Speeding the Arrival of the Integrated Enterprise

Enterprise

As elusive as the concept of the integrated enterprise has been, it's great to report that businesses of all sizes finally have options that can make it a reality. The only hurdle now is educating businesses to the productivity benefits that come with it. Hopefully, that doesn't take another 20 years to happen.

Looking at the current state of line-of-business applications and how companies use them to track and manage their operations, one can't help but notice how there's a strong resemblance to the days before the networked enterprise, circa 1987. Back then, resources were dispersed in little silos we called PCs, each with its own island of resources.

When we connected all those islands with the help of server Forge ahead and stay on budget with simple to install HP server technology. networking, we got huge returns. Suddenly we could share the same contract someone wrote using Microsoft Word instead of having to save it to a floppy and copying it manually. Life was great.

Why is it then that some 20 years later, most companies aren't doing the same with their business Save 15% on Your Next Domain Purchase. Click Here. systems? The problem is almost identical, except instead of individual PCs, it's individual applications. The vast majority of organizations run one application for their sales force automation, another for accounting, perhaps another for e-commerce, and so on.

Google Desktop for Mac Adds Wattage to Spotlight

Google Desktop for Mac is similar to Spotlight, Mac's built-in search app. Both have various options for sorting and narrowing results, though which is better depends on what you're seeking at the moment. Fortunately, the two can run side by side, and Desktop only adds to your Spotlight experience. What you won't get with this Desktop, however, is the fully featured version available for Windows.

Mac users have been blessed with an easy-to-use tool for searching deep inside documents, not just their file names. So it struck me as odd that Google
Latest News about Google would be offering similar software.

However, after playing with Google Desktop for Mac, I'm partly sold.

Desktop shares many characteristics with the Spotlight search tool that Apple
Latest News about Apple ships for free with new Mac computers. In fact, Desktop works by borrowing many of Spotlight's core components and settings, so tweaks you make to Spotlight will automatically update Desktop.

However, Desktop, a free download from Google's Web site, goes further in letting you search Web pages you've visited and e-mail Email Marketing Software - Free Demo you've sent and received using Google's Gmail service (You're limited to one account, though). It also keeps previous versions of documents and those you've deleted -- good or bad, depending on your vantage point.

Fon, Time Warner to Let Users Set Up WiFi Hotspots

Time Warner Cable and WiFi provider Fon on Monday agreed to let customers turn their Internet routers into public wireless hotspots. Hotspot providers are Fon members who share bandwidth via a Fon router in exchange for free WiFi access when roaming and connecting to any Fon access point.


Time Warner Cable has struck a deal with WiFi provider Fon that will let its home-based and business broadband customers turn their Internet connections into public wireless hotspots.

The move is somewhat evolutionary for American service providers who have traditionally shied away from permitting customers from using their services as public WiFi locations.

Under the agreement, Time Warner Cable subscribers will become Fon community members and be able to create Fon access points from their home- or business-based broadband connections.

The access points are controlled by the subscriber's secure Fon router, which splits a WiFi connection into an encrypted channel for the subscriber and a public one for neighbors or passers-by.

The router can decide how much bandwidth to share with the public -- other subscribers can log on to any Fon router without charge and nonmembers can pay a modest US$2 or $3 for 24 hours of access.

Wi-fi worry

Some schools are removing wi-fi networks after complaints from parents that their children suffer headaches. In what sounds like a re-run of mobile phone radiation panic, is there evidence for harm?

Sitting too close to the TV. Standing in front of the microwave. Spending too long on the mobile. Living under a pylon, or next to a phone mast. We've always worried about what the technology around us might do to our bodies.

Now, wi-fi is rolling out from the humble coffee shop hotspot to create swathes of wireless networks in towns and cities.

But some are concerned that we don't know enough about the health effects of electromagnetic radiation - the radio waves that allow the computer network to transmit (along with longwave, FM and TV and phone frequencies).

For others, headaches and skin rashes - that they feel are due to the radio waves - are prompting a big switch off.


Headache
I had thought, 'great, we can make use of it', but then I started getting a series of headaches that got worse
Teacher Michael Bevington
The worry for parents is that children, who have thinner skulls and developing systems, are exposed to more gadgets and gizmos than previous generations. What might these be doing to their bodies?

Health expert advice is to limit mobile phone use among young people as a precaution. The government advises users to keep calls short.

Engineer Anthony Wood, a father with two young children from Bristol, refuses to install a wi-fi network to link his family's three home computers.

"I don't like the idea of transmitting a microwave into your brain. The frequency is important, not just the power. The higher the frequency, the more energy there is in the waves. I think wi-fi waves are close to microwaves, yet they're on all the time.

"I see no evidence to suggest they could be harmful, but it takes an enormous amount of evidence to prove anything. I don't understand the medical side very well but I do understand the technical side - that of frequency and power. That's why I decided against installing a wireless network."

Learning tool

Teachers have also raised concerns. A staff member who develops shocking headaches after a day in the classroom may be a cliche. But this is what happened to Michael Bevington, a classics teacher at top independent school Stowe, in Buckinghamshire, after wi-fi was installed in his classroom.

"I had thought, 'great, we can make use of it'. But then I started getting a series of headaches that got worse over the next few days."


Twenty minutes on a mobile phone call is equivalent to a year in that classroom. It's a completely different level of exposure
Dr Michael Clark, HPA

Q&A: Wi-fi explained
Pains in the joints, heart palpitations and nausea followed, and he could tell if the wi-fi transmitters were on or off.

Like a number of other schools, Stowe has turned off some of its transmitters. But Mr Bevington says he is now sensitive to other sources of electro-magnetic radiation, such as phones, microwaves and fluorescent lights. He also has problems with city centre hotspots and his neighbours' wi-fi networks.

"The amount of microwave radiation in society needs to be completely reviewed. It's making it impossible for a small number of people," he says.

Hot spots

Other than anecdotal, what is the evidence to suggest a risk? There is no scientific proof that wi-fi can cause harm. But there is also a lack of research.

Experimental psychologist Dr Stacy Eltiti, of the University of Essex, researches sensitivity to telephone masts. The 3G signal is transmitted at a frequency not far off that of wi-fi at about 2.4 gigahertz. Hence her results, due in 2007, may hold some clues to wi-fi sensitivity as well.

"Everyone is exposed to mobile phone masts," she says. "You can opt not to own a computer or a mobile phone, but you go into your local town centre and they're everywhere. If there are physical impacts, we can investigate what these are."

Woman uses a laptop on a train
Wi-fi networks are rolling out apace
The current official advice is that exposure to wi-fi radio waves is comparatively low.

"In classrooms, a typical exposure is at 20 millionths of the guideline levels, whereas a mobile phone is 50% of guidelines," says Dr Michael Clark, science spokesman for the Health Protection Agency.

"Twenty minutes on a mobile phone call is equivalent to a year in that classroom. It's a completely different level of exposure. These are non-ionising radio waves. They're not X-rays, or gamma rays, or ultra violet. It's completely different in energy terms. I'm looking outside now and that's electromagnetic radiation - visible light. Radio energies are a million times less energetic than ultraviolet light."

But as people claim sensitivity to radio waves, he would welcome more research, given the rapid introduction of the new technology.

But currently, the more common concerns for users lie in wi-fi's cost, patchy coverage and network security.

As Peter Green, a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester says: "You wouldn't put your wi-fi right next to your bed, but I know more people who are turning it off because they are worried about security and other people hacking into their network."

Michael Dell's Linux, the Death of BlackBerry, 3 More Dads and Grads Gift Ideas

We expect our communications devices to work. If there is an outage, we require the vendor let us know, tell us how long it will last, and provide some suggestions as to a workaround while it continues to go on. RIM did none of that. RIM's behavior came across like the company simply didn't care that it had left every single one of its customers high and dry.

I've been spending a lot of time talking to folks who want to try the Dell Latest News about Dell Linux Free 30-Day Trial. Seamlessly Integrate UNIX & Linux systems with Active Directory. solution. I'm getting the sense that we have all been looking at Linux on the desktop wrong, and that products like Linspire are simply wrongheaded.

Last week, Research In Motion Latest News about Research In Motion may have actually destroyed the BlackBerry's growth opportunity in large enterprise and government. I wouldn't touch the platform with a 10-foot pole now, and I'll bet a number of my peers quickly come to the same conclusion.

Finally, and I'm having a lot of fun with this, I'll be suggesting another three things to buy for your dad or grad.

Nintendo Wows With Wii

The Nintendo Wii in March once again led video game console sales, according to NPD Group figures. However, another Nintendo platform logged breakneck sales for the month: the handheld DS, which sold over half a million units, almost twice as many as the Wii platform.

The Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii outsold both its competitors, the Sony PlayStation 3 Latest News about PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 Latest News about Xbox 360, in March, according to the latest figures from the NPD Group.

Nintendo continues to say it is having problems keeping up with demand for its units, citing "widespread shortages" for both the Wii and its handheld DS unit. While some industry observers wonder if Nintendo is purposely throttling down the production of its product to create an artificial over-demand situation, the company stressed "Wii remains the fastest-selling new console in more than a decade, based on NPD sell-through information over the first five months of availability."

Nintendo has increased production of Wii hardware to meet growing demand, the company claims. It points out that it has sold more game systems than all other manufacturers combined so far in 2007.

Dell Revives XP on Some New PCs

Dell has begun to offer some of its new PCs with Windows XP preinstalled instead of the new Windows Vista operating system. The move comes amid significant customer demand, according to Dell. "We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to our Dell consumer PC offerings," the company said in a Web posting.

Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) Latest News about Dell announced Friday it is offering home PC buyers a choice between Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Free 30-Day Trial. Seamlessly Integrate UNIX & Linux systems with Active Directory. Latest News about Microsoft older XP operating system and Windows Vista when they purchase certain new machines.

As with most computer makers, Dell stopped installing the XP operating system on its new PCs after Redmond launched Windows Vista in January. However, the PC maker said it is responding to a swell of customer requests that it not completely nix XP just yet but instead offer the older Windows version as an option on some of its consumer PCs.

The Greening of Technology

With Earth Day 2007 nearing, the world is taking a closer look at how human activities affect the environment. Some of the technology industry's biggest players have taken the lead in the development of green IT and green technology, from implementing environmentally friendlier office policies to installing more energy-efficient computers.

Especially as Earth Day 2007 approaches, working to mitigate the effects of global warming and greenhouse gases, as well as protecting the environment, are topics on everyone's lips these days. As scientists, politicians, lobbyists and environmental activists offer arguments and counter arguments on the veracity of each other's claims, there is no dispute that the cost of energy continues a troublesome climb as does the size of the world's landfills.

While lawmakers around the world wrangle over car and factory emissions, international treaties, fossil fuels and the promotion of alternative energy, there are simple steps individuals and businesses can take to conserve energy and responsibly recycle their computers and other electronic devices.

Thunderbird 2.0 to Take Flight Thursday

Mozilla has announced the 2.0 version of its Thunderbird e-mail application will be available Thursday. The new, free program contains features such as message tagging, message history, search and Web mail services and is customizable with many free add-ons. Thunderbird is cross-platform, open source and is localized into 35 languages.

Mozilla will release the Thunderbird 2.0 e-mail Email Marketing Software - Free Demo program on Thursday at the primary download site. The new version adds message tagging, message history navigation, new search features and more.

Thunderbird 2 has these new features, according to the Mozilla Foundation:

* Message Tagging -- Organize e-mails by assigning tags like "From Mom" or "Weekend Projects" to easily track and search for information. Users can choose from default tags, such as Important, Personal, To-Do, Later and Work, or create their own custom tags. Users can also add as many tags as they want to a message.

* Message History -- Thunderbird 2 offers message history navigation similar to Web browsing history navigation. Users can move backward and forward through their messages and easily browse through their message history.

* Search -- Use the find-as-you-type pane to speed up searches within displayed messages and the quick search feature, which starts showing search results as soon as users start typing in search terms. Thunderbird 2 saves users time by allowing them to store searches as folders. Rerun saved searches by clicking on the saved search folder in the folder pane.

* Easy Access to Web Mail Services -- Thunderbird 2 users can integrate and access popular Web mail services by simply entering their user names and passwords.

* Customization -- Users can customize Thunderbird 2 with hundreds of free add-ons that change the look, feel and functionality of Thunderbird to suit their tastes. Users can also create their own message templates to save time.

Thunderbird is a free, cross-platform, open source Latest News about open source e-mail program that is localized into 35 languages. On Mac OS X, it is a Universal Application and requires Mac OS X 10.2.x or later.

Since mobile Internet devices and UMPCs hit the market, adoption has so far been lackluster, in part because the devices have not lived up to their hype. However, a series of announcements from Intel on its plans for the mobile market aims at enabling device makers to fulfill expectations and giving the category new life among consumers.

Personalization and content are key drivers behind the increased demand for notebook PCs and mobile Internet Save 15% on Your Next Domain Purchase. Click Here. devices (MIDs), according to Intel executives David Perlmutter and Anand Chandrasekher.

"The Internet is one of the driving forces in today's PC market, and there is a desire for the Internet to be mobile," said David Perlmutter, senior vice president and general manager, Intel Mobilitiy Group. "Intel is serving the market today with notebook PCs, and will expand its reach by adding WiMax to notebooks as well as small form factor MIDs in 2008."

Omni Antenna

The Klinkert Model KG2408 and KG2415 is Omni antenna designed to fullfill point to multipoint connection of 2.4 GHz wireless application. Its stability performance reflects the value of the latest RF high technology implementation. The more user connect to it, the higher quality it will shows. Easy to install and inexpensive to buy is the main motivation to serve user getting the best quality of communication.

Hotspot Solution

PRISM XI-1500-P/XI-1500-E












* Supported IEEE802.11b Standard and Wi-Fi Certification
* 1M, 2M, 5.5M, 11MbpsWireless Auto Speed Option
* Access Point (AP) Mode
* Seamless roaming between 802.11 and 802.11b
* SNMP (MIBⅡand private MIB)
* IEEE 802.1x Security
* Radius AAA support
* MAC Address Filter
* Bandwidth control
* Support Load Balance of Multi AP
* WEP Encryption
* Support Station Isolation
* NAT/PAT Function
* Zero End User Configuration (AnyIP)
* Telnet and Windows management tool
* Support PPPoE Dial-up
* Maintain link integrality
* Utility import or export configuration file
* TFTP Firmware upgrade
* TFTP import or export configuration file
* Hidden AP
* Detachable antenna
* Power Over Ethernet

PRISM XI-1560














* Supported IEEE802.11b Standard and Wi-Fi Certification
* 1M, 2M, 5.5M, 11MbpsWireless Auto Speed Option
* Access Point (AP) Mode
* Seamless roaming between 802.11 and 802.11b
* SNMP (MIBⅡand private MIB)
* IEEE 802.1x Security
* Radius AAA support
* MAC Address Filter
* Bandwidth control
* Support Load Balance of Multi AP
* WEP Encryption
* Support Station Isolation
* NAT/PAT Function
* Zero End User Configuration (AnyIP)
* Telnet and Windows management tool
* Support PPPoE Dial-up
* Maintain link integrality
* Utility import or export configuration file
* TFTP Firmware upgrade
* TFTP import or export configuration file
* Hidden AP
* Detachable antenna
* Power Over Ethernet

DLINK DWL2000AP+

802.11g 2.4GHz standard
Up to 54Mbps high-speed transmission
Real throughput 8 times faster than 802.11b
10/100Mbps port for connection to Fast Ethernet or DSL/cable modem router
Compatible with existing 802.11b, 802.11b+ wireless devices
Seamless roaming from cell to cell and across Access Points
4 operation modes: AP, AP-to-AP bridge, AP-to-multi-point bridge, wireless client
Detachable reverse SMA dipole antenna
Enhanced 64/128/256-bit WEP data encryption
802.1x security (MD5 and TLS) (in Windows XP only)
Wi-Fi Protected Access
Web-based configuration & management

JAHT OR LINKSYS ???

i think linksys is better.. because its have router.. so we can sharing our internet to other pc through lan cable.. but the linksys will hang when the electric voltage unstablizer.. so this is the weakness of linksys..
any comment? just post it here..

WP-4001BR is the most powerful WLAN Bridge AP. It is not only the bridge between the Ethernet and wireless networks, but also could support WDS function to multiple WLAN for optimal signal reception without wasting cost and time in laying down long winding cables.

As the perfect solution for the SOHO sector, the WP-4001BR supports WDS (Wireless Distribution System), meaning it could connect other IEEE802.11b/g access points which support WDS function as well. This is very useful for SOHO to set up WLAN environment and provide superior flexibility when building a wireless environment.

Features

• Complies with the IEEE 802.11g (DSSS) 2.4GHz specification
• Supports 2.400~2.4835 GHz frequency band, 1~14 channels
• High data rate up to 54Mbps network speed
• Auto rate fallback in case of obstacles or interferences
• Supports AP, AP Client, Bridge-PtP, Bridge-PtMP, WDS, Repeater operating modes
• Supports 64/128-bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, WPA2 wireless security
• Provides MAC access control
• Integrated DHCP server
• Web-based configuration and Firmware upgradeable

Specifications

CPU Realtek RTL8186
Flash 2 MB NOR Flash
RAM 8MB SDRAM
RF Realtek RTL8225
Interface RJ-45 10/100Mbps Port x 1
Antenna RP-SMA Detachable Antenna x 1
Transmit Power 18 dBm
Power 12V DC, 0.5A Power Adaptor
Dimension 30mm(H) x 127mm(W) x 96mm(D)
Temperature 10~40℃
Humidity 10~90% (Non-Condensing)
Certification FCC, CE

Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54G

If you are even thinking about going wireless in your home, this is a device that should at least be on your short list. I work in Information Technology and I have set up more than my share of Wireless Home networks. I have had people go out and buy the cheapest item they could find and then have to call me for an additional $50/hour to fix thier Wireless network. You can set this up at home yourself. It is that easy. The one thing bad thing about the device is that the Web Interface is very hard to navigate. If you are setting up your home, here are the order of things you want to do with ANY device.

1). If you have DSL, Call your provider and ask if you have PPPOE. If so, then get the settings from them before you disconnect your computer.

2). Plug in the device according to the instructions (yes guys, you HAVE to read the instructions.. but only the small insert)

3). The instructions will walk you thru connecting to the device via the web interface. Once you are logged in, you can either set up your PPPOE settings if you have DSL or "Clone" your MAC address if you have Cable Modem(Like I said, you may have to look around for the settings, but they are there).

4). DO NOT SET UP SECURITY YET... Instead, try to connect your wireless device and see if everything works.

5). Once you are connected, the you can go back into the Web Interface and lock down your Wireless network.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE lockdown your wireless network. You have no idea the things that can happen (and that I have seen) when your wireless connection is left to default. This order goes from the most minimal and easiest to do to the most difficult.

1). CHANGE THE PASSWORD... All Linksys devices come with the password "admin"... now everyoone knows your password.

2). Turn on WPA or at least WEP encryption.

3). Shut off "Broadcasting" your wireless connection. This will stop people from being able to connect to your network using normal Windows XP Built-in tools.

4). Use MAC filtering... each and every Wireless device has a encoded Machine Access Code built into it. When you set up MAC filtering, you are only allowing the Network Cards that are allowed in your system in and denying everything else.