In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Pre-Halloween Jitters
2. Today's Top Story
- Sites Laid Low By Katrina Traffic
Related Stories:
- Katrina Spurs Companies To Initiate IT Backup Plans
- Allstate Fields Mobile Vans To Link Adjusters To HQ After Katrina
- Katrina Batters BellSouth's Phone Service
3. Breaking News
- Accused Zotob Hacker May Be Behind 21 Other Worms
- The Ameritrade IT-Business Alignment Model
- Atos Origin Officials Mum On Possible T-Systems Merger
- Brits Pack Laptops To Beat Vacation Boredom
- Fuel Cells Available For Rent
- Microsoft Acknowledges Threats From Firefox And Security Lawsuits ...
- ... As Microsoft Insiders Disclose Details Of Commerce Server 2006
- Security Gateway Helps Braxton Schools
- OpenOffice Launches Second Beta
- British Government Proposes Internet Pornography Ban
- In The Future, Lights May Communicate
- Japanese Theater Offers 'Geeks' Cheap Tickets
- Primer: 10-Minute Guide To Network Security
- Offbeat: Smart Golf Clubs
4. In Depth: Catching Crooks
- Man Pleads Guilty To Selling Microsoft Source Code
- Pakistan Deploys Facial Recognition To Battle ID Fraud
- Service Tracks Florida Sex Offenders, Issues E-Mail Alerts
- FBI Reveals 16 More Suspects In Zotob Worm
- Three Indicted For Violating Anti-Spam Law
5. Voice Of Authority
- Trump To Outsourcing Critics: You're Fired!
6. White Papers
- Best Practices In Enterprise Planning
7. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
8. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription
Quote of the day:
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust." -- T.S. Eliot
1. Editor's Note: Pre-Halloween Jitters
We're a fair ways off from the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22, and
here I am already getting the creepies. Perhaps the idea
germinated when the kids and I recently went shopping for school
clothes; many stores already have Halloween decorations up and
are selling pumpkin-themed candy. Can it be considered child
abuse to hand out 3-month-old treats?
But I digress.
A few of the other reasons I'm probably thinking ahead to the
night when tradition holds that the veil between the living and
the dead is at its thinnest:
- My colleague Thomas Claburn discusses the new concept of "slogging," or slanderous blogging,
about someone you know or wish you didn't. In my youth, we used
to call this "gossip," and the cardinal rule was never to put
anything in writing for fear our ill-tempered musings would be
forever etched in stone and, worse, overheard or seen by the
person being dissed. But getting "caught" by the subject is
apparently the entire point of slogging, as I understand it. I
would have thought in our overlitigated society that the voice of
reason (if not politeness and/or basic human decency) would trump
that of nastiness, but I would have been wrong.
- The notion that cost savings are spurring software
outsourcing. I'm planning to say lots more on this subject in
a blog later this week, but for now let's just leave it that I
believe this to be wrong-headed and sure to blow up within, say,
five years, as customers become disenchanted and the expected
ROIs don't materialize.
- Not that I can afford the $14,300 this gadget costs, but if the
prices ever come down, the thought of being woken up by a child-sized robot scares the bejesus out of
me. In case this ever happens, I'm hoping that the robot is
dent-proof and that "Ouch! That hurts!" is not part of its
10,000-word vocabulary.
Johanna Ambrosio
[email protected]
www.informationweek.com
2. Today's Top Story
Sites Laid Low By Katrina Traffic
Demand shut down the Weather Channel site for three hours and
caused slowdowns for other sites, including CNN.com, ABCNews.com,
and USAToday.com.
Related Stories:
Katrina Spurs Companies To Initiate IT Backup Plans
Some 18 companies are using SunGard's Availability Services and
more than 120 customers have put the company on notice that they
might have to use SunGard facilities to relocate employees, call
centers, and computers.
Allstate Fields Mobile Vans To Link Adjusters To HQ After Katrina
Wireless connections between headquarters and adjusters on the
scene of the devastation help insured people get their claims
resolved faster, Allstate says.
Katrina Batters BellSouth's Phone Service
Areas of the Deep South have been hit so hard by Hurricane
Katrina that BellSouth doesn't even know how many phone lines
were downed by the storm.
3. Breaking News
Accused Zotob Hacker May Be Behind 21 Other Worms
Farid Essebar, 18, also known as "Diabl0," may have written 20
variations of the Mytob mass-mailed worm and one version of the
MyDoom worm.
The Ameritrade IT-Business Alignment Model
The company's chief operating officer, speaking at a Gartner
conference this week, says the recent TD Waterhouse acquisition
is spurring close collaboration between IT and operations.
Atos Origin Officials Mum On Possible T-Systems Merger
Combined companies could better compete for global IT services deals.
Brits Pack Laptops To Beat Vacation Boredom
Brits with time on their hands turn to their laptops to watch
DVDs, listen to music, surf the Web, and E-mail their pals. When
that gets dull, they have a blazing fight with their partner,
according to a study.
Fuel Cells Available For Rent
Sandpiper Technologies lets customers rent methanol-powered fuel
cells for evaluation.
Microsoft Acknowledges Threats From Firefox And Security Lawsuits ...
In a filing to the SEC, Microsoft for the first time ever
acknowledged that Mozilla's browsers pose a competitive threat.
The company also said that security vulnerabilities in its own
products leave it open to litigation.
... As Microsoft Insiders Disclose Details Of Commerce Server 2006
In new Weblog postings, various Microsoft insiders are talking up
the upcoming release and its promised tight integration with
BizTalk Server 2006 and ASP.Net 2.0.
Security Gateway Helps Braxton Schools
Braxton County Public Schools in West Virginia are deploying
security gateways introduced this week by Symantec to fight off
security threats.
OpenOffice Launches Second Beta
OpenOffice is an open-source competitor to Microsoft Office. The
new version features a redesigned interface and includes a
database application.
British Government Proposes Internet Pornography Ban
In what would be a first for any country, downloading and
possessing "violent and abusive" pornography would be illegal.
In The Future, Lights May Communicate
Inventors are working on "smart" home, office, and car lights
that will help improve health and become a new means of
communication. They could incorporate LEDs to, say, help link
your living-room computer to the Web.
Japanese Theater Offers 'Geeks' Cheap Tickets
If you don't mind muttering the 'g' word in public, it's a cheap
date--but only with yourself.
10-Minute Guide To Network Security
Keeping your network secure is a time-consuming job. But it
needn't be that tough--for help, follow our 10-minute guide to
get you started on keeping your network safe.
Offbeat: Smart Golf Clubs
The Intelligent Club from SmartSwing is a golf club that has the
smarts built in to analyze the speed, acceleration, and swing
plane of a golf swing.
-More News-
John Soat is the "Headline Psychic" in "The News Show."
Also in Tuesday's episode:
Don MacVittie With "This Is Not A Bug"
Sacha Lecca On "Laser Buddhas"
----- The latest research, polls, and tools -----
Security Investment
Examine security best practices, technologies, and planned
investments for more than 2,500 U.S. companies in InformationWeek
Research's U.S. Information Security 2005 report.
-----------------------------------------
4. In Depth: Catching Crooks
Man Pleads Guilty To Selling Microsoft Source Code
William Genovese Jr. admitted to selling the source code for
Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0. He faces a maximum sentence of
10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
Pakistan Deploys Facial Recognition To Battle ID Fraud
The country is looking to clamp down on identity fraud among
passport holders.
Service Tracks Florida Sex Offenders, Issues E-Mail Alerts
The services analyze, map, and monitor the locations of
registered offenders using public information.
FBI Reveals 16 More Suspects In Zotob Worm
The FBI delivered the update during a speech to more than 650
cybersleuths gathered in Monterey, Calif., to share the latest
tools and techniques for fighting high-tech crime.
Three Indicted For Violating Anti-Spam Law
James R. Schaffer, Jeffrey A. Kilbride, and Jennifer R. Clason
have been charged with running a huge spam operation.
5. Voice Of Authority
Trump To Outsourcing Critics: You're Fired!
The latest voice to argue that offshore outsourcing boosts
economic prosperity in the United States comes from Mr.
Apprentice himself, Donald Trump. Paul McDougall explains more
about it.
6. White Papers
Best Practices In Enterprise Planning
Traditionally, companies have managed performance by intently
scrutinizing and analyzing past results. But that's simply not enough.
7. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
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