Project Bandit to Open Source Identity Management Software
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Commercial Linux distributor Novell yesterday started a new open source project called Bandit, which it hopes will become a focal point for the development of software for managing access to computers, data, and applications. Rather than compete with other emerging standards that touch on identity management, such as the Liberty Alliance being promoted by Sun Microsystems or Project Higgins, launched by the Eclipse Consortium in December 2004 and championed by IBM and Novell starting this February, the Bandit project will try to incorporate these emerging standards and create open source implementations of the various aspects of identity management and access control. READ MORE >

Dell Pre-Announces Generation 9 of PowerEdge Servers
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Server maker Dell launched the ninth generation of its PowerEdge server line last week, and began the launch with machines that use Intel's "Dempsey" dual-core Xeon processors and its "Bensley" two-socket server platform. The Bensley platform will also support Intel's much-improved "Woodcrest" Xeon Core processors, which offer better performance per watt than the Dempsey chips and which are expected to start shipping in a matter of weeks. Dell is expected to formally launch the new PowerEdge line on June 15. READ MORE >

Merrill Lynch Cases IT Spending, Server Buying Patterns
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The analysts at brokerage house Merrill Lynch have been taking the pulse of data center managers to get a sense of how things are going out there in IT Land. A couple times a year, Merrill Lynch polls 75 chief information officers in the United States and 25 in Europe to pick their brains on various issues. According to those polled, IT spending among these large enterprises is expected to rise by an average of 5.2 percent in 2006 and by an average of 4.8 in 2007. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Patent Depending
by Hesh Wiener

When you think of rights granted by law, such as the right to express your opinion, you usually think in positive terms. Positive rights guarantee freedom of action. If you're willing to obey some rules and follow some procedures, you can own some property, you can drive a car, you can publish an article about patents that includes controversial opinions. Patent rights are different. They are negative rights. They allow you to restrict the activity of others. There are other negative rights in the law, of course, such as the right to exclude others from your home. But few negative rights have the big financial impact of patent rights, as the recent Blackberry affair demonstrated. READ MORE >