In Depth

In Depth

Operating systems software

• Is Linux the right choice for SMEs?

  Cheap software is a top priority for SMEs so software which is effectively free, like open source, would seem an obvious choice....  Continue Reading

• Browsing by design

  We've all seen Web pages that look like they've been thrown together in someone's bedroom. Danny Bradbury explains how to build a...  Continue Reading

• The people's operating system

  Linux is an attractive proposition for a quarter of the world's population. Venetia Thompson finds out why  Continue Reading

• Has Unix joined the dinosaurs?

  Next to Linux and Win2000, the original open alternative to proprietary operating systems is starting to look like legacy, writes...  Continue Reading

• Which way for Windows?

  What chance have users got when even the industry analysts cannot agree on which version of Windows to adopt? Nick Langley looks...  Continue Reading

• Unlimited memory

  Although it will undoubtedly bring huge performance benefits, there is a a lot of hype surrounding 64-bit Unix. Frank Booty finds...  Continue Reading

• Rejuvenating the mainframe

  With z/OS, IBM aims to bridge the gap between the mainframe and e-business, but is it just a 13% more expensive name for OS/390?...  Continue Reading

• February round up

  Businesses warned over Wireless Lan weaknessTens of thousands of UK businesses need to reconsider their use of wireless...  Continue Reading

• On the campaign with Big Bill

  Bill Gates flew to San Francisco to launch the latest component of his Web services initiative earlier this month. Danny Bradbury...  Continue Reading

• Memories of an e-mail inventor

  Certain pivotal moments have been immortalised in communications history, such as Alexander Graham Bell's rather perfunctory...  Continue Reading

• Easy guide to purchasing PCs

  Desktop procurement has traditionally been a headache for IT managers - but a few simple tricks will save you trouble in the long...  Continue Reading

• Next generation Internet lands

  After years in development, the next version of Internet Protocol (IP) is finally seeing its first live implementations.  Continue Reading

• Linux still missing enterprise components

  While suppliers are saying Linux is ready for big business, the reactions from potential customers are mixed.  Continue Reading

• Can Red Hat win the Web for AOL?

  Web services are the future. Talk to Gartner and its analysts will tell you that next year profits from Web services will race...  Continue Reading

• Wireless companies seek corporate killer app

  Three wireless infrastructure companies have announced different approaches to finding the killer applications that will drive...  Continue Reading

• Keeping an open mind

  What are the benefits of using Linux - Karl Cushing unwraps a company that is reaping the rewards of an open source...  Continue Reading

• Linux shows off super powers

  Last year open source operating system Linux rocketed in popularity. This year it has its sights set on conquering the...  Continue Reading

• Training college creates virtual campus

  Advanced technology centre gives students around the clock access to their work.  Continue Reading

• Problems still haunt 3G service

  When DoCoMo launched Foma, the world's first 3G mobile service, on 1 October, the handsets were not ready and DoCoMo had almost...  Continue Reading

• Avoiding the e-mail tidal wave

  Ross Bentley looks at a new best-practice guide to help companies get the best out of their e-mail  Continue Reading

• E-Business pioneers: Mail man

  As author of the Sendmail system, Eric Allman can claim to have been in at the birth of e-mail. Here, he talks about Web-based...  Continue Reading

• The verdict on Windows XP

  This week sees the launch of Windows XP, the latest version of Microsoft's flagship operating system. Microsoft sees XP as its...  Continue Reading

• Should you be panicking if you don't know XP?

  The latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system hit the shelves today. However, it doesn't necessarily follow that...  Continue Reading

• Compatibility is the key to XP's success

  XP, the latest desktop operating system from Microsoft, boasts a simplified look and feel. But enterprises are more likely to be...  Continue Reading

• To XP or not to XP?

  Microsoft is readying its next operating system for the shelves. It may be the latest, but is it the greatest? Danny Bradbury...  Continue Reading

• XML in the City

  Financial institutions and technology suppliers are working on a way to streamline the huge quantities of research reports...  Continue Reading

• The future of online marketing

  With dotcom budgets drying up, online advertising is returning to more rational levels. What does this mean for the industry?  Continue Reading

• Insurance lacks pulling power

  Insurance companies need to give their e-initiatives a radical makeover as their present inward focus is driving customers away  Continue Reading

• Pigeon post for the 21st century

  Instant messaging has traditionally been a means for workers to fill idle moments with chat. As companies put it to more formal...  Continue Reading

• Sun releases Solaris 9 beta

  Solaris 9, the Unix operating system from Sun Microsystems, has been released for beta testing.  Continue Reading

• SMS keeps students' blood flowing

  The National Blood Service is piloting a text messaging service to contact donors.  Continue Reading

• In-home entertainment

  Feeling too lazy to leave the house to be entertained? Simply go online to get your take-away and a movie delivered to your door.  Continue Reading

• Email: A pawn in the porn business

  One business's complacent attitude toward a security policy led to its email server being hijacked and used to distribute...  Continue Reading

• Handle with care

  E-mail can be a useful addition to the weaponry of marketing, but it is a method that needs to be used with caution if it is not...  Continue Reading

• Picture this

  Computer Weekly looks at how a picture library overhauled its storage and delivery systems  Continue Reading

• Community portal is a winner

  Newtownabbey Council's online offering is more than just another council Web site, writes Karl Cushing  Continue Reading

• Linux: Ten years old and ready for business

  Linux has come a long way since its creator Linus Torvalds unveiled the open source operating system 10 years ago. But is it...  Continue Reading

• The killer click

  It's so simple - just a few files to the members of a workgroup - yet the impact on e-mail servers is devastating, Nick Booth...  Continue Reading

• Three generations and sinking

  Mobile phone operators will need to recoup the billions they spent on acquiring 3G licences if the system is ever going to take...  Continue Reading

• It's a 24x7 week for AS/400

  Following the announcement of new machines and a revamped operating system, the AS/400 is now the leading machine for 24x7...  Continue Reading

• Sharing - a logical move for IBM's iSeries

  E-mail your AS/400 product queries to john.charlton@rbi.co.uk, or by post to Nigel Adams, c/o IBM Computer Today, RH401, RBI,...  Continue Reading

• Juxtapositions

  With Jxta, Sun hopes to provide the infrastructural equivalent of the Web for P2P  Continue Reading

• ASPs know the joke is on you

  ASPs hold the key to cutting the ever-increasing cost and storage problems of e-mail  Continue Reading

• HP jumps on the Linux bandwagon

  Hewlett-Packard has formally declared Linux as its third strategic operating system. Ian Murphy reports  Continue Reading

• Perhaps next time for a Web election

  In just a matter of weeks it will all be over and Downing Street will be calm again, as Mr Blair sets out on a second term or Mr...  Continue Reading

• Wireless instant messaging

  The failure of mobile phones using the Wireless Application Protocol (Wap) to access the Internet is well-established, as are the...  Continue Reading

• Look out - Microsoft is playing a new game

  Microsoft will next week try to persuade millions of videogame players that Windows NT is the ideal operating system to run a...  Continue Reading

• Does your helpdesk spend all of its time answering the same questions?

  Does your helpdesk spend all of its time answering the same questions? You should help them to help themselves, says Liz Warren  Continue Reading

• The draw of success

  Virgin Atlantic's marketing campaign had to persuade new and existing customers to use its online system. The answer was to...  Continue Reading

• MS Web release causes a storm

  Microsoft could be heading for further trouble with the US Department of Justice after it announced plans to provide business...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft interface is watching you

  Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer revealed future enhancements to its user interface technology, including e-mail...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft prioritises e-mail for users

  Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has demonstrated an e-mail product that attempts to prioritise messages for the end user.  Continue Reading

• EC to consult business over e-trade policy

  The European Commission is to consult the IT sector over whether it thinks regulation or proactive support will help the creation...  Continue Reading

• Analysts advise against upgrading to Office XP

  Analysts are advising most IT departments that upgrading to Office XP is not a good idea, saying that it does not offer enough...  Continue Reading

• Government promises justice systems link-up

  Government to improve IT systems in Criminal Justice system.  Continue Reading

• Educating the have-nots

  By 2005, all government services must be available online. But how does this affect the people who want to access these services?  Continue Reading

• Managers warned of Cisco faults

  Network managers have been advised to act quickly after Cisco warned of a security glitch in its operating system network.  Continue Reading

• Local authority chiefs call for London-wide e-strategy

  Representatives from London's local authorities met last week to push forward an e-strategy for the capital.  Continue Reading

• Government sponsors PITO extranet to link police and criminal justice bodies

  Extranet to link up police and criminal jsutice organisations  Continue Reading

• Growing pains

  Five e-commerce companies tell E-Business Review how they overcame initial teething problems  Continue Reading

• Profits in peril?

  Yahoo was on a roll with an unbroken run of 16 quarters in the black and a soaring stock. Recent months have seen a falling share...  Continue Reading

• Growing pains of dotcom start ups

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• E-mail - a seductive waste of time?

  Progressive companies can easily justify the expense of delivering Internet and e-mail access to every desktop around the...  Continue Reading

• Break down the talk barrier

  One of the biggest challenges facing IT executives is acquiring the "soft" management and communications, writes Robin...  Continue Reading

• Email marketing

  One-to-one marketing can be effective in getting the right offer to the right person at the right time. But will recipients come...  Continue Reading

• Linux targets the high-end with 2.4

  Linux maintained its position as the fastest growing server operating system in 2000, accounting for almost a third of server...  Continue Reading

• A Rough Guide to online travel

  Roisin Woolnough meets the architect of a site that puts essential travel information within clicking distance  Continue Reading

• Spring has sprung for Spring

  Spring Group has moved its business environment on-line with the development of a fully integrated web operating system.  Continue Reading

• Swindon trials online classroom

  Unlimited 24-hour resources and no skiving could be the future of UK education, writes Daniel Thomas.  Continue Reading

• Email monitoring

  I am confused by the legal aspects of e-mail monitoring. What must I be doing? What can I do? It seems to me that the laws of...  Continue Reading

• Wap could get a shot in the arm from iMode

  All is not well for the Wireless Access Protocol (Wap). The standard has been ill-received by a population turned off by pokey...  Continue Reading

• The guanxi hunters

  In Hong Kong, you do business on the strength of personal relationships. Jim Morgan explains  Continue Reading

• Bad news for e-tailers

  E-tailers targeting the European market could fall under the jurisdiction of foreign courts when consumer disputes arise, writes...  Continue Reading

• Connecting to the Internet: Orange High Speed Data Card

  GPRS may be on the horizon, but is it possible to get a decent Internet connection from your mobile right now? John Sabine...  Continue Reading

• Bite the NHS bullet

  The new NHS IT plan is a laudable attempt to bring order to the chaos and waste that characterises today's health service IT...  Continue Reading

• Taxpayers reject online system

  Fewer than 30,000 taxpayers have used the Inland Revenue's online filing system for self-assessment tax returns, just weeks...  Continue Reading

• Bluetooth turns phones into wallets

  Bluetooth could be used for on-the-spot wireless payment systems, turning a mobile phone into an electronic wallet, according to...  Continue Reading

• Business and the Net: can an old dog learn new tricks?

  The Web hasn't changed what customers want, just how they get it. This is a tough lesson for many traditional companies, says...  Continue Reading

• What next for online marketing?

  Marketers need to pay attention to strategic planning, experiment with new media, leverage technology investment and measure ROI,...  Continue Reading

• E-customers come first

  Any company which sells online would do well to think about how they manage customer service and enquiries.  Continue Reading

• Woolworths online operation remains stable as catalogue falters

  
  
  James Rogers

  Woolworths' online operation has emerged unscathed from problems affecting the company's long-established catalogue orders...

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• Rising to the challenge of meeting marketplace needs

  Ian Leader, technology director at paper specialist PaperX.com, warns marketplaces are all different, have customers with...  Continue Reading

• Whistler will block unauthorised software

  Whistler, Microsoft's upcoming Windows release, will include a security feature to block any software lacking a valid digital...  Continue Reading

• Palm users get Internet access and Web portal

  Palm's stand at Comdex showcased an Internet connection kit and a new Web portal service that will allow instant on-the-move...  Continue Reading

• Netscape 6 uses open source to battle MS

  Netscape has released version six of its browser, developed in conjunction with open source developers, which it hopes will help...  Continue Reading

• Run the marathon with Computer Weekly

  
  
  22 April 2001 may seem a long way off, but not if you are thinking of running the London marathon. For those that want to run the race, our friends at NCH...  Continue Reading

• AS/400: the host with the most?

  Question: which IBM server range can run applications written for Windows NT and 2000, Novell NetWare, Aix and OS/2 as well as...  Continue Reading

• Cross-platform integration

  Corba is implemented in hundreds of operating systems and networking products, writes Nick Langley  Continue Reading

• Grand master, no Flash

  E-visionaries: Jakob Nielsen is a world authority on Web usability and the scourge of corporate "bloat" in site design. As he...  Continue Reading

• i-drive

  
  
  Mike King

  Web-based storage provides an invaluable tool for the researcher, executive, or any Internet surfer. Web pages can be saved online...

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• Thin-client Web browser plug-in minimises server and network load

  A local Web browser which enables Internet access from a thin client has been launched by NCD. This has been developed as a...  Continue Reading

• Going mobile: the next step to pervasive computing

  Nick Langley measures the gap between hype and reality as mobile computing takes us into the pervasive era  Continue Reading

• Mobiles on the move at TMA show

  The TMA2000 show last week in Brighton was buzzing with suppliers offering businesses ways of telecommunicating quickly and...  Continue Reading

• This is a management issue, not an IT one

  
  
  I'm under pressure to facilitate a strategy that reduces time spent on personal e-mails. Users should have some freedom to use e-mail for non-work matters....  Continue Reading

• Imagine there's no Bill Gates...

  Chaos theory tells us that the flutter of a butterfly wing in Brazil can alter the weather on the other side of the globe. So...  Continue Reading

• LibDems accuse Labour of hacking into its e-mail

  
  
  Parliamentary reporter

  Parliamentary authorities are investigating claims that e-mails sent by senior Liberal Democrats, including party leader Charles...

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• Bulk paper trading goes online

  Karl Littardi had a crucial role in the paperX.com website, building up the infrastructure until the in-house team was ready to...  Continue Reading

• The mainframe is dead, long live the mainframe

  The first year of the new millennium has not turned out as expected for IBM's System 390 operation. Sales were down on a...  Continue Reading

• Are you being served?

  Just a few years ago, the idea of the AS/400 as a web server would have raised a few eyebrows. Not now.  Continue Reading

• IT support: better out or in?

  Can you afford to outsource your support? Can you afford not to? Mark Vernon puts both sides of the argument  Continue Reading