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In this article the author discusses cloud computing on mainframes and problem of provisioning. It states that mainframes require controlled environment which is why cloud computing runs on x86-based distributed architectures. Inspite the limitation many companies promote mainframes for cloud computing like International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) which introduced zEnterprise to combine the two. Reed Mullen of IBM highlights that lack of self-provisioning is habitual with mainframes.

The article presents nine ideas to help information technology (IT) managers negotiate with software vendors in the U.S. IT managers need to know their existing contracts, give back shelfware and understand the terms of pricing before signing a contract. They must ask vendors for concessions, determine the software contracts in place and how efficiently software was being used and ensure software maintenance. IT managers must negotiate a software deal toward the end of a vendor's financial quarter. INSET: DRIVE AHARD BARGAIN.

The article focuses on the condition of information technology (IT) professionals in the U.S. It discusses the issue concerning the wages given to the professionals, citing the salary received by Verizon Business solutions architect Walter Scott who had given several contributions to the business. It indicates the results of a survey conducted by "Computerworld" magazine on the salary of IT workers, revealing that the total compensation increased an average of just 3.5% in 2008, compared to 3.7% in 2007. It also cites the increase of the bonuses for the professionals by only 0.2%, compared with 3.4% in 2007. Several charts depicting the results of the survey on salary are also presented.

The article focuses on several disruptive areas in the offering and architecture of cloud computing that current or potential users should suspect. These include the cost of cloud infrastructure offered by providers. Another is the cost of the data storage in the cloud wherein it suggests that constant decline of storage media costs is not economical to store data in the cloud over a long period. Moreover, it states that user should also be aware of a sudden code change because this may cause havoc when the code is not thoroughly tested.

The article reports on the challenges faced by the U.S.-based information technology (IT) company Google Inc. as it reaches its 10th year in the business. It says that one of the main challenges of Google is to foster technology innovation and draw the necessary talent that start-ups can attract. Moreover, it mentions the child-care fiasco that made the company's executives question the sense of entitlement it had created among employees. According to engineering director Craig Neville-Manning, Google is doing its best to meet the challenges facing growing organizations.

The article reports on the launching of the Version 3 of the information technology (IT) Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It is recalled that ITIL was created in the late 1980s by an agency of the British government to describe a systematic approach to the provisioning and management of IT services. The ITIL version 3 made the version 2's theories into specifics by including business-case examples and templates for capturing information. Moreover, one advantage of version 3 is that it expands the concept of IT service delivery from day-to-day operations to five life-cycle phases.

The article reports on the evolution of x86 microprocessor which was introduced by Intel Corp. The x86 family has progressed from desktop personal computers to servers, portable computers and supercomputers. The term x86 refers to the set of machine language instructions that certain microprocessors from Intel and a few other companies can execute. X86 processors beginning with the 8086 and including the 80186, 80286, 80386, 80486 and various Pentium models right down to today's multicore chips and processors for mobile applications have incorporated a growing x86 instruction set.

The article reports on the growth of facilities rebuilding their data centers in the U.S. It states that the move aims to save operating costs as well as enhance efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out information technology (IT) operations. Chief information officers (CIOs) and IT executives points out the significance of redesigning their data centers which will help them reduce real estate, infrastructure, cooling and electric costs. Among the facilities that plan to upgrade their data centers, include Christus Health, OhioHealth, and Newbridge Bank. INSET: Armchair Data Center Management.

The article presents news briefs related to the computer industry. The stock price for SAP AG has decreased by more than 10 percent after it warned of lower-than-expected revenue growth for its fourth quarter. Intel Corp. has filed a countersuit against Transmeta Corp. after Transmeta sued Intel for patent infringement in Intel's Pentium and Core PC processors. Oracle Corp. has published its Critical Patch Update Pre-Release Announcement.

The article provides significant information related to the data security and outsourcing in information technology industry. Most companies in the industry who are outsourcing their data and software processes do trust their vendors. However, the responsibility does not pass to the vendor but is still carried by the company itself. Security regulators hold the companies liable for the actions of the providers. In outsourcing, the internal organization itself is still liable despite the takeover of the outsourcer. The best thing to be done by companies is to properly define the policies before reaching into outsourcing. Its responsibilities would only get higher whenever outsourcing is involved. INSET: Can You SaaS Providers?.

The article provides predictions of executives on the future of information technology (IT) and the computer software industry. According to Proofpoint Inc.'s chief executive officer, Gary Steele, the blogosphere will become the richest source of material news leaks in the history of the stock market. Furthermore, Carl Weddle, Director of IT at Quality Trailer Products, said that the consolidation of hardware, software, and telecommunication is nearing both practical and legal maxima. In addition, customers of IT will demand Internet-quality search in the enterprise, as forecasted by Accenture Ltd.'s chief information officer.

Presents a list of software companies who won the contest of the "Computerworld" journal for providing cost-effective technology products or services in the U.S. AmberPoint Inc.; BladeLogic Inc.; EasyAsk Inc.; BlueArc Corp.

This article provides information on the 2004 Computerworld Honors finalists. Finalists were selected by a panel of distinguished judges based on benefit to society, importance of IT, originality, success and difficulty. George Perretti had received a lot of praise for the business continuity and disaster recovery infrastructure he helped build six years ago for The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., which is responsible for clearing $23 trillion worth of securities annually. DTCC, a New York-based firm, provides the primary infrastructure for the clearing and settlement of the majority of the equity, corporate debt and bond transactions in the U.S. DTCC chose EMC Corporation's Symmetrix arrays and its Symmetrix Remote Data Facility multihop data-mirroring software. The remote data centers can provide disaster recovery within three hours of disruption and a period of data loss ranging from zero to 30 minutes. ForumPass 2.0 is an effort by Herndon, Virginia-based Exostar LLC to develop an external collaboration environment. Then, it became an industry-altering secure collaboration platform. The first version, developed in 2001, was based on Parametric Technology's ProjectLink software and designed to facilitate collaboration among companies involved in joint development projects. The key to success was enabling users from different companies to control the data they owned, regardless of where it was stored. Bill Johnson, reliability manager at Lyondell-Citgo Refining is using IntelaTrac handheld devices to move the refinery from paper-based systems to computerized workflow management.

Features several computer industry executives in the U.S. Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel Corp.; Gordon Bell, senior researcher at the Media Presence Research Group of Microsoft Corp; Jim Goodnight, chairman of SAS Institute Inc.

Lists computer start-up companies that will be successful in 2001. Primary market focus of the companies; Products and services offered by the companies.

Presents updates on the computer industry in the United States as of January 17, 2000. Retirement plan of James R. Kinney of Kraft Foods Inc.; Resignation of Jonathan Bulkeley of Barnesandnoble.com LLC; Spending of consumers in online shopping during the holidays.

Investigates on measures that could solve the Year 2000 problems in computing. Corporate efforts and government compliance to tests conducted; Information on several companies which have developed various systems for Year 2000 projects; Perceptions on the development of systems for business success.

Presents news briefs on computer industry in the United States. Listing of the top ten contributors among computer companies for the 1997-1998 congressional election cycle; Microsoft Corporation's contributions to federal candidates and parties; Amount contributed by the International Business Machines Corporation to election campaigns in 1996; Status of the E-Privacy Act.

Enumerates the winners of Computerworld Smithsonian Awards for information technology which includes LC Technologies Incorporated, Purdue University, Frito-Lay Incorporated and Stanford Medical School.

Comments on the challenges faced by information systems managers. Unwillingness of companies to update information systems; Examples of job dissatisfaction displayed by information systems workers. INSETS: Report card on satisfaction;Differences in the sexes;Generation gaps;The price of success

Presents information concerning the computer industry. Plans of Qualcomm Incorporated to ship an additional version of Eudora Pro electronic mail client for the Macintosh; Reduction of hub prices by Hewlett-Packard Company.

Presents information on the business strategies of companies involved in the computer industry in the United States. Decision of Perot Systems Corporation to purchase 3T bytes of storage space from EMC Corporation; Acquisition of Ardis data messaging business from Motorola Incorporated.

Features several computer companies in the United States. Gartner Group Inc.; Forrester Research inc.; Meta Group Inc.; Giga Information Group.

Reports on developments in the computer industry as of September 8, 1997. Predicted growth of multimedia-based training systems; Stockholder lawsuit against MCI Communications Corp.; Attitude towards telecommuting.

Explains why several information technology businesses fail. Examples of companies who made major mistakes; Sears Roebuck and Co.; Disk drive companies; Emergence of minicomputers; Customers' negative attitude towards too much technology.

Presents results of a survey conducted on networking managers in the United States regarding the performance of their computer vendors. Methodology; Networking operating systems; Electronic mail; Wide area network (WAN) equipment; WAN transmission services; Network interface cards; Security software; Internet access services; Network management packages.

Presents the insights on information technology of some computer industry pioneers in the United States. Jay Forrester; Gordon Bell; Robert Metcalfe; Gordon Moore; Seymour Cray.

Presents the answers of computer experts on various questions relating to the computer industry. Controlling the database standard and the operating system standard; Advances in the user interface design; Internet as a medium of commerce.

Presents the winners of the 1995 Apple Enterprise Awards on different enterprise solutions categories. Client/server departmental or workgroup; Client/server education or government; Client/server enterprise; Communication and collaboration; Cross platform; Mobile computing; Publishing; Multimedia business; Multimedia education and government.

Focuses on the emergence of software components distributable across heterogeneous desktops and networks. Specific functions of software components; Business-related component software; Object technology; OpenDoc architecture; Component Integration Laboratories (CI Labs) project; Implications of a component-based software industry.

Presents executive appointments in the computer industry for the week ended February 21, 1994. Career history; Job responsibilities; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.'s Edward N. Altman; Amoco Corp.'s `Carl C. Williams; Levi Strauss North America's Joseph K. Johnson; Thiokol Corp.'s Brad S. Stout; MCA Inc.'s Justin Yaros; Highlights For Children Inc.'s Meg Williams.

The article reports on the virtualization of servers by computer industries in the U.S. in 2010. According to a survey, 64% of 312 professionals said that organizations will possibly virtualize more servers in 2010 and deploy an estimated 55% workloads that include a maximum processing power, memory, and I/O capabilities. IDC analyst Daniel Harrington says virtualization will bring a heavy configuration in servers shipping compared in the past.

The article discusses the potential of cloud computing to be the next big thing in the information technology (IT) world in the U.S. According to the managing editor of the United States Golf Association (USGA), Jessica Carroll, the e-mail continuity component feature of cloud computing appears to be very useful. The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is also counting on cloud to help with its 30% jump in services demand.

The article offers information on various questions that computer industry watchers and information technology (IT) groups must ask before launching a storage virtualization project. It includes the determination of what level of storage to be employed for the optimization of computer storage devices to virtualize software. Another is the assessment on what type of virtualization the IT groups may use that will best suit one's primary storage in a storage-area network (SAN) environment. Specifying the level of complexity for virtualizing network is also mentioned.

The article reports on the introduction of Microsoft Office 2007 to information technology (IT) industry from Microsoft Corp. IT professionals are facing a great challenge towards their approach on weighing the benefits and features of the new user interface. According to the survey conducted, 46 percent of respondents expressed no change in productivity with the use of the application while 24 percent indicated the benefits offered by the new software. The Office provides new resources which include Office Migration Planning Manager, the IT Resource Kit, and various electronic learning features available for users. However, training should be provided to users to gain knowledge on the features offered by the application. INSET: THE LOWDOWN on Office 2007.

The article reports on the effort of Microsoft Corp. in dealing with an amendment to an economic stimulus bill that had been promoted by Brian Burke, the company's government affairs director. This amendment had the potential to cease the Open Document Format (ODF) policy failed in its tracks by giving a government task force. It has been mentioned that this policy stipulated that new desktop applications acquired by state agencies feature built-in support for ODF, a standard developed and promoted by the rivals of this company such as International Business Machines Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. INSETS: Microsoft Gets Help From Both Sides of the Aisle on Lobbying;State's Snub on File Formats Caught Microsoft by Surprise.

The article provides reasons why business engaging in computers need to deploy virtual servers despite the growth of technology based on a recent survey among information technology (IT) managers polled in the U.S. IT managers said that they have no plans to use server virtualization. The poll's result showed the obstacles and they include the need to train administrators, cost, the lack of vendor competition and concerns about the availability and quality of management tools. They also indicate that companies citing consolidation made them adopt server virtualization.

The article focuses on the developments in speech technologies which are enhanced by advances in computers in the U.S. Such technologies are observed to be moving far beyond call centers and into critical corporate applications such as search and security. The development of the VoiceXML markup language to create open standard voice interfaces has been driving the market for speech technologies. Speech-recognition applications fall into three broad categories which are communications, search and interaction. INSET: HAL Will Be Here A Little Later.

The article offers information on the certified outsourcing professional (COP). According to experts of the computer industry, information technology (IT) outsourcing professionals require to have expertise in technology, law, negotiation, project, change, and performance management. The new COP designation is a kind of option that differentiates knowledgeable professionals working in outsourcing. According to Godfrey Pinto, director of offshore outsourcing in an IT company, the COP designation means a professional has got a certain level of expertise and his skills are transferable. Some of the universities and colleges in the U.S. offer outsourcing management programs and training for client corporations. INSET: Which Side Are You On?.

The article reports that re-engineering programs to work on multicore chips is expected to get even harder as the processors in the U.S. continues to multiply. Chip multiprocessors (CMP) offer the opportunity to significantly boost performance of applications that are able to share them. However, new skills, techniques and tools for designing, coding and debugging are need to reap the benefits of CMP. Fortunately, both hardware and software vendors in the U.S. are already developing tools and methods to make the job easier.

The article reports on the negative reactions of corporate customers to U.S.-based Microsoft Corp.'s license checks. In 2005, the company visited about 1,200 corporate users it suspects may be not licensed properly. Microsoft is also trying to persuade corporate customers to participate in its Software Assessment Management program which it claims is not a license compliance audit. Under the program, Microsoft pays for its consulting partners to educate customers on the merit of asset management, help inventory installed software and make recommendations on policies and procedures.

Presents charts depicting the 2005 Salary Survey of information technology professionals in the U.S. Wages for senior management and middle management positions; Compensation for staff and entry-level positions; Sampling of other job titles.

This article presents the findings of the nineteenth Annual Salary Survey of the journal "Computerworld," which studied the compensation and bonuses of 14,253 information technology (IT) workers in the U.S. IT raises still lagged behind the average for all U.S. workers as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the majority of respondents said that their 2004 base salary increased from one year ago, 31 percent experienced either no change in salary or had their pay cut. Bonuses increased 2.8 percent in 2005, compared with one percent in 2004. INSET: CHIEF SECURITY OFFICERS: BIGGER RAISES, BUT NOT ALWAYS HIGH PAY.

This article describes wide-area file services (WAFS). WAFS are appliances or software that allow centralization of file services by optimizing connectivity to remote-office clients over a wide-area network (WAN). WAFS systems overcome bandwidth and latency limitations through a combination of caching, protocol optimization, compression, and other techniques. With the use of WAFS, branch-office file servers can be consolidated into the data center, where servers and data can be managed and protected more effectively. However, the convergence of WAFS and WAN acceleration technologies, and the entry of large players such as Cisco Systems Inc. are changing the market rapidly. INSET: How WAFS Vendors Cache In.

This article discusses some issues concerning information technology (IT) governance. Project management is one of the several IT management fields that have come together under the broad umbrella of IT governance. Governance includes not only project management but also change management, application life-cycle management, asset and resource management, portfolio management, and often, security management. It is essentially the comprehensive management of every component of IT operations that entails cataloging, tracking and orchestrating IT projects, processes and assets. INSET: The IT Report Card.

This article focuses on the emergence of laptop computers, once considered an expensive luxury, as the personal computing platform of choice in the enterprise. The laptop, once a corporate status symbol, has already gained acceptance as a mainstream device. Laptops are poised for a corporate takeover as enterprise use widens beyond its traditional constituents: traveling executives and other road warriors. Laptop use is being driven by changes in work habits as much as by advances in technology. And work habits are changing because wireless technology is breaking the link between location and connectivity. INSETS: THE SECURITY CHALLENGE;3G WIRELESS AND HANDHELDS EXTEND PRODUCTIVITY.

This article examines various approaches for data encryption. Encryption can take place within the application, in the database or at the file-system level through software encryption. But software-based encryption can add an overhead burden if done incorrectly. Alternatively, there are appliances to plug in and even hard disks that encrypt data as it is written on disk. Most business users appear to prefer the appliance approach for its convenience and performance advantages, and because it is a plug-and-play way to comply with regulatory requirements. Storage security is finally getting attention but still not enough. INSET: Cryptic Differences.

This article focuses on legal issues concerning computer security crimes in the U.S. Companies that pass viruses, worms or any type of malware to other companies through electronic transmissions such as electronic-mail could find themselves in court, according to legal and security experts. And these companies could be held liable for damage done, even if they unintentionally spread such cyberpests. Federal laws, government agencies, and private organizations are setting new standards for network and Internet security. And lawyers are testing various legal theories for punishing cyberspace criminals. INSETS: THE Language OF LIABILITY;What IT Can Do;More TO COME.

This article focuses on how companies are responding to inside threats to computer security issues. Insider attacks are the most difficult to catch because these are legitimate users using their legitimate access for inappropriate purposes. Understanding that it is not just the disgruntled employee who poses the insider risk is a good place to start addressing the problem. Furthermore, network egress filtering is another way of finding out whether protected data is leaving corporate boundaries in an illegal fashion. In addition, it should also be considered that financial motives appear to be a primary driver in a growing number of insider attacks. INSET: ATTACKS ARE EASY, Too Easy.

The article summarizes developments in the computer industry. The county of Collin in Texas has filed a lawsuit against units of SAP AG and Siemens AG, charging fraud, breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation. Meanwhile, Gateway Inc, founder and chairman Ted Waitt has resigned from the computer company, passing his responsibilities to longtime board member Richard Snyder. Communications chip vendor Broadcom Corp., on the other hand, has sued Qualcomm Inc., seeking to halt the manufacture and sale of key Qualcomm chips. In the search engine sector, Google Inc. has released a desktop search tool tailored for the workplace.