TPG The Project Group GmbH, provider of Microsoft Project add-in products, announced that it is adding to its range with the TPG MailNotifier. Project managers can configure the new product to send out role-specific emails containing information about important project conditions in the Microsoft Project Server and SQL Server. As the messages are sent automatically, the tool provides an efficient way to remind project participants to update their project data. As a result, TPG MailNotifier creates the conditions required for more precise project management based on the newest data. TPG MailNotifier is available now from TPG.

The comprehensive Confio Igniter Suite now includes specific versions of its database performance tuning tool for Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2 and Java. The Confio Igniter Suite empowers IT management and database administrators to monitor, analyze and optimize their enterprise databases and applications in an effort to improve service levels and reduce costs.

In a case of justice gone horribly wrong, WebGuy.net’s Mark W. Mumma, ISP, spam victim and anti-spam activist, has been dealt the ultimate"low blow" by a Federal Court. The small, Oklahoma City based ISP has been ordered by a U.S. Federal Jury to pay $2.5 Million in damages to the very company that admitted sending him unsolicited email in the first place.

In a mind numbing decision, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema ruled that Mark W. Mumma’s statement that Plaintiffs, Cruise.com, Omega World Travel and Gloria Bohan "are spammers" is "untrue" in spite of the fact that Cruise.com witnesses confirmed, under oath, that they never ask a recipient’s permission prior to sending them email offers. The reason given by Cruise.com CEO Anthony Hamawy regarding why they don’t verify an email recipient’s desire to receive their offers was, "No, we have not, primarily because our competitors don’t."

Google, the information and search company, wants the right to file legal complaints against Microsoft for a whole lot longer.

In a legal brief filed today–and not so nearly private as the one filed in November–Google made an audacious and self-serving request: For the court to extend its oversight of Microsoft.

Microsoft’s consent decree with the US Justice Department and nine states expires in mid-November. The company has agreed to a two-year extension, but just related to protocol licensing. Google wants more.

The vulnerabilities Errata Security found in Apple’s Safari beta for Windows–within hours of the browser’s June 11 launch–are still open, CTO Dave Maynor said in a blog on June 25.

"The vulnerabilities found by Errata Security are still present in the Windows version of the Browser," he wrote.

The posting has since been removed, pending the addition of further details, Maynor told eWEEK. Apple hadn’t responded to questions by the time this posted.

Exclaimer, which markets a suite of email utilities that brings unique functionality to Microsoft Exchange environments, announced the availability of Exclaimer Store Compressor, a software tool that minimizes the size of the Exchange mail store by compressing attachments and emails.

With Store Compressor, the limited size of both Exchange and SBS Server Exchange Stores can be mitigated. Storage size is maximized as individual emails are compressed, freeing valuable mailbox space.

The Exclaimer Store Compressor’s retention policy system enables customization of how and at what intervals Outlook items, such as emails, attachments, appointments or tasks, are manipulated, based on internal IT preferences. This enforces strict adherence to company-wide policies regarding retention of email messages. Because the program uses the same application programming interface as Microsoft Outlook, scalability and security are assured.

Google has published the description of a new feature to their "What’s New" page for Google Apps admins. Your shared address book pulls together the complete list of accounts in your domain into an easily searchable list of contacts. The update isn’t quite available for all the users in my domain yet, but I can enable contact sharing in my admin console already.

Softalk has announced the release of Softalk Share Server, which will be sold as a simpler, lower-priced alternative to Microsoft’s messaging and collaboration servers, according to Softalk representatives.

Softalk, the global developer of collaboration and email software, has designed a new collaboration server to enable small and medium-sized businesses to instantly share Microsoft Outlook folders so changes made in Outlook are available immediately. Previously, this was only possible using Microsoft’s premium-priced Exchange or Small Business Server, as most competitor products don’t instantly update Outlook as changes are made.

Spam has continued to increase according to SPAMfighter statistics, since the arrest on May 30, 2007 of the nicknamed "Spam King," Robert Soloway. According to a report by the Associated Press, Soloway, who has been nicknamed "Spam King" by U.S. Investigators, was arrested May 30, 2007 on 35 charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. The Spam King can potentially look at over 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

Sometimes in IT, the best defense is a good defense moved further up the network stack. At least that is what some vendors and analysts are predicting about the next generation of network firewalls.

Vendors are increasingly looking to integrate IPS (intrusion prevention systems) with firewalls, but truly integrated, full-featured products are in short supply, said Gartner analyst Greg Young. He cited research by his firm stating that threats have become more complex and moved higher in the network stack, forcing firewalls to move beyond just providing stateful protocol analysis to having increasingly rich management and configuration tools.