Manek Dubash

Microsoft Corp. has launched a new, free but unsupported synchronization tool, SyncToy, which it said "provides an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories."

AMD Opterons have burrowed deeper into the data centre with an announcement by IBM that its eServer Cluster 1350 will now support its 64-bit Opteron-based LS20 blade. IBM announced the blade in April and it is due to ship very soon.

IBM is adding to its recently introduced eServer X3 architecture-based servers with the new xSeries 460. Designed for highly scalable, always-on environments, the x460 entry configuration starts with a four-way server and scales up to 32-way processing.

The timetable for the launch of Longhorn has moved on a notch. Microsoft insider Robert Scoble

The Open Source Consortium, (OSC) the independent voice of the European open source community has announced a free guidance service to help organizations considering open source technology for the first time. The OSC will pilot the service in the U.K.

Sun Microsystems Inc. has pushed its grand vision a step further by announcing it will auction off time on its online computing power grid. This stepping up of its on-demand computing plans comes just a day after it announced its US$1-per-day grid computing scheme. Under that system, customers can buy additional computing power as and when they need it, rather than buying hardware to do it themselves.

A worldwide roaming agreement between four of the world's biggest wireless operators has given the Wi-Fi hotspot market a shot in the arm.

A worldwide roaming agreement between four of the world's biggest wireless operators has given the Wi-Fi hotspot market a shot in the arm.