Howard Solomon

For over 12 years there have been two ways of getting electricity to devices on your network: From an electrical outlet, or from an Ethernet jack using Power over Ethernet.

With the release last year by Cisco Systems Inc. of what it calls Universal PoE, a proprietary version which delivers 60 Watts of power per port over an Ethernet line, the company believes it has opened new opportunities for manufacturers of almost everything that runs of electricity to plug in via Category 5 cable.

Cisco Systems Inc. is one of the biggest IT companies in the world, with a disciplined organization.

But even after it standardized on Windows for its desktops earlier this decade, staff stubbornly brought in devices running other operating systems.

Canada's newest wireless carrier is trying to set itself apart from the other startups now entering service by targeting the nation's large Asian community.

Mobilicity, the brand name of parent Data & Audio-visual Enterprises (DAVE) Wireless, began signing up customers on the weekend in Toronto and its surrounding suburbs, promising to extend its HSPA+ network later this year to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, the nation's capital.

Artwork: Chip TaylorTwo years ago, U.S. retailer TJX spent some US$130 million -- including US$65 million to two credit card companies -- to clean up the mess after the online theft from its computers of consumer data.

Had the company followed basic wireless security procedures the breach wouldn't have happened, Derek Manky,project manager for cybersecurity and threat research for security vendor Fortinet, told the IT360 technologyconference last week in Toronto.

The unified communications war between Microsoft and IBM has so far been pretty one-sided, with the giant from Redmond having the publicity edge over Big Blue.

Microsoft's Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator client made big waves in the industry compared to IBM's Lotus Sametime 8.0 conferencing and collaboration suite, which has been selling steadily.