The first word

UNISYS is the first American company to sell equity to a local empowerment group. Let`s savour that statement for a moment. It stands on its own, resonating with validation for the Charter process.

The ICT Charter has been bogged down for years, partly because of American multinationals` resistance to its equity stipulations. It almost didn`t seem possible that an American company would ever cave in.

That, is their reluctance seemed a given, an unwritten rule, until this deal. Hats off to Unisys.

I`m amused, in a way, that the courts are finally catching up with technology. So things will be a bit tougher now, and they`ll be mired in procedure and take forever, but it`s about time.

Attorneys Buys Inc. have come up with a fascinating round-up of the burgeoning case history involving technology, or indirectly affecting technology operations, from improper use of domain names in the past, to ISPs` liability for poor service, to a rather un-lawyer-like look into the future. One case involving the SAPS issuing a firearm licence to a convicted criminal is said to have wider application for ISPs. Read and prepare.

BEE requirements in VANs regulations come under fire in another story, and the date for compliance of private companies of all stripes to the Access to Information Act - just around the corner - is the topic of another report.

Equally amusing is Patrick Heske`s take on what he calls "open sorcerers". No matter how mature Linux has become, its disciples are, sadly, often not very grown up. I think many people can attest to that. Let`s hope the community can take constructive criticism.