Spotlight Features

When Microsoft won its bid to make Office Open XML an international standard last year, it was a pivotal moment for many in the FOSS community and beyond. The process had been a highly contentious one, with protests from nations and corporations around the globe, and the International Organization f...

In Italy, Biesse Systems is a manufacturer of substantial size; its American subsidiary, though, is by any measure a small business, with under 200 employees. Still, Biesse America's communication needs rivaled that of a large enterprise. It needed to communicate with its parent in Italy regularly, ...

"With great power comes great responsibility" is an oft-quoted line from the first "Spider-Man" film. Without torturing the "web" metaphor beyond its breaking point, it also applies to your friendly neighborhood Internet service provider. A maze of legislation, regulations and business practices dat...

The free and open source software community is known for many things, but perhaps none more than its propensity for passionate debate. No topic is too small for the community's spirited analysis, so it should come as no surprise that the Linux kernel -- one of the most central elements of the FOSS w...

The expression, "Inside the Beltway" is often used in a pejorative sense -- as a vague insult referring to an amorphous group of politicians, policy wonks, nonprofits and think tanks. Given what's currently happening on Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Ave. -- the still-smoking $787 billion stimulus la...

Most segments of the technology market are hurting due to the recession, but one -- open source systems -- appears to be thriving despite the economic turmoil. Open source vendors such as Red Hat, SugarCRM and Vyatta say the recession has compelled organizations and corporations large and small to t...

On paper, the affiliate market appears to be among the most lucrative marketing channels. At its core, it is a revenue-sharing model among a network of Web sites or partners that receive a cut of the sales of any products that they promote. In reality, though, using an affiliate network to drive sal...

Shrinking client pools, lack of access to credit and competition from offshore destinations are squeezing some business process outsourcing service providers in the United States. With declining revenues come cheaper valuations. This creates opportunities for other entrepreneurs seeking to expand th...

The year-long U.S. recession hasn't brought spending on advertising to a screeching halt, but it has forced a shift in the way advertisers engage their audiences. With marketing budgets shrinking by the day, advertisers are turning to the Internet as an alternative to more traditional media such as ...

Working hard at being inefficient is not a path to success. Sometimes the difference between success and failure is having the courage to walk away from the "busy work" and take the steps to make that process better. It's a lesson that we in IT -- and particularly in security -- all too often fail ...