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The article reports that open source software and support company SourceLabs Inc. has launched a Java application stack and a premium support service for businesses. The Sash stack is designed to simplify server-side Java software development by integrating components such as a web user interface framework, an interoperable web services stack and database access. It includes open source support for Java programming frameworks including Struts, Axis Spring and Hibernate. It also offers supporting libraries integrated with commercial and open source infrastructure software.

The article reports that a new standard model for rating open source software is being proposed by an alliance including Intel corp. and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Business Readiness Ratings (BRR) scheme aims to enable enterprise adopters and developers to rate open source software in a transparent and standardised way. The idea is to devise a rating system that could be a trusted, unbiased source for businesses trying to decide whether open source software applications are mature enough to adopt. BRR's advocates argue that the quality of open source software is variable: some is suitable for mission-critical work, but other applications are less mature and could present risks. Companies evaluate the software using ad hoc homegrown assessment methods. BRR would standardise this analysis and help developers create software geared towards business use, the project's backers said.

The article reports that Microsoft corp. has launched an add-on for Word that lets users blank out sensitive information before releasing documents. The Word 2003 Redaction add-on takes its name from the verb "redact"--to make ready for publication--often used in the U.S. to mean the removal or masking of sensitive information before publication. The software, available as a download, allows users to mark sections of a Word document to be concealed using a special toolbar. Selected text can then be redacted--blacked out--at the click of a button. Microsoft compared the facility to that used by governments to obscure secret information in documents.

This article reports that the Trusted Computing Group has announced an open specification for trusted servers to allow manufacturers to improve hardware security on PC servers. The standards group's specification defines the architecture of a trusted server, including its management, maintenance and communication between servers and clients. It follows the announcement in May of the Trusted Network Connect standard for enforcing security policies on client devices that connect to corporate networks. The trusted server is built around the Trusted Platform Module, a microchip that stores digital keys, certificates and passwords securely. The specification supports servers based on a variety of processor architectures, including x86, Intel Itanium, Mips and Sparc processors. It is available free of charge for manufacturers, and the first servers incorporating the specification are expected later this year.

This article reports that a record number of IT professionals are to go forward for the final judging stage of the British Computer Society's third IT Professional Awards. A total of 94 finalists have made it to the last round of the awards, sponsored by the journal "Computer Weekly," which recognise IT innovation across all sectors of business, academia and the public sector. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on September 29 at London, England's Park Lane Hilton.

This article reports that magazine and newspaper distributor WHSmith PLC has completed a £3.5 m systems upgrade to cope with changes in patterns of newspaper distribution and demand. The overhaul, which was managed by consultancy Capgemini, has introduced new core business systems, with hardware and software from IBM, EMC and SAP. The systems are expected to be operational this month. WHSmith News will also now offer specialised IT services to supply chain partners, including publishers and retailers, on an application service provider basis. Following the year-long upgrade process, Capgemini will support the new systems on an outsourcing contract that has been renewed until 2010 and extended to include management of third-party IT suppliers. The company also had difficulties with its SAP enterprise resource planning system implementation. It began rolling out SAP to integrate IT systems in 50 news delivery depots in 2000, but the project ran into difficulties within months.

This article reports that Microsoft Corp. has released a beta 1 version of Windows Vista, the biggest update of its operating system since the release of Windows XP and a milestone in its Trustworthy Computing security initiative. The company said Windows Vista beta 1, which was previously called Longhorn, would be delivered to more than 10,000 testers. New features in the operating system are designed to improve security in corporate, mobile and roaming environments, as well as reduce the total cost of ownership of PCs through simplified management, increased automation of tasks and improved diagnostics. Security improvements include hard disc encryption, secure storage of encryption keys using version 1.2 of the Trusted Platform Module and further features to lock down end-user access to applications where required by administrators. To run Windows Vista beta 1, users will need PCs configured with a minimum of 512Mbytes of memory and a graphics card that supports DirectX 9.0.

The article reports that a new tool from Oracle Corp. aims to ease financial reporting and aid compliance with business governance rules. The Financial Consolidation Hub, a component of Oracle's Corporate Performance Management applications suite, has been designed to help businesses automate financial data consolidation. The software aims to reduce the risk of errors from manual procedures and speeds up the process to help users close and report results more quickly, Oracle said. The hub integrates finance data from different sources into a single view to support compliance with reporting, disclosures and internal controls. Such measures are required under regulations such as the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Oracle said the hub is designed to let users adapt to changes in corporate structure and keep up with changing accounting needs. The workflow-driven framework produces notifications and detailed audit trails covering each stage of the consolidation process. Businesses can decide how much autonomy to give to subsidiary firms, which can carry out independent sub-consolidations.

The article reports that people who commit online identity fraud in Great Britain could face 10 years of jail under a bill published by the government last month. The Fraud Bill creates a new fraud offence carrying a maximum 10-year sentence, to replace a confusing series of existing offences and simplify the law. The offence can be committed in three ways: false representation, including phishing; failure to disclose information; and abuse of position. The bill will also introduce three offences that could be used to tackle Internet fraudsters: obtaining services dishonestly, for example by using a stolen credit card over the Internet; possessing articles for use in fraud, such as software that generates credit card numbers; and participating in fraudulent business.

The article cites a study according to which financial and commercially sensitive data is routinely left on used hard discs, which are sold without being properly wiped. More than seven in 10 used but functional hard discs bought on eBay Inc. and examined for the study by Berlin, Germany-based hard disc utilities company O&O Software GmbH still had valuable and easily recoverable data on them. This year's figure of 71.5% represents a small improvement on a similar survey last year, when 88% of discs were found to contain data: but disc sizes have increased substantially this year. Researchers reconstructed more than 3.3 million files and found 50 e-mail mailboxes, complete with the previous users' e-mails. The results in 2004 were alarming. In 2005, the results show a small improvement. However, even when the percentage of recoverable data on the tested hard discs has fallen, the quality of recovered data has improved dramatically.

The article reports on a return recruitment campaign targeted at ex-IT female professionals. The UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology's Return campaign is part-funded by the European Social Fund. The number of women working in IT in Great Britain has fallen dramatically from 100,000 to less than 54,000 in just four years. The Return campaign will offer a referral helpline, pointing women towards training and networking opportunities and linking them with mentors from the IT industry. As part of the campaign, the Open University has launched a free online course for women returners and high-level IT courses for women who want to update their skills will be offered through the Equalitec project run by campaign partner organisation Portia.

The article reports on the launching of an online computer programming challenge by a London University college with masters and undergraduate degree places as prizes. Queen Mary, University of London launched its BrainAcademy 2005 contest in which contestants must complete an online research quiz to qualify for the programming challenge. The finalists will face a grueling interview. Two places on the college's 2006 computer science masters degree courses with bursaries worth 1,500 pounds are among the prizes to be won. The competition aimed to break down stereotypes about the subject. Winners of the masters degree prizes would gain skills and experience of cutting-edge technology and ideas.

The article presents information on an online tool that can evaluate information technology staff training programmes and show companies the return on training investment in pound notes. It has been launched by Global Learning Alliance. The Internet-based Metrics that Matter (MtM) tool enables the impact of training to be analysed through structured questions answered by training participants and their managers. Organisations can monitor participants' satisfaction with training but can also gather data measuring the impact of training on business performance or comparing results against industry benchmarks. Companies can build in their own questions to capture the data most relevant to their needs and choose from several levels of reporting including a financial report of the return on investment in staff training from increased productivity. MtM is being taken up by companies including BT, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Orange Nederland. Microsoft Corp. is using it to monitor its certified training partners' performance as well as encouraging them to offer it to their customers.

The article reports that the threat of strikes by information technology (IT) staff at Bradford Council over job losses has stalled a 160 million pounds outsourcing deal. The lengthy IT outsourcing process has been dogged by industrial relations problems, staff balloted for strikes early last year over plans to transfer them to the successful bidder. Agreement was later reached to second staff to the contractor, preserving their terms, conditions and local authority pension rights. But union Unison is set to begin balloting more than 100 IT staff over redundancies threatened by contractor Serco, which acquired ITNet, the preferred bidder for the Bradford-i scheme. Unison regional secretary Chris Jenkinson said that the contract had been due to be signed on 19 May, 2005 but the union was told just days beforehand that between 25 and 35 jobs could be lost.

The article reports that high street fashion outlet Monsoon Accessorize has installed a Retail-J integrated point of sale, store and group management system across 300 shops in Great Britain and Ireland. The system uses the Java 2 Enterprise Edition open platform and standards. The roll-out completes a process begun in 2002, when the company began its search for a new retail system for shops that vary in size and infrastructure from a single point of sale to multiple sales points with a server. It is reported that feedback from the company's 4,500 staff has been positive. The system enables Monsoon to run its entire chain of shops using Retail-J's Estate Manger system from its head office in Paddington, west London. Monsoon is set to extend the system to its stores in airports, enabling the handling and management of flight files, passenger destinations and duty-free sales.

This article reports that the Linux Professional Institute Inc. (LPI) is launching a quality assurance programme for Great Britain-based training courses in the open source operating system. The LPI-approved training programme was announced at Linux World Expo in London earlier this month. It will be the only training programme covering all versions of Linux, and will complement the LPI's internationally accepted certification standard. It aims to set a benchmark that will boost Linux use. Linux training is changing to reflect the increasing compatibility of the various distributions and the need for generic Linux skills not tied to a particular version, according to the LPI. Following the announcement, the ITS Group is offering the LPI 101 and 102 courses at its training centres in Bristol and Edinburgh and at client sites. As part of the LPI's quality assurance requirement, training partners such as the ITS Group must use approved materials and LPI-certified trainers.

This article reports that ten Staffordshire, England local authorities, together with the county's police forces, have set up a joint directory to give thousands of staff instant access to one another's contact details and e-mail links. The Joined-Up Directory, launched by the Staffordshire E-Partnership last week, displays the e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and workplace details of 12,000 staff across the 10 local authorities and allows them to e-mail one another at the click of a mouse. Police contact details and e-mail links are also included in the directory. The directory will be hosted by Staffordshire County Council, one of the partner agencies.

This article reports that the British Home Office will need to use three different types of biometric measurement to identify individuals in its proposed biometric ID card scheme because of fears that no single measure will deliver sufficiently accurate results. Katherine Courtney, director of the ID card programme, said trials had shown that fingerprint, iris or facial recognition alone were not robust enough to accurately identify individuals, but could provide a solution if all three were combined. The development is likely to push up the cost and complexity of the ID card programme, already estimated to cost £ 3.1bn. Security experts have raised questions about whether separate biometric readings can be combined together effectively. Courtney said the size of the proposed register, which will eventually hold "up to 100 million" records— meant there were no existing schemes from which developers of the ID card project could learn and that a large enough test model could not be created.

The article offers news briefs on computer-related technology around the world. The British Broadcasting Corp. plans to use IBM technology to create a new video-search system in Great Britain. The Intel Corp. plans to invest $65 million in PowerTech Technology Inc. in Taiwan. Furthermore, the Infocomm Development Authority has qualified 12 bidders for the government's Next Generation National Broadband Project in Singapore.