April 2004      

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Microsoft and Sun settle legal disputes, sign 10-year collaboration agreement.  Microsoft was scheduled to stop support for the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM) Sept. 30 of this year. With this agreement Microsoft will be able to continue to provide product support for the MSJVM, which is an important part of web browser technology. It was excluded from Windows XP, requiring users to download and install the Sun Java software to get access to web sites using Java.  It will be interesting to see what happens now.  As of today, the Microsoft site still shows that they will discontinue support for their version.

http://www.integratedmar.com/ecl-usa/story.cfm?item=18136

http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/java/

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/apr04/04-02SunAgreementPR.asp

Gateway has purchased E-machines, and is shutting down their retail stores. All of the stores will close April 9, after going through an inventory clearance sale for the next week.

http://www.integratedmar.com/ecl-usa/story.cfm?item=18134

The liability concerns surrounding computer security breaches are still mired in murky waters, but lax attention to these matters can land corporate executives in jail, reports Wired. The language in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that requires executives to certify the adequacy of their company's internal controls apparently pertains to computer security as well. http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,62843,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_7

While many users consider worms such as Netsky or Beagle just annoying, antivirus firms and federal authorities warn that malicious code can cause considerable damage. "Phishing" for critical data and ID theft raise virus threats to a new level.

http://as1.emv2.com/I?X=c28459388e1355c8dc342125fe9e772f

Two cutting-edge computer projects designed to preserve the privacy of Americans were quietly killed while Congress was restricting Pentagon data-gathering research in a widely publicized effort to protect innocent citizens from futuristic anti-terrorism tools. The original link to this news article was deleted.  For general info: http://www.epic.org/

Windows SharePoint Services allows teams to create intranet web sites for information sharing and document collaboration. The software installs only on the web server that comes with Server 2003. It is a free download. It comes installed in Small Business Server 2003.  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/sharepoint/default.mspx

Tim Torian

Torian, Group, Inc.

http://www.toriangroup.com