IBM will work with Vienna-based VDEL and Poland’s LX Polska to sell "Open Referent" systems (based on Red Hat Linux and open standards-based productivity software).

Open Referent taps into a growing demand for low-cost desktop systems that by definition have to lose the cost of Microsoft. IBM says it is responding to demand from large businesses and government agencies in Eastern Europe and Russia (including  Aeroflot, the Russian Ministry of Defence and the RusHotel hotel chain). Continue reading...

"We have to convince young women that ICT isn't just for geeks. IT jobs can be very sexy indeed," Reding told journalists in a briefing.

Reding believes getting women recruits is the best way to make up the shortfall of 300,000 skilled ICT personnel in Europe. Women accounted for 58% of all graduates in the EU at last count, but female computer science graduates fell by 4% during the same period.

Go Woman in IT

Launched last year, Microsoft Surface was brought out at CeBIT for Steve Ballmer’s presentation in front of two prime ministers and other celebrities.

There in Hannover, on stage, the heads of countries marveled as Ballmer manipulated images and data on Microsoft Surface, faster than any politician could manipulate the voters.

Definitely Surface will be taken up in commercial environments, contrary to the consumer driven trend in technology. If you are not in those markets, Surface will “sink& Continue reading...

In "Operation Infrastructure," coordinated U.S. and European authorities seized thousands of counterfeit computer components in November and December.

About 360,000 items, mostly computer networking hardware and ICs, were seized by the U.S. Customs and EC Taxation and Customs Union Directorate General.

The U.S. and EU said last year that they would establish the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to encourage countries to follow intellectual property rights established by the World Trade Continue reading...