IT News Review - Week Ending Monday 15/2/1999

PCs not ready for millennium bug

ProveIt Australia, Sydney partner of a Y2K specialist from the UK, claims that the Australian Government may be neglecting Y2K bugs in its own backyard.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000ADF6One in four Australians onlineAustralia and Singapore are the leading users of Internet technology in the Asian region according to a recent survey by ACNielsen.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000ADFAGovernment to save SMEs from bug?With only 325 days to 01/01/00, the Federal Government has established yet another Y2K online directory, this time involving the Institute of Engineers and the Commonwealth Bank in the process.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000ADFEOnline sales up, consumer satisfaction downConsumers may be shopping online in record numbers, but they aren't necessarily happy with the experience, says US Commerce Secretary William Daley.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000AF4AIT workers lead employment growthAustralia's IT industry employment growth is exceeding the average across all industry segments, according to the quarterly Morgan & Banks Job Index released today. The index reveals net growth of 55.8 per cent for the IT industry, comprised of 59.1 per cent of companies in staff hiring mode and 3.4 per cent planning to downsize.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00006F12Y2K good Samaritan bill goes to parliament today The Year 2000 Information Disclosure Bill is due to be introduced to federal parliament today, a spokesman for Richard Alston, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, has confirmed. Modelled on the US Year 2000 Information Readiness Disclosure Act, which was passed last year and which became popularly known as the good Samaritan law, the bill provides limited liability protection to companies and persons making Y2K disclosure statements.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00006F42ICANN offers draft plan for NSI competitionThe Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has released a draft proposal for the accreditation of companies that will serve as top-level domain registrars, ending the monopoly held by Network Solutions Inc (NSI).

Five companies will be selected to test the shared system that will register the top-level domains of .com, .net and .org. The test will run for two months beginning on April 26, according to the guidelines. NSI will not participate in the test but will continue its existing registrar operations.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00006F3ALegislation to protect companies against Y2K liabilityThe Federal Government will finally attempt to combat growing concerns over Y2K liability when a bill similar to the United States Good Samaritan Law is introduced to Parliament later this week.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000AF5AMorgan & Banks: IT industry is boomingThe IT industry is in boom mode according to recruitment firm Morgan & Banks' latest quarterly job index, with the IT skills shortage creating the most dramatic movement in contractual and temporary work.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000B0C2Solicitors blast Y2K tax BillA leading firm of solicitors has delivered a broadside to the Taxation Laws Amendment (Software Depreciation) Bill, claiming it creates "practical difficulties" for business. The bill allows a write-off over two and a half years for expenditure on acquiring, developing or commissioning software and an immediate deduction for certain millennium bug expenditure.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00006F46HR Software's stages Qland government coup SAP has lost out to Australian human resources software vendor HR Software in a number of Queensland government contracts.

HR Software's HRMS Aurion has seen off human resources (HR) offerings from fellow panel contractors SAP, Mincom and Lendlease to win contracts at 10 Queensland government departments.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00006F4AGlobal Net users said to number 147 millionThe number of people who accessed the Internet at least once a week from their businesses and homes grew to 147 million worldwide in 1998, up from 61 million in 1996, says a recent report by Computer Industry Almanac. The expanding number is projected to rise to about 320 million by 2000 and 720 million by 2005, the report says.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/nwwdb.NSF/mailout/NT000059C6Microsoft to say no to Linux refund requestsOpen source software enthusiasts in five countries plan to ask Microsoft today for a refund for Windows software that came bundled with their PCs. They say they haven't used the software, and claim that a clause in their end-user licence agreement entitles them to their money back.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00006F72

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

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