Top 10 IT News Stories of the Week

IDG News Service —

1. "Update: FTC Approves Google-DoubleClick Deal,"
CIO.com, December 20

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted 4-1 to approve Google's plan to buy ad-serving company DoubleClick, provoking renewed ire of privacy groups who think the deal is bad for Web users. The groups opposed to the acquisition are thinking about filing a legal challenge, according to Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. The deal also has yet to pass regulatory muster in the European Union. Meanwhile, Google says there is no risk to its competitors from the deal and that it "will benefit consumers." Pamela Jones Harbour, the dissenting FTC commissioner, views the proposed acquisition otherwise: "I am convinced that the combination of Google and DoubleClick has the potential to profoundly alter the 2st Century Internet-based economy -- in ways we can imagine, and in ways we cannot," she wrote.

2. "Microsoft to Release IE 8 Beta 1 in First Half of 2008,"
PC World, December 19

Microsoft plans to release the first beta of Internet Explorer 8 in the first half of 2008. IE8 has passed a key Web standards test showing that it renders a specific Web site correctly, indicating that it supports certain Web standards. That's meant to be a big part of IE8, given that previous versions of the browser were developed before some Web standards came into being. The advent of Firefox, released three years ago, put the spotlight on Web standards. Microsoft developed IE7, released in October '06, with Web standards more in mind, but sites created for older IE versions didn't always work so well on IE7. "Our goal in developing Internet Explorer 8 is to support the right set of standards with excellent implementations and do so without breaking the existing Web," according to a Microsoft blog post attributed to Dean Hachamovitch, a general manager on the IE team. IE8's final release hasn't yet been set and hinges on feedback about the beta.

3. "Update: Cisco's Giancarlo Resigns,"
InfoWorld, December 20

When talk turned to who was likely to replace Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers, Charles Giancarlo's name inevitably came up. That's why it was a surprise to hear this week that Giancarlo, Cisco's executive vice president and chief development officer, is leaving the company "to pursue new professional opportunities." Effective Jan. 1, he'll pursue those as managing director at the Menlo Park, California, office of Silver Lake Partners, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. No word yet on who will replace Giancarlo at Cisco.

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