Stan Gibson

When Sun Microsystems announced Nov. 13 that it was releasing all versions of Java (Standard, Enterprise and Micro editions) under GNU GPL Version 2.0, the company did more than put to rest nagging questions about its open-source intentions for Java; it raised open-source software to a new level of significance for large enterprises. Coming just […]

Wikis are carving out a niche for themselves in enterprises as the best tool for sharing knowledge to create a common product. So it should come as no surprise that creating textbooks might be an ideal application. Just as Wikipedia collects and presents the combined knowledge of thousands of contributors, so textbooks typically are collaborations […]

Look in the wiki! If you havent heard that cry already, chances are you will soon, as the use of wikis in enterprise environments spreads like wildfire. Proliferating virally, wiki usage has grown exponentially in recent months, along with other consumer-centric technologies—including blogs, podcasts and RSS—that have made their way into the workplace thanks in […]

Concluding a staged rollout covering two months, IBM has spilled out a grab bag of so-called “service products” encompassing a wide range of skills and technologies, from point-of-sale systems to an IT executive workshop. The bundles of software and expertise sold as distinct packages bring to fruition a significant goal of IBM: to capitalize on […]

Following a time of mass avoidance in the aftermath of the dot-com bust, the U.S. IT work force is facing a shortage of people, according to the Commerce Departments technology czar. “The IT work force is not skilled enough and almost never can be skilled enough,” said Robert Cresanti, undersecretary of commerce for technology, in […]

Hurricanes dont pick and choose between large and small companies to hit. But, until now, only big companies have had the resources to come up with sophisticated backup schemes. No more. A wave of bigger, cheaper, faster and, above all, easier-to-use network storage products has hit the beach in recent months, leaving the little guys […]

If youre an IBM customer, theres a good chance the building blocks with which you will construct tomorrows enterprise applications will be made in China or India. Continuing to expand its operations in those countries, IBM opened new centers in Beijing, China and Pune, India, dedicated to the development of SOA (service-oriented architecture) software. The […]

Generation Y is invading corporate America and bringing with it personal technology that will create a revolution in corporate technology departments, Gartner analysts told attendees at the annual Symposium/ITxpo here Oct. 8-13. Consumer technologies, including podcasting, blogging, VOIP (voice over IP) and video on demand will penetrate the enterprise workplace by the year 2012, spearheaded […]

Its the relationship, stupid. That was the message at the Outsource World conference in New York City Oct. 17-18, where the subject of how to get around outsourcing relationship pitfalls was front and center during various presentations. Most customers and providers entering outsourcing relationships know the litany: Youve got to manage as you have never […]

A new exploit is leaving your desktops vulnerable, but Microsofts patch is not due for another week. What to do? Faced with such a dilemma, many IT professionals are turning to ZERT. ZERT is an acronym for Zeroday Emergency Response Team, a group of security expert volunteers who create patches for security holes, mainly in […]