Government & Regulation

Despite some progress, many federal agencies appear unlikely to meet an Oct. 27 deadline for completing the roll-out of new smart-card credentials to all employees and contractors.

Apple may be the darling of the hipper-than-thou crowd, but when it comes to climate change, it has one of the worse environmental records of any tech company, according to a new survey. Microsoft beats it by a considerable margin, and IBM is best of all the techs. I have all the results in my blog.

We don't need al-Qaeda to blow us up. We are perfectly capable of lighting the fuse ourselves, courtesy of our inability to share information vertically and bilaterally.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which the Internet Archive/EFF/ACLU declare victory over the FBI's super-secret, Patriot-Act-style request for information. Not to mention what it would be like if Facebook was played out in real life...

Jaikumar Vijayan reports:

It's IT Blogwatch: in which we ponder the fate of Jerry Yang's career -- will he be first against the wall when the shareholders revolt? Or are negotiations between Yahoo! and Microsoft still going on in secret? Not to mention ten drool-worthy luxury workstations...

Elizabeth Montalbano reports:

The first legal home PCs just went up for sale in Cuba, and it should be no surprise that they're Windows XP-based, not Macs. Macs or Mac-alikes would be far too pricy for cash-starved Cubans, who pay just under $800 for the machines. No Vista, either: The hardware required to run it costs too much money.

Today, CIO means being more than a competent manager of IT. It should mean Lord of Process, and we should grasp that title and run with it.

There are many issues to confront when choosing an archiving tool

It's IT Blogwatch: in which we examine the fallout from Microsoft giving up on its bid to buy Yahoo! Does this mean Ballmer must go? Will it drive Yahoo into the arms of Google? What will Microsoft do with its bulging war chest? Not to mention the perils of the company picnic...

In case you've been living under a rock, Juan Carlos Perez reports:

In the business textbooks of 2025, Microsoft's slow collapse will be attributed to many things. The failure of Windows Vista to hold the desktop market; Microsoft's inability to successfully move from a PC product based company to an Internet service based enterprise; and Ballmer's inability to pull off the Yahoo buyout.

Here's the text of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's letter to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang, sent to me by Microsoft's PR about 5 pm Pacific Time on Saturday. Microsoft raised its original $31/share bid to $33/share, but Yahoo insisted on $37/share, ...

Are you looking for a solution to your security problem? If so, try looking at the whole picture rather than a particular technology.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Novell's countersuit against SCO has started, with bloggers highlighting hilarious, contradictory statements from SCO execs -- enjoy schadenfreude much? Not to mention the hidden Apple parody in Grand Theft Auto IV...

Microsoft recently has been getting a lot of press for its COFEE investigative tool to help police officers gather digital evidence. The device is being used by 2,000 officers in 15 countries, reports the Seattle Times. But Microsoft won't reveal exactly which countries use the tool --- and it's not clear why.

Just because there is a law on the books does not mean you should start trusting that your private information is safe.