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Recent Blog Posts

  • Downtime

    Spy kit surplus hits consumer sector

    As power politics takes a back seat these days there seems to be a lot of unused spy equipment lying around.So SpyGadgets4U is flogging them as a way for happy families to capture those happy moments in life. You know by having a secret camera in your clothing you can really catch people in natural moods.I...

  • Downtime

    Can Chinese printer pose a security risk?

    Downtime was contacted earlier this week by someone representing a Chinese printer company, that will now be selling in the UK.After Huawei was found dodgy by White House security review, one wonders what the spooks will make of the new laser printer. Maybe it posts a copy of every page printed back to Chi...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    Should we expect outsourcing U-turns in local government?

    Recent weeks has seen a controversial outsourcing contract at Cornwall council in the news. The controversy has led to council resignations and a vote of no confidence in the leader.Read this blog to see how the whole saga unfolded: What now for Cornwall Council outsourcing? I have used the story as an opp...

  • Cliff Saran’s Enterprise blog

    Oracle pushes proprietary, but can it keep ahead in hardware?

    Oracle is well and truly pushing engineered (ie proprietary) systems.Speaking yesterday in London, Oracle president Mark Hurd claimed that Oracle's vertically integrated stack combining hardware, middleware, database and enterprise applications, has been pre-integrated so customers do not require...

  • Downtime

    Furby double agent accelerates extradition fight

    A Furby accused of divulging important US military information has called on the UK government to block its extradition to the US. Back in 2000 the Furby repeated a conversation it overheard when one of its owners parents, a senior US army official, was discussing secret arms information on the phone with ...

  • CWDN

    SAP teaches in-memory, in user's memory

    In line with what is two years of corporate acquisition activity and product set expansion, SAP has upped its technical instruction offerings. Newly launched this week is the HANA Academy, a free online resource with instructional videos and live and recorded webinars designed to teach "anyone" to learn ho...

  • CWDN

    The user interface is now the touch user interface

    Obviously most readers will know the importance of mobile technologies with their inherent use of "touch" technologies used to drive our interaction with modern applications. How many times have you spent a while using your tablet and/or smartphone and then sat at your laptop as you instinctively touched t...

  • When IT Meets Politics

    Will verified domain names do more than UK/EU policy to transform UK competitiveness as a location for globally trusted on-line business?

    The importance of the Nominet consultation  on their proposed new direct.uk service cannot be under-estimated. The EU Regulation on electronic IDs may be the first political/regulatory initiative to view a domain name as an electronic identity which requires some form of verification. It will not...

  • Computer Weekly Editor's Blog

    Gary McKinnon's legacy

    So Gary McKinnon stays free - for now. At Computer Weekly, we've followed the self-confessed hacker's story for the 10 years it's taken to fight his extradition to the US. Along the way we've seen his cause become an international issue, with prime ministers and presidents discussing his case.It's for othe...

  • StorageBuzz

    The cost of clustered NAS, and can it boost Overland?

    Almost exactly a year ago I spoke to Overland Storage about their then-new DX1 and DX2 traditional NAS boxes. At the time I questioned why clustered NAS capability had been omitted. After all, it's a technology that makes total sense; instead of buying traditional NAS devices that are doomed to become silo...

  • The Full Spectrum

    Fibre is fine but wireless is now

    United Kingdom: stamp (Photo credit: Sem Paradeiro)I will admit I am not normally one for a passionate conversation at trade shows like IP Expo. Trudging out to Earls Court is a pet hate and the ludicrous orange carpets coupled with women dressed as bumble bees (why Aerohive? Seriously, why?) get on my wic...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    Accenture eats what it sells and CIO benefits from free advice

    It would seem strange if your IT service provider didn't provide its own internal IT services.Mind you it would be less surprising if it had a different version of IT service for itself.According to Frank Modruson, Accenture's CIO who I interviewed last week , the outsourcing giant outsources all of its IT...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    What now for Cornwall Council outsourcing?

    It has been an interesting couple of weeks at Cornwall Council. We have seen the political ramifications of outsourcing public sector services played out at the council.At the end of last month I picked up a story on www.thisiscornwall.co.uk which revealed that the leader of Cornwall Council was facing a n...

  • Bloor Security

    How telcos can grow their business and manage risk

    Among the many challenges that telecommunications providers face are the need to transform and consolidate their businesses. They need to adopt new business models that allow them to move away from commodity services such as voice traffic where revenues are dwindling, to stave off increased competition fro...

  • Identity, Privacy and Trust

    How I learned to stop worrying and love identity assurance

    The past week has seen a surge in media coverage of the government's new Identity Assurance (IDA) programme, as the Department for Work & Pensions prepares to announce the first group of Identity Providers (IDPs) to be awarded services under their procurement framework. Those who know me will be aware ...

  • ITWorks

    Careers Clinic: You ask the questions!

    This is a guest blog post from Jeremy I'Anson, professional career coach and the author of You're Hired! It might seem that job interviews are all about answering questions but in fact most interviews conclude with "Do you have any questions?" Now questions about holidays, working hours and overtime have t...

  • Inspect-a-Gadget

    Microsoft reveals Surface tablet pricing which matches Apple's iPad

    So it's official, the long-awaited Microsoft Surface Tablet will be available next week on October 26, the same day as the company's new operating system, Windows 8, is released.Back in June, when the device was first announced, Inspect-a-Gadget got rather excited at the thought of a product which might ac...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    Cornwall council former deputy leader now leader and against outsourcing

    The proposed outsourcing strategy at Cornwall council looks doomed to fail as the new leader is voted in because he is against the proposal. Earlier today Cornwall Council's leader Alec Robertson lost a confidence vote following a controversial plan to outsource certain services, including IT, recently. Th...

  • WITsend

    Today is Ada Lovelace day and an anniversary for FDM

    Today is Ada Lovelace - a day to celebrate the first computer programmer (who just so happened to be a female, by the way!) - and it is also a day for FDM to celebrate a one year anniversary for its Women in IT Campaign.   Ada Lovelace (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Since launching the campaign FDM claims ...

  • WITsend

    2012 Young Woman Engineer of the Year: Finalists announced

    Finalists for the 2012 Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards have been announced, by The Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET).   The awards are broken into three prizes and are aimed at honouring outstanding female engineers under the age of 30, working in the UK. Gabby Logan (Photo cre...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    Cornwall council leader falls on his sword over outsourcing contract

    If you think outsourcing isn't controversial think again. I have been writing about Cornwall council's plan to outsource certain services, including IT, recently. The proposed deal with either BT or CSC is worth hundreds of millions of pounds.The council leader Alec Robertson wanted to make the decision in...

  • The Full Spectrum

    The networking fear will make Cisco an SDN winner

    SAN JOSE, CA - AUGUST 10: A sign is posted in front of the Cisco Systems headquarters on August 10, 2011 in San Jose, California. Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)There have been a lot of writings around Cisco's software defined networking strategy and today I took the opportunity to talk to Ian Fod...

  • CWDN

    SAP eyes wider business window for 'big data'

    Big IT vendors often have a hard time telling us what they do. Take a look at IBM's 'About Us' pages with all its Smarter Planet messages, it you had just landed from Mars you would be hard pressed to know that this is a firm that used to sell PCs and now makes a buck or two out of the software industry. S...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    Is IT just a convenient excuse for Santander pulling out of RBS deal?

    I wrote an article yesterday about Banco Santander's decision to pull out of a multi-billion pound deal with RBS to take over 316 branches and the accounts tied to them.There were several reports claiming that problems integrating IT made the deal less attractive and as a result Banco Santander pulled out ...

  • Public Sector IT

    What competition means for Cornwall

    As Cornwall Council leader Alec Robertson faces a vote of no-confidence today over plans to outsource £800m of public services, the proposals are looking weaker than a my-dog-ate-it excuse for missing school homework.Ruling councillors and executives have resorted to dubious justifications for the deal as ...

  • WITsend

    Mentoring - helping women make their wishbone their backbone

    This is a guest blog from Julie Pereira, company secretary and VP corporate services at Capgemini.   As company secretary of Capgemini UK, my days are full, structured and fulfilling but I make sure I still have time to mentor 3-4 women, and do it carefully and with total confidentiality - even writi...

  • Inside Outsourcing

    Deputy leaves and council head faces axe over outsourcing at Cornwall council

    Earlier this month I wrote about how a plan to outsource services, including IT, at Cornwall Council was causing serious friction.The council leader Alec Robertson was proposing an outsourcing deal with either BT or CSC to provide services such as libraries, benefits, payroll and IT services. The plan was ...

  • The Full Spectrum

    Broadband packages need to be made simple

    As a technology journalist, I have spent many years being the personal helpdesk of friends and family who are having issues with their IT. From the emails asking, "why won't my phone switch on?" to the phone calls asking "why won't my PC switch on?" I may not always have the answer, but I do my best to hel...

  • Identity, Privacy and Trust

    Proof of age comes of age

    It's October, the time of year when another intake of students are released from school into the adult world of university, and fill the pubs and clubs of university towns. These establishments are legally bound to verify that their customers are old enough to enter, and risk losing their license for failu...

  • The Full Spectrum

    London will catch up with New York's mobile speeds

    London eye tilt shift fake miniature (Photo credit: hpmnick)There is no question in my mind that London is the greatest city in the world. Biased as a resident? Perhaps, but I chose to live here when I thought it was the greatest city in the world and after six years, I believe I have been proved right. &#...