News and Analysis to 8^th August 2004

Pick Pocket PC

PDA operating system Pocket PC, which is based on Microsoft’s Windows CE now has its own backdoor program, which will allow an organisation with an address in Russia to upload and download files, execute commands and display messages. This undocumented service is fully automated. Users simply need to visit similarly undocumented websites to acquire what is referred to in the anti-virus community as Brador-A.  

Google needs leegle eegle

Search engine Google is big news at the moment because of its breathtakingly audacious auction driven flotation, which is practically guaranteed to ensure the shares fall below the issue price when trading starts. Anyway it has been hindered by a couple of legal disputes. Firstly it may have violated US securities laws when it issued stocks and options worth over $3.1bn to employees and failed to register them. Hence it is attempting to buy back the shares in an effort to reduce its potential liability. This might buoy up the share price for a day or two. However a legal dispute with Yahoo! has led to Google giving almost $400m worth of shares to its rival to drop charges relating to infringement of keyword advertising patents. Apparently Yahoo! will cash $200m worth on the first day of trading. It’s going to be a volatile opening.

Sun to shine on Linux?

Thanks in part to Microsoft’s recent largess, Sun Microsystems is awash with cash. Consequently it is now looking at a number of acquisitions including Novell, who recently became a major Linux player through its acquisition of SuSE. Rumours abound that it could well go after Red Hat and thus effectively take ownership of the Linux market (though it might well be a good idea for it to purchase SCO Group as well to be on the safe side). This might require a visit to the bank manager, but it would seriously niggle its rivals, specifically IBM, HP and Microsoft. Possibly a smarter and less spiteful purchase might be a services company, say EDS, or an enterprise applications player, say Siebel.

Get well soon

IT industry icon, Apple founder and Pixar (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and Toy Story) CEO Steve Jobs has just undergone surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer. According to his email, which he sent using an Apple PowerBook from his hospital bed, he expects to make a full recovery.

MSc – Microsoft Software certification?

Bill Gates wants more students to study software engineering and has to that end launched the Faculty Fellowship Program. The scholarships will include free software, access to Microsoft conferences and research resources. Whether open source and security will be on the syllabus remains to be seen.

From firewalls to fireWindows

As predicted, Microsoft plans to embed firewall software into its Windows operating system. Referring to Windows security related patches as firewall updates will certainly have a more positive ring to it. Please note that both IBM and HP have ordered their employees not to download the latest Windows XP service patch (SP2), which contains the new feature.

HP braced for disaster

HP has bolstered its global services offering by acquiring business continuity specialist Synstar for $300m. This will make HP’s offerings more relevant at board level, particularly given the post 9/11 world we live in.

TTFN – Tata To Float Near-future

The consulting arm of Indian conglomerate Tata has shocked bankers by the massive ‘over subscription’ (7.7 times) for its impending IPO. This is quite a vote of confidence in both India’s largest IT service provider and India’s position as a global off shoring location.