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Robert Messinger

To many, WiMax looks like the next networking nirvana. With limited build-out and minimal disruption to their existing networks, companies can link their workforce up to 31 miles from the office. Employees who live close to work will be as productive at home as they are behind their desks... More...

Jun 22, 2004
When it comes to finding a high-paying job in the information systems field these days, it pays to stick to the nuts and bolts. The need for data management is growing by leaps and bounds throughout the industry, and companies are hiring professionals to manage this explosion.

According to the TechTarget... More...

May 12, 2004

More than six months ago, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison announced to thousands of OracleWorld attendees that grid computing was going to rock their IT worlds.

It sounded so good coming from Ellison. Shared resources, automatic load balancing, lowered costs of ownership, minimal investments -- all things that... More...

Apr 21, 2004
Microsoft Corp., recognizing that PDAs are growing in computing power and influence, is pushing its .NET Compact Framework to help enterprises extend critical applications beyond firewalls to mobile workers, analysts say.

The .NET Compact Framework aims to help developers build information-rich... More...

Jul 29, 2003
This excerpt is reprinted with permission from McGraw-Hill, copyright 2003. For more information or to order the book, click here.

Endorsed by the Wireless LAN Association, this comprehensive study guide offers complete coverage of all objectives for exam PW-100. Inside, you'll find 150+ practice exam... More...

Jun 3, 2003

For any security solution to have a ghost of a chance, you have to have some way to ensure that your users, and the devices they are using, are trusted users/devices. But how do you do that? Well, one way is to use a standard kind of authentication, which in today's wireless world means 802.1x authentication. This tip... More...

Sep 15, 2003
Windows XP Professional has some nice new features, not the least of which is a smooth upgrade process. However, in the business enterprise there is never a substitute for proper planning and testing. Here are some things to consider before moving forward.

Before you actually select a deployment method, you... More...

Sep 24, 2003




Doctors are a quirky bunch. For instance, we once knew a general practitioner who lovingly carried an aged stethoscope from his early medical school days, even though more recent devices may have been a lot better and easier to use. Many physicians also take pride in the fact that no one outside the medical... More...
Dec 15, 2003

Adam Moskowitz is an independent systems and network architect in the Boston area. He spends his professional life surrounded by server racks, switches and routers, making sure that state-of-the-art systems run smoothly. It's a complicated job. Can you guess what Moskowitz picks as the most important tool for... More...

Jan 21, 2004




At a meeting the other day, somebody mentioned that they had a terrific PowerPoint presentation on RFID and embedded wireless systems. Now, in the old days, participants in this meeting might have asked that person to download the presentation onto a floppy disk -- although if the size of most these... More...
Feb 17, 2004

Sure, not everybody uses Intel products or components for wireless networking, but nearly everybody uses PCs on such networks. Perhaps that's why the company's Wireless Security Resource Center is such a trove of wireless security information and guidance, or perhaps they're just trying to seduce visitors... More...

Feb 10, 2004

Ray Curry figured there just had to be a better way.

The information director for the Memphis, Tenn.-based Hunter Fan Co. knew that errors in product information, such as price or product number, cost time and money. So when he heard that big-time retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Lowe's Home Centers Inc. were using a... More...

Nov 19, 2003
Product name: Bluefire Mobile Firewall Plus
Company name: Bluefire Security Technologies
Price: From $15,000 for 50 users
Agent platform: Pocket PC 2002 on Dell Axim, Toshiba e740, HP iPAQs
Manager platform: Windows 2000 Server or AS with SQL Server 2000

Bottom line: Solid centralized Pocket PC and smartphone... More...

Nov 3, 2003

What keeps you up at night? If it isn't your users with mobile devices, it probably should be. But there is something you can do. Develop a policy about using mobile devices, specifically about which code you'll allow your users with mobile devices to get. But before you can write that policy, you have to know the... More...

Oct 14, 2003




Over the next five years, spending on Wi-Fi services and equipment is expected to reach $163 billion worldwide. Most of this growth will come from the consumer side, as home users discover the joys of computing unplugged. But a significant chunk of this growth will also be generated by business sales... More...
Dec 1, 2003




Everyone knows that talk is cheap, especially companies that have made investments in voice-over IP technologies, which allow inexpensive voice calls to be made over the Internet worldwide. Not surprisingly, some major companies have poured a great deal of money into establishing VoIP pilot programs and... More...
Nov 18, 2003
Bob Egan's weekly column
October 19, 2004 What's happening? The current wireless 411 legislation creates a loophole that lets employees "opt-in" to a wireless directory, thus threatening to strip enterprises of control over key business assets while exposing them to higher costs, privacy issues and more... More...
Oct 20, 2004

You carry the computing device of tomorrow in your pocket -- your mobile phone. With each new generation of mobile phones, they become more and more like computers, and many of them already pack more power and features than personal digital assistants.

Despite this coming ubiquity of processing power, mobile... More...

Jun 15, 2005
In July 2005, the 802.11e MAC Enhancements for Quality of Service (QoS) standard achieved the consensus needed for formal IEEE approval. This long-awaited QoS extension will improve delivery of multimedia data, voice, audio, and video traffic over 802.11a/b/g networks. In this tip, we'll look at what 802.11e QoS... More...
Sep 14, 2005
As Wi-Fi matures from convenient, as-needed access to full-time support for mission critical applications, companies are becoming increasingly concerned about optimizing performance and reducing radio interference.

WLAN traffic analyzers provide 802.11 packet capture, decode, and expert analysis to... More...

Jul 21, 2005
In the past, operation and maintenance of infrastructure IT environments has sometimes been an afterthought to many organizations. Organizations generally focus on optimization of current technology solutions and introduction of new technology solutions via the insertion or modification of the... More...
Dec 12, 2005


If you are using a traditional modem-based remote access service for users and administrators to access your network from a remote location, you may want to take advantage of one of the features of the point-to-point protocol (PPP). This feature, known in Windows as 'callback,' has two major advantages.

Normally... More...

Jan 7, 2003

David Gabel

If you're running Windows in your enterprise, and almost everyone is, it's likely you'll soon be involved with the .NET initiative -- if you aren't already. It's a good idea, then, to start understanding what it's all about -- particularly in the area of security.

With that in mind, I recently went to a... More...

Dec 17, 2002

Mobile antivirus programs apply laptop best practices to PDAs and smartphones, but there are many other ways to protect corporate assets from mobile malware. Complementary "in the cloud" defenses include enterprise sync servers, network gateways and wireless services that incorporate mobile malware... More...

Sep 16, 2008

Offshore outsourcing is a fast-growing trend among IT shops. Just be careful -- the much-vaunted savings isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be.

Gartner Inc. predicts that 40% of companies with revenue of more than $100 million will be piloting or using offshore services by the end of 2004, compared with 10% that... More...

Apr 23, 2003
Wireless Webcasts
Forrester Webcast - BYOD’s Impact on Wired and Wireless Isn’t What You Expect by Fluke Networks

Register now for this exclusive live webinar and learn how to start troubleshooting your network and application problems in your wireless environment to enable a successful BYOD initiative in your organization.

While the benefits of bring your...

Critical Factors to Consider for your UC Strategy by Carousel Industries
Unified Communications (UC) has become a game-changer for today’s businesses. Watch this video to learn the factors you need to consider when implementing a UC strategy in your organization.

Unified Communications (UC) has become a key enabler in

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BlackBerry NFC Security Overview by BlackBerry
capabilities of BlackBerry smartphones – giving them the ability to share and exchange info simply by tapping the devices together.

Near Field Communications (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology that is used in applications required to use 4 centimeters or less to transfer information...

Wireless Podcasts
Best practices when migrating to Exchange 2010 from Exchange 2003 by Dell, Inc. and Intel
Are you considering updating from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010 but are not sure of the best way to do so? In this podcast, review recommended processes for upgrading from Exchange 2003 to Exchange Server 2010. Discover common pitfalls you...
Web security in the face of demanding users, evolving threats, and moving by Websense, Inc.
User dependence on collaboration beyond email, devices beyond the laptop, and working beyond the borders of the network put a strain on security. And changes in the threat landscape will apply pressure from the other side of the equation...
Podcast: Cloud computing options for manufacturing IT demystified by SAP America, Inc.
Listen to this podcast with Forrester Research principal analyst Liz Hebert to learn about the cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management application options available to today's manufacturers. Get tips...
Key considerations when buying an antimalware product by Lumension

This podcast focuses on best practices for antimalware deployments including antimalware (AM) for mobile devices, AM in the cloud, compliance and regulatory conformance and more.

This podcast focuses on best practices for antimalware...