The fuss over the so-called "Halloween memo" has not subsided since the document's publication, as industry leaders continue to decry Microsoft for plotting to attack competition from open-source software (OSS) such as GNU/Linux. In an open letter to Microsoft, publisher and software vendor Tim O'Reilly has said that Microsoft will rig the OSS at its peril. He claims open source-type development created the Internet, opening up new revenue possibilities for Microsoft. "Lacking the Internet, you would have to rely on such dubious innovations as Microsoft Bob to drive upgrade revenue," O'Reilly wrote.
The "Halloween memo" - a leaked Microsoft internal memo - suggested that the company could respond to increased competition from OSS by modifying open Internet protocols to create proprietary technologies that tie consumers to Microsoft products. Mr O'Reilly and others point to companies including IBM, Oracle, and Informix that are supporting Linux with new products. However, Microsoft claims that like other software makers, it must innovate on top of existing standards in order to survive. Meanwhile, cynics have suggested that the implication in the memos that Microsoft feels under threat from OSS suits the company quite well in view of the US antitrust action against it.
LINUX ON VIEW: Businesspeople who think Linux might suit their needs but don't know where to start are being offered free demonstrations in Galway later this month. NUI Galway and the Irish Linux Users Group will be showing the free operating system on Saturday, November 28th, at the Intersocs conference in Galway. -info: www.compsoc.nuigalway/intersocs/
MORE BANG: IBM says a free software add-on for its Netfinity servers can boost page throughput to up to 60% more than competing Intel-based servers. The Netfinity Web Server Accelerator uses caching reverse proxy techniques to store static file content at the lowest levels of the operating system.
OFF YER BIKE: Teleworking can increase individual productivity by up to 25 per cent, according to internal research by Hewlett-Packard Ireland. Kevin Sweeney of HP told the National Teleworking Conference on Friday that about 30 per cent of HP sales and support staff in Ireland are teleworkers.
FOREST FIPS: The first inventory of Ireland's national forestry, made possible through a sophisticated computer information system, is being inaugurated today in Co Wicklow by the Department of Marine and Natural Resources. Developed after recommendations from a government forest strategy group, the Forest Inventory and Planning System (FIPS) is a geographic information system-based planning tool which will have a vital impact on issues such as control and monitoring of felling, recording pest and disease outbreaks and planning new planting.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE MARKET: The most recent entrant to technology publishing is Irish Communications, a magazine on communications and information technology. Among the issues under the microscope in the first edition of the colour glossy are telecommunications liberalisation, government IT policy and digital TV.
DESIGN AWARDS: Incorporating two new media categories for the first time, this year's Glen Dimplex Design Awards went to Martello Multimedia and Internet design consultancy Parallel. The best Internet application award went to Tom Skinner and Finian Reilly at Parallel for the online business application and aesthetic quality of the Shelbourne Hotel Web site, while Catriona Coyle of Martello took the multimedia award for her Fellowship of Freedom CD-Rom.
BOARDS CHOOSE BULL: The Irish health authorities have awarded a £2.9 million new human resource and payroll system contract to the international IT group, Bull. The major health boards in the country, together with St James's Hospital have contracted Bull to replace payroll and personnel systems with SAP R/3 Personnel and Payroll.
I-COMMERCE INCREASE: Worldwide i-commerce (formerly e-commerce) sales could go as high as $3.2 trillion, or 5 per cent of world sales, by 2003, according to new projections from Forester Research. Of course, Forrester is quick to point out that sales could be as low as $1.4 trillion if companies are slow to adopt the Internet as a business medium or there are high levels of government resistance.
UPS AND DOWNS ON Y2K: Consultancy Cap Gemini says that companies on both sides of the Atlantic are, for the first time, making progress in preparing for the millennium. But it also warns that additional dangers are emerging. November's Cap Gemini Millennium Index points to rising costs of Y2K work, a high-risk timetable, inadequate testing and the failure of the supply chain as serious threats to completion of work. -info: www.capgemini.com
IN BRIEF...Ennis takes a further step into the information age with the launch today of an electronic purse trial in which 10,000 smartcards will be issued . . .. . . Sun Microsystems has released its Solaris Resource Manager 1.0, a software component which, it says, will give Unix servers a level of utilisation of resources previously found only in mainframes. . . Hewlett- Packard has introduced the all-singing, all-dancing HP LaserJet 8100 printer. . . Strong market growth has fuelled expectations that Intel is to announce higher-than-anticipated revenues for the fourth quarter of 1998, which spells a significant increase on third-quarter results of $6.7 billion . . . In the latest move to deliver a single family of anti-virus products, IBM is to remarket Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus suite through the IBM/Lotus Passport Advantage Programme . . . The European arm of Dell has announced growth of just over 90 per cent in its third quarter results. . .A survey of American Internet users by Visa USA has found that 60 percent of them have shopped online in their pyjamas. . . The Irish Times on the Web has won the IP TOP European Interactive Publishing award for best content in the face of strong international competition . . . Irish companies grappling with the introduction of the Euro may find ACSIS Technologies' EuroVantage, aimed at helping to adopt the Euro, of assistance . . . Iomega has invested £400,000 in its new headquarters for European customer service and technical training at the Citywest Business Campus in Dublin. . .