Microsoft releases server security upgrade

Microsoft has just released a major security update for Windows Server 2003, the latest in the software company's efforts to better safeguard its clients from internet-based attacks.

The New York Times and Associated Press report (30 Mar.) that the update, aims to add more security tools for Microsoft's server software, which businesses use to provide services for multiple users on a network.

The paper reports that Microsoft has said that many of the changes are geared toward making it easier for companies to manage their systems' security options. The updates include a tool that blocks all incoming traffic to the server until the latest patches have been applied, or the system's administrator has decided to allow such contact to resume.

According to the NYT., Microsoft also introduced a "security configuration wizard" that makes it easier for system administrators to set up a server for a specific function, such as e-mail or Web use, in the safest possible manner.

The paper says the upgrade also incorporates many of the fixes from Windows XP Service Pack 2, a major upgrade for Microsoft's desktop operating system that was released last year. As with that upgrade, the risk for users is that the changes accompanying such security fixes will actually cripple much-needed business applications. The company says it has been testing the security fixes extensively, in the hopes of lessening the chance of such compatibility problems.

The NYT and AP say the upgrade comes nearly two years after Microsoft first released the server software, and amid what the company concedes are complex and ever-changing security problems.

Growing tech companies keep hiring

The fastest-growing tech companies plan to keep hiring and growing despite an uncertain economic and political climate, a US study finds.

The New York Times and Associated Press report (30 Mar.) that the vast majority of the chief executives at those companies say they plan to expand their work force. About two in five say they plan to add 25 percent or more employees in the next 12 months. About one in five say they plan to add more than 50 percent.

The paper and AP say that Deloitte & Touche LLP conducted the survey earlier this year based on its annual ranking of the 500 fastest-growing tech companies in North America. In all, 150 CEOs, or 30 percent, responded to the survey that has just been released.

According to the report, tech CEOs are focused on facilitating ... growth by improving internal operations and hiring and retaining talent, rather than on external issues, such as economic conditions and geopolitical instability.

The NYT and AP say that a quarter of the respondents credited high-quality workers as the greatest contributor to company success, and a similar number cited recruitment and retention as the biggest operational challenge. Most of the CEOs say they are "extremely" or "very" confident about future growth.

IBM cell chip for industry, not just gamers

IBM is taking the highly anticipated cell chip technology at the heart of the future Sony PlayStation and offering to help customers design it into a far wider range of electronics, from aerospace to military to medical products, the company has just announced.

The New York Times and Reuters report (320 Mar.) that "cell" is a next-generation microprocessor aimed at the home entertainment market that is being jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba.

The paper reports and Reuters that analysts expect the closely guarded chip development to be used in Sony's forthcoming "PlayStation 3" gaming console and in a line of advanced television sets from Toshiba, but until now it had not been targeted at other markets.

The NYT and Reuters say that while working jointly to develop Cell, IBM, Sony and Toshiba are allowed to separately market the resulting chip to their respective customers, according to an IBM spokesman.

IBM said it plans to help customers embed the Cell chip in electronics that require vivid graphic or video processing, among other functions.

According to the NYT and Reuters, while details remain sketchy, Cell is seen by analysts as promising in coming years to offer formidable competition in consumer electronic mass markets that Intel, the world's top computer chipmaker, also covets. Early test data shows Cell able to churn data at speeds above 4 gigahertz, or billions of cycles a second, ahead of the fastest Intel chips.

The NYT and Reuters say that besides offering breakthroughs in graphics and video image processing, Power chips already offer the two-chips-in-one "dual core" capacity that Intel is racing to introduce later this year in a new brand aimed at home electronics products.

US telco battle for MCI continues

In the US, telco mergers and acquisitions continue to dominate much of the technology news, with Qwest Communications International expected to announce that it is once again raising its bid for MCI as it tries to wrest the company away from Verizon Communications.

According to the New York Times (31 Mar.), a person briefed on the Qwest board's deliberations has revealed the potential move by Qwest, saying that
Qwest has also hired a proxy adviser, the Altman Group, that could help it take its takeover effort directly to MCI's shareholders.

The NYT the moves came a day after MCI's board accepted a sweetened bid from Verizon worth US$7.6 billion, even though Qwest had offered US$8.4 billion. Verizon's latest offer is US$850 million more than its original bid, but it is still 10 percent lower than Qwest's proposal.

The paper said Qwest's board met yesterday to discuss what action to take after MCI's embrace of Verizon's offer.

Qwest has tried several times since February to persuade MCI to abandon its agreement with Verizon, and it has waged a public campaign to win over MCI shareholders. Some of those shareholders have urged Qwest to continue fighting and have taken their battle to court, filing a lawsuit in the hope of forcing MCI's board to accept the highest bid, says the paper.

The papewr says Qwest could raise its bid again by adding more stock or cash to its offer, or strengthen the provisions protecting shareholders from a decline in Qwest's shares. Qwest could also wage a proxy fight that would allow MCI's shareholders to vote on the company's offer. MCI would have to pay Verizon a US$240 million breakup fee if it called off the deal.

System for tracking  PDF documents

A Canadian company has developed a system for businesses to track PDF documents in much the same way they can keep tabs on Web visits.

The Associated Press and the New York Times report (30 Mar.) that before, businesses could count the number of times documents were downloaded, but they had no way of knowing whether the files were passed around or even opened.

The paper and AP says that with the service from Remote Approach, companies can insert a small programming script into documents using the popular Portable Document Format from Adobe Systems.The script sends a message over the internet with such details as the file name, the computer's Internet address and any unique identifier the company might have included.

The NYT/AP report says that Remote Approach is also working on a feature that would let a company block a document from being read if there's no internet connection. Another feature in the works would allow tracking on a page-by-page basis.

According to the report, privacy and security experts say the PDF tracker doesn't appear worse than what's already done elsewhere, but there are worries about any requirements to be constantly online.

Indian software testing outsourcing boom

Testing software to ferret out bugs that drive consumers crazy was once seen as dull and dreary work to be shunned by brainy technology experts, says the New York Times and Reuters in a report on the outsourcing industry boom.

But, say the paper and Reuters, the need to ensure electronic products' quality has spawned the latest hiring boom in the US$16 billion outsourcing industry that already employs some 500,000 people in India's technology capital.

The paper and Reuters say that software glitches are estimated to cost nearly US$60 billion a year in the United States alone, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Companies such as online share brokers and handset makers are willing to spend a lot to avoid them.

According to the report in the NYT.,for a long time, giants like Microsoft did their testing in-house. But analysts say independent experts are increasingly being sought out to ensure neutrality and to keep costs down. A key sign of the new wave was sounded last year when India's Aztec Software and Technology Services acquired privately held testing firm Disha Technologies for US$12 million, says the report.

The NYT and Reuters report that Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, which rank ahead of Wipro in Indian software sales, acknowledged testing was a growing business, but declined to provide details, citing the quiet period ahead of quarterly results.

Meanwhile, the NYT and Reuters report that Aztec officials say some US$3.0 billion of US$4.6 billion in outsourced testing is sent offshore, throwing up opportunities for companies in India that thrive on low-cost knowledge workers.

Reuters reports that industry estimates say Bangalore alone would need 10,000 testing engineers in the next six months. The city is pulling talent from northern cities such as Delhi and Pune by doubling annual salaries to 800,000-1,000,000 rupees (US$18,265-US$22,831) for those with 6-8 years' experience, according to Aztec.

 
MarketWatch creator hired by CBS

The CBS division of Viacom, which lost last year in its bid to acquire the financial news web site CBS MarketWatch, has just announced that it has landed a critical component of the business after all.

The New York Times rerports (31 Mar.) that the network said that Larry S. Kramer - who created the site, then known as MarketWatch.com, in the mid-1990's - would become president of a new division to be called CBS Digital Media.

The paper says that at CBS, Mr. Kramer will oversee the content and sales of the network's disparate web sites, including SportsLine.com, CBS.com, CBSNews.com and UPN.com.  Previously, each of those sites was operated within their respective divisions at CBS.

The NYT says that Mr. Kramer, a former newspaper editor, is no stranger to CBS. He created MarketWatch for the Data Broadcasting Corporation in 1995. Later, Data Broadcasting formed a joint venture with CBS and took the new Web company public.

Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, acquired MarketWatch in January for US$519 million, reports the NYT.

EBay names BBDO to replace Goodby

EBay has announced that it has selected advertising giant BBDO Worldwide in New York, part of the Omnicom Group, to replace another Omnicom agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, which had worked for eBay since 1999. EBay unexpectedly dismissed Goodby, Silverstein late Tuesday.

The New York Times reports (31 Mar.) that EBay spent an estimated US$80 million last year on advertising in major media, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

The paper says the dismissal of Goodby, Silverstein came about a month after eBay named William C. Cobb its president for North America. Mr. Cobb has worked with BBDO New York twice before, when he was at Pizza Hut and Netpliance.