Top 10 IT News Stories of the Week
Microsoft opens up, the real value of unlimited business calling plans, Web 2.0 security and more...
IDG News Service —
1. "Microsoft Makes Boldest Move Yet Embracing Open Source,"
InfoWorld, February 21
"Open APIs May Help Microsoft Repair Its Reputation,"
InfoWorld, February 21
Microsoft has just been full of surprises lately, starting the month with the Yahoo bid and this week announcing a major turnaround in strategy related to embracing open source. The company pledged "greater transparency" of business practices and development, and more access to APIs and proprietary protocols for some of its flagship products, including Windows and Office. If Microsoft follows through on everything it says it is going to do, analysts say its reputation will improve and it could wind up more effectively competing with Google (which may be the ultimate goal, eh?). Years of court wrangling over antitrust and other issues paved the way for what one analyst called "the new Microsoft." Other observers, and the European Commission, which has been on the opposite side of some of the wrangling, were either outright skeptical or guardedly optimistic.
2. "Virus Writers Going Local,"
PC World, February 21
Localized malware -- ugh, what a nasty concept. Virus writers have turned to regionalized targets for malicious programs, with code aimed at people in specific countries. Worse still, some of the malware taunts victims. So, it's not bad enough to inadvertently infect your computer, and perhaps the company network, now you get a "nyah-nyah" message via an animated woman who shows up on the screen. The trend is occurring because computer users have, generally, wised up enough to be able to avoid malware, and because more virus writers want to avoid detection, which tends to go along with global attention when there is a big malware attack on the order of Sasser or Netsky.
3. "What Do Unlimited Calling Plans Really Offer Businesses?"
Network World, February 21
Word from Verizon that is offering a flat-rate wireless plan led competitors AT&T and T-Mobile to hop on that bandwagon too, with analysts suggesting that the carriers made that move to lure business customers. Flat-rate plans aren't a good option for all businesses, of course, with the fee starting at $99.99 per month per user and additional charges for texting, e-mail and Internet usage. High-end users who burn up a lot of wireless minutes per month will find that deal attractive, though, and it's likely that competitive pricing will push costs down as time goes buy.
