21-06-2004 • VOLUME 7 • NUMBER 24 • £2.60
WWW.ITWEEK.CO.UK
21 INTERNET Survey reveals
growing threat of spyware
31 CLIENT How to
support mobile staff
40 MANAGEMENT BI systems
profit from web technology
CONTENTS
ENTERPRISEWEEK
Microsoft’s Virtual Server 2005 15
Oracle boosts collaboration suite 15
Business lessons of Apple’s iPod 16
INTERNETWEEK
Mozilla improves Firefox browser 21
Business sites neglect user needs 21
Portal systems speed self-service 25
CLIENTWEEK
Wyse’s latest Linux thin clients 27
Smallest 3G smartphone arrives 27
Longer-lasting laptop batteries 28
NETWORKWEEK
Guidelines to protect WLANs 33
Voice over IP goes free and easy 35
Public sector leads in mobile IT 36
MANAGEMENTWEEK
Course hones IT leadership skills 39
The pros and cons of CRM tools 40
Tablet pack
offers tonic
Tablet PC makers are awaiting Windows XP Service
Pack 2 (SP2) to improve
handwriting recognition
on the pen-driven platform. Microsoft last week
shipped a second release
M1400
costs £1299 candidate, and the final
version is due in late July.
Meanwhile, Motion Computing is shipping a new Tablet PC unit, the M1400.
M1400 Tablet PC reviewed, p28
WiMax faces obstacles
Martin Courtney and Daniel Thomas
W
iMax as a fixed wireless alternative to other broadband technologies will be hamstrung by interference
problems with Wi-Fi and 3G, and by rules
on the use of radio frequency spectrum in
the UK, according to industry experts.
Many firms in rural areas without access
to DSL or cable are looking to WiMax technology for high-speed internet access, but
are likely to be disappointed.
WiMax operates across a wide radio
spectrum, from 77MHz to 28GHz, only
small parts of which are available for use in
the UK and Europe. WiMax is more widely
used in the US where laws governing spectrum are very different.
“WiMax systems look great on paper,
but not in the EU where there is spectrum
congestion and you need
a licence to use any frequency except the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands,
which are exempt,” said
Steve Kennedy of telecoms supplier Thus.
Kennedy: issues
of interference
Intel kicks off new system
Martin Veitch
ntel will next week change the face of volume computer systems by releasing its
first EM64T chips, which combine full
32bit performance with 64bit capabilities,
and by introducing support for a radically
new platform including the PCI Express bus.
Codenamed Nocona, the 32/64bit chip
is intended for dual-CPU workstation and,
later this summer, server configurations.
Like the Itanium, Nocona will provide access
to large amounts of memory but, unlike Itanium, it will allow buyers to maintain their
investment in 32bit programs without a performance penalty. The 3.6GHz chip will be
branded under the Xeon name.
Nocona will add to server choice but
muddy the waters for IT buyers pondering
64bit Windows and Linux server directions,
as it also competes with AMD’s Opteron
chip. Although AMD has gained support
from IBM, HP and Sun, watchers such as
Microprocessor Report editor-in-chief Peter
Glaskowsky believe Intel’s platform strength
will help EM64T chips outsell AMD’s
hybrid chips by the end of this year.
I
Although the new chip will gain attention, delays are expected before software vendors make 64bit applications for it. Perhaps
more importantly, Nocona will also use new
chipsets, previously known as Tumwater and
Lindenhurst, which provide a platform for
the PCI Express expansion bus. This will
raise the speed at which storage, graphics and
other peripherals communicate with chips.
Intel described PCI Express as the most
important architectural change for a decade.
It offers almost four times the bandwidth of
PCI-X. Anil Vasudeva of analyst firm Imex
Research said,“PCI Express has the backing
HOW INTEL’S PRODUCTS LINE UP
Pentium 4
SSE3
SpeedStep
extensions
Itanium
DDR2 RAM
CI Express
Xeon
BTX
case
Wi-Fi
Sata
storage
EM64T
of Intel and you would expect it to catch on.”
The chipsets also support a variation of
the SpeedStep technology, reducing laptop
power consumption, and DDR2 – a faster
memory with low power consumption.
“For a customer with 1,000 blades, the
power saved would be significant,” said
Marco Biermann, European product engineer for memory-module maker Kingston
Technology. “Together with motherboard
support for technologies like Wi-Fi, PCI
Express, Serial ATA and BTX [a case designed to run cooler], the changes represent
a technology breakthrough.”
Separately, Intel said PCI Express and
DDR2 are also being introduced for the
desktop in the Grantsdale and Alderwood
chipsets, and the firm has begun using a
new numbering scheme for desktop chips.
AMD last week said that it had completed the design cycle for its first dual-core
32/64bit processors and will have products
available in mid-2005. Dual-core processors
combine two processors in a single piece of
silicon for greater efficiency.
New bus in fast lane, Leader, p12
Desktop chipsets advance, p27
Because WiMax uses channels that are
5MHz rather than 20MHz, it exceeds the
spectral density permitted in the 2.4GHz
waveband. It could also overlap with other
licensed frequencies. Restrictions also apply
to specific parts of the 5GHz spectrum,
while 3G transmits in the 2.5GHz range.
“Using the 2.4GHz waveband could
interfere with local Wi-Fi projects, while the
5.8GHz frequency is used by TV and radio
companies for outside broadcasts. In both
cases Ofcom could be called in to deal with
radio interference issues,” he said.
Manufacturers such as Nokia appear to
be similarly unconvinced of WiMax’s potential to succeed in Europe and are content
to take a wait-and-see approach.
www.thus.co.uk www.nokia.com
Body raises
IM standards
Europe is to get its own instant messaging (IM) standards group, to promote interoperable, secure IM.
The first meeting of e-business
association Eema’s IM focus group will
take place in London tomorrow.
Roger Dean, head of special projects
at Eema, said the group would address
the issue of unauthorised use of public
IM applications within enterprises.
Many argue that inter-company
messaging could improve the way firms
work. But at present IM applications do
not allow cross-platform comms. The
group will also address standards, spam,
archiving and privacy, as well as developing risk-management strategies.
Members of Eema include Microsoft, IBM, Unilever and Royal Mail.
A separate Instant Messaging Standards Board was set up by a group of
US financial services firms in 2002, also
pushing for interoperable IM systems.
Oracle Collaboration Suite backs IM,p15
www.eema.org
NEWS INSIDE: VoIP Savings, p4 • RFID Security, p6• BLUETOOTH Worm, p6 • FREEMAIL Bonanza, p8 • BI Growth, p8 • XP SP2, p10 • PDAs Wi-Fi, p10