How To Succeed In Business

In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: How To Succeed In Business
2. Today's Top Story
    - Skype Sick With Bad Bug, Must Be Patched
    Related Stories:
    - Microsoft Word Zero-Day Hack Under Way
    - U.S. Consumers Taking Steps To Stymie ID Theft
3. Breaking News
    - Dell Vows More Price Cuts To Regain Momentum
    - Rockers Rally For Internet Neutrality
    - State Department To Limit Use Of Chinese Computers
    - Video Games Also Attractive To The Young At Heart: Report
    - AOL Buys Video Ad Company Lightningcast
    - Cellular Industry Calls For National Regulations
    - Cellular Music Services Doomed By High Prices
    - NASCAR Revs Up Data Center On Wheels
    - Microsoft Judge OKs Antitrust Extension
    - Microsoft To Buy Virtualization Vendor: Sources
    - Microsoft Releases Windows Media Player 11
    - Microsoft To Launch Subscription Windows Service
4. Grab Bag
    - Meet The Hackers (BusinessWeek)
    - Reclusive Linux Founder Opens Up (CNN)
    - Sunnyvale, You Have A Problem (Wall Street Journal)
5. In Depth: Wiretapping
    - BellSouth Demands USA Today Retract NSA Claims
    - Blog: AT&T: We Won't Talk About Wiretapping
    - Online Groups Reveal Details, Legalities Of NSA Surveillance
    - Telecoms Take Heat For NSA Programs
    - Phone Companies Fight Back Against NSA Accusations
    - Feds Want AT&T Class-Action Spy Suit Dismissed
    - Group Seeks To Begin AT&T Depositions On U.S. Spying
6. Voice Of Authority
    - Hey Dell, What Took You So Long To Offer AMD?
7. White Papers
    - How SMEs Can Prepare For Phishing Attacks
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription

Quote of the day:
"There are three kinds of death in this world. There's heart death, there's brain death, and there's being off the network." -- Guy Almes

1. Editor's Note: How To Succeed In Business

It's the year of social networking. Oh no, wait, that was 2003.

Because by mid-2004, pundits were already predicting the death of what was being called just a passing fad. But social networking couldn't have been quite moribund because people, with great fanfare, pronounced it dead again almost a year later (in 2005).

And now that social networking is really going gangbusters (see this week's article on the subject), some analysts are scrambling to use the "B" word. Go figure.

The latest twist: Social networking is now ready for business. Stories full of snappy anecdotes (you know the kind—"Joe Smith was looking for a job with no luck, until one day...") supposedly demonstrate how online networking is finally benefiting professionals.

The premise of social networking is that the friend of my friend is also my friend. Those who say yea that it's finally working argue that these Web sites take a business person's best asset—his or her rolodex—and leverage the heck out of it online. They insist that they're especially good at finding contacts at companies you might otherwise never get access to, and that without being connected you'll be outmatched by mega-linked-in competitors and colleagues.

Those who say nay (or at least "not yet") ask, "Who really wants to be continually bothered by strangers?" Also, they point out, search is still a much more effective tool for finding information on the Internet (although industry observers say we're about to see a convergence of search and social networking). Finally, they ask, "Who has the time?" Teenagers can spend hours chatting about music online, but for busy professionals that's another matter.

Everyone is careful to say these networks rely on trust. But as the saying goes, trust has to be earned. It can't be uploaded via an Outlook address book. What makes my rolodex valuable is its exclusiveness: I don't let just anyone peek into it. And it's not only reporters who have to be careful with their sources. Credibility swings both ways. Getting pinged too many times by that friend of a friend of a friend can be downright annoying when you're trying to get your real work done.

No one doubts technology is a valuable tool for helping us connect with each other. The question is, what form should technology take to support the natural ways we already do business?

This is obviously a much bigger topic than there's room to deal with here, but let me know what you think by responding to my blog.

Alice LaPlante
[email protected]
www.informationweek.com

2. Today's Top Story

Skype Sick With Bad Bug, Must Be Patched
Skype pushed out a patch for a vulnerability that can let attackers gain access to a target computer and its data.

3. Breaking News

Dell Vows More Price Cuts To Regain Momentum
Dell's top executives said they were caught off guard by the pricing competitiveness offered by rivals. Their goal now is to come out shooting, on both the customer service and pricing fronts, to regain any lost market share.

Rockers Rally For Internet Neutrality
Musicians including Moby, Nine Inch Nails, and the Indigo Girls are supporting a law that would ensure Internet traffic flow remains equal for small and large corporations and media. Telecommunications companies have been pushing for tiered access, which would allow providers to charge premium rates for premium access.

State Department To Limit Use Of Chinese Computers
After some security-related objections to its purchase of 16,000 PCs from Lenovo, the agency is now saying it will use the gear for nonclassified tasks only.

Video Games Also Attractive To The Young At Heart: Report
Video and computer games are as attractive to adults as to teens, according to the 2005 report released this week by the Entertainment Software Association, which says 44% of gamers are between ages 18 and 49, and 31% are under 18 years old.

AOL Buys Video Ad Company Lightningcast
The purchase is a reflection of the importance AOL is placing on video advertising as an increasing number of consumers watch online video.

Cellular Industry Calls For National Regulations
The cellular industry promises a "wireless Renaissance" if Congress simplifies how cellular operators are regulated.

Cellular Music Services Doomed By High Prices
While users in a study preferred Sprint's cellular music store to Verizon Wireless', both were deemed far too expensive to succeed, according to a new study.

NASCAR Revs Up Data Center On Wheels
The center will provide tools for NASCAR to collect and process timing and scoring data. It gets rolling Saturday.

Microsoft Judge OKs Antitrust Extension
The federal judge approved a two-year extension of the Microsoft antitrust agreement, but not before grilling government attorneys.

Microsoft To Buy Virtualization Vendor: Sources
In addition to its purchase of Softricity, Microsoft is expected to announce plans next week to accelerate the delivery of its homegrown virtualization hypervisor code-named "Viridian." It will also formally debut plans for a virtualization management platform code-named "Carmine."

Microsoft Releases Windows Media Player 11
The upgrade is a significant rework of the current media player and part of Microsoft's strategy for its online music store URGE, a joint venture with MTV.

Microsoft To Launch Subscription Windows Service
The PowerLine initiative is a prepaid, subscriptions-based Windows service designed for emerging markets.

All Our Latest News

Watch The News Show

In the current episode:

John Soat With 'News To Me'
Symantec sues Microsoft, Amazon's patent is being reviewed, and Dell will offer AMD Opteron chip in PCs.

Larry Greenemeier With 'Stop Identity Theft'
The Bush administration tries to crack down on ID theft with the creation of the National Identity Theft Task Force, led by the U.S. Attorney General.

Eric Chabrow With 'The Best Device'
A survey of workers finds that the laptop is the most indispensable device in the workplace.

----- The latest research, polls, and tools -----
2006 National IT Salary Survey
The 9th annual InformationWeek National IT Salary survey results are now available! This InformationWeek Research report provides an unparalleled view into trends in IT salaries and compensation plans.

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4. Grab Bag

Meet The Hackers (BusinessWeek)
With help from friends in the U.S. Postal Service and various law enforcement agencies, BusinessWeek has put together descriptions of some of the most wanted cybercriminals in the world.

Reclusive Linux Founder Opens Up (CNN)
Linus Torvalds, the 36-year-old founder of Linux, talks about being head of a 5,000-person network of developers and how Linux is finally mainstream.

Sunnyvale, You Have A Problem (Wall Street Journal)
So your network is down? Ping your network support contact—in New Delhi. Yes, outsourcing now encompasses management of enterprise computer networks—with varying results.

------- Now Hiring ----------------------
S.E.C. seeking Assistant Director of Enterprise Systems in D.C.

S.E.C. seeking Branch Chief of Network Engineering in D.C.

Ajilon seeking hands-on Project Manager in San Francisco

HSBC seeking Distributed Systems Analyst in Salinas, CA

American Broadcasting Company seeking Satellite Distribution Svc. Mgr. in NYC

For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services, please visit CMP Media's TechCareers.
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5. In Depth: Domestic Wiretapping

BellSouth Demands USA Today Retract NSA Claims
A BellSouth spokesman denies the company had a contract with the National Security Agency and says his firm didn't, as the newspaper reported, give access or provide call records to the spy agency as part of an effort to thwart terrorist plots.

Blog: AT&T: We Won't Talk About Wiretapping
AT&T has news for the court hearing the case against it regarding illegal wiretapping and Net snooping: The big telco won't talk. If ordered to reveal documents about the case, AT&T would be "unable to furnish the requested information," its lawyers say. That's legalese for take a hike.

Online Groups Reveal Details, Legalities Of NSA Surveillance
One AT&T employee was required to connect fiber optic circuits carrying AT&T customers' private Internet-based data to a device that diverted that same data to a room controlled by the government, his lawyer wrote in papers filed in federal court last week.

Telecoms Take Heat For NSA Programs
A Federal Communications commissioner calls for an investigation into their possible roles in secret federal surveillance and data mining programs.

Phone Companies Fight Back Against NSA Accusations
Internal AT&T documents are in, but a closed hearing is out. That's what a judge has ruled so far in the class-action lawsuit filed against AT&T by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Feds Want AT&T Class-Action Spy Suit Dismissed
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a class-action lawsuit in California in January, accusing AT&T of cooperating with a government surveillance program. The U.S. Department of Justice responded with a notice stating it plans to intervene to protect military and state secrets privilege, as well as request the lawsuit's dismissal.

Group Seeks To Begin AT&T Depositions On U.S. Spying
The Electronic Freedom Foundation wants to start questioning AT&T executives about the company's role in a government program to intercept telephone and E-mail communications between the U.S. and people linked to al-Qaida and affiliated organizations.

6. Voice Of Authority

Hey Dell, What Took You So Long To Offer AMD?
It was almost anticlimactic when the announcement came in under the radar Thursday that Dell would break with its long-standing policy of selling Intel-only computers. The confirmation came tacked on to another disappointing Dell quarterly financial report, which perhaps speaks volumes on why the move to AMD was finally made.

7. White Papers

How SMEs Can Prepare For Phishing Attacks
Traditionally phishers only targeted large financial services. But now that small and midsized enterprises habitually maintain confidential personal information for their customers, they have to be vigilant in deploying counterphishing measures to preserve their reputation and stay competitive.

8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek

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