Top Underreported IT Stories in 2007

The editorial staff and bloggers at InfoWorld did some brainstorming in recent weeks to write up the top underreported stories in IT for the year. Although the topic is a bit of an oxymoron (if a tree falls in the forest, kind of thing...) I think its a good story and well worth reading. We all get busy with the normal day-to-day, week-to-week management and I think it's helpful to take a look back at some of the emerging trends.

There's also a set of slides highlighting the stories.

Some of the top items include the emergence of Java as the new COBOL, Sun's turnaround. open source's commercial strategy, renewed interest in BI, and to me the most important item, the balance of power shifting to software buyers.

There was also some interesting discussions about the stories that didn't make the cut, but I'll save that for a later posting.

Posted by Zack Urlocker on December 28, 2007 08:38 AM

Mozilla Firefox 3 Beta 1 Web Browser

The first beta release of the much-anticipated Firefox 3 Web browser offers some nice enhancements over the previous version, such as additional security and new tools for storing and accessing bookmarks and browsing history, but it doesn't differ much from Firefox 2 in looks or functionality.

Most of the changes expected in version 3 (due for final release in early 2008), such as stability and performance enhancements for the Gecko 1.9 rendering engine, will be under the hood and weren't apparent in the beta we tested. Most of the work for the new Places feature, which stores bookmarks and history in a database instead of in regular HTML files, is likewise invisible.

A few nice, though not earth-shattering, additions do reveal themselves. A new star icon next to the site URL allows for quickly adding new bookmarks; click it once to add a bookmark to the default folder or twice to choose the destination. You can also add tags to your bookmarks and then view them by those tags, or easily create bookmark backups that you can copy to other computers.

Mozilla is also working on a number of security enhancements, which again were not all available in this beta. I was able to test a revamp of the saved-password feature, which lets you postpone saving site credentials until after you've successfully logged in. The final release will block known malicious sites that attempt to install Trojan horses or other malware (the blacklist of such sites isn't yet in place). Overall the extra security should help make for safer browsing, but none of the upgrades will prove a major deterrent for malware pushers.

Other updates include a new downloads manager that allows for resuming downloads after browser restarts, a full-page zoom, and security and usage improvements for handling browser add-ons. Be sure to see the full list of changes in Firefox 3.

If you're interested in trying out version 3's new features, keep in mind that this beta release has known bugs. You can't log in to Yahoo Mail's slick new interface, for instance, though you can read Yahoo Mail via the old interface. Also, many popular add-ons, including Foxmarks (for bookmark syncing) and SiteAdvisor (for Web surfing security), don't yet work with the new Firefox. You can install and uninstall Beta 1 alongside Firefox 2, and in our tests the old version--including­ bookmarks, add-ons, and settings--was unharmed.

This beta, because of its bugs, is not well suited for everyday browsing. Using it, however, makes clear that the final Firefox 3 will include some nice extras but won't push the boundaries for browser upgrades.

Posted by Erik Larkin

Windows XP Service Pack 3: Try It If You Dare

Microsoft posts the release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3 to its download site. However, the software giant warns that SP3 isn't for everyone.

The release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3 is now available at Microsoft's download site.

The move marks the first opportunity for all users of the six-year-old operating system to try out its final upgrade. Previously, several thousand users were given access to test builds of SP3 only by Microsoft's invitation.

According to a company spokeswoman, Windows XP SP3 RC (release candidate) will be available only from the Microsoft Download Center. Unlike Vista SP1, which debuted last week, XP SP3 will not be soon added to Windows Update. In fact, the spokeswoman seemed to say SP3 wouldn't be offered to users via Microsoft's update service before the service pack is finished next year.

"XP SP3 2ill be added to WU [Windows Update] in 1H '08," she said in an e-mail late Tuesday.

The download weighed in at about 336MB, but when SP3 is offered through Windows Update, the installation file will be much smaller -- around 70MB.

Even though the release candidate can be installed by anyone running XP SP2, Microsoft warned off casual users from trying the preview. "As this is a release candidate, we strongly encourage only those who are comfortable installing pre-release code to download Windows XP SP3," said the spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman also confirmed that the final version of Windows XP SP3 remains slated for delivery in the first half of 2008.

Significance of SP3

Recently, Microsoft downplayed the significance of Windows XP SP3. In a white paper posted to its Web site, the company praised Windows Vista at XP's expense, reminding users that Vista boasted beefed-up security, for instance. The spokeswoman also chimed in. "Windows XP SP3 does not bring significant portions of Windows Vista functionality to Windows XP," she said.

That may be so, but according to a Florida performance testing software developer, XP SP3 is not only 10% faster than XP SP2, but more than twice as fast as Vista SP1, claims that Microsoft disparaged within days.

XP SP3, in fact, is the newest version of Vista's biggest rival, according to Forrester Research. U.S. and European businesses will delay Vista deployment, Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray said a month ago, in part because of application incompatibility problems unheard of in XP. "That's causing a lot of XP shops to take a wait-and-see approach to Vista," said Gray then.

Windows XP debuted in October 2001 and was last updated as SP2 in August 2004; SP3 will be the final major upgrade of the operating system.

Posted by Gregg Keizer.

Silverlight 2.0

Objective :

• Clearly communicate that Silverlight 1.1 is now rebranded as Silverlight 2.0 as well as upcoming Web development investments in the form of Go-Live of Silverlight 2.0 in Q1 2008 and the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions Preview in December.
• Mitigate any negative press/analyst cycles that the Silverlight update will cause
• Garner factual, neutral coverage on the renaming and roadmap

Content :

• Microsoft is continually innovating on its Web development capabilities to better align with our customers’ business needs. One area of innovation is in ASP.NET and we will be releasing a preview of the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions in early December. Key features of the December previews will include MVC, Dynamic Data Controls, REST Services, and much more. We are also taking Silverlight farther by adding a comprehensive control model, powerful skinning/theming, databinding, and over 20 controls in the box. To better capture the scope of the feature set for the next version of Silverlight we are renaming Silverlight 1.1 to Silverlight 2.0. Microsoft will deliver Silverlight 2.0 Beta with a Go-Live license in Q1 2008.
• Silverlight 2.0 is the cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in based on the .NET Framework optimized for the Web to deliver unparalleled developer productivity and user experiences on Mac, Windows and soon Linux inside Firefox, Safari, IE and beyond. Since the launch of Silverlight 1.0, the number of partners participating in the Microsoft Silverlight Partner Initiative has already grown to more than 60 organizations, and new customers have delivered Silverlight applications. Most recently UVNTV.com and NBA.com have committed to going live on Silverlight.
• Silverlight and ASP.NET are core technologies enabling better user experiences on the desktop, Web and beyond. Microsoft’s user experience approach is part of the broader Microsoft Application Platform strategy, formed with the goal of helping customers realize the benefits from more dynamic applications.

Posted by Le Thanh Hai