IBM Automates WebSphere
IBM's tree of autonomic computing tools is bearing new fruit. A beta of Big Blue's WebSphere Extended Deployment software is designed to monitor and self-manage the performance of software and hardware in response to extreme variances in network conditions. As a result, IBM claims that IT resources can be adjusted on the fly and reallocated to critical business applications with greater speed and accuracy than with human intervention.
Spikes in network volume can be hard to predict and it is often difficult for network administrators to keep pace. WebSphere Extended Deployment, in combination with IBM Tivoli Intelligent Orchestrator (available separately) monitors the efficiency of networks and distributes unexpected workloads in a grid-like fashion to under-utilized hardware and software applications. Specifically, large jobs are partitioned among processors, databases, application software and application servers.
Microsoft Aims for High Performance
Nearly a year after Microsoft announced a collaborative relationship with the Cornell Theory Center, the software giant has confirmed that it is venturing into the Unix dominated world of high performance computing (HPC). A special distribution of Windows Server 2003 called Windows Server 2003, HPC Edition is being crafted to tackle intensive parallel computing workloads, make developing high performance applications easier, and to deploy and manage clusters.
The watch word for Microsoft is cost. Affordable off-the-shelf hardware and distributed computing technology have removed the barriers in the marketplace that previously relegated supercomputers to a niche market that lacked widespread commercial viability. Given this fact, Windows Server 2003, HPC Edition is being developed with total cost of ownership in mind.
Microsoft Patents Borg Technology
Researchers at Microsoft have devised a technique to assimilate the human body as a conduit for consumer electronics. How did Microsoft accomplish this feat? Electrodes attached to body use the skin as a system bus to transmit data and as a conductive medium to distribute power between devices. Microsoft's desired effect is to cut back on the I/O redundancy that results from when multiple devices attempt to communicate.
A glimpse of the exact technique used by Microsoft is outlined in United States patent number 6,754,472 and was awarded to Microsoft and its associates this past Tuesday.
Windows XP Starter Edition a Non Starter
BetaNews has confirmation that despite published reports, Microsoft is not preparing a major release of an entry level version of Windows dubbed Windows XP Starter Edition.
Windows enthusiasts speculated that Windows XP Starter Edition was a realignment of the software giant's Office and Windows releases with Office 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 2 that would effectively re-launch both products; however, Windows XP Starter Edition is merely the formal name given to a no-thrills version of the operating system that will be distributed exclusively in Thailand and Malaysia.
iTunes Europe Tops Charts
In a little over a week since iTunes bridged the Atlantic, European consumers have purchased and downloaded more than 800,000 songs from the store.
iTunes Europe is currently available in the United Kingdom, France and Germany with a European Union version on schedule for October. Customers have access to thousands of legal music downloads at a la carte pricing and special previews of upcoming albums.
Microsoft Taps Evangelist to Push IE
After being criticized by pundits for resting on its laurels and letting its technology stagnate, Microsoft is reportedly reinvigorating the pace of Internet Explorer browser development.
Dave Massy, a technology evangelist at Microsoft has been reassigned to promote IE, which remains a fundamental part of the Windows operating system despite not having had a major revision since Windows XP was released nearly three years ago.
AOL Rethinks Enterprise IM Strategy
America Online is shying away from the enterprise instant messaging market, leaving corporate real-time communications to the likes of IBM and Microsoft.
On Tuesday, AOL announced that customers who are currently using AIM Enterprise Gateway product will be migrated to IMlogic's IM Manager solution, signaling the beginning of a wider initiative to shift the burden of enterprise software development onto certified partners.
Microsoft Outlines ERP Roadmap
Microsoft has announced plans to invest heavily in its enterprise resource planning (ERP) product lines. Over the next 12 months, the company is promising "significant new features" across all four of its ERP lines: Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta, Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Microsoft Business Solutions Navision, and Microsoft Business Solutions Solomon.
According to Microsoft, Great Plains 8.0 is scheduled to be available beginning in June, with Solomon 6.0 scheduled to be available beginning in July. Microsoft Navision 4.0 will follow later this year. Microsoft Axapta 4.0 will ship sometime next year.
Court Sounds Death Knell for 321 Studios
321 Studios may be in for its last dance. Chief Executive Robert Moore announced that the company's operations could grind to a halt in the near future. 321's controversial flagship product DVD X Copy, which bypasses rights management applications, was deemed illegal by a San Francisco judge who consequently ordered the company to pull its product from the market.
This legal setback, coupled with the significant loss of revenue stemming from the judge's decision and a recent round of lawsuits, set in motion the chain of events that led to Moore's dire proclamation.
Scientists Successfully 'Teleport' Atoms
While much of the sci-fi technology inspired by the Star Trek television series may seem improbable, or even downright impossible, there is an indication that science fiction could someday become science fact. The Journal Nature is reporting that a group of scientists based out of the United States and Austria have successfully teleported atoms without a physical link.
Previously, this breakthrough process could only be accomplished by using laser light. The synergy of the research has inspired claims that a similar protocol could one day be used to power a family of ultra-fast supercomputers.
Firefox Inches Toward 1.0 Milestone
The popular Firefox Web browser is inching closer toward a 1.0 milestone release on its product roadmap. Today, the Mozilla Foundation announced the availability of a preview release of Firefox 0.9. Firefox 0.9 is billed as a faster and more secure alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Firefox developers vow to "raise the bar" by zeroing in on four main areas of concentration: ease of use, performance, robustness, and standards compliance.
Apple's iTunes Crosses the Atlantic
Apple's iTunes Music Store has invaded Europe. Customers in the United Kingdom, France and Germany now have access to thousands of legal music downloads at a la carte pricing, complimentary previews and the same special features that are found stateside in iTunes 4.5. A European Union version of the store will launch in October of this year. "We think this is the digital music store that Europe has been waiting for," remarked Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
AOL Accelerates Netscape Internet Service
In a bid to make its low-cost dial-up offering more attractive, America Online has tacked some premium features onto the Netscape Internet service.
For $5 USD per month, subscribers can now add on a tool that guards against pop-ups, as well as the Netscape Web Accelerator to browse Web pages faster. For a nominal fee of $1 USD per month, Netscape will also provide protection against spam and e-mail viruses.
Dual G5 Power Macs Reach 2.5GHz
In anticipation of this month's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has unleashed a new line of Power Mac G5 desktops PCs. Each model is equipped with dual 64-bit PowerPC G5 processors with speeds up to 2.5GHz, an independent 1.25GHz front-side bus and a memory capacity of 8GB.
The top tier Power Macs are chilled out by an "advanced" liquid cooling system.
Microsoft Moves to Overturn Eolas Patent Ruling
Microsoft has filed a 174-page brief asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the judgment of a District Court, which holds Redmond liable for $565 million USD in damages for violating a controversial patent held by Eolas.
The University of California granted Eolas exclusive rights to the patent that pertains to a mechanism used by developers to embed and evoke interactive programs from within a Web browser.
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