Farber's Picks
Gates: The state of .Net
Two years after Bill Gates first introduced the .Net concept, Microsoft's chairman is owning up to its failures and successes. The past week offered many glimpses of continued progress: new links to Oracle and Apache software, plans for a revamped suite of development tools, plus the first release candidate of Windows .Net Server, successor to Windows 2000 and cornerstone of
Microsoft's .Net Web services strategy. But OS delays, coupled with Red-
mond's new licensing plan, could slow .Net Server adoption. How hungry are you for this next version of Microsoft's server OS?
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Meanwhile, elsewhere at Microsoft
Microsoft plans to increase its R&D budget by 20 percent and hire 5,000 new workers in the coming year. New hires, take note: The company has warned its employees that no swapping of music or other files is to occur using company PCs or networks. Bucking pressure from politicians and investors, Microsoft plans to stick with the industry's practice of not listing employee stock options as expenses. It's also sticking with the Internet trend of phasing out free services: Microsoft has started deleting sent Hotmail messages that are more than 30 days old.
Read more of the latest Microsoft news
Linux poised to plug in USB 2
Taking another small but significant step in its march on the desktop, Linux will soon add USB 2 support. The upcoming 2.4.19 version of the Linux kernel for the first time will include support for many USB 2.0 features and devices. Now, the new version won't instantly enable USB 2.0 to work with Linux-based devices, but it will let Linux programmers get down to serious work writing drivers.
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Finally...real security standards
CIS's new security standards aren't just general recommendations--they're actually usable, says Tech Update's Wayne Rash. Plus, the compliance tools are free. Now that's good news for everyone.
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Protect against ghost workers
Ghosts of millions of former workers populate the databases of corporate America. Chances are, your databases hold the IDs of workers and contractors who are no longer on the payroll but still have access to company resources, systems, and accounts. Their lingering presence could make your critical business information an easy target for hackers. Here's how to exorcise your ghosts.
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Sun to push StarOffice for Apple's OS X
Apple and Sun are cooperating on a version of Sun's StarOffice
productivity software for Mac OS X. Cooperation between the two
could further erode Apple's deteriorating relationship with Microsoft,
which reached a new low before this month's Macworld Expo in New York.
Microsoft, in part, blamed Apple's marketing of OS X for disappointing
sales of Mac Office.
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Yale alleges an ivory tower break-in
Yale University has accused admissions officials at Princeton University of breaking into a Yale admissions Web site. Yale has notified the FBI. Princeton has temporarily suspended a dean of admissions. And Yale plans to strengthen security at its site. If the Ivy League schools are hacking each other, how bad must it be in the corporate world?
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Write me at dan.farber@cnet.com
