I’ve been browsing the web for stories on women in IT and reading the comments posted online by readers.

Unless you’re talking to the skills councils and equality groups, it’s quite difficult to have a serious conversation about women in IT. The debate will usually dissolve into banter, with comments ranging from the tedious - such as whether women are capable of logic - via the mildly offensive - whether it would be productive to increase the eye candy for male employees  - and arriving at the outright bizarre.

For example, one reader at our sister publication The Inquirer wrote: “They do not like IT and do not wanna work in that kind of area... Just like I do not want to work in marketing or human resources, which as far as I know is women and gay biased… every time I speak to an HR guy he has that funny sounds-like-a-girl sound.”

I’m not strictly a woman in IT, but I work on a mainly male IT newsdesk and while I’m taken seriously in all aspects of my work, I’m still laughed at for needing more than 10 minutes to get ready to go out socially with my team.

From what I can see, it’s not just about accepting women in IT, it’s about accepting that they can be themselves in IT, not expecting them to adapt so perfectly to an all-male environment that nobody notices they are female. This has been a long but positive road in the general workplace and IT should be quite capable of catching up quick.

By Janie Davies

A couple of weeke ago a Computing reader wrote to the editor:

"Mike Byrne is concerned that he might one day have to present his ID card when buying petrol.  He need not worry - this is not necessary.  At Birchhanger Green services on the M11 I recently observed a notice that all registration numbers are checked against the Police National Computer (PNC) before the pump is enabled - and that this information will be retained."

Interesting.

Private sector bodies are not meant to have access to the PNC – indeed to do so would be illegal.

It turns out the system under discussion is known as ANPR – automatic number plate recognition. ANPR was widely installed at petrol stations around the country to prevent petrol theft, according to the National Policing Improvement Agency.

But who runs it? Go to the local force, they said.

So I rang Essex police. They said ANPR systems are run by the petrol companies, not the police, and this wasn't specific to Essex, it was the same all around the country.

Worried, I rang Shell, Esso and BP. All referred me to an organisation called BOSS – the British Oil Security Syndicate.

BOSS director Kevin Eastwood told me that these are all police systems, installed by private contractors.

Turns out that the systems examine a vehicle's licence plate against the PNC WITHOUT giving the cashier, or the petrol company, access to the database. 

The driver is then cleared or flagged, and the cashier has the option to enable the pump. The whole process takes a matter of seconds.

Interestingly, it seems that should a car do a runner, the cashier then has the option of adding the record to a police database.

So although Shell / Esso / BP employees cannot access the database, they can add records to it by flagging cars that have done a runner.

It is only the police who can run and can access the database.

I rang Essex police back to confirm this: I'm still waiting for them to get back to me.

So if you ever feel that Big Brother is out to get you, you can take small comfort in the fact that he is a more disorganised and lumbering beast than you might expect.

By Tom Young

Here at Computing, we have reported on the reaction of the IT community to the economic downturn from a number of different angles - but the tone of the conversation has changed quite considerably in the past couple of months.

From asking whether the crunch would affect the industry in February, we moved on to giving practical advice to managers on how to survive the recession in April. While analysts are trying to make some sense of the situation to translate it into numbers and trends, the simple conclusion is that the crunch is already here for the IT sector.

At a recent industry event, Gartner research vice president for emerging trends Mark Raskino gave practical advice to some 200 chief information officers. He highlighted that IT leaders “must not panic [about the implications of the downturn], but should act now” and “do not wait for instructions or permission.”

The analyst then moved on to suggesting a range of different shapes and sizes for possible IT-driven business decision plans, all of which advised IT directors to keep IT costs in trim “to avoid knee-jerk decisions later”.

But when Raskino asked the managers present whether their budgeting plans had changed at all as a consequence of the downturn, only a handful of candid leaders raised their hands, including Del Monte Foods IT director Mike Proudlock. I was seating next to a former CIO of a large financial services company, who whispered to me: “I am the living proof of cost-cutting…” He did not raise his hand, though.

For this article, we had a couple of out takes due to the broad “survival guide” nature of the copy, but when we asked where the cost-cutting actually starts, reducing staff overheads was a common answer from IT decision makers. Former Egg chief information officer Tom Ilube said that slashing workforce, as well as focusing on systems aimed at rationalising staff resources, would be near the top of the list of priorities during tough times.

News of lay-offs in the industry have already started to hit the headlines, with supplier Logica CMG planning to axe 500-or-so UK jobs to reap £80m in savings and “revitalise the business”. Speaking of revitalising, we interviewed Royal Mail’s CIO Robin Dargue last week and found out more about his transformation plans. Dargue has a large chunk of a £1.2bn budget to spend on technology, but when it came to evaluating his skills base, he chose to retrain around half of a 300-strong IT workforce.

In the current economic climate, IT capability reviews - such as the one carried out by Royal Mail - may become a trend. But companies should be undertaking such reviews anyway, said Marilyn Davidson, director of the Association of Technical Staffing Companies (ATSCO).

“There is a possibility that the downturn will force employers to undertake such reviews. But businesses should always ensure that their skills base is fit-for-purpose and keep expertise within the business to remain lean, mean and more competitive,” she said.

The way in which IT leaders manage cost-cutting processes – especially in the human resources field – is a delicate issue. If things worsen and “mean” reviewing processes are carried out, we may see some “grilling” of businesses by workers unions in the not too distant future.

By Angelica Mari

Despite having access to CNN, BBC World, reasonably fast broadband and clearance into a high security Olympics testing lab, I am unable to read Computing’s newsdesk blog in China. I can read Computing's news pages and the comments, but when I go to the blogs, there’s a long pause before being told “page can’t be displayed.”

Apart from that 'restriction', it’s not so different from home. The most alien morsels on tonight’s menu were duck brains - served with the rest of the duck - and turtle. I don’t mind admitting that I wasn’t brave enough to try either - and was very happy with mandarin fish and ginger-spiced scrambled egg. Our hosts dismissed our queries about the likelihood of encountering monkey brains or cat, which they said would be “very unusual…possibly in the south.“

Chinese people are very tolerant of westerners who haven‘t got the hang of the etiquette; we have it very easy here, more so than in many European countries, I would say. There’s no pressure to speak Chinese, or do things the Chinese way - and their understanding of British culture is as good as ours. The most challenging thing for me, so far, has been handing over business cards with both hands, while trying not to drop my handbag.

As a technology journalist, I’ve been welcomed with open arms and apart from not being able to get to our blog, I can find out everything I need to know. I don’t have to ask any awkward questions about politics and human rights, because I’m hear to find out more about something that China clearly does very well.

Hosting the Olympics is a century old dream for China, since a student paper in 1908 asked when it would happen. Sun Weide, deputy director of Beijing’s organising committee for the Games, reminded us about this earlier today, as he talked about what the Olympic means to China.

“We have adopted three key concepts,” he said. “Green Olympics, high-tech Olympics - to promote the growth of high-tech industry in China - and the People’s Games. And we hope the events will promote better understanding between China and the outside world.”

The National Aquatics Centre, known as 'The Water Cube, is glowing blue tonight. Sometimes it’s red, or is set up so the bubbles make a ripple effect. I guess I won’t see it any other way before I go, but I’m certainly glad to have been here at all.

By Janie Davies

In a traditional Chinese restaurant in central Beijing, the waitresses dart around in full length silk gowns and enormous floral headdresses, carrying buckets of water and paper lanterns containing small candles.

They curtsey and greet us all in Chinese, before whipping out their handheld, electronic pads to take our orders. Later, our host and interpreter, wearing a shiny pink Bluetooth headset, laughs as she tries to translate the symbolism of each dish into something we can relate to.

And overlooking Beijing’s Olympic stadium, affectionately named the 'birds nest', I have to remind myself that China is still emerging. Everything is geared up towards the 2008 Olympics, from special lighting along the highways, to the corporate neon signs lighting up the high rise sprawl.

It is clear already that the Games are going to leave an enormous legacy and the anticipation is in the air. The preparations for Beijing 2008 are immense. Atos Origin, IT partner of the International Olympic Committee, has had a team here since 2004, working with the Beijing Organising Committee and local and international technology firms.

There will be 4000 IT experts and 21,600 media representatives involved in the event that will cover 28 sports, across 70 venues and seven cities. And when that’s all over, the systems will be modified for the Paralympics Games in September.

It was 1932 when stop watches and the human eyes proved insufficient and officials turned to newsreel film to determine that US runner Eddie Tolan was winner of the 100 meters race. Since then the Games has evolved from telex to computer punch cards, live coverage and eventually the internet.

The Beijing Games are meant to be the most-technologically enabled ever - and while I’ve only just heard of Qinhuangdao and Tianjin, I can see why Chinese cities are ready for it.

By Janie Davies

Microsoft recently published a set of predictions on the future relationship between people and machines, under the snappy title of Being Human: Human-Computer Interaction in the year 2020.

I'm not sure if I'm the only person who pictures a Jetsons-style future when I see reports like that, but I should probably learn to curb my unrealistic expectations. Microsoft's study bears no trace of robot butlers, nor the automatic hovercar I've wanted since watching Blade Runner as a child. All the same, the contents of the report makes for interesting reading.

One of Microsoft's core arguments is that at present, technology tends to be developed to fulfil a specific task or purpose. Someone finds a problem, realises that computers can help and then sets about developing a solution. While there's nothing wrong with this approach, Microsoft predicts that the near future will see things working the other way around - machines will recognise our problems, then build solutions for us.

That sounds a little scary, but in truth what this boils down to is that computers and other smart devices will be so much part of our lives that they'll "understand" what we want and need. Machines will be built into our clothes, our vehicles, our household items. We'll cease to see them as specific tools, but rather as part of our lives.

This is all very exciting stuff to think about. However, there's also slight problem with this ubiquity: it will also make computers effectively invisible.

Like all industries, the technology sector needs a steady supply of new thinkers to ensure its future development – which in practice translates to a steady supply of computing and engineering students. Some people are already worried about the falling members of UK students studying IT, but if technology becomes familiar to the point of becoming quotidian, surely this problem can only get worse?

Microsoft senior researcher Richard Harper isn’t sure. On the one hand, he says, there’s a chance that young people will be ultimately discouraged by an environment where machines can solve all our problems before we even know what they are; Conversely, it is possible that this stable environment will spur people on to try new ideas, to innovate beyond the obvious concerns of society.

Of course, it’s highly unlikely that computers will resolve all our problems in the future – about as likely as a manufacturer producing an affordable robot butler. Despite this, it’s still worth considering about how the here-and-now will affect what happens in a few years’ time. If the UK is to be a contender in tomorrow’s technology industry, we have to make sure that young people are excited by what’s going on today.

By Neon Kelly

Apparently, 45 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men were happy to give up their email system passwords in exchange for a bar of chocolate at a London railway station.

Infosecurity Europe surveyed 576 office workers at Liverpool Street station, asking for names, passwords, phone numbers and dates of birth.

Researchers also collected names and telephone numbers from 60 per cent of men and 62 per cent of women who thought they would be entered into a draw to win a trip to Paris.

While it would seem that Londoners are becoming less gullible – overall 64 per cent of people were happy to exchange their password details for a bar of chocolate when the survey was conducted in 2007 - respondents had to be subsequently told that they'd inadvertently participated in a survey.

I’m all for raising awareness of data security and I’m sure the survey gave a couple of hundred people something to think about, but this research cannot paint a true picture. It only represents the behaviour of a few people that allow themselves to be quizzed. I wouldn’t mind betting that people who don’t talk to strangers are less likely to disclose their personal information.

And what really baffles me is that there is a Thorntons at Liverpool Street anyway. Has the credit crunch got that bad?

By Janie Davies

Evidence that you can make research statistics make any old point you like is hardly difficult to find, but the methodology and reasoning behind the CBI's latest UK skills audit seems especially suspect.

Populist, myopic opinion that purposely seeks an argument to support a pre-formed conclusion is rarely short of negative words to sling at teenagers. The CBI does not have the guts, or perhaps even the statistics, to single young people out for precise criticism, but its allusion to school and college leavers about to sit their final exams leaves little room for doubt on its intended target.

What teenagers, unable to use computers or communicate effectively? You must be joking!

The same teenagers that spend the larger portion of their developing years in a state of perpetual contact with their peers using email, instant messaging, social networking sites and mobile phones?!

The same ones that submit their homework in Word, Excel and Powerpoint format; use graphical design software to create art and crafts projects; and know exactly where to find and download free music and video files from the internet?!

And if they lack numeracy skills, it is nothing to do with maths exams or coursework getting easier, or an inability to do the necessary legwork. I recently went through GCSE maths exam questions with my daughter and found myself completely stumped. 'O' Level trigonometry it was not – but in fact something much harder.

What saved us? Typing the term into a search engine and finding numerous entries from secondary school teachers telling us the exact formula to work it out! But surely if we can't use computers, we wouldn't be able to do this type of research?

So if firms genuinely feel that young people lack the necessary skills to fill their ranks, may I put my own offspring forward for the job – they are both bright, motivated, energetic and possibly enthusiastic depending on the role, but more importantly in need of gainful employment.

And I could do with somebody else punting them a bit of cash for a change.

By Martin Courtney

The web advertising service Phorm has managed to attract some amazingly bad press over the past few weeks. It has executed the PR equivalent of what a former colleague called the Elvis death plunge – with  news of secret BT trials coming in the same week as a report of £16.6m annual losses, and bad reviews from security experts.

Phorm’s problems are a worry for those who want to make money out of the internet.

The message seems to be: People don't want targeted advertising. Remember the hugely negative response to Facebook's Beacon release last year?

Many of us will prefer to opt out of targeted advertising – ad companies and Phorm are increasingly giving us the chance to do this.

This will help avoid advertising based on what we write in our emails, post on social network sites, and browse casually on the internet.

But you can't escape it really.

Barclays is just one bank already using online visitor profiling systems such as Touchclarity which allows the company to tailor services to a certain type of customer. Google knows everything you've ever searched for in the past 18 months – a reason why people are so keen to advertise on it.

The internet is big business, and everyone wants to make a buck from it.

Just as you might end up buying a product because five years of TV advertising has created a brand aura in your head, so it will be with internet display advertising – you will be more likely to buy from a company you've heard of.

You can keep your personal details under wraps as much as you want, but at the end of the day you can't escape some degree of targeted advertising, just as you can't escape seeing razor ads on TV in half time during a football match, or seeing a beer mat in a pub.

Phorm argues its system does little more than this. It simply puts you in an advertising channel - "middle class male", for example – without holding any of your personal information, or putting a cookie on your machine.

But you wouldn't know it from the press Phorm has been getting.

By Tom Young

Symantec became the latest high-profile IT company after Sun Microsystems and Microsoft to buy into desktop virtualisation this year with its acquisition of AppStream this week.

Strictly speaking, AppStream deals in application, rather than desktop, virtualisation but its streaming technology at least makes downloading virtual machines to desktop PCs using Symantec software possible at some, as yet unscheduled, point in the future.

The trouble is that despite the activity, posturing and hype which currently surrounds desktop virtualisation technology, a fairly crucial question is still to be answered – how many IT managers actually want to use virtual rather than dirt-cheap physical desktop PCs to support mission-critical business applications?

The situation is cloudy given that there appear to be at least three different opinions on how desktop virtualisation should be defined. But it is clear that so far at least, very few businesses are actually using any type of virtualisation technology to run complete virtual machines on their desktop PCs, as opposed to their servers.

And if you put aside concerns about the environment and electricity consumption, there does not appear to be much incentive.

Outside the software testing and development environment, how many companies need to run different operating systems (OS) on their desktops anyway? Few IT departments would relish the prospect of updating and supporting more OS than they actually need, which is the reason most look to standardise on one OS across the organisation wherever possible.

That’s not to say that desktop virtualisation is not an innovative technology with a lot of potential – only that until somebody comes up with a practical way for businesses to get some advantage from it, it is likely to remain nothing more than an interesting niche which everybody will be happy to ignore.

By Martin Courtney