil McCallister reports that Berners-Lee is recruiting assistance from the tech community in developing the much-anticipated Semantic Web. The first critical step: "address the challenges and shortcomings of HTML, while working on the XHTML standards in parallel. ... The lesson learned from XHTML is that, when it comes to standards, just because you build it doesn't mean they will come. And yet, XHTML is only the beginning of the standards compliance that the Semantic Web would require."
Deactivating the ActiveX threat: Microsoft's investigating reports of a vulnerability in Windows ActiveX that reportedly allows an attacker to take remote control of a system. The vulnerability affects certain versions of Windows running Microsoft XML Core Services 4.0, a set of tools that allows programmers to use scripting languages to access XML documents. No patch is available, but the company has released an advisory on how to disable ActiveX in the meantime.
Building your SOA: The promises of a service-oriented architecture are real, such a greater flexibility and potential costs savings. But developing your SOA demands tough technology choices. If you need some guidance, check out our in-depth look at how other companies have gotten there
Posted by Ted Samson on November 6, 2006 06:00 AM
November 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Top five business rule management systems
In 2006, InfoWorld (more specifically rules wizard James Owen) evaluated five rule-based systems. Here's how they stack up, based on their overall scores in our reviews:
#1. Fair Isaac Blaze Advisor 6.1 (Excellent, 8.7)
#2. Corticon 4 and ILOG JRules 6.0 (both Very Good, 8.2)
#4. JBoss Rules 3.2 (Good, 7.4)
#5. Jess 7.0 (Good, 7.3)
Follow the links to read the full reviews. Blaze and JRules are the longstanding leaders in the space, boasting the richest sets of features and the most enterprise customers. Corticon is a strong challenger with a different approach, and a very nice spreadsheet GUI for both developers and business users. Jess is the grandaddy of open source BRMS, while JBoss Rules is a newcomer with big momentum.
The bottom line on the space in James Owen's own words:
I like Jess. I like JBoss Rules. But I like ILOG's JRules better and I like Fair Isaac's Blaze Advisor better. I might even like some of the others, like Haley who has the greatest interface in the world today, if they would let me test them out here in my lab and not just take their word for things. If I could pick and choose, it would be Haley's interface, JRules for multiple options, Blaze Advisor / OPSJ for pure speed and natural language, JBoss Rules for pricing (and Mark Proctor) and their emphasis on all things technical via Wiki, and Jess because of Dr. Ernest Friedman-Hill and his worldwide support group.
For all of the rule systems he's able to get his hands on, James keeps a running set of benchmark results. You can follow the race right here.
Posted by Doug Dineley on November 3, 2006 12:35 PM
November 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Certeon to boost its WAN accelerators with Open XML support
If your enterprise is geographically distributed, and you run applications across your WAN, you'll find that the apps run slowly because of high latency, limited bandwidth, packet loss, and contention. Several vendors have addressed this problem with packet-level compression and differencing; relative newcomer Certeon digs deeper into the packets than its competitors, down to the level of application-level documents.
Certeon has had WAN accelerator devices in the field since February that support Web apps using HTTP and HTTPS, Microsoft Office 2003, and Oracle eBusiness Suite. This Monday, the company will be announcing support for Microsoft Office 2007, SharePoint 2007, and their Open XML document formats, as well as for Exchange messages and attachments, in its S-Series Application Acceleration Appliances. This actually means more than initially meets the eye.
The Open XML file formats use ZIP compression. ZIP compression reduces document size, but it also inhibits additional compression. As it turns out, Open XML also makes it harder for a WAN accelerator to use document differencing to increase transmission speed. Certeon has overcome these problems using an acceleration "blueprint" that understands how to decompress, decompose and difference Open XML documents. The net result is an overall 300% to 600% improvement in the transmission of changed files compared to standard acceleration methods, according to the company's lab results.
Posted by Martin Heller on November 3, 2006 10:12 AM
November 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Open source rules management
Rewriting the business rules: When it comes to deploying a BRMS (business rules management system), you have a couple of choices: Invest a huge chunk of change in an enterprise-level feature-rich proprietary package, or go for a highly capable open-source alternative that costs significantly less but lacks some bells and whistles. James Owen looks at two BRMSes that fall under the latter category: Jess 7.0 and JBoss Rules 3.2. "In a nutshell, Jess and JBoss Rules are best suited to smaller projects, where a rule repository and extensive reporting and debugging capabilities aren’t critical needs, and where rule development and maintenance can be entrusted to one or a few devoted programmers." And if your hungry for more, check out his insights on rules repositories, as well some bonus material about the products.
Re-opening Office: Oliver Rist has emerged once again from his foray in Office 2007 Beta and is now talking about the newly enhanced Access and OneNote. Access in particular has undergone some significant improvements, including better-designed interfaces, as well as new embedded macros "that should really enable amateur database developers to get some high-end performance out of their work." OneNote hasn't changed too much, but it does boast, among other things, the ability to import a presentation slide by slide.
Seven deadly sin of virtualization security: In theory, virtualization security sounds great. It essentially uses a sand box-like environment to prevent malware from infecting or modifying your computer. But Security Adviser Roger A. Grimes has played with a number of these types of solutions and has found some common problems among them. So before you turn to virtualization to solve your security woes, check out his latest column.
Posted by Ted Samson on November 3, 2006 06:00 AM
November 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Review Extra: Jess 7.0 and JBoss Rules 3.2 code examples
One big difference between Jess and JBoss Rules, the top two open source rule-based systems (reviewed here by James Owen, aka Bubba the Rules Cat), is the degree of friendliness of their rule languages to ordinary mortals. Venerable Jess is pithy and cryptic, owing to its roots in artificial intelligence research. JBoss Rules, the new kid on the block, offers a more natural syntax that business users will find easier to grasp. A bit of history from Bubba:
Jess opened the door for expert systems (especially rule-based systems) to move from LISP to C to C++ to Java. After all, CLIPS ran as a C/C++ compiler that was nothing more than an extension of LISP/OPS (ListProcessing/Official Production Systems, "production" being a rule) to C then to C++. Jess was just the next logical extension. Dr. Ernest Friedman-Hill wanted to keep in lock-step with CLIPS which wanted to stay in lock-step with OPS which still has that same, archaic syntax. Unfortunate, because it isn't what the Java guys wanted.But the EE guys picked it right up, the plant production people (oil patch guys) used it, and so did I and a few academics who could get it for free. (I had to pay my $100 for the source code just like everyone else.) Jess was and is a great system, but it hasn't caught on with many in the business and financial world. After all, the business analysts make the rules, the IT guys have to write them in whatever language they can master, and Jess was not on the top of the list until about three or four years ago.
The Jess code for the assignSeat or find_seating rule (same code, different names) of the Miss Manners benchmark is shown below. As you can imagine, the old CLIPS syntax will present a steep learning curve to most business analysts. However, programmers will find it much more concise than the equivalent code in JBoss Rules or some other BRMS engines.
(defrule find_seating
?ctxt <- (Context (state assign_seats))
(Seating (seat1 ?seat1) (seat2 ?seat2) (name2 ?n2) (id ?id)
(pid ?pid) (pathDone yes))
(Guest (name ?n2) (sex ?s1) (hobby ?h1))
(Guest (name ?g2) (sex ~?s1) (hobby ?h1))
?count <- (Count (c ?c))
(not (Path (id ?id) (name ?g2)))
(not (Chosen (id ?id) (name ?g2) (hobby ?h1)))
=>
(assert (Seating (seat1 ?seat2) (name1 ?n2) (name2 ?g2)
(seat2 (+ ?seat2 1)) (id ?c) (pid ?id) (pathDone no)))
(assert (Path (id ?c) (name ?g2) (seat ( + ?seat2 1))))
(assert (Chosen (id ?id) (name ?g2) (hobby ?h1)))
(modify ?count (c (+ ?c 1)))
(printout t seat " " ?seat2 " " ?n2 " " ?g2 crlf)
(modify ?ctxt (state make_path)))
Compare the above with the same code (the now-famous Miss Manners assignSeat or find_seat rule) for JBoss Rules shown below. The JBoss Rules code is easy and familiar enough that most business analysts could learn it in only a day’s time (with a bit of help from a Java programmer).
rule findSeating
when
context : Context( state == Context.ASSIGN_SEATS )
Seating( seatingId:id, seatingPid:pid,
pathDone == true, seatingRightSeat:rightSeat,
seatingRightGuestName:rightGuestName )
Guest( name == seatingRightGuestName,
rightGuestSex:sex, rightGuestHobby:hobby )
Guest( leftGuestName:name , sex != rightGuestSex,
hobby == rightGuestHobby )
count : Count()
not ( Path( id == seatingId,
guestName == leftGuestName) )
not ( Chosen( id == seatingId,
guestName == leftGuestName,
hobby == rightGuestHobby) )
then
int rightSeat = seatingRightSeat.intValue();
int seatId = seatingId.intValue();
int countValue = count.getValue();
Seating seating = new Seating( countValue, seatId,
false, rightSeat, seatingRightGuestName,
rightSeat + 1, leftGuestName );
assert( seating );
Path path = new Path( countValue, rightSeat + 1,
leftGuestName );
assert( path );
Chosen chosen = new Chosen( seatId, leftGuestName,
rightGuestHobby );
assert( chosen );
System.err.println( "find seating : " + seating
+ " : " + path + " : " + chosen);
count.setValue( countValue + 1 );
modify( count );
context.setState( Context.MAKE_PATH );
modify( context );
end
Posted by Doug Dineley on November 3, 2006 03:00 AM
November 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Interface21, makers of the Spring Framework for Java, on Thursday announced release of version 1.0 of Spring Web Flow.
With Spring Web flow, developers can build reusable, self-contained controller modules, called flows, to guide users through the completion of processes such as booking a trip or applying for a loan.
Spring Web Flow can be integrated into Web frameworks such as Struts, Spring MVC or JavaServer Faces across standard Java EE Servlet and Java Portlet settings.
Spring Web Flow is billed as the next-generation Web application framework by Interface 21.
"Spring Web Flow is an important addition to the Spring family of products," said Rod Johnson, CEO of Interface21 and founder of the Spring Framework, in a statement released by Interface21. "It provides an elegant, intuitive solution to the challenges of authoring sophisticated Web applications, and makes Web developers more productive. Naturally, it integrates perfectly with Spring-managed middle tiers, and offers the POJO-based programming model users expect from Spring."
Key features of Spring Web Flow 1.0 include:
* The ability to define controller logic for an end user task.
* Enforcement of user interface navigation rules.
* The ability to invoke Spring-managed business services directly from flow definitions.
* Automatic cleanup of memory when a flow ends, to boost performance.
* Seamless browser back button support.
* Changing of flow definitions without a container restart.
Spring Web Flow 1.0 is available here.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 2, 2006 12:22 PM
November 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Speech recognition goes mobile
Time to chuck the keyboard?: Jon Udell got a demo of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, an update to Nuance's long-standing speech-recognition app that now sports a mobile component. Is it accurate enough for routine use? Jon says it's not there yet -- but the mobile aspect is intriguing. Take a look at his short movie clip of dictation into a Treo on his blog and see Dragon 9 in action.
More Office 2007 fun: Oliver Rist is continuing his adventures with the Office 2007 beta over at the SMB IT blog. Part II involves Excel 2007 and Word 2007 - check out Oliver's take as well as some nifty screenshots in his recent post, and stay tuned for more.
SNW Fall's quiet revolutions: Mario Apicella wasn't able to get to the SNW Fall show in Orlando, but he's certainly not out of the loop. Between drive encryption announcements and SAS and iSCSI news, it's clear that there's a lot going on at this year's show. Learn more in this week's Storage Insider column.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on November 2, 2006 06:00 AM
November 01, 2006 | Comments: (0)
ActiveState Software has released a beta of Komodo 4.0, the next version of the company's IDE for dynamic Web development featuring client-side language support.
The release extends dynamic language support to client-side AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) languages including JavaScript, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), HTML and XML. Komodo also supports Perl, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), Ruby and Tcl.
With support for the full technology stack, Komodo enables developers to edit, test and debug Web applications including the server, client and the HTTP conversation that connects them.
The general release of Komodo 4.0 is set for January.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 1, 2006 02:55 PM
November 01, 2006 | Comments: (0)
IBM tool can convert .Net to J2EE
IBM on Wednesday is unveiling Lotus Expeditor, which the company is positioning as a tool to integrate applications and move Microsoft .Net applications to J2EE.
Expeditor is an Eclipse-based development platform to integrate existing and new applications and deliver them in connected and disconnected devices. Developers can create a personalized user experience spanning platforms and devices and providing access to business applications.
The tool also enables interoperability between Visual Basic, .Net and Expeditor to enable creation of a universal client of choice. Expeditor enables transformation of .Net applications into J2EE applications through the use of Expeditor's rich client and Web-based user interfaces.
With Expeditor, developers can build composite applications combining existing and new software assets within an SOA. Developers also can add extensions to existing databases allowing mobile workers, for example, to access financial or sales information from mobile devices. Web 2.0 applications, such as a VOIP plug-in to an instant messaging client, can be developed.
Features in Expeditor include:
* An enhanced offline toolkit providing wizards for offline portlets, Web services-based applications and templates for implementing offline capabilities.
* Facilities for composite application and mashup enhancements.
* Mobile device support.
* Enhanced client security, including encryption, key store and desktop lockdown.
Lotus Expeditor is due by the end of the year.
Posted by Paul Krill on November 1, 2006 09:20 AM
November 01, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: One app to view them all
Desperately seeking screen-sharing: Lead Analyst Jon Udell's not asking for much: just a simple, no-frills screen-sharing application that ensures that everyone sees the exact same thing during a collaboration session. "Why don’t screen-sharing systems focus on doing one thing well? It’s partly because the simple, single-purpose tools that helped make Unix great haven’t been fashionable for a long time."
Adjusting your Fedora: In case you missed it, Fedora 6 is out, and Paul Venezia has made the upgrade (a bit earlier than he expected, due to a hardware malfunction). The good news is, you get to benefit from his experience, as he's shared a list of some problems he ran into and resolutions he found. Aside from the minor hiccups, he says, "it's been pretty clean sailing today, and I've been stressing the system something fierce, though I haven't had much chance to play with the new features."
Can green-computing save you some green? Calculating the true savings from power conservation, consolidation, and other forms of green computing isn't easy, notes InfoWorld Chief Technologist Tom Yager. It starts with measuring three variables: power consumption, heat, and noise. The closer you can get to an accurate measure of all three, the better your odds of charting your success at bringing down your total IT costs. Sound complicated? Tom has a couple of shortcuts to get you started.
Posted by Ted Samson on November 1, 2006 06:00 AM