IBM Prescribes IT for Health Care Woes
Containing the rising cost of health services, while at the same time preserving quality of care, is one of the primary challenges for the healthcare industry. To that end, IBM has teamed up with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to resolve the inefficiencies that emanate from an infrastructure that is still largely paper-driven.
Big Blue and UPMC have invested eight years and $402 million to modernize and integrate information systems that hold patient records and to develop commercial medical technologies for managing patient care and public safety concerns.
New Satellite Takes DirecTV High Def
Early Wednesday, a Russian-made launch vehicle blasted off and delivered the first of four next-generation DirecTV satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite, christened Spaceway F1, will serve up a capacity of 1,500 local high-definition and more than 150 national HD channels throughout the United States.
Customers in 12 metropolitan markets that, according to DirecTV's estimates, make up or 32.8 percent of all U.S. TV watching households, will begin receiving transmissions of HD network programming from the satellite in fall 2005.
Brilliant Shopper Betas Product Search
With the help of technology veterans from Ask Jeeves, Disney and IBM, comparison shopping has gone vertical. Brilliant Shopper is beta testing a new search engine designed to accumulate as much information as possible about a particular product from countless sources around the Web, combining organic and sponsored results with editorial content and other promotions.
BrillantShopper.com is the latest entrant in an upsurge of vertical search engines that specialize in fulfilling specific needs and filter out undesired Web sites rather than returning unsorted results. In many ways, Brilliant Shopper is an aggregator of content related to shopping from around the Web paired with sponsored advertisements, coupons and other suggestions.
Yahoo Debuts Personal 'My Web' Search
Approximately one week after Google got the jump on rival Yahoo by unexpectedly releasing a beta feature called "My Search History," Yahoo is attempting to reverse the momentum with an early preview of its My Web customized search page that, like Google, includes archival capabilities.
Effectively a re-branding of My Yahoo Search, Yahoo bills My Web as "your own personal Web," where users can save, search and share Web pages by invoking the Yahoo Toolbar or clicking a link directly within search results.
Corel WordPerfect 12 Gets E-Mail Client
Corel is cozying up to small business by marketing a value-priced productivity suite catered to the needs of organizations with fewer than 50 PCs. Corel says it is targeting small businesses with the applications that they must have and nothing more.
The suite, named WordPerfect Office 12 - Small Business Edition, contains the newly minted WordPerfect Mail client and security software from Symantec.
Microsoft to Beta MBSA 2, Student 2006
Microsoft has issued beta invitations to testers for Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0 (MBSA 2.0) and Microsoft Student 2006. MBSA 2.0 is a free vulnerability assessment tool designed for IT professionals built with the Windows Update Services infrastructure.
No specific areas of improvement for MBSA 2.0 has been released at this time. The beta will officially begin on May 16, 2005 and is expected to continue into July. A Microsoft spokesperson would not provide further details.
Real's New Rhapsody Adds File Sharing
UPDATED Nearly two weeks ago, RealNetworks promised to reveal a "groundbreaking initiative in digital music," and today, the company showed its hand. Real unveiled a new version of its Rhapsody digital music store that will provide users with free monthly sampling and permit them to share their music with others - legally.
Real has thrown open its doors to anyone who wants to listen to digital music with a new tier of service called Rhapsody 25. With Rhapsody 25, anyone in the United States can listen to 25 full tracks per month with unrestricted use of the jukebox software's added features. If a track resonates with a user, they may go ahead and purchase the music at ala carte pricing.
AOL Testing Next Generation AIM Client
BetaNews has learned that America Online has begun beta testing the next generation of its AOL Instant Messaging software called "Triton," which will replace the existing AIM client. Triton addresses user grievances while adding highly anticipated bells and whistles including tabbed messaging and chat logging.
As the first major overhaul to AIM since its inception, Triton introduces an entirely new, simplified user interface that adopts contemporary elements such as tabbed message windows to switch between different modes of communication. Users can also corral all chat sessions into a single, tabbed window dubbed "IM Catcher."
Google Takes AdWords Beyond Clicks
Monday, Google is equipping advertisers with a new tool to target specific Web sites with AdWords advertisements and is testing a new cost-per-thousand impression (CPM) bidding model that matches what advertisers are willing to pay with the cost of advertising on a specific Web site.
A limited beta feature of Google AdWords allows participating advertisers to place text, static and animated image advertisements on content relevant Web sites of their own choosing rather than to a general audience on the open Web. Animated banner advertisements are an addition to AdWords that launched last year.
Ballmer Explains Gay Rights Bill Decision
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has denied allegations that the company acquiesced to pressure from a local religious leader to abandon its support of a Washington State gay rights bill.
In an e-mail to 50,000 employees, Ballmer insisted that a decision to remain neutral was made after much "soul searching" about the role corporations should play in social issues. He added that Microsoft is better suited to advocate its positions only when issues more directly related to its business were being considered by the state.
IBM: Software Prices Same for Dual-Core
IBM said Friday will not charge customers extra for software running on AMD or Intel dual-core processors. Citing the need for affordable prices in the low-end Windows and Linux market, IBM will charge the same price for dual-core software as its regular single-core licensing scheme.
Other software vendors are still undecided about how to classify dual-core systems, which contain two processor cores within a single chip.
Verizon Secures Deals for TV Channels
Verizon revealed that it has entered into a long-term relationship with A&E Television Networks to broadcast A&E's programming to subscribers of its upcoming FiOS TV service. Under its agreement with A&E Verizon will broadcast content from The History Channel, The Biography Channel, History International, Military History Channel, and Crime & Investigation Network.
Verizon is escalating its foray into the television market, securing programming distribution agreements with some of the largest content providers in the entertainment industry, including Discovery Networks, NBC Universal Cable and Starz Entertainment Group. The company claims that it is giving customers a competitive alternative to cable TV.
McAfee Tests Virus Scans During Boot
McAfee is developing an antivirus product that will intervene in native mode while Microsoft Windows is starting up to provide more flexibility and control over its products.
Geared toward enterprise users, McAfee PreScan integrates with McAfee's ePO 3.0/3.5 and Protection Pilot 1.1 security management software. The software will incorporate McAfee's 4400 antivirus engine, scan and clean FAT and NTFS partitions and scan removable devices.
Microsoft Opens Up With Linux Support
Microsoft has done what could have once been considered unthinkable: It has begun to support Linux in its products. In a keynote speech given at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, CEO Steve Ballmer laid out the company's plans to expand its virtualization software to support other platforms, including Linux.
Microsoft's Virtual Server leverages Windows Server 2003 as a platform for running multiple operating systems on a single machine, each insolated from one another. Windows Server 2003 is the "host" OS that can be configured to run virtual machines for "guest" operating systems, including Windows NT and 2000, OS/2 and Unix.
IBM, HP Unveil Dual-Core AMD Systems
In conjunction with AMD's official announcement of the Opteron dual-core processor, IBM drew first blood among server vendors and revealed that it has selected AMD to power several of its eServer and workstation products. Not to be outdone, rival HP also announced that it is upgrading its servers with the chip.
The IBM eServer 326 and IntelliStation A Pro 6217 will feature AMD64 architecture paired with IBM's xSeries design elements. Big Blue is targeting customers that require workstations for specialized tasks, such as digital content creation, product design, movie production, and chip manufacturing.
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