Desktop management service provider Everdream announced a service that makes it possible to encrypt or delete data even after a laptop has gone missing. The new Everdream Theft Recovery Managed Service allows organizations to retain control over lost or stolen PCs and laptops, the Fremont, Calif., company said in a statement. The service also can assist law enforcement with the tracking, locating and recovery of computers. When a missing PC is connected to the Internet, it automatically contacts Everdream. This triggers encryption or deletion of data on the computer, based on the customer’s setting.

Novell may be evangelizing Linux and Open Office on the desktop, but more than half of its own employees can still boot Microsoft Windows and Office if they wish. Ron Hovsepian, Novell’s president, speaking at a press event in Sydney, said that "about 2,000 employees right now out of 5,000 are single-boot only, which is Linux only, the rest are dual-boot." He said that a project to migrate the 3,000 dual-boot workers to open source is likely to be completed over the next year or so.

Oracle’s next critical patch update is a week away, but customers of the database giant already have a security hole to worry about–and this one appears to have been accidentally released by the company itself. According to Alexander Kornbrust, a well-known database security researcher and business director at German firm Red-Database-Security GmbH, Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle accidentally posted information about the flaw–including how to exploit it–on its MetaLink customer support site.

IBM announced that it will offer a chip-based encryption method that has the potential to significantly simplify and reduce the costs of how data is secured on computers, PDAs, cell phones and other electronic devices. The "Secure Blue" technology encrypts or scrambles all data it processes via a part of a microprocessor designed specifically for this reason. According to IBM, the new technology can resist the trickery of even the most skilled hackers.

The Notes Domino 7 Application Development 2 distance learning course for Domino developers covers advanced topics like workflow, security, and data access. Topics covered in the course include working with lists, dynamic tables, and data access using @DbColumn, @DbLookup, DECS and DCR. The complete Domino security model is presented from top to bottom including access control lists, controlling agents, encryption, server controls and much more. Students will develop a workflow application which routes documents and sends emails automatically. They also dive into Domino’s architecture. Many performance enhancing techniques are also covered to help speed up Domino applications.

Linux distributor Red Hat said on Monday that it has signed an agreement to buy open-source company JBoss for at least $350 million, a move that expands Red Hat’s product line and adds to its growth potential. The transaction involves 40 percent cash and 60 percent Red Hat stock, with an additional $70 million owed, subject to financial performance. Red Hat CEO Matthew Szulik said combining Red Hat and JBoss will enable the company to provide corporate customers with a more complete "open-source stack" of software. The two companies employ a similar business model, where they charge customers a subscription fee for products and ongoing support, rather than an up-front license fee. With the acquisition, Red Hat gains a popular open-source Java application server (used for running custom business applications written in Java) and a more substantial offering for Java developers. JBoss is assembling a suite of open-source Java middleware, including a portal, messaging and a transaction server. JBoss, which has about 150 employees, will operate as an independent division within Red Hat, with JBoss founder and CEO Marc Fleury reporting to Szulik.

Hewlett-Packard has built an electronic data-entry tablet for India and other nations that use non-Western alphabets. The tablet was among HP Labs India inventions intended to "help grow opportunities in rapidly expanding economies," according to the Palo Alto, California-based technology company. The new products unveiled in Silicon Valley were tailored with India in mind, but were suited for China, Russia and Brazil.

IBM Rational RequisitePro is Rational’s tool for capturing and managing requirements for a project. This course provides instruction on RequisitePro project structure and application, as well as applying the tool to software development practices as recommended in the Rational Unified Process.

Set up an RSS feed for your binders in Lotus Domino Document manager, so users are notified when content is added or modified. Using a new view and modifying existing design elements in the database, you can easily create an RSS feed.

Nathan Barry highlights some of the settings of the Lotus Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook Notes.ini file to help you troubleshoot common issues and to enable new features in the software. You can add or modify lines in this simple text file to change the way that Lotus Notes behaves–sometimes at a very technical level. Lotus Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook has its own Notes.ini file that controls the way the software operates. There are many settings in this file that can help you to troubleshoot a problem or to add functionality to Lotus Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook.