Articles by Jack M. Germain

HP on Tuesday introduced a new line of imaging and printer services designed for the needs of the enterprise market. A major component of the company's new offerings is a business partner accreditation, certification and test program. The products help enterprises manage, secure and simplify their imaging and printing environments and improve workflows to reduce costs and enhance productivity, the company said...

Over the last three years, the number of developers of the Linux kernel has tripled, according to the Linux Foundation. A research team from the organization has reported that the growth of the open source operating system into new areas is attracting more hands-on code writing of the Linux engine The kernel forms the core of the Linux system and i...

The business use of e-mail worldwide has become so critical that the ever-increasing number of spam attacks containing malware are placing corporate and customer information at the highest levels of risk yet, according to an industry-wide survey Internet security firm Webroot conducted last month While companies are generating huge volumes of e-mai...

Symark International on Tuesday released PowerADvantage, an integrated authentication and configuration tool that extends features of Microsoft Windows' Active Directory to networks also running Unix and Linux systems PowerAdvantage adds centralized authentication, authorization and account access functionality to Unix and Linux systems. It's also ...

Computer technology in the workplace is all about hardware speed and connection bandwidth. To help IT managers augment their systems in both regards, vendors have been developing tweaking strategies to boost application speed beyond design limits. This process is called "application acceleration." However, this race has changed quite a bit over the...

Phishing is a tactic known to malicious hackers ever since the first one crawled out of a swamp and onto dry land. It's another variation on social engineering. The phisher's goal is to get people to open themselves up to technical vulnerabilities through nontechnical means. However, even though most e-mail users have become more savvy about obvious scams, phishing is evolving...

Can you recall the five worst phishing scams to grace your e-mail in-box? Can you spot a genuine e-mail from your financial institution or government agency? Don't feel too technologically challenged if your answer is no to either -- or both -- of these questions. Even security experts are hard-pressed to choose the worst phishing scams. Prize-winn...

WiFi features are as standard on today's portable computers as built-in modems used to be. Laptop users have become accustomed to the ability to connect to the Internet from practically anywhere to reach e-mail, Web sites and music download portals. Consumers even use wireless routers to connect to the Internet from anywhere in their homes The prob...

The Linux operating system is not immune to virus infections, although Linux-specific viruses are extremely rare. Linux servers face more risk of virus attack than Linux desktops That said, IT security and control firm Sophos recently issued a warning about potential virus infections targeting Linux servers that could pose risks to the Linux operat...

Web 2.0 technology is revolutionizing the way businesses display their wares on e-commerce sites. The service delivery model of Web 2.0 presents a pressing challenge to Web designers in small businesses and home-based businesses. Anyone with a community-based information and public comment Web site is often hard-pressed to offer the look and feel of a modern, interactive portal...

3Tera, based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., has made a sizable step forward in the on-demand or utility computing market. The company provides other enterprises, both large and small, with a new technology called "disposable infrastructure." This technology forms the foundation of its AppLogic product, a first-of-its kind grid operating system that runs and scales existing Web applications...

In the 1980s, auto manufacturers began using simple computers called the "engine control unit," or ECU, to monitor and regulate such things as fuel mixture and spark plug timing. Since then, a cottage industry has developed around hardware and software to bypass, tinker with or replace this system. A significant chunk of the players in this space use open source software, which cuts down on costs and improves the development process...

Plano, Texas-based Docudesk, which makes software tools to convert proprietary file formats such as Adobe's PDF (portable document format), recently introduced an enterprise version of its deskUNPDF document conversion line. The launch of deskUNPDF Professional provides users with new feature options and conversion formats to address a wide array of PDF document conversion needs on both Intel and PowerPC OS X systems...

Open source software is making its way into the systems that touch our everyday lives, from our banks to the stores where we shop. Open source is also found in some of the IT systems that manage traffic flow on city streets, state highways and in the skies. In fact, throughout the overlapping transportation and travel industries, open source has a very big footprint...

Information technology managers are facing a massive rollout of new demands and computing models that could potentially make inroads in enterprise computing in 2008. As the technology continues to evolve and the landscape continues to change, IT managers have to pick and choose carefully in deciding which new, talked-about technologies to implement in their enterprises...

Give office workers familiar with the Microsoft XP operating system an opportunity to try the same navigational tasks at a Linux-based desktop. Then step back and wait for the reaction. First will come the surprised look. Then questions like "where did the command line go?" will soon follow That's the typical scenario Morgan Spencer, public sector ...

Depending on which set of criteria you reference, ID fraud either is on a significant decline or will be a lingering threat for several more years The general trend points downward. Overall, 2007 saw a 12 percent drop in ID fraud incidences to US$6 billion, according to Javelin Strategy & Research's report released in February....

There are approximately 20 million small businesses in the United States. Even for a large firm, finding the right person for any given job can be like finding a needle in a haystack. When you're a small business, finding reliable and affordable talent can be even more difficult Filling that niche formed the basis for the business plan of startup c...

Wikis are finally becoming a useful tool for collaboration and information sharing in the workplace. However, like all business tools exposed on the Internet or corporate intranet, IT managers have to view their deployments with a stern eye regarding who can use them and what corporate information may be at risk The concept of a wiki, named for the...

A study by the Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) shows that more than half of all e-mail is authenticated. However, the Alliance wants the industry to push for higher adoption. AOTA has issued a call to action to implement e-mail authentication at the top level corporate domain within the next six months Those brands that adopt higher...