Articles Posted in Commentary and Opinion

BY LACHLAN HUNT

Abstract

The web is constantly evolving. New and innovative websites are being created every day, pushing the boundaries of HTML in every direction. HTML 4 has been around for nearly a decade now, and publishers seeking new techniques to provide enhanced functionality are being held back by the constraints of the language and browsers.

An article by Brian Prince, “On-Demand Trend Touching the Database.” describes a growing trend in the marketplace toward migration to web-based databases. Some of the new or forthcoming databases discussed are SimpleDB beta of Amazon.com, Dabble DB, and Trackvia. A company also mentioned, Kognitio, provides on-demand data warehousing.

One person quoted in the article states that “[Data-as-a-service] is driven by the fact that business the business users cannot get what they need from their IT departments in a timely manner.” Even for those not experiencing IT problems, this is a positive trend because for many users, including online service providers, because of its being incorporated more directly into the seemingly all encompassing web.

Database-as-a-service (DAAS) is based on cloud computing technology. To see the entire article, click here.

A paper prepared by Hillel L. Parness, Professor, Columbia University Law School and Of Counsel, Lovells (New York) for MessageLabs (http://www.messagelabs.com) ; it includes the following sections: Introduction, The Risks, Harassment, Child Pornography, Defamation, 3rd Party Intellectual Property Rights, Contract Formation, Confidentiality, Dealing With Risks, and a Summary.

Introduction “Email is critical to many businesses; its ease of use, combined with the speed and scale of distribution, make it an invaluable business tool. Today, many businesses could not function without consistent and unfettered access to the Internet.

However, these same attributes can also cause severe difficulties for employers if employees’ use of email and the Internet is not controlled adequately. This short summary considers some of the risks that employers face. It is not a comprehensive study of the topic; therefore, detailed legal advice should always be sought in specific situations.”