Sony has made available a new micro PC, Sony VAIO® Micro PC.This model uses low voltage Core Solo CPU and Windows XP Professional. It has a touch screen (800*600) and a sliding keyboard.The model deploys Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even WAN interfaces.It looks like a good companion for a busy sysadmin who is always on the move. However, the price of this beauty is a bit high reaching approximately 1800 $.Meanwhile, Motorola has released a new version of 700 G handheld, based on Windows mobile.From product page:The HC700-G is a versatile, rugged handheld computer with integrated GSM /GPRS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® wireless technology. Designed to enhance worker productivity in a multitude of industries, the HC700-G provides integrated data-capture capability and anywhere communications connectivity in a flexible, purpose-built converged device.Products like 700 G help to improve automation in production and transport systems Technorati : handheld, mobile, windows Del.icio.us : handheld, mobile, windows
NetGear is making available another product that should simplify the creation and management of VPNs between remote clients and head offices.NetGear is making available another product that should simplify the creation and management of VPNs between remote clients and head offices.Model SSL312 allows up to 25 concurrent secure tunnels which is quite sufficient for SOHO and small enterprises.The concentrator supports a number of authentication and encryption protocols. It has simplified web-based control system and helps organisations to save time and money as it is easy to install and configure. Technorati : SSL, VPN, hardware Del.icio.us : SSL, VPN, hardware
Microsoft has recently released another tool that validates whether Microsoft Office installed on users' computers is genuine or pirated.It is understandable that Microsoft Corporation is trying to fight piracy and it is their right to do so.On the other hand what implications does it have on normal users and administrators?Microsoft has published a small FAQ about MS Office validation.There is a number of conclusions that can be made from this document.Only Office XP and newer are required for validation. This may have small impact on organisations that use Windows 2000 or older in their environment (It is well known that even Office 97 has sufficient features for most users, so there are many organisations that use old versions and dont plan to upgrade)Users holding individual licenses for each copy of Microsoft Office are required to validate. This makes life harder for administrators as they would have to install ActiveX component in Microsoft Internet explorer on all machines with Office. People using Firefox or Opera will have another trouble as these browsers do not support ActiveX. Well, at least Microsoft offers validator as a plugin. For Opera validation should be performed using a small application that is downloadable from Microsoft. Running such an application may require changes to firewall rules on client computers.The good news is that Volume Licenses do not require validation. So large companies should not be affected so much. Technorati : windows Del.icio.us : windows
An interesting 'Virtualization market match' is going on between Vmware & Microsoft. And its giving administrators lots of benefits and freebies too! Vmware is aggressively defending its virtualisation patch: Even though it is the undisputed virtualization leader, Vmware, in a brilliant move to preempt Vista, released the free Vmware player: 1-0. Microsoft responded by including the Windows license with virtual machines on Windows Server Enterprise: 1-1. Vmware released GSX server for free (brilliant product, this counts for 2 goals :-) ) 3-1. Microsoft responded by giving away its virtualization software for free: 3-2. And the latest news is that Vmware has opened up the Vmware vm format, so that developers can develop for it. 4-2. Will Microsoft make another move, or is it time they acknowledge defeat?
Sunnyvale, Calif. – April 17, 2006 -- Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced that it has extended its position in the NAS and unified storage market. According to Gartner’s report “Market Share: NAS/Unified Storage, Worldwide, 2000-2005,”1 the total NAS and unified storage market grew 16.1% in 20042. NetApp grew more quickly than the market, posting annual revenue growth of 22.4%3. According to Gartner, the company increased its market share from 52.4% in 2004 to 55.2% in 20054. NetApp leads in both the high-end and midrange parts of the market, with 88.9% market share and 70.5% market share by revenue respectively5. Additionally, NetApp revenue for NAS/Unified Storage Gateways grew faster than the market from 20046. “With NetApp® unified storage, customers can consolidate, standardize, and centrally manage both SAN and NAS storage to simplify complex IT environments and dramatically reduce total cost of ownership,” said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Products and Partners at Network Appliance. “By offering storage solutions that maximize our customers’ investments and simultaneously support Fibre Channel SAN, IP SAN (iSCSI), and network-attached storage, NetApp can continue to address changing business needs as storage technologies evolve.” Full Press Release is accessible on NetApp official website