Rose at least managed to finish two shots in front of Michelle Wie, who must wait a bit longer to rewrite history after failing to advance to the weekend in her fifth male US Tour event. I hate to say it, as it sounds suspiciously like an excuse, but it’s also true: time is on my side. I am actually quite happy that my career is on track.”
Four days later and Rose is actually quite miserable again, no doubt muttering to himself, “Whatever happened to the Sony Open?” after missing the cut in his first tournament of the year Still, it could have been worse. “Is that where I’ve got to now? In the ‘whatever happened to…’ columns? Maybe it’s because I’ve been around so long, but people tend not to realise I’m only 25. The young multimillionaire turns around on the balcony of an exclusive Honolulu hotel, sheltering his ears from the ocean crashing its crystal shower on the golden sands beneath to check he has heard the question correctly – “Tell me, whatever happened to Justin Rose?”
The Hampshire lad laughs “You’re joking, right?” he says. Managing director Matt Atkinson would like to know if there is a strategy for making this work less onerous or even avoidable.
“When the company was set up eight years ago, we predominantly tried to sell these services directly to the corporate market. But individuals in these big businesses keep moving on, and as a result, the firm constantly finds itself investing time and money in making new contacts in its client companies.
It’s individual relationships that make business relationships work, but what happens when your contacts in other organisations are no longer there?
Aurora Kendrick James specialises in telecommunications management and advisory services, with an emphasis on billing systems, and works with some very large clients. But if you mostly use a wired connection, the P1 will bring peace of mind.RATING: 3 out of 5.PROS: high level of security, easy set-up.CONS: no direct help for wireless network users.PRICE: £135.CONTACT: www.zyxel . There is no wireless connection built in, and although it is possible to use a WiFi-to-ethernet bridge, this is one more piece of equipment to lug around.Regular wireless LAN users will be better off buying a good-quality software firewall. This is probably a price, however, that most laptop users will accept in return for better security.The main drawback to the hardware firewall approach, though, is that it is not going to help anyone who connects their laptop to a wireless network – such as in a public hotspot or hotel. This forms a secure “tunnel” on the public internet, protecting data between the laptop and the company system.In tests, the P1 seemed to slow network connections down somewhat, especially to graphics-heavy websites. As long as the company network is set up for VPN access, the P1 will manage the connection without any further software. This is useful, as someone who is on the road a lot might have to adjust some settings to match local connections.The P1 also works as an adaptor for virtual private networks (VPNs).
It is also very easy to set up using the web-based wizard: a few minutes should have it up and running. The firewall’s settings can be accessed through a web browser interface, so there is no need to install any software.The P1 works with Windows, Macintosh and Linux, so there should be no compatibility issues. It is about the size of a handheld computer and can be powered directly from a laptop’s USB port.Setting up the P1 is easy: first connect the USB cable or power adaptor, and then two network cables – one to the internet and one to the computer. The one in Windows XP is increasingly being targeted by hackers looking for weaknesses.ZyXEL’s ZyWALL P1 is a “personal” firewall box designed for home users, small networks or people on the move. Most company networks have heavy-duty firewall equipment between them and the wider internet; many DSL or cable adaptors for the home have at least basic firewall functions built in. But these can offer no protection outside the office or home.
Windows and the Mac operating systems do have their own firewall software, but not everyone will be happy with the level of security they provide. Any internet user who is serious about security needs some form of firewall.