One in five managers sceptical about home working

Research published this week suggests that a handful of managers are still resistant to the idea - and the reality - of flexible working. Despite the backing of many professional bodies and government spokespeople, some managers still equate being away from the office with not working. Just over one fifth (21 per cent) of managers associate working from home with slacking off, with 37 per cent suggesting that they think their staff use this time to take longer lunch breaks or carry out other personal activities. ...more

HP launch for the Christmas shelves

Two new all-in-one machines and a pocket printer from HP The PSC 2110 and PSC 2210 combine all those bulky imaging peripherals into one package: the former offering scan, copy and print functions and the latter with a fax and photo card reader to boot. The models feature HP's six colour printing system and its PhotoREt IV mode that pre-mixes colours before printing (up to 1.2 million) rather than overlaying them. ...more

Microsoft issues patches for IIS

What is the collective noun for security bulletins? Well, there is a raft of new warnings from Microsoft covering the Windows Internet Information Server (IIS). The serving of Web pages is threatened by the vulnerabilities, which involve Microsoft's Web server software. Security Bulletin MS03-018 relates to Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) within Windows. ...more

Microsoft builds open-source bridges to ODF

Microsoft is looking to provide a bridge between Microsoft Office file formats and those of the open source OpenDocument Format (ODF). It has announced the creation of the Open XML Translator project, which will provide a set of conversion tools, both for the forthcoming Office 2007 and previous versions of Office. Microsoft will be developing the tools in collaboration with the France-based IT provider Clever Age and software vendors such as Aztecsoft in India and Dialogika in Germany. ...more

Microsoft squeezed for antitrust settlement violations

Massachusetts, the remaining state to still find last November's antitrust settlement between the DoJ and Microsoft unacceptable, says it is looking into possible breaches of the software company's obligations. In an eight-page filing, Massachusetts' attorney general Thomas Reilly, said investigations were being made into 'several issues related to potential enforcement of the decree.' In particular, whether Microsoft had violated terms of the settlement by adopting retaliatory actions against an unnamed computer maker that had been offering Linux as an alternative to Windows. ...more