Intel bids for rebound with quad-core chips
Intel Corp. has launched a family of quad-core processors, hoping to take back its crumbling share of the server market. The company promises the Xeon 5300 series chips will deliver speedy performance for the science, entertainment and business sectors. The Xeon 5300 runs 50 per cent faster while drawing the same amount of watts as Intel’s own “Woodcrest” Xeon 5100 chip, Intel said. Server vendors including Dell Inc., Hewlett Packard Co. and IBM Corp. have already announced systems using the chips, and others including Fujitsu, Rackable and SGI will join them soon. The line includes the 1.60GHz, 80-watt E5310, the 1.86GHz, 80- watt E5320 and the 2.33GHz, 80-watt E5345.
Availability: Available now Pricing: E5310 sells for US$455, E5320 sells for US$690, E5345 sells for US$851, and the X5355 sells for US$1,172, all prices are per chip and sold in 1000-unit lots URL: tinyurl.com/aln55
Document sharing for OpenOffice
Dutch company O3Spaces has released collaboration software that it says rivals Microsoft’s SharePoint. The software, called Workplace, works with open-source suites StarOffice and OpenOffice.org and is one more step in providing an equivalent alternative to Microsoft’s ubiquitous Office software. O3Spaces is built in J2EE, on top of Apache Tomcat and the PostgreSQL database management system, and is designed to work with any LDAP directory service. It runs on Linux, Solaris and 32-bit Windows. Users can access documents stored in O3Spaces via OpenOffice, through a customizable AJAX Web interface or via an optional Java-based Desktop Assistant. The search technology handles PDF, OpenOffice’s native ODF and Microsoft Office formats.
Availability: Available now Pricing: Starts at US$382 for a five-user license URL: www.o3spaces.com
Oakley rolls out laptop protection software
Oakley Networks has rolled out software that lets organizations remotely locate a lost or stolen laptop, determine whether data on the laptop has been compromised, and destroy the data to protect it from exposure. The vendor’s SureFind software is installed on laptops and can report a missing device’s location once Internet connection is established. Even if a new operating system has been installed, SureFind can establish contact with the organization. The software monitors user activity and creates a discovery log that lets security personnel review the laptop’s activities since it disappeared. Based on the information collected, IT administrators can remotely invoke a data deletion process which erases the hard disk, and if desired, disables the laptop completely.
Availability: Available now Pricing: Appx. US$30 per laptop URL: tinyurl.com/y4y3uy
Toshiba to sell 8 GB high-speed SD card
Toshiba Corp. plans to start selling in January next year an 8 GB high-speed SD (secure digital) memory card. The card will support the “class 4” high-speed data writing specification of the SD Card Association and be able to record data at 6 Mbps, said Toshiba.
Availability: January 2007 Pricing: Appx. US$340 URL: tinyurl.com/vhmx2
Asustek makes motherboard for Intel quad-core
Motherboard maker Asustek Computer Inc. has announced its latest motherboard designed around quad-core microprocessors from Intel Corp. The company said its P5WDH Deluxe board, aimed at computer gamers, is made for Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processors. Internal testing showed the system increases speeds considerably over dual-core microprocessors. The new Intel chips are dubbed ‘quad-core’ because each chip contains four central processing unit cores, allowing PCs with the chips to perform several tasks at once. The chips make a big difference in servers and workstations, but desktop and laptop users only see a major impact in performance when running high-end games or editing photos or video. The new Asustek motherboard joins a list of products it has already announced that support Intel quad-core processors.
Availability: Available “soon” Pricing: Details not released URL: tinyurl.com/kksky
SugarCRM sweetens full open source stack
Open source CRM vendor SugarCRM Inc. has unveiled Sugar FastStack, a service to set up and support a stack of its Sugar Professional or Enterprise On-site product releases as well as the Apache Web Server, the PHP Web scripting language and the MySQL database. FastStack can be installed on the three operating systems SugarCRM supports — Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. Creating stacks of software components is a growing trend among open source players. The aim is to accelerate the adoption of open source technologies with the vendors, not their customers, taking on more of the complexity involved in getting different components to work together.
Availability: Available now Pricing: US$499 for customers who are also purchasing either Sugar Professional On-Site or Sugar Enterprise On-Site URL: tinyurl.com/yax63k
Norton Confidential adds Safari support
Symantec says its recently introduced Norton Confidential security software now works with Apple’s Safari Web browser. Symantec claims that Norton Confidential helps Mac users stay safe from phishing and identity theft by securing the Web sites they’re connected to. A software plug-in that works with the Web browser displays a green indicator and the phrase “site verified” when it’s established that the Web site you’re looking at is as it should be. When the service launched, it shipped only with a plug-in that worked with the Firefox Web browser.
Availability: Available now URL: tinyurl.com/yy4cf7
Oki targets small workgroups
Oki Data Americas has introduced the B4545 monochrome multifunction printer, targeted at small workgroup environments. The B4545’s features include LDAP compatibility; full keyboard layout; PC-independent scan-to-email and scan-to-network capabilities; LAN fax compatibility; the ability to scan-to and print-from the USB flash drive, and network connectivity.
Availability: Available now Pricing: $619 URL: tinyurl.com/y78ms6
BenQ adds four LCD displays
BenQ has announced the addition of four new LCD displays to its professional series line: the 19-inch FP92W and 22-inch FP222W widescreen displays, and the 17-inch FP73GS and 19-inch FPS93GS traditional-format displays. All the displays feature D-Sub and Digital Visual Interface (DVI) inputs, and include BenQ’s “Senseye” image processing technology, which provides colour management, contrast enhancement and sharpness enhancement capabilities. All displays also feature 300 cd/m2 brightness and 5-millisecond response times. All the displays except for the FP93GS sport 700:1 contrast ratios; the FP93GS is 800:1.
Availability: Available now Pricing: FP92W US$269, FP222W US$499, FP73GS US$$229, FPS93GS US$289 URL: tinyurl.com/ym8x72
ConSentry sticks control in a switch
ConSentry has announced a new switch combining its identity management with network access control technology. The LANShield Switch is described as an enterprise-class switch that integrates the security features needed to secure every user and every port on the LAN. The benefit is that traffic from existing switches can be secured, according to ConSentry. The company said the technology supports both pre-admission and post-admission controls, and provides enterprises with a way of controlling access to resources and applications on the LAN. Other benefits include more customizable admission control; automatic authentication; and a simplified incident response.
Availability: Available now Pricing: US$16,000 URL: tinyurl.com/ymv8gq
Google brings Mac support to AJAX tools
Google has released a Mac version of its AJAX software, Google Web Toolkit 1.2. The company has also updated its existing versions of the software for Windows and Linux systems. The software means Mac developers can develop and debug AJAX sites using the software. Google Web Toolkit is a Java software development framework that makes writing AJAX applications like Gmail “easy for developers who don’t speak browser quirks as a second language”, according to Google. The company claims the software is much faster at debugging code, and has revealed a number of new tools from third-party developers designed for use with Google Web Toolkit, from JetBrains, Instantiations and Wirelexsoft.
Availability: Available now URL: tinyurl.com/lxgcl
ViewSonic gets rugged
ViewSonic Corp. has released three new rugged handheld computers designed to meet mobile computing requirements in industries like retail, public safety, healthcare and the military. The devices are built on Microsoft’s PPC 2003 operating system, use Intel’s Xscale CPU and offer built-in Bluetooth, GPS tracking and 802.11b/g wireless compatibility. They also meet the IP54 design standards for sealing against dust, moisture and extreme environmental conditions.
Availability: Available now Pricing: V38r-06 is $1839, V38r-07 is $2189, V38r-07a is $2299 URL: tinyurl.com/wo7av
Trend Micro targets smartphone security
TrendMicro has unveiled updated security software for smartphones and handheld devices running the Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems. Trend Micro Mobile Security 3.0 includes antivirus software, a firewall and intrusion-detection capabilities. It’s geared for devices that run Windows Mobile 5.0 and Nokia devices that run Symbian 9.1/S60 3rd Edition. The number of known viruses over the past three years for Windows- and Symbian-based devices is about two dozen, according to Trend Micro.
Availability: Windows Mobile 5.0 version available now, Symbian OS 9.1/S60 3rd Edition ships early 2007 Pricing: US$34.95 URL: tinyurl.com/43tmp
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