Users wonder what the AT&T/BellSout deal means and more

EDITORS’ CHOICE

From the front page

AT&T-BellSouth union stokes user concerns

The first reaction by many customers to AT&T’s proposed $67 billion buyout of BellSouth last week was this: Is Ma Bell back? But upon reflection they’ve turned their attention to specific concerns, such as what will become of customer service and the wireless operations and whether the combined carrier’s big footprint will benefit them.Plus: See what Scott Bradner and Johna Till Johnson have to say about the deal.

Bird flu: IT pros planning for worst

If the avian flu hits the United States, the IS department for the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore could have a problem.

Targeting bogus goods

Sometimes it’s easy for Stacy Papachristos to spot a fake, such as a video of a classic WrestleMania match for sale online when World Wrestling Entertainment never released such a product. The source? Counterfeiters and trademark infringers using the Internet to hawk products.

Forums and Weblogs

Face-off: Anomaly detection

Is anomaly detection the best way to prevent virus and worm attacks? Paul Morville, director of product management at Arbor Networks, says yes. Gil Arbel, president and CEO of CounterStorm, says no. What do you think?

Rich, bloggy goodness: Joel Snyder guest-blogs on Buzzblog: Deterring wireless piggybackers. Mark Gibbs has been compiling a list of major time sinks. Keith Shaw keeps finding cool new gizmos you just have to have.

How to

Nutter’s Help Desk: Staying connected to the ‘Net on dial-up

Ron Nutter reminds us that some people still use dial-up and for them, getting disconnected when a call comes in is an issue that can be fixed.

Google’s purchase of Writely

James Gaskin looks at why online collaboration tools might be something to consider.

ITVideo

Identity management challenges in healthcare

On Network World’s Hot Seat this week, Sentillion CEO Rob Seliger talks about the critical need for identity and access management in healthcare, where “mission critical” means life or death.

In depth

Network Management: User experience is key

Network managers hope to bridge the gap between silos in IT shops and integrate management data to deliver optimal IT services to users, so network vendors are widening their horizons to help make this possible.

Security jobs heat up

Industry observers watching the IT security job market are pointing to up-and-coming areas such as computer forensics and wireless security for the hottest jobs.

More news

EMC fleshes out storage line for SMBs

EMC bolstered its lineup of network-attached storage systems for small-and-midsize businesses, plus added software designed to help customers perform root-cause analysis of problems.

802.11T puts WLANs to the test

Buyers of Wi-Fi equipment and systems must be assured that all products have the performance and stability to carry mission-critical applications and data. However, testing of Wi-Fi, or 802.11, devices and systems for performance and stability is a challenge for the industry because of the complexity of the 802.11 protocol. That is compounded by the inherent mobility of the wireless devices and the prevalence of radio frequency interference.

Novell boosts its Linux desktop

In the next release of its Linux desktop product, Novell plans to include richer graphics, integrated search and support for a broader array of Microsoft file formats, but analysts doubt the updates – though significant – will spark broad adoption of the open source operating system on corporate PCs.

Onaro upgrades storage change management capabilities

Storage change management vendor Onaro this week is expected to announce several enhancements to its SANscreen Foundation software suite. In addition, the vendor plans to unveil performance and replication management products.

Isilon to debut clustered-storage hardware, software

Isilon Systems is expected to introduce software and two hardware appliances that the company says will increase the capacity and performance of its clustered storage systems.

Users discuss convergence at VoiceCon

The challenges of IP telephony – from making the business case for convergence to the down-and-dirty of power supplies in telecom closets – generated plenty of spirited discussion at last week’s VoiceCon show.

Sun pairing tools for physical, logical access

Sun this week plans to add management and other software to its identity platform so that users can converge access to physical and logical resources onto a single smart card.

BMC targets SMBs with systems management

Management software vendor BMC Software last week released a suite of products aimed at small and midsize businesses. The move follows a recent similar announcement by rival IBM.

Choosing sides for wireless: Wi-Fi or EV-DO?

Should you spend money on metro-area Wi-Fi services or cellular data services, such as 1X EVDO? As with most things wireless, the answer is not simple. You might pay for both, depending on your users’ requirements and applications.

IETF taking on 911 problem within VoIP

The Internet engineering community is making progress on the thorny issue of how best to route emergency communications such as 911 calls over the Internet.

Even more!

Our This Week page will also link you to: Microsoft builds partnerships for run at VoIP; HP, Intel seek to revive Itanium; RSA CEO talks authentication; Mitel upgrades call-center software; Winternals software aims to protect desktops; Salon trims costs with hosted apps; Cisco reseller tames hotel IP networks.