is about to offer users of the SPOT Satellite Messenger transmitter the ability to track their location through shared Internet pages. The company said a beta release is now running enabling users to share their GPS location waypoints and SPOT messages with others on Google Maps. SPOT is a pager-sized device that sends users’ GPS location and pre-programmed e-mail messages (from “I’m OK” to “Call 911”) to recipients over a satellite network. With SPOT shared pages, users can create, manage and share their SPOT messages, with enhanced GPS waypoints, from around the world for anyone online to track the SPOT user’s progress.
The shared pages service is a no-charge optional feature that is available to any SPOT subscriber. The user creates a shared page, chooses what information is to be shown and e-mails a web link to recipients. Currently, shared pages can display the last 24 hours of any subscriber’s SPOT data. Later this summer it is expected users will be able to share up to seven days’ worth of information. Shared pages can be either password protected for limited access or available to the general public without restriction. The SPOT device sells for $169.95, plus a one-year subscription for $99.
Virtual storage management solution
Symantec Corp. announced the upcoming release of Veritas Virtual Infrastructure, which it says offers advanced storage capabilities for virtual server environments that effectively manage storage in large scale, x86 production environments. Expected to be available in the fall of 2008, Veritas Virtual Infrastructure combines storage management capabilities from Veritas Storage Foundation with Citrix XenServer virtualization technology. Veritas Virtual Infrastructure will allow users to fully benefit from server virtualization, the company said, while both preserving current best practices in storage management from the physical environment and leveraging new opportunities provided by virtualized environments.
The company said Veritas Virtual Infrastructure uses key storage management features that are not available in current file-system based virtualization approaches, including direct control of block storage from a guest virtual server, block storage functionality including mirroring across heterogeneous arrays and SAN multi-pathing. Symantec estimated pricing will start at $4,595 per two-socket server.