======================================================================== CTO SOURCE http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Tuesday, December 21, 2004
TOP STORIES ======================================================================== * 2004: Year in Reviews * App dev * Applications * Data management * Hardware * Networking * Platforms ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- InfoWorld presents: Convergence Spotlight and White Papers Customer Case Study: Crate & Barrel Improves ROI with VoIP Crate & Barrel needed a state of the art communications platform for its new headquarters. SBC Datacomm's solution: an IP-based telephony infrastructure that is expected to save the retailer $180,000 over five years, as compared with a traditional PBX. Register now to view this white paper: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3D6:2B910B2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2004: Year in Reviews ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time Looking for VoIP tools? App servers? VPNs? The InfoWorld Test Center presents a guide to all our hardware and software reviews for the year. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3D3:2B910B2 App dev ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time We're always on the lookout for tools that make building, testing, and maintaining Web apps and services easier for developers, and we found no shortage of those in 2004. Among the key trends we've been tracking in reviews are all the wonderful things being done with source code analysis -- from identifying security vulnerabilities during the development process to automating unit tests -- and the efforts on the part of tools vendors such as DreamFactory, Macromedia, and Nexaweb to build front ends to Web applications that are as friendly and functional as traditional rich clients. Whether you do it with Flash or Java or XML and Web services, we don't much care; just get us beyond the Web browser. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3CA:2B910B2 Applications ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time CRM vendors keep revving their products, but the numbers don't seem to add up. With the possible exception of SalesLogix, we haven't seen a first-rate SFA or customer-service app since we reviewed Salesforce.com last December. We'll see what our roundup of hosted CRM solutions brings in January. One product category that did heat up in 2004 was Web services management, with offerings from Actional, Grand Central, Infravio, and others scoring high marks despite differing approaches. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3CF:2B910B2 Data management ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time The year in databases witnessed a major upgrade to Oracle, a modest update to IBM DB2, and three Beta rounds of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, aka Yukon. Oracle Database 10g not only received high marks in our review, but also trounced the competition -- namely IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, and Sybase ASE -- in our XML data management shootout. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3D0:2B910B2 Hardware ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time The world of server hardware revolved around newfangled 64-bit systems this year, with AMD's Opteron generating most of the buzz until late summer, when Intel's answer to x86-compatible 64-bitness -- the Xeon processor with EM64T (Extended Memory 64 Technology) -- finally arrived. In our benchmarking tests, the new Xeon proved far superior to the old model in 32-bit performance. Although it edged the Opteron in our floating-point tests, it was soundly defeated by AMD's chip in our real-world Web server and database tests when running 64-bit code. A server is more than a processor, of course. We saw some first-rate servers based on Opteron from Hewlett-Packard, Newisys, and Pogo Linux, and some disappointments, notably from IBM and Sun Microsystems. HP also makes great Xeon-based servers and workstations, and delivered an interesting PC blade system last spring. Management software also got better, courtesy of vendors such as Microsoft, which added smart app management capabilities to MOM 2005; RLX, which improved on the best blade server management software going; and Vieo, whose management appliance is leading the way. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3CB:2B910B2 Networking ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time VoIP made itself heard in 2004, and we got the message loud and clear. We tested highly scalable IP phone systems from traditional PBX vendors Avaya and Siemens, as well as smaller-scale solutions from relative newcomers such as AIP Communications and Zultys. In most cases, we found the products surprisingly easy to set up and manage, although not typically interoperable. We're hoping to see more standards-based solutions similar to the Zultys MX250 in 2005. We also reviewed tools that monitor VoIP networks effectively, along with scads of traditional network analysis products. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3D2:2B910B2 Platforms ======================================================================== Posted December 17, 2004, 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time The year in operating systems began with a bang -- or maybe a resounding squawk -- with the arrival of the v2.6 Linux kernel. Breaking through RAM, processor, and other limits of the previous kernel, v2.6 wowed us in every performance test we threw at it, leaving us hungry for enterprise server distributions built on it. Novell fired first, turning up the heat under Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Suse Linux Enterprise Server 9 in August. We're eagerly awaiting Red Hat's response, due in Q1 2005. For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A8D3CD:2B910B2 ======================================================================== Now the InfoWorld Test Center reports to you It's like having your own multimillion dollar IT test facility, with lab reports in your inbox each Monday. The weekly "Test Center Report" newsletter delivers product and technology evaluations, trend analysis, and advice from the legendary InfoWorld Test Center. It will save you lots of time - and maybe money, too. But it's free, fast, and easy to subscribe. 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