February 27, 1998

The staffing crunch
Small efforts make big differences in easing IT staff shortages.

Staff quality
A diverse IT staff attracts the best workers.

People's Bank
The People's Bank cashes in on electronic software distribution.

Claris HomePage 3.0 and Symantec Visual Page 1.1 both offer quick Web-authoring solutions for beginners.

Message queueing: The Test Center looks at message-queueing products as a way to provide reliable data exchange.

VArStation YMP, Model 4642A is easy to set up and comes in a dual-boot configuration.

Reflection NFS Gateway for Windows NT 7.0, Beta 1, gives Windows users broad access to NFS resources.

Fix fleecing
Are software vendors using bugs to force customers to upgrade?

Outsourcing of the future
Would you farm out your key IS functions to an ISISP?

Disruptive technologies
What are they and how are you incorporating them into your company's future?

Find it on the Web
Where do you go to find your favorite troubleshooting resources and tools?

Software visionaries: InfoWorld talks to James Gosling, Bjarne Stroustrup, Grady Booch, and Chris Date.

Mike Perez: Compaq's vice president evaluates the server technology climate.

Barry Sullivan: Electronic Data Systems' Internet and electronic markets vice president talks about what users really want.

Karyn Mashima: The vice president of Lucent Technologies speaks up about her company's future.

Advice Line: Avoid sliding down the slippery slope of business ethics.

Bob Metcalfe: Road Runner's cable modem service offers lightning-quick Net access.

Test Center Rx: Laura Wonnacott offers tips on how to optimize server configurations.

Net Prophet: The growing Internet economy
Software AG to unveil Java I-commerce software
Netscape maps out I-commerce future
Pandesic revamps back-end process
JavaSoft I-commerce code debuts

Letters: Readers talk about FUD, Microsoft's arrogance, and renegade OSes.

InfoToon: Take a look at the latest in InfoWorld humor.

Book Review: Migrating to Windows NT 4.0 by Sean Daily.

Street Prices: Ink-jet printers

HotSites: Jim Battey's weekly list of essential IT Web sites

HotSites Extra: Micron's Web site misses the mark.

Year-2000 page: The latest in Y2K news, analysis, views, and features.

Keynote Business 40: Take a look at the performance results of the leading 40 business sites.

InfoQuote: Request quotes from several manufacturers simultaneously -- a service for InfoWorld subscribers.

Privacy Policy

IntelliMirror, new directory may delay NT

Although the official release date for Windows NT Server 5.0 remains hazy, many sources close to Microsoft say the technology will not see the light of day in 1998, mainly because of the complexity of new features such as the Active Directory and IntelliMirror.

Posted at 4:19 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Sun, Microsoft argue over JDK test versions in court

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sun Microsystems asked a federal court here Friday to bar Microsoft's use of the Java-compatible logo on Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0.

Posted at 1:07 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Microsoft, Cisco submit DEN specification

In a move that appeases competitors in the directory-services space, Microsoft and Cisco Systems plan to announce next week that they are submitting the specifications of their Directory Enabled Networks (DEN) initiative to the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) for consideration as a standard.

Posted at 4:19 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Sequent sketches out Unix-NT interoperability initiatives

Sequent will lay out its road map through 1999 next week, highlighting the next phases of its Numa-Q architecture, including its IA-64 incarnation; the forthcoming NumaCenter control console, which allows simultaneous use and dynamic allocation of Unix and NT applications; and Sequent and Digital's development of the next-generation 64-bit Unix, code-name Bravo.

Posted at 3:21 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

NT 4.0 Service Pack coming with NT 5.0 security feature

Microsoft plans to release Service Pack 4 for Windows NT 4.0 by the end of June, and will include a security feature slated for NT 5.0, the Security Configuration Editor, company officials said Friday.

Posted at 4:19 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Intel moves to bolster support infrastructure

Intel revealed this week at its Networking Event 1998 in San Francisco that it will take a series of steps to improve the support infrastructure for IT managers.

Posted at 4:19 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Gateway cuts prices on entire product line

Gateway will next week slash prices across its entire product line, including servers, desktops, and notebooks, bringing Pentium II-based desktops to prices below $2,000.

Posted at 4:19 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Microsoft to buttress BackOffice

Continuing to push the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, Microsoft later this year plans to release a new version of its BackOffice server suite of software that will feature updates to some of the server components as well as additional ease-of-use features, company officials said.

Posted at 9:42 AM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Groups agree on worldwide CDMA standard

Standards groups from Europe, Japan, Korea and the United States in a meeting last week decided to back a single wideband code division multiple access (CDMA) standard for global wireless services.

Posted at 4:19 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Apple to develop mobile MacOS products

Apple announced on Friday it expects to deliver the first mobile products based on the Mac OS in 1999.

Posted at 1:57 PM PT, Feb 27, 1998

HP announces VerSecure cryptography and its export approval

Hewlett-Packard has been granted a license from the U.S. government to export its VerSecure 128-bit encryption technology to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, and Australia, the company announced Friday.

Posted at 8:11 AM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Apple kills Newton OS, MessagePad, and eMate

Apple has jettisoned another bit of ballast as it struggles to stay afloat, announcing Friday that it will discontinue development of the operating system for its ill-fated Newton personal digital assistant.

Posted at 8:11 AM PT, Feb 27, 1998

Intel, Microsoft ready workstation initiatives

Intel and Microsoft next Friday will unveil initiatives aimed at cracking the last bastion of RISC/Unix-based workstations -- high end graphics. Along with broad support from software vendors porting their products to the Intel architecture and Windows NT, the companies will announce a new version of the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) aimed at workstation applications.

Posted at 5:25 PM PT, Feb 26, 1998

AMD taps IBM to help manufacture K6 chip

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced Friday that it has signed an agreement with IBM's Microelectronics Division to manufacture the K6 chip, supplementing production at the company's own Austin, Texas, plant.

Posted at 10:51 AM PT, Feb 27, 1998

March hearing may rule on CSC's anti-takeover defenses

In the ongoing saga concerning Computer Associates' (CA) hostile takeover bid for Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), CA claims to have gained a slight advantage from a Nevada judge's decision to hold a hearing on the validity of CSC's anti-takeover practices, according to a published report.

Posted at 7:20 AM PT, Feb 27, 1998