Date: 06/07/06 (Security)    Keywords: software, security

Debut of company's OneCare product has started a new security software race where consumers are likely to be winners.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6080718.html

Date: 06/07/06 (WebDesign)    Keywords: rss, software

How many people here would be interested in a piece of software that converts RSS feeds into audio files that could be downloaded as .mp3 or .wav formats?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1121515.html

Date: 06/07/06 (Security)    Keywords: software, browser, web

New business is called "Zango" after 180solutions' ad-displaying software. The Hotbar Web browser toolbar will still be distributed.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6081142.html

Date: 06/09/06 (Application Development)    Keywords: software

At the TechEd conference next week, CTO Ray Ozzie is expected to discuss how the software giant's online services initiative will be key for its traditional audience: IT pros and developers.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9593_22-6081838.html

Date: 06/09/06 (Web Technology)    Keywords: software

Software maker teams up on WikiCalc, created by Dan Bricklin, co-developer of first spreadsheet program for PCs.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6082055.html

Date: 06/09/06 (Web Technology)    Keywords: software, microsoft

IPTV offered by French arm of Deutsche Telekom will feature Microsoft TV software capable of delivering video on demand.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6082050.html

Date: 06/09/06 (Computer Geeks)    Keywords: software

Does it bother anyone else that the Windows Vista BETA is available for public download, AND that it is on the front page of their site?

I work for a computer company, and i've already had a couple calls from COMPLETE IDIOTS talking about how they tried to load Vista on their computer but needed more memory. The bad part is that one guy COULD NOT tell me what type of memory his computer took, the processor in the computer, or anything ABOUT the computer whatsoever, just that it was an HP.

I think Beta software should only be run by people in the IT industry. Your thoughts?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/computergeeks/934106.html

Date: 06/12/06 (Security)    Keywords: software, microsoft

Over 60 percent of PCs scanned by a Microsoft tool are infected with bot software. Rootkits, though, aren't widespread.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6082615.html

Date: 12/14/04 (Offshore Programming)    Keywords: programming, software, offshore, technology, microsoft

Can Offshore Programming Thrive in Russia?

By Alexander Osipovich, Russia Profile

Every weekday morning, Tatyana Burtseva flashes her ID to the guards at the entrance of the Kurchatov Institute, where the Soviet Union developed its first nuclear bomb. But after walking through the institute's wooded grounds and entering the modern, corporate office building where she works, what she does is not top-secret. Burtseva is currently working on a project for a U.S. client - Boeing, America's largest maker of commercial aircraft. The 26-year-old software tester is one of over 850 employees at Luxoft, one of Russia's leading companies in the field of offshore programming. Besides Boeing, Luxoft has tackled software projects for major corporations like IBM, Microsoft and Deutsche Bank.

In 2003, the Russian offshore programming industry earned total revenues of $546 million, according to figures compiled by CNews Analytics and Fort-Ross, an association of Russian software companies. The same report projected growth rates of 30 to 40 percent for the next few years, meaning that the industry could cross the $1 billion mark by 2006.

These rapid growth rates, and the prestigious nature of the industry, have not gone unnoticed. President Vladimir Putin has mentioned offshore programming as a promising agent of economic diversification, while Leonid Reiman, the minister of information technologies and communications, has touted the industry in public appearances. "We have a tremendous number of highly qualified professionals," he said during a recent address to the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. "Our task is to convert this human potential into a new source of national income."

But the Russian offshore programming industry faces some daunting challenges. Above all, it pales in comparison to its better-developed cousin in India. According to NASSCOM, an association of Indian software companies, India now earns $12.5 billion a year by exporting high-tech services. This represents close to one-fifth of the developing nation's total exports. For many Western executives, the term "offshore programming" is virtually synonymous with outsourcing work to India, while Russia remains an obscure, second-tier competitor. This has led to a great deal of soul-searching in the Russian press about whether Russia can catch up to India.

Can Russia Catch Up?

In the eyes of many experts, the greatest asset of the Russian offshore programming industry is the high quality of its technical specialists. The Soviet Union left behind a world-class system of science education. As a result, Russia now has up to 40 percent more scientists per capita than Germany, France or the United Kingdom, and 20 times more scientists per capita than India, according to Forrester Research. Russians have won numerous gold medals at international programming competitions. At this year's ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, the best-known event of its kind, the winning team was from the St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics.

This pool of scientific talent has led several Western companies to open wholly-owned offshore development centers in Russia. Such companies include technology leaders like Intel, Sun, Motorola and Siemens. Intel alone has over 800 Russian employees, mostly based in Nizhny Novgorod and the former closed city of Sarov. According to Alexander Palladin, a spokesman for Intel in Russia, they solve difficult problems for the company's research and development wing. "In the eyes of Intel's management, Russian specialists are very highly regarded for their scientific knowledge," he said.

Unfortunately, Russia is not so blessed when it comes to business skills. A frequent complaint is the lack of English, although this has improved in recent years. When it comes to project management, Russian firms have a reputation for letting their programmers' creativity take precedence over good business sense. In some cases, programmers have been known to delay a project until they can achieve technical perfection. Other problems stem from a culture clash between Russian firms and their Western clients. "The biggest difference is that Americans devote more time to communication," said Alexander Sambuk, quality director at Luxoft. "Russian project managers need to learn to communicate more with clients, and not just stew in their own juices."

Another obstacle to acquiring new clients is the small size of Russian firms. Russia's largest offshore programming companies, Epam Systems and Luxoft, have less than 1,000 employees each. This is small potatoes compared to the largest Indian firms, such as IT giant Wipro, which employs over 27,000 people worldwide and has annual revenues of $1.2 billion. Smaller companies have a hard time marketing themselves and are less attractive to large corporate clients. Given this situation, it might seem that the market is ripe for consolidation. But firms have been reluctant to merge, says Kirill Dmitriev, managing director of Delta Private Equity Partners. "Each one hopes to develop by itself, but economic logic mandates that they need to consolidate," he said.

Perhaps a more intractable problem is Russia's negative image in the West. Russia's reputation as an unstable, crime-ridden society makes it a hard sell to wary customers. "This is a country where there's a war going on, where [former Yukos CEO Mikhail] Khodorkovsky is in prison, where terrorists are killing children in Beslan," said Dmitry Loschinin, CEO of Luxoft. "Obviously, this affects us negatively."

Loschinin also believes that Russia's education system could be better suited to today's IT market. Although it churns out an impressive number of physicists and mathematicians, it rarely teaches them the most up-to-date technology skills. "What we receive is a half-finished product that we need to spend some time finishing," said Loschinin.

Another problem is that Russia's education system produces programmers in all the wrong places. Thanks to the legacy of Soviet central planning, some of the nation's top scientific talent resides in far-flung cities like Tomsk and Novosibirsk. Less than a quarter of Russia's programmers live in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the offshore programming industry is concentrated. The result is that wages are high and jobs are plentiful in the two capitals, while out in the regions, programmers are underpaid or jobless. The logical conclusion is that programmers should move to where the jobs are. But Russians - for a variety of legal, economic and cultural reasons - are often reluctant to move.

A City Of Programmers

The offshore programming industry is taking steps to attract them. IBS, the holding company which owns Luxoft, is planning to open a "technopark" in the town of Dubna, a one-hour drive from Moscow. According to Loschinin, programmers will be enticed to move to Dubna by a package that includes jobs, mortgages and a pleasant, academic living environment. "We want to create a city of programmers," he said.

The Dubna technopark will not be alone. The IT and Communications Ministry will soon launch technoparks in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk, with tax breaks and an up-to-date communications infrastructure, says Reiman. These ideas are not new. A decade ago, India used similar policies to stimulate the IT industry in Bangalore. Today Bangalore is the center of India's offshore programming industry; the city is often called the "Silicon Valley of India."

The Russian offshore programming industry is emulating India in other ways. It recently formed an analogue to NASSCOM, the Indian software association founded in 1988 to promote the nation's IT industry. RUSSOFT, which recently merged with Fort-Ross to become the predominant association of Russian software companies, has been following a path blazed by NASSCOM in the 1990s. It puts on "road shows" in the West to promote Russian firms, holds training events and lobbies for improvements in government policy.

There is clearly a need for lobbying, because government policy is unfriendly - if not hostile - to offshore programming companies. Valentin Makarov, president of RUSSOFT, says that companies face a crippling burden from taxes and regulations. For example, to export $50 worth of software, companies spend an additional $30 on paperwork and taxes. This drives up their prices, making them less competitive, and keeps many in the "gray" zone. Makarov argues that this is bad for everyone. "Our task is to make companies go white," he said. "Companies want this, because you can't live under the constant threat of tax investigations. This prevents you from signing deals with foreign corporations."

Yet Makarov insists that he is not looking for tax breaks, which are controversial due to their widespread misuse in the 1990s. Instead, he wants the government to adopt a more streamlined and rational tax structure. So far, however, RUSSOFT's lobbying efforts have produced few results. "Our government isn't used to dealing with associations - just with oligarchs and individual companies," he said. Nonetheless, Makarov is optimistic. He believes that the industry will gain more influence as it grows in size. In terms of the total value of its exports, it has already surpassed the Russian automobile industry. Soon, Russia will earn more money by exporting software than by exporting nuclear technology.

Makarov predicts that the Russian offshore programming industry will grow until it reaches annual revenues of $2 billion but, from then on, growth will level off unless the government provides substantial support. He points out that the governments of India and China (another up-and-coming offshore service provider) are extremely proactive in boosting their nations' IT sectors. For example, they pay for companies to participate in international trade shows - something that the Russian government has never done.

So can Russia catch up to India?

Most experts doubt that Russia can beat India in terms of volume. But in terms of quality, Russia already presents a strong competitor. According to a 2001 report from the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, Russian programmers are well suited for complex projects. "Indian programmers... do not have such wide experience with different technologies," said the report. "Their experience is typically limited to working in large software development factories." Makarov thinks that Russia cannot compete with India or China on cost, but in the niche of high-end solutions, it could become a world leader - as long as the industry gets government support.

"We can't do it ourselves," he said.

Oct 27, 2004

Source: http://www.ublog.com/offshore/note/145

Date: 12/07/04 (Offshore Programming)    Keywords: software, offshore, technology, offshoring

Consulting and application testing are among the newer services moving overseas as offshore IT services look to more than double over the next five years.

Offshore I.T. firms will enjoy double-digit gains in sales over the next several years as vendors from India and other emerging markets boost their capabilities and U.S. and European businesses continue to seek ways to cut technology-related costs, new research suggests.

The worldwide market for offshore IT services will grow to $17 billion in 2008 from $7 billion in 2003, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 20%, according to a study released last week by market researcher IDC. The study tracks only those IT-services sales won by offshore companies such as India's Wipro Technologies and Infosys Technologies. It doesn't include the value of work being placed offshore by U.S. service providers such as IBM and EDS.

The growth is driven in part by the fact that some IT-related work that has been relatively immune to offshoring is starting to move overseas, says Barry Mason, a senior analyst at IDC. "We're starting to see offshore firms move up the value chain," Mason says. IT consulting, he adds, represents one new market that offshore firms are aggressively pursuing.

The good news for some U.S. IT professionals: As offshore companies expand, they're opening offices in the United States and hiring locally, albeit in modest numbers and at very senior levels. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., an IT-services company with headquarters in Teaneck, N.J., and operational centers throughout India, has hired five senior-level consultants in the United States this year and expects to add another five next year, says Kaushik Bhaumik, VP for Cognizant's Business Technology Consulting Practice.

Bhaumik, formerly an associate principal with McKinsey & Co., says there's little reason why the same economies that offshore companies provide for basic services such as application development and mainten- ance can't be applied to consulting. "A lot of the number crunching that backs up the engagement can be done overseas," Bhaumik says. As a result, he says, Cognizant can sell a project that would typically cost about $300,000 for about $100,000. Among the company's offerings: application portfolio analysis.

Some U.S. vendors, however, are skeptical about the extent to which the offshore model can be applied to consulting. "It's not a market that's driven by low cost. It's more about how you can successfully transform a customer's business, and that requires a lot of local knowledge," says a spokesman for IBM Business Consulting Services.

But offshore companies are building out their capabilities in other ways, too. A bellwether of the application-outsourcing market, Wipro has built a software test center at its Bangalore, India, development campus. With the center, Wipro will be able to add application software testing for both function and performance to its outsourcing services. It will also be able to test apps its teams develop before shipping them to U.S. and European businesses. "Testing used to be done on an ad hoc basis as the client requested it, was done by the client, or wasn't done at all," says Chris Lochhead, chief marketing officer of Mercury Interactive Corp., whose testing tools will be used in the Wipro Center of Excellence.

Most outsourcing companies don't yet offer testing as a standard service, Lochhead says. Wipro's test center is a sign of the growing sophistication of offshore-outsourcing companies, he adds. Having competed successfully on price, he says, now they're better equipped to guarantee performance and "compete on quality as well."

Source: http://www.ublog.com/offshore/note/142

Date: 11/26/04 (Offshore Programming)    Keywords: software, technology

Tech Spending Looks Up in Asia, E.Europe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spending in Eastern Europe and Asia is expected to lead a recovery in the global technology market over the next three years, according to an industry report released Tuesday.
After years of sluggish growth, technology spending is expected to climb steadily through 2007 as China, Poland and other countries in the developing world invest heavily in hardware, software, networking equipment and services, according to a study commissioned by World Information Technology and Services Alliance, an industry trade group.

Total spending should hit $3.2 trillion in 2007, up from $2.1 trillion in 2001, the report said.

Spending in Asia and the Pacific Rim is expected to grow quickest at 9.3 percent annually, while spending will increase in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at a rate of 8.9 percent per year.

Technology markets in North and South America will grow at a 6.7 percent annual clip, according to the report.

In the face of higher growth elsewhere, the Western Hemisphere is expected to account for 44 percent of the market, down from 46 percent in 2003, the report said.

As developing countries jump in the tech game their influence is expected to grow accordingly, the report said.

"Although the dominance of the developed world (in technology) is not likely to change soon, the developing world can no longer be ignored or considered irrelevant," the report said.

The report was produced using data provided by consulting firm Global Insight Inc.

The U.S.-based World Information Technology and Services Alliance is a group of 65 technology trade groups from around the world.

Source: http://www.ublog.com/offshore/note/140

Date: 11/22/04 (Offshore Programming)    Keywords: software, technology, offshoring

Offshoring: It's better for everybody

Offshoring is benefiting companies, countries and economies on both sides of the debate, according to attendees at the Better Management Live Conference in Las Vegas this week.

Technology companies in Europe and the US claim the offshoring 'kick-back' is the creation of new jobs in their domestic market which are "higher up the economic value scale" than those jobs which they have sent to countries such as India.

While on an individual-by-individual basis there are clearly those who will be worse off, in general this is having a positive effect on Western economies and workforces, according to Nigel Holloway, director of executive services at the Economist Intelligence Unit, who quoted McKinsey figures.

Chip Greenley, VP marketing and solutions at HP, said: "From a generic perspective it has to be good for the global economy."

Greenley and representatives from other vendors, said cost savings associated with offshoring are being reinvested in the creation of more high-value roles in the domestic market.

"We have taken large chunks of our business and moved them overseas," said Greenley. "If we know that by offshoring our accounts payable handling we will create the budget to hire 200 new hardware and software engineers then I can tell you it is going to happen."

Art Cooke, president of SAS International, agreed with such a strategy.

"We try to do the sensible things and do what is best for us," said Cooke, who said that may include outsourcing some "background work" but warned against outsourcing any development of core business or handing over the reins on any project linked to the growth of the company.

Cooke added that those who are currently getting heated about a large number of less skilled jobs going overseas are guilty to some degree of a lack of ambition and expressed surprise that in "a knowledge economy" there is such anger over the loss of back-office jobs.

"Would people really rather their son or daughter was studying how to programme some small part of an ERP system or working towards something genuinely innovative and cutting edge?" he said.

Cooke believes the fright of the offshoring phenomenon should encourage Western economies to remember to keep innovating and generating invaluable new skills sets.

"If an economy isn't going to innovate it deserves everything it gets," he said.

Source: http://www.ublog.com/offshore/note/139

Date: 10/19/04 (Offshore Programming)    Keywords: software

Russia Predicts 100% Software Exports Growth

According to Leonid Reiman, the Russian IT and Communications Minister, the Russian software exports are expected to double every year for the coming few years.

The Russian software and IT market has been growing at an average of 25 percent a year for the past several years. Reiman estimates that the software market of the world would reach USD 140 billion by 2010. The IT minister expects the Russian software and IT market to be worth USD 4.5 billion to USD 5 billion in 2004. He further predicts the software export revenue to reach USD 500 million in 2004, USD 1 billion in 2005, and USD 2 billion in 2006.

Russian programmers, whose wages are much lower than their counterparts in western Europe, have been receiving outsourcing orders from European companies. Reiman also urged the Russian government to support local IT producers with flexible tariffs and state-backed promotion to buy Russian-made hardware and software.

Source: http://www.ublog.com/offshore/note/134

Date: 10/19/04 (Offshore Programming)    Keywords: programming, software, offshore

Russian software exports may reach $2 bln in 2006

MOSCOW. Sept 24 (Interfax) - Russian software exports may amount to $2 billion in 2006, Russian Information Technologies and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said.

Speaking at a press breakfast at the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Reiman said that at the moment there are different estimates of the volume of IT exports from Russia. According to official estimates, they currently amount to $300-$350 per year. "However, including the gray market this figure is estimated at $500 million per year and higher," the minister said.

He said that according to the experts, annual growth in the Russian market for offshore programming amounts to about 70%. As a result, given this growth dynamic, exports of software from Russia in 2005 may amount to $1 billion, and in another year - $2 billion," the minister said. "This may become an important contribution to the task of doubling GDP," he said.

Source: http://www.ublog.com/offshore/note/133

Date: 06/13/06 (Security)    Keywords: software, security

Ben Fathi expects his engineering expertise to have a positive influence on security at the software giant.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6083302.html

Date: 06/14/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: software, java

Spencer Katt, eWeek columnnist, speculates Sun may be on his way to sell its hardware business and focus on software instead (read Java). The KattPhone’s new ring tone, “Here Comes the Sun,” brought a call from a crony asking the Kitty if he thought Sun’s restructuring plans were an indication that the company is prepping for [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/sun-planning-to-sell-hardware-business/

Date: 06/15/06 (Security)    Keywords: software

Just a day after patches for software vulnerabilities are released, code designed to take advantage of those weaknesses appears on the Net.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6084000.html

Date: 06/16/06 (Open Source)    Keywords: software

This business movement, which Stallman grandfathered, has done to software what Moore’s Law did to hardware.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=682

Date: 06/16/06 (Security)    Keywords: software

At least one customer reports being target of cyberattack exploiting yet-to-be-patched hole in spreadsheet software.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6084738.html

Date: 06/18/06 (Java Web)    Keywords: software, technology, crm, web

AdventNet, network management software provider, announced the release of Zoho CRM, a “cost-effective and easy to deploy” web-based customer relationship management solution targeted for mid-sized businesses. It uses AJAX technology to significantly enhance its user interface. Finally a CRM software adopts ajax technology. Zoho CRM is a web-based Customer Relationship Management solution, which provides Sales force [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/ajax-based-crm-software-zoho-crm/