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3rd November 2009 Archive

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  • Hacker charged in $1m cable ISP customer cloning scheme

    MAC spoofing biz flourished for six years

    Federal prosecutors have charged a California man with earning $1m over a six-year period by illegally selling products that allowed customers to get high-speed internet service for free. Ryan Harris, 26, of San Diego sold software and hardware that were designed to fool Charter Communications and other internet service …

    Security 3 Nov 2009, 00:20

  • AMD desktop rejig: six-core 'Thuban' set for Q2 2010?

    Phenom IIs out, Phenom IIs in

    AMD is reported to have rejiggered its phase-out and phase-in plans for various members of its Phenom II and Athlon II processor lines. According to a report on Monday by the Taiwanese market-watchers at DigiTimes, "sources at motherboard makers" say that AMD has stopped taking orders for the 2.6GHz Phenom II X4 910 and 3.0GHz …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 01:09

  • Yahoo! open sources uber web server

    '400-terabytes-a-day' Traffic Server lands at Apache

    Yahoo! has open sourced the back-end software platform that underpins the company's webmail client and countless other applications offered up across its sweeping web portal. Known as Traffic Server, the platform handles general edge caching, edge processing, and load balancing at Yahoo!, but it's also used to manage traffic …

    Applications 3 Nov 2009, 01:12

  • Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala

    Smooth Windows upgrade it ain't

    Ubuntu 9.10 is causing outrage and frustration, with early adopters wishing they'd stuck with previous versions of the Linux distro. Blank and flickering screens, failure to recognize hard drives, defaulting to the old 2.6.28 Linux kernel, and failure to get encryption running are taking their toll, as early adopters turn to …

    Operating Systems 3 Nov 2009, 03:36

  • Motorola to boost smartphone range

    Promises 20 models for 2010

    Motorola was slow to join the smartphone bandwagon, but that’s all about to change. The firm has promised to launch no fewer than 20 top-end mobile phones next year. During the launchof Motorola’s most prominent smartphone of recent months, the Droid, Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s CEO, announced that the firm will launch “multiple …

    Phones 3 Nov 2009, 06:02

  • SpiderCloud weaves 3G into enterprise

    Fattened-up Femtocell

    Networking startup SpiderCloud wants to bring 3G networks into the enterprise, and hopes that network operators will pay for them. Running your own cellular network is all the rage these days, with femtocells spreading the 3G goodness into homes beyond the macro network, but enterprise users need a more centrally-managed …

    Broadband 3 Nov 2009, 07:02

  • Sony Ericsson S312

    Review Cut-price Cyber-shot?

    Sony Ericsson tends to get the most publicity from its Cyber-shot cameraphones and Walkman music phones. Not unusual, that, but the company also has a large array of mid-range and lower end mobiles. A case in point: the S312. At £100 Sim-free or £69 from T-Mobile on pay-as-you-go, it fits right into that lower price bracket. …

    Phones 3 Nov 2009, 08:02

  • Big Blue red-faced over Congestion charge crash

    First day fumble of new systems

    Things did not go entirely smoothly for IBM on its first day in control of Transport for London's Congestion Charge systems yesterday. Capita set up the system and ran it for five years before TfL handed the contract to IBM in October 2007. Some staff were moved across and new systems put in place. But sources told The …

    Government 3 Nov 2009, 08:02

  • Google not normal for Norfolk

    Search engine too taxing for web-footed web surfers

    Good news for Microsoft's Bing today - Google does not have the whole search market sewn up and nor is it easy to use. At least one English county is apparently unable to fathom its mysteries. Somewhere in Norfolk an extremely dull argument is raging over Liz Truss - a potential Tory candidate for a safe seat - and whether she …

    Bootnotes 3 Nov 2009, 09:02

  • T-Mobile: Google to open Android Market to Win Mo apps

    Surely some mistake?

    Google has extended the reach of the Android Market online app store to Windows Mobile devies... if T-Mobile UK is to be believed. The carrier this week put up a page on its website for the upcoming HTC Touch HD2. T-Mobile's HD2 page: Android and Windows, together at last The handset, due this month, numbers, says T-Mobile …

    Phones 3 Nov 2009, 09:02

  • Bono serenades fellow fader, Bill Gates

    "Happy Birthday' to Bill(ionaire)

    Bill Gates' fortune may have slipped by $18bn in the past year or so, but pop oldster Bono apparently thinks that the leftover $40bn still deserves a royal salute. The final performance of U2's 360° Tour took place on October 28 at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia - which also just happened to have been the …

    Software 3 Nov 2009, 09:02

  • Devious decryption scam rides ransomware Trojan

    We can remember it for you wholesale

    Devious virus writers have come up with a new twist on ransomware-style malware. A new strain of Trojan encrypts recently-opened files on compromised Windows PCs. But instead of demanding a ransom for a decryption key to unlock files, the malware relies on users to search the web for a possible way-out. Hackers have cleverly …

    Security 3 Nov 2009, 09:50

  • Irish brogue voted world's sexiest accent

    'Have you got any Irish in you..?'

    There's some good news this morning for our readers from the Emerald Isle: their Irish brogue has topped a poll of 5,000 women worldwide to emerge as the world's sexiest accent. The result of the www.OnePoll.com survey demonstrated that our sweet-talking Irish cousins boast the most mellifluous tones, pipping the smooth- …

    Bootnotes 3 Nov 2009, 09:53

  • Big business bullies EU into open source U-turn

    Definition replaced with dubious vagueness

    The European Union has long promoted open source software, but it seems that years of expensive lobbying by big software companies has finally worn down the bureaucrats' resistance. The latest version of the European Interoperability Framework - which aims to offer governments and businesses guidance on using open source …

    Applications 3 Nov 2009, 09:58

  • Airwave cop-comms to be 'brought to life' for Olympics

    'U-turn' West coughs up £39m for Games upgrades

    The Home Office has announced a £39m deal to upgrade its Airwave emergency-services comms net in and around the 2012 Olympics venues, allowing it to handle "several thousand users within confined geographical locations". Contractors described the requirement as "challenging", but anticipated meeting it by Games time. The …

    Law 3 Nov 2009, 10:02

  • Sony Ericsson confirms Android Xperia

    Kimono opened, Rachael revealed

    Sony Ericsson has finally undressed 'Rachael' – its latest flagship smartphone known for ages only by its sexy pseudonym. Leaked images, pictures and specifications have been doing to rounds for months. But today marks SE’s first official confirmation that the X10 smartphone will launch during “the first half of 2010”. Can …

    Phones 3 Nov 2009, 10:06

  • Desktops: To upgrade or not?

    Live Webcast Today we have the answer

    With Windows 7 ready to bite, the recession drawing to a close - maybe - and a certain optimism crossing the land, we’ll soon enter the season for desktop upgrades. But seriously, what’s the rationale for keeping an up-to-date desktop environment? In our latest webcast, live today November 3, at 11am, we tackle this challenge …

    PC Management 3 Nov 2009, 10:09

  • Opera Mobile sings out new Symbian version

    Mini features, mobile capabilities

    Opera's latest Mobile version is out in beta for Symbian, providing the best mobile browsing experience with an interface borrowed from Opera Mini. Opera Mobile has been starting to look a little tired when compared to its little sibling, Opera Mini, which has been sporting a shiny new interface since September, so the Symbian …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2009, 10:38

  • Creative back on Apple's case with iPad-style media tablet

    E-book readers? PMPs? Pah! says firm

    Creative Labs, one-time maker of major iPod challengers, is to take on Apple again - if the Mac maker releases its eagerly anticipated 'iPad' tablet, that is. Creative has just held its latest AGM. At the event, Willie Png, the company's head of strategy, revealed that Creative will shortly enter the e-book reader market, …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 11:01

  • WD dives into SAS enterprise drive pool

    And then there were three

    Western Digital has jumped into the enterprise-class hard drive market with a 10,000rpm, 300GB capacity drive. The WD S25 is built on WD's popular Velociraptor drive base, having a similar 2.5-inch form factor, spinning at 10K and with a capacity of up to 300GB. The capacity points are 150GB, with one platter, and 300GB with …

    Storage 3 Nov 2009, 11:02

  • Nintendo hints at free DSi 3G connectivity

    WhisperNet-style service coming to handheld?

    Recent comments by Nintendo’s CEO have sparked speculation that the gaming giant’s upcoming Nintendo DSi XL will offer free game downloads over an integrated 3G connection. Satoru Iwata reportedly told the Financial Times that he’s “interested” in Amazon’s Kindle model. The online retailer provides free 3G access to the …

    Games 3 Nov 2009, 11:06

  • EMC/Cisco's V-Block faces the hard Cell from HP

    Comment Integrated stacks to face off

    EMC and Cisco have announced a plan to sell virtual blocks - or V-Blocks - likely to be integrated stacks of virtualised servers, storage and switches, either as products or services. HP's Cell technology could achieve the same end: IT stacks provisioned on demand in private or public clouds. A V-Block is, El Reg reckons, a …

    Storage 3 Nov 2009, 11:21

  • Atheros touts 802.11n chip for phones, handhelds

    1-stream coming

    We may at last be soon able to see handheld gadgets equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi. WLAN chipmaker Atheros has introduced a part aimed at just such devices, but don't expect full 802.11n speeds. The AR6003 series of chips comprise single-band (2.4GHz) and dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) offerings. All of them, however, use a single …

    Broadband 3 Nov 2009, 11:28

  • M86 picks up Finjan to tackle web-based threats

    Doubling up on behaviour-based protection

    Content security firm M86 Security has acquired web security appliance firm Finjan in a deal designed to allow it to offer better protection against both email and web-based threats. Terms of the agreement, announced Tuesday, were undisclosed. The deal adds Finjan’s line of secure web gateway and security as a service products …

    Security 3 Nov 2009, 11:45

  • Boffins working on biodegradable flexi LED implants

    Silky hand-tattoo displays to replace watches, PDAs?

    Boffins in America are working on biodegradable, flexible electronic devices printed on silk, which could be implanted in the human body and would decay naturally over time. Applications could include LED displays inlaid beneath the skin, or direct nerve-controlled interfaces. MIT Tech Review reports on the new in-body tech, …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 11:50

  • Granada to start losing analog telly tomorrow

    BBC 2 first, all the rest later

    The Granada TV region will lose part of its analog signal tomorrow, paving the way for stronger Freeview digital broadcasts. The region, which stretches North of Lancaster down to into Cheshire, taking in Manchester and Liverpool on the way, is served by the Winter Hill transmitter. A mountainous neck of the woods, the …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 12:02

  • MPs give offender system drubbing in scathing report

    Government cannot explain where the millions went

    The Public Accounts Commitee, the funding watchdog, has reported back on its investigation into the failed National Offender Management System - which was abandoned in 2007 after wasting millions of pounds - without pulling any punches. The EDS-run project was effectively gutted two years ago - it will now, hopefully, provide …

    Government 3 Nov 2009, 12:08

  • Extortionist targets jailbroken iPhones

    But then relents and offers free fix

    A Dutch hacker who threatened iPhone jailbreakers has relented on their threat to abuse unlocked handsets unless users pay €5. Some Dutch users of jailbroken iPhones got a shock when greeted with a message from a Dutch hacker claiming to have complete control of their beloved handset. The miscreant threatened to use that …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2009, 12:10

  • 3M shows 9in naked-eye 3D display

    No specs please, we're British

    Three-dimensional displays that don't rely on polarised or active-shutter glasses could be coming to handheld devices soon ther than you think. 3M's Japanese subsidiary this week showed off 9in and 2.8in LCD panels that generate a 3D image viewable with the naked eye, Japanese newssite Tech-On reports. The secret lies in a …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 12:19

  • Friends Reunited reunited with ITV?

    Regulator kicks deal into full investigation

    The Office of Fair Trading has sent the proposed takeover of Friends Reunited by DC Thomson to the Competition Commission. Dennis the Menace's publisher was to pay £25m for the websites. But it is not Friends Reunited's tiny slice of the social networking pie that worries regulators. As part of the deal, DC Thomson subsidiary …

    Financial News 3 Nov 2009, 12:34

  • Google wheels out Chrome, Wave updates

    Bookmark that, federate this

    Google's developers clearly missed all the Halloween fun, with both the Chrome and Wave teams slinging out updates yesterday. The Wave team has pushed out a "developer instance" of the messaging everything platform. "One of the fundamental concepts we discussed was the vision for wave as an open communications protocol. We …

    Developer 3 Nov 2009, 12:36

  • Employers to take fingerprints for CRB checks

    In place of plod

    Private companies will take fingerprints from job applicants as part of a trial to improve the accuracy of Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) background checks. The trial, disclosed to The Register in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, will see employment agencies gather biometric data from some applicants to …

    Government 3 Nov 2009, 12:40

  • T-Mobile Pulse

    Review The Googlephone for everyone?

    There haven’t been that many Android smartphones in the UK yet, but T-Mobile is already looking to capitalise on the burgeoning demand Google's operating system by releasing the Pulse, the first pay-as-you-go Android handset. T-Mobile's Pulse: Android goes PAYG Running Android 1.5 - aka Cupcake - the Pulse is the lowest- …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2009, 13:02

  • Cisco plays hardball over Tandberg buy

    But snaffles Chinese TV box business in the meantime

    Cisco is warning shareholders of Tandberg - the video conferencing firm it is buying for $3bn - that it will not pursue the takeover at any price. Last month some large shareholders made noises that Cisco's offer for the firm was too small - despite offering a 38 per cent premium. Cisco issued a tough statement warning: "no …

    Data Networking 3 Nov 2009, 13:02

  • Tories will scrap 'pre-crime' vetting

    Won't assess dodginess by beliefs, fave films

    An incoming Conservative government would take steps to cut the vetting database down to size and would balk at 'pre-crime' behavioural vetting techniques. Tory opposition to key elements of the Vetting and Barring process proposed by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) emerged last night at a meeting of the …

    Government 3 Nov 2009, 13:10

  • Nokia Siemens Networks to slash almost 6,000 jobs

    No omelette without strategic workforce rebalancing

    Nokia Siemens Networks is planning to shave €500m off annual running costs over the next 26 months, with cuts that could include six thousand jobs. The plan is to cut €500m from annual expenses by the end of 2011, and includes a new company structure as well as greater emphasis on 'partnerships' and savings from purchasing. …

    Broadband 3 Nov 2009, 13:22

  • BetOnSports founder Kaplan jailed for four years

    Racket rumbled

    The founder of BetOnSports.com was imprisoned for four years and three months on Monday after pleading guilty to violating the Wire Wager Act and racketeering offences. Gary Kaplan, 50, pleaded guilty to the offences and agreed to pay $43.6m as part of a plea bargaining agreement. The huge fine reportedly amounts to around …

    Law 3 Nov 2009, 13:51

  • FBI techs shy away from facial recognition

    Spends 40 years losing face

    A senior FBI technologist declared last month that after decades of evaluation, the agency sees no point in facial recognition. Speaking at last month's Biometrics 2009 conference in London, James A Loudermilk II, a senior level technologist at the FBI, outlined the agency's future biometrics' strategy. He said that 18,000 …

    Law 3 Nov 2009, 13:58

  • Adaptec CEO on the ropes after dreadful results

    Company steels itself for doomed proxy fight

    Adaptec's November 10th AGM runup has been bespoiled by dreadful quarterly results and the company is facing the likely ejection of its CEO from the board. The results for its second 2010 quarter showed a 42 per cent revenue decline year-on-year and a $3.8m loss, compared to a $3.3m profit a year ago. To increase Adaptec …

    Storage 3 Nov 2009, 14:21

  • 3Leaf makes big SMPs out of x64 clusters

    Shared memory trumps virtualization

    Everybody is looking to shake up the server business this days, it seems. But everyone had better get in line behind 3Leaf Systems, which is launching its much awaited "Aqua" system pooling and virtualization chipset and an intriguing x64 system to match. A little more than two years ago, 3Leaf Systems came out of stealth mode …

    Servers 3 Nov 2009, 14:33

  • Volcanic African 'unzipping' could see continent divided

    Mighty cleft suddenly appears in 'mega dyke intrusion'

    An enormous 35-mile-long rift which "unzipped" in "just days" across the face of Ethiopia has now been confirmed by boffins as the beginning of a process which will see Africa split in two by a new ocean. Geologists around the world, including some at Leeds Uni in the UK, came together to analyse the startling event in which a …

    Science 3 Nov 2009, 15:14

  • Who does what in the server room?

    Workshop Servers and service delivery

    The “architectures” deployed in server rooms are beginning to change dramatically. Organisations are seeking to increase service delivery to their customers while keeping a strong hold on costs, both in terms of acquisition and, increasingly, operation. This trend in turn is shaping the skills required to run the datacentre and …

    Server Management 3 Nov 2009, 15:20

  • Reg hack pursues Street View spymobile

    Orwellian black Opel flees from chance encounter in rural Spain

    You know how it is: you pop out in the morning to buy some milk and before you know it you've been recorded for posterity by a prowling spymobile from Google's Street View. Well, that's what happens in the big city, at least, but it's the last thing this Spanish rural hack expected when he nipped to the shops this morning to …

    Bootnotes 3 Nov 2009, 15:21

  • Microsoft chops cloud costs

    Hosted biz services cheaper

    Microsoft is cutting the cost of its hosted cloud business productivity bundle. This includes Exchange Online, which falls from $10 per user, per month, to $5. The business productivity bundle of Sharepoint Online and Office Communications Online falls from $15 to $10. In public the company is insisting this has nothing to do …

    The Channel 3 Nov 2009, 15:31

  • Americans promised all you can eat Twittering for $99

    Hail the unsmart phone

    Millions more Americans will now be able to engage in SMS inane babble and update the world on their lunch habits with the official launch of the TwitterPeek, a handheld device that does nothing but let you Twitter. Unfortunately, UK Twitterers standing by to defend the honour of Stephen Fry and/or the baboon genus will have …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2009, 15:34

  • Arkeia digs deep for dedupe technology

    Pockets Kadena Systems

    Backup supplier Arkeia is buying Kadena Systems and its deduplication technology for an undisclosed amount. Kadena is a startup which has developed block-level deduplication, using what it calls sliding-window technology. The size of this window can be adjusted to match the type of content in a file and, to that extent, the …

    Storage 3 Nov 2009, 15:56

  • Trojan pokes Facebook for zombie commands

    Anti-social networking

    Crimeware distributors have begun using Facebook as a command and control channel for a Trojan that turns compromised Windows PCs into zombie drones. Zombie clients poll the Notes section of the mobile version of Facebook for instructions. Compromised clients might be instructed to download further code from a specified web …

    Security 3 Nov 2009, 16:01

  • Cisco, EMC, and VMware join hands and plunge into cloud

    Acadia, the power of three

    Cisco Systems, EMC, and VMware this morning announced the formation of a new joint venture called Acadia and a stack of data centre servers, storage, networking. The venture will peddle the stacks, called Vblocks, for companies who want to buy preconfigured virtual and cloudy infrastructure. The three companies have been …

    Servers 3 Nov 2009, 16:27

  • Peugeot's bulbous BB1 e-car bound for Blighty

    Leccy Tech Your chance to kick the types, etc.

    Following its official unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Peugeot's visually arresting BB1 e-car has been sent on a European Grand Tour to drum up interest and give the masses a chance to kick the tyres. The tour kicked off at Berlin's Potsdamer Platz at the weekend and the following stop is London where the car will be on …

    Science 3 Nov 2009, 16:28

  • US sees 'hot-tub related injuries' increase triplefold

    Horrific 'body part entanglement' <cough> bloodbath

    According to a recent study, those US citizens who manage to survive swine flu, terrorists, meteor strikes, guvmint agents fixin' to pry their guns from their cold dead fingers and other such perils of the modern age are still doomed. They will almost certainly be killed - or anyway badly injured - in some kind of horrific hot- …

    Science 3 Nov 2009, 16:33

  • Barnes & Noble nobbled for 'nicking' Nook-e Reader notion

    Sued for 'stealing idea' from business partner

    Spring Design is suing Barnes & Noble for allegedly stealing its e-book reader designs. The Cupertino-based company announced its own dual-screen viewer, the Alex, in October, but claims that since the beginning of the year it's been in conversation with Barnes & Noble under a mutual non-disclosure agreement, during which time …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 16:40

  • Buffalo adds add-in card adaptor to USB 3.0 line-up

    PCI Express to the rescue

    Storage specialist Buffalo has re-announced its first USB 3.0 hard drive and this time it's also offering punters stuck in the USB 2.0 era - all of them, in other words - a PCI Express Card containing a pair of SuperSpeed ports. The USB 3.0 hard drive is the DriveStation HD-HXU3, a desktop unit that will ship in 1, 1.5 and 2TB …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 16:51

  • Microsoft's SQL Server gets appliance of iron

    Test code challenges Oracle

    Near-final code for Microsoft's next SQL Server database is due today, wrapping in hardware from partners to help counter Oracle's proprietary Exadata appliance. A second SQL Server 2008 R2 community technology preview will be delivered for testing at Microsoft's Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) conference in …

    Applications 3 Nov 2009, 17:02

  • Can Darwin help us find little green men?

    Astrobiologist celebrates Origins bday

    Life as we know it on Earth is mostly ugly, sometimes monstrous, and to a statistically small but nevertheless disquieting magnitude, it's composed of wandering packs of ravaging blood-thirsty wolves. Curiously, this beastly menagerie comes from what is essentially the same biological recipe that also spawned Academy Award- …

    Science 3 Nov 2009, 17:17

  • VIA intros Nano 3000 netbook, notebook CPUs

    Takes aim at Intel's Atom and CULV chips

    VIA has introduced out its latest Nano CPUs, pitching the new 3000 family of low-power processors at makers of thin'n'light laptops and of all-in-one desktops. The Nano 3000 series runs to six processors, clock at between 1GHz and 2GHz. They all sit on an 800MHz system bus. Four U3x00 models consume just 100mW of power when …

    Hardware 3 Nov 2009, 17:22

  • Dell hit by $12.8m camera conspiracy verdict

    Not so big and easy now

    A New Orleans jury has found Dell liable for $12.8m in damages on conspiracy and unfair competition charges in a lawsuit about the city's problem-plagued crime camera program. The eponymous computer vendor was sued by local CCTV vendors, Southern Electronics Supply and Active Solutions, in a hideously complex lawsuit alleging …

    Bootnotes 3 Nov 2009, 19:21

  • PayPal opens 'embed everywhere' APIs to world+dog

    PayPal X Innovate X marks the 'we're bigger than eBay' play

    PayPal and eBay have opened their PayPal X developer platform to world+dog. Named with a nod to PayPal's original url, this new collection of APIs is pitched as a way for developers to embedded payment processing in everything from third-party web apps to online app stores to outside dev platforms. "Working together, we will …

    Developer 3 Nov 2009, 19:39

  • ChiPhone fails to ignite consumer frenzy

    But betting against Apple still inadvisable

    Legal iPhones have been available in China since last Friday, but Chinese consumers aren't falling over themselves to buy the pricey smartphones. But don't let the low sales figures fool you. According to a report by Reuters, China Unicom has sold a mere 5,000 iPhones since their release last week. That's approximately one …

    Mobile 3 Nov 2009, 20:17

  • Turkey whacks Google with £28.7m fine, claims tax dodging

    Doubts over Dublin domicile

    Google has run afoul of Turkish tax laws to the tune of 71m Turkish Lira ($47m, £28.7m). That's the amount of a fine levied by the Turkish government against the Mountain View ad broker cum search giant, as reported by Turkish-language news sites here and here, reporting on Google's vergi cezası, or tax fine. According to …

    Financial News 3 Nov 2009, 20:40

  • Bug in latest Linux gives untrusted users root access

    Protections for some, but not all

    A software developer has uncovered a bug in most versions of Linux that could allow untrusted users to gain complete control over the open-source operating system. The null pointer dereference flaw was only fixed in the upcoming 2.6.32 release candidate of the Linux kernel, making virtually all production versions in use at …

    Security 3 Nov 2009, 20:55

  • Red Hat pitches x64 virtualization with KVM rollout

    RHEVing up server hypervisors

    Commercial Linux distributor Red Hat today got its freestanding, bare-metal Enterprise Virtualization hypervisor, a hardened version of the KVM hypervisor it took control of last summer, to market. That makes Red Hat a player as x64 servers the world over are set for a massive wave of virtualization. Red Hat announced its …

    Virtualization 3 Nov 2009, 21:42

  • Inside Acadia: the Cisco, EMC, VMware love child explained

    A chip of the old vBlocks

    As El Reg reported earlier Tuesday, Cisco Systems, EMC and VMware announced a partnership to peddle integrated server, storage, and networking stacks to data centers that want to buy preconfigured and integrated x64 servers running VMware's vSphere 4.0 software. Cisco and EMC had already let the cat out of the bag before the …

    Servers 3 Nov 2009, 22:15

  • IBM hurls defiance at Microsoft after communications pitch flop

    Enterprise 2.0 'Trust me, this stuff works'

    IBM suffered through an extremely glitchy demo of its unified communications software at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference today, but it still preserved enough bravado to challenge Microsoft to a throw-down. Live demo goblins nibbled mightily at Big Blue's pitch of its communication tools at their conference keynote today in San …

    Applications 3 Nov 2009, 22:26

  • Microsoft adds higher price to SQL Server's new features

    The rising cost of data

    Microsoft is bumping up the price of its SQL Server database for the first time in four years. The company said Tuesday that the Standard and Enterprise editions of SQL Server 2008 R2, coming next year, will see increases in the price you pay per processor. SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition will be available at a price per …

    Applications 3 Nov 2009, 23:17