Even if your company has an effective, integrated ERP system and a robust corporate performance metrics system chances are you won't have a good answer. Because, even the 'best of breed' ERP systems don't give the business stakeholders sufficient visibility into the actual execution necessary to ensure performance improvements.

Corporate performance management is all about understanding the difference between what you've planned and what actually happens. If that understanding stops short of the end-user performance, this critical link in corporate performance is ignored.

Operational improvement opportunities are not viewed by all as an area of IT focus.

.DLL files are dynamic-link library files (sometimes also written "dynamic link library" files) and are an integral part of Microsoft Windows and the software that runs on it. DLL files are shared between a number of different software applications. Each DLL is a small chunk of software code containing instructions and tools for an application to operate a particular hardware device. In the broader sense Microsoft dynamic link-library files sometimes also have the extension .OCX (in the case of files which include ActiveX controls) or .DRV for older system drivers.

The most common problem people will face, with regards to DLL files, is not having them. For example when you plug a new piece of hardware into your PC and you get an error message saying something like "DLL file WXYZ.DLL is missing: please install it now." What this means is that your PC can´t find the driver associated with the new hardware, because it was not preinstalled with the operating system and you have not subsequently installed it either from the CD, accompanying the product, or by downloading it from the manufacturers website.

There have been major data breach impacting Google employees and patients of the Unniversity of Utah.

The data breaches did not result from cunning hackers penetrating a vulnerable corporate network. It is just another case of computers getting up and walking as a result of an old-fashioned burglary. 

It was reported that Google employees hired before Dec. 31, 2005, received notices that their personal data, including Social Security numbers and birth dates had been compromised by a break-in at an Outsourcing Services, a payroll and human resources outsourcing company.

The break-in occurred at Colt Express on May 26 and Google informed employees on June 9 about the breach. As a result, employees are getting a free year of identity theft protection.

Google employees looking to get an explanation from the outsourcer will find the company's Web site is no help. The site only reports that the "home page will be reconstructed."

The likely reason for the site being down is that Ceridian, the giant payroll processing and human resources company that serves more than 25 million employees, announced in early February 2008 that it had acquired "certain assets" from the outsourcer. Ceridian's benefits services division is now providing services to outsourcers' clients.

In the case of University of Utah the backup tapes were taken from an employee of another outsourcer.

This latest cases demonstrate again that poor physical security is a more common cause of data breaches than remote hacking attacks. Most of the biggest data breaches reported over the past couple of years have resulted from laptop computers being lost or stolen.

Many organizations initially believe that they can create and maintain manual maps that demonstrate how their infrastructure works together to deliver critical business services. In fact, many initial attempts are quite successful with one or two services. However, as time goes on and more services are added, it becomes difficult to the point of being impossible to maintain reliable models due to the number of changes and intricate dependencies. This is an area where automation is key to lowering costs and increasing accuracy for IT groups. By leveraging technology that automates discovery and dependency mapping, companies can reduce costs while reducing mean time to resolution and increasing mean time between failures.

Mozilla's Firefox groupheld its final pre-release meeting for the much anticipated Firefox 3. Apparently, the Apple update causes the browser to hang. RC3 for Mac OSX  is being built and the update is expected to go live tomorrow, according to Mozilla.

It does not appear likely that the glitch will hold up the mid month launch of Firefox 3. The open source product is the second leading web browser on the market next to Microsoft's Internet Explorer with roughly 18 percent market share.

"QA will re do tests on OSX builds," according to meeting notes posted on the site. "Windows and Linux RC2 builds will be copied over into RC3 folders."

Overall, Firefox 3 is in good shape and will soon be released, said one of the project's lead developers. The remaining 17 issues in the web browser update "are pretty well contained," said a Mozilla developer. "We are pretty confident we will have them all resolved by the end of the week."

The Wall Street Journal's said Firefox 3 has recaptured the performance title and gave the browser a solid review.

Data Beach and Network Intrusion Tools are containted it the Janco Data Breach and Network Intrusion Protection Bundle.  

Janco has defined a set of tools which enterprises of all sizes can use to be prepared to protect against breaches and intrusion, know when it occurs, and provides the ability to respond quickly when it does happen.

The Data Breach and Network Intrusion Detection Bundle  are the tools that are needed and contain:

• Security Manual Template

• Security Audit Program

• Network Event Viewer

• Smart Disk Monitor

• Text Log Monitor

• Internet Service Monitor

Required Processes	Recommended Solution
Implement formalized security policies and procedures	Security Manual Template
Audit access to databases and network	Security Audit Program
Monitor network activity to identify unusual activity	Network Event Viewer
Monitor user activity to identify unusual activity	Smart Disk Monitor
Archive logs to meet compliance requirements	Text Log Monitor
Automate monitoring	Network Event Viewer Smart Disk Monitor Text Log Monitor Internet Service Monitor

With all the all the talk about Windows 7, many users are pondering the question of should they move to Vista.

Bill Gates revealed that the next version of Windows: Windows 7 (formerly called Windows Vienna for some reason) will be out in 2010. Gates said, "We are hard at work, I would say, on the next version, which we call Windows 7. IÂ’m very excited about the work being done there. The ability to be lower power, take less memory, be more efficient, and have lots more connections up to the mobile phone, so those scenarios connect up well to make it a great platform for the best gaming that can be done, to connect up to the thing being done out on the Internet, so that, for example, if you have two personal computers, that your files automatically are synchronized between them, and so you donÂ’t have a lot of work to move that data back and forth."

(AP) Verizon Wireless is backing a free operating system, Linux, that competes with programs from Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. and expects it to become the preferred software on its network.

It is the first U.S. carrier to join the LiMo Foundation, which aims to unite handset makers, software companies and carriers on a software platform that will make it easier and cheaper to create a wide variety of phones.

The carrier's endorsement Wednesday is an important boost to the stature of LiMo, or Linux Mobile, and its prospects in the U.S. It already has the backing of large Asian and European carriers, as well as handset makers like Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.