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The article focuses on three different computer systems that can provide the core functionality of a good social networking system. These include the SharePoint Server 2007 from Microsoft Corp., the highly flexible, open-source content management system called Plone, and WordPress, the most popular blogging platforms in use. SharePoint Server is designed to offer a platform for centralizing business data and integrating enterprise applications. Features needed to run a social networking site is available in Plone, including personal pages, discussion groups, wikis, tagging, and deep user collaboration. The development of the multiuser WordPress capable of being used as an enterprise social networking platform.

Evaluates several Internet portal applications for business. Back-end data integration and reporting capabilities of Brio Technology Inc.'s Brio.Portal 6.0; Java and extensible markup language (XML) architecture of DataChannel Server 4.0; Microsoft Corp. technologies used by the InfoImage Freedom 2 portal. INSETS: Building portal connections, by J.R.;The more things change...;EVal spec check: Enterprise information portals..

Reports that companies in the United States, are offering software to make it easier for information technology managers to add personalization features to their internal Web portals. Yahoo Inc.'s partnership with TIBCO Software Inc. on a customizable portal offering called Corporate Yahoo; Sequoia Software Corp.'s XML Portal Server 3.0.

The article outlines the reasons why personal computer (PC) users keep on using Windows XP operating system over the years. It cites the operating system's benefits for enterprise users, its ability to provide the same experience at home and work, and its flexibility across computing devices, markets, and applications. It also mentions the service packs offered by Microsoft, the favorable views of users, vendors and developers regarding XP, and the shortcomings of Windows Vista.

The article reports on the challenges facing business enterprises concerning the implementation of cloud-based computing software in the U.S. It discusses the failure of the Simple Storage Service (S3), an Internet-based software offered by Amazon.COM Inc. on July 20, 2008 and the transformer explosion at the data center of 365 Main Inc. in July 2007 which affected the connections of various companies utilizing the software. It reveals that reliability and security are the common problems facing the use of cloud computing software. The author stresses that eliminating the use of software offered by outside service providers by businesses will help them address the security risks offered by Web-based software.

The article discusses the features of the Google Mini appliance, one of the products of the Google search appliances designed to provide searching capabilities to huge web sites and company intranets. The bright blue colored Google Mini appliance was created to provide search capabilities for as many as 300,000 documents. Its price is fitted for small and midsize businesses which cannot afford the much higher cost of the bigger Google appliances. According to the author, the Google Mini has performed well during some basic tests. It provides search interfaces and results with which Google users are familiar with.

The article reports that Trend Micro Inc. is preparing for a major product expansion that will introduce hardware, software and services that will move the company beyond its prowess as an anti-virus provider. The company is to introduce the new Inter- Scan Web Security appliance, a hardware-based version of the company's InterScan software, with anti-spyware, anti-phishing and content filtering feature, and is planning to release more multifunction security appliances later in 2006. Moreover, Trend is planning an aggressive expansion of its service-based offerings for business enterprises and consumers, including a fee-based version of its free HouseCall security scanning service and intelligence services to help Internet service providers fight compromised computer networks.

The article presents news from the high technology industries. Microsoft Corp.'s Business Solutions division is enhancing one of its lesser-known business software suites with capabilities that should help users better manage projects through a more unified environment. Solomon 6.0, which was announced last week and is geared toward the smaller end of the small and midsize business sector, integrates a number of standard functions with capabilities from other Microsoft offerings for a more streamlined approach to project management. For example, this latest version of Solomon consolidates accounting and project tasks into one system for better accounting and payroll processes. In addition, the suite is now integrated with a handful of Microsoft environments, including Office Project, FRx and SharePoint Services, with enhanced integration to Microsoft Business Solutions Business Portal 2.5. The integration with Office Project enables users to be assigned to tasks within Solomon's Project Controller, rather than going outside to another application.

Security Profiling Inc.'s SysUpdate 4.1.4.4 and Policy Compliance & Enforcement 1.0 module promise IT administrators one-stop patch and security policy remediation across the enterprise. However, despite decent multiplatform support and some nice features, tests showed the SysUpdate PC & E package needs to mature before eWEEK Labs can recommend it. SysUpdate PC& E differs from Altiris Inc. and Patch-Link Corp. products by way of its modular security policy enforcement capabilities and burgeoning multiplatform support. Remote management console users have no way to see what jobs are being installed across the enterprise, nor can they predict what job will be scheduled next.

Winternals Software's Defrag Manager 2.5 is an enterpriseclass defragmentation solution that cleans up file systems in a hurry. The new defrag engine provided peppy performance in tests. Defrag Manager 2.5 works with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 Professional and Server, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Prices for Defrag Manager 2.5 start at $49.90 for an individual server license and $16.90 for a workstation license. Volume discounts apply as the node count increases.

Most small offices don't need and can't afford million-dollar enterprise hardware and systems, many large enterprises are finding that cheap but capable devices designed for the Small Office Home Offices (SOHO) market can be effective for meeting many of their needs. And when you take into account that a typical SOHO access point is priced about $100, while an enterprise access point can run anywhere from $800 to $2,000, the decision becomes obvious. They don't tend to last as long as enterprise hardware and they are not supported by their vendors to the same extent that enterprise hardware is. After all, you wouldn't want to use a hundred-dollar SOHO router as the main router on your company network. But in plenty of other cases, these SOHO products are every bit as good as the enterprise options, which often use the same underlying technology but are priced higher because the enterprise vendor couldn't bring itself to price its products below a certain point.

Focuses on how Internet portal software manage corporate knowledge. Portals that truly allow organizations to access and manage all their data and deliver it to employees, partners and customers; Collaboration between eWeek Labs and eWeek Corporate Partners to define an effective corporate information portal; Definition of benefits of easy access to organized data that portals can bring.