NetFlash: More ISPs catering to online gamers

If you do any gaming online, bandwidth and latency are as important to you as they would be to any mission-critical corporate app. This week’s Wider Net examines how ISPs are helping to meet the needs of online gamers in ways they never have before. More ISPs catering to online gamers http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/121905-widernet.html?net&story=121905-widernet

If you do any gaming online, bandwidth and latency are as important to you as they would be to any mission-critical corporate app. This week’s Wider Net examines how ISPs are helping to meet the needs of online gamers in ways they never have before.

More ISPs catering to online gamers

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/121905-widernet.html?net&story=121905-widernet

Last-minute gifts for the gamer

For the holiday season Keith Shaw takes a closer look at some very cool toys for the video gamer on your list (or yourself) in this week’s Cool Tools video. My personal favorite is the Buttkicker, which Keith demonstrates using (what else?) a cup of Jell-O.

http://www.networkworld.com/video/index.html?net&story=ctvid

Happy Holidays

NetFlash will be on vacation starting tomorrow. From all of us at Network World, we wish you a happy and safe holiday season. We’ll see you again Jan. 3. In the meantime be sure to check out tomorrow’s Friday Edition at NetworkWorld.com and return next week for a preview of our Power Issue.

http://www.networkworld.com/?net&story=home

IBM to make network mgmt. buy

IBM Wednesday shared its plans to put down $865 million for network management software maker Micromuse, which industry watchers say is nothing but good news for Big Blue as the network becomes a more critical focus for the big management software vendors.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/122105-ibm-micromuse.html?net&story=122105-ibm-micromuse

Santa delivers more Christmas malware

PC users are being spoiled rotten this year: another piece of malware purporting to be a message from Santa is delivering surprise gifts over the Internet disguised in an electronic greetings card.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/122205-santa-malware.html?net&story=122205-santa-malware

Companies curb shopping online

The holiday shopping season is in full force, and online retailers are expecting record sales this year. But what’s good news for online retailers may not bode well for companies concerned about security, employee productivity and bandwidth consumption. Employees today do a lot of their online shopping on company time, using company systems.

http://www.networkworld.com/careers/2005/121905man.html?net&story=121905man

Review: SSL VPNs dissected

If you don’t like IPSec VPNs, then you’ll love SSL VPNs. That’s the pitch from vendors pushing SSL VPNs as the alternative for secure remote access, as a platform for extranet deployment and even as an internal security tool for corporate LANs.

http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2005/121905-ssl-test-intro.html?net&story=121905-ssl-test-intro