Shunra's VE Puts Nets to the Test—And More Shunra Software's Virtual Enterprise 4.5 continues its transformation from a purpose-built WAN emulation tool to a complete testing solution. 8/21/2006
Tools Are Accurate if Not Stylish The updated Klocwork suite offers leverage for code and process involvement. 7/17/2006
TwineCompiler Speeds Up C++ Builds Forget all the hype. According to Microsoft's internal surveys, C++ is the most popular programming language "after HTML and JavaScript." 7/2/2006
Parallels: Virtualization for Less Parallels' Parallels Workstation 2.1 is a capable desktop virtualization application. 5/1/2006
Keeping Systems in Check Windows-centric Configuresoft ECM 4.8 provides a bevy of reports for compliance. 5/1/2006
New GNOME Does Search Right GNOME Version 2.14 adds compelling refinements to the Linux desktop, including desktop search. 4/17/2006
JBoss Portal 2.2.1 Take standard Java portal technology combined with a popular application server and user-friendly content management tools, and you have a good base for building a content-heavy collaborative portal. 4/3/2006
Apache Jetspeed-2 Apache's entrant into the open-source portal market is a highly extensible and open platform for building a corporate portal. 4/3/2006
Open-Source Apps Find Footing with Portal Products Both Apache and JBoss have matured to the point where they are viable options for any business looking to build a corporate portal using open-source technology. 4/3/2006
Altiris Virtually Resolves Application Conflict Altiris' SVS abstracts an application's files and registry settings at installation, creating a VSP that can be distributed to similar target systems and immediately activated. 4/2/2006
Virtuozzo for Linux 3.0 a Virtualization Virtuoso Taking a different tack than full-machine virtualization products, such as those from VMware, SWsoft's Virtuozzo for Linux 3.0 delivers solid consolidation and utilization benefits. 4/2/2006
Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0 A program installed under Altiris SVS is supremely flexible. You can completely uninstall it in an instant, then bring it right back to full function. 3/23/2006
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition The many choices of programming languages and new productivity enhancements make this an excellent all-purpose .NET programming toolset for both expert and non-expert Windows developers. 3/15/2006
Appscan 6.0 Appscan Version 6.0 is the first truly new version of AppScan since Watchfire acquired the technology when it bought Sanctum. 3/13/2006
Rooting Out Web App Holes Web application penetration-testing tool veterans WebInspect and AppScan show they still have the right security stuff.
3/13/2006
WebInspect 5.8 Although the latest release adds improved usability and aids for novice users, SPI Dynamics' WebInspect Web application penetration-testing tool is still best suited for development-oriented users. 3/13/2006
VMware Workstation 5.5 Excels In Labs' Tests With an interface that's no more difficult to operate than any typical desktop application, and 64-bit operating system support, Workstation 5.5 is a great option for developing and testing system configurations on the road to deployment. 2/20/2006
Tool Simulates Real-Life Attacks I often use penetration-testing tools as part of my security evaluations. 2/20/2006
Virtual Server 2005 R2 Is Solid Solution for Windows Microsoft's Virtual Server 2005 R2 enables administrators to more fully use the Windows server hardware in their care by running multiple operating system instances on a single box. 2/20/2006
Team 2 Simplifies Common Tasks The forms-based Team 2 from Alexsys uses a robust rules-and-trigger methodology to build out workflow applications for a relatively low cost. 2/13/2006
Applications Bring Order to Workgroups Taking two markedly different approaches, Alexsys' Team 2 and Itensil's Teamlines give organizations a way to put workflow and rules behind workgroup applications. 2/13/2006
Teamlines Focuses on Documents Itensil's hosted Teamlines application does a good job of abstracting the process of building a workflow for companies that need to formalize document-centric workflow. 2/13/2006
NetBeans 5.0 Makes 'Free' Look Good A substantial update to a free, open-source IDE and application platform, NetBeans 5.0 makes major strides toward greater convenience and productivity in designing and building GUI applications. 2/13/2006
Delphi 2006: Imperfect Yet Irresistible After a month of using Borland's Delphi 2006, I can say that besides being my tool of choice for .NET apps, Delphi 2006 may also become my tool of choice for native Win32 apps. 2/4/2006
Internet Explorer 7.0 The first beta version of IE7 isn't intended—or ready—for the masses; developers are its real audience and they'll find some fertile ground. While IE7 certainly has potential, it has a ways to go before it's ready for prime time. 1/31/2006
Envox Is in Good Voice With Envox Studio and Envox VoiceXML Studio, Envox 6 Communications Development Platform provides a good set of development tools for quickly building voice and touch-tone applications. 1/30/2006
VS.PHP Brings PHP Coding Power to Visual Studio VS.PHP is a strong tool and an extraordinarily cost-effective way to program in PHP, particularly for jack-of-all-trades programmers who already use Visual Studio. 1/25/2006
Visual Studio 2005: Bright Lights and Shadows Microsoft's comprehensive IDE has the dual missions of empowering developers and propelling Microsoft's platform agenda. Core capabilities are feature-rich but don't threaten full-strength stand-alone tools. 12/5/2005
JetBrains Finds Room for IDE Improvement JetBrains' capable integrated environment for multiplatform Java development faces tough competition from freely downloadable or platform-bundled alternatives. 10/17/2005
Hailstorm 2.6 Hailstorm Finds Web App Faults New wizards in Cenzic's Hailstorm 2.6 enable application penetration testers to get up and running quickly, but the application also provides outstanding policy control and configurability for more experienced users. 9/19/2005
FileMaker Pro 8 An evolutionary improvement over its predecessor, FileMaker Pro 8 remains the easiest way for knowledge workers to build polished database applications. 8/30/2005
Sun Polishes Java Studio Creator Sun's Java Studio Creator 2 combines the capable, responsive foundation of the NetBeans 4.1 shell with usability improvements and an impressive complement of user interface and data access components. 8/8/2005
SilkCentral Smooths Out QA Testing Segue Software's latest testing life-cycle management software offers an easy-to-use Web interface, collaboration capabilities and better reporting, making it a good choice for planning large application quality assurance projects in Windows environments. 7/25/2005
Maple 10 Smooths Math Operations Maple 10, from Waterloo Maple's Maplesoft division, offers significant innovations easing documentation of complex calculations on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. 7/18/2005
Jtest Eases Development It's easy to agree that the world needs more software testing, but it's much more difficult to turn that desire into a disciplined and cost-effective process. 5/9/2005
Macromedia's ColdFusion MX 7 The release last month of ColdFusion MX 7 is by far the biggest since the original MX release almost three years ago. 3/28/2005
Sun's Java Studio Enterprise 7 Is a Team Player Sun's Netbeans-based JSE 7 achieves the most transparent interaction that we've seen among UML (Unified Modeling Language) diagrams and source code. Any change to diagram or code is immediately and clearly reflected in other views.
2/14/2005
Rational Web Developer 6.0 Focuses on Specific Tasks IBM's Eclipse 3.0-based Rational Web Developer update is a visually attractive tool that shows attention to developers' need to focus on specific tasks rather than being overwhelmed by general-case capability. 2/14/2005
AppScan Revs Testing Power Watchfire Corp. has clearly taken the safe but smart position for its first release of the AppScan products it gained from its acquisition of Sanctum Inc., making no major changes to the award-winning product for testing the security of Web applications. 12/13/2004
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Compact Framework Beyond its role for server-side and desktop development, Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 offers a compelling mobile development tool for the Pocket PC: .NET Compact Framework. 5/18/2004
BEA WebLogic Server 8.1 BEA WebLogic Server 8.1 is a top contender for any organization running Java-based software. 9/2/2003
WebSphere Application Server With robust clustering, effective administration, and business workflow that uses Web services, IBM's WebSphere Application Server 5 is ready to tackle even the largest projects. 9/2/2003
Sun ONE Application Server 7 Sun Microsystems' application server offerings have undergone numerous shifts in branding and strategic focus over the past few years. 9/2/2003
JBoss 3.2 JBoss has built up a dedicated following thanks to its license-fee-free, no-frills approach and transactional features on a par with some application servers you'd have to pay for. 9/2/2003
Oracle9i Application Server The industrial-strength reputation—and price tag—of Oracle's database business precedes its entry into application servers. 9/2/2002
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