HP easing Unix deployment
Hewlett Packard has strengthened its HP Integrity server lineup with a model for BladeSystem c-Class environments and a new rack-optimized unit, the Integrity rx2660 entry-class server. The HP Integrity BL860c Server Blade is the first Integrity model designed for the HP BladeSystem c-Class portfolio, HP’s new blade architecture. Integrity servers, powered by Intel’s Itanium processors, have been traditionally sold as high-end products used for mission-critical business applications. By offering Integrity servers at these prices, HP is aiming at entry-level servers from Sun, HP executives said.
Availability: Available now
Pricing: US$3,827
Sun releases Java Enterprise System 5.0
Sun Microsystems has released a new version of its Java Enterprise System (Java ES) set of subscription-based enterprise middleware with the emphasis on making the offering more modular. Java ES 5.0 is the first major release of the bundle since October 2005. The offering brings Sun’s infrastructure software, support and training together into a single product and is aimed at companies looking to purchase the vendor’s middleware at a gradual, predictable rate. Java ES is also available in the form of individual software suites known collectively as Java System Suites. Major enhancements in Java ES 5.0 include work on a monitoring console and monitoring framework and a common installer for the software components, said Sun. The vendor is also keen to incorporate more of its own and third-party open-source components in its middleware.
Availability: Available now
Pricing: Java ES 5.0 Base is US$100 per employee, per year, add-ons are extra
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is updated
Red Hat is providing a taste of the upcoming version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) by adding Xen into the current version of RHEL. Version 4 becomes 4.5 and is the first version of the OS to include the open-source Xen, which uses para-virtualization technology to enable virtual machines. Xen is already included in the latest version of the Fedora kernel, Red Hat’s community release, and is also part of Novell’s SuSE Linux Enterprise 10. The virtualization in RHEL 4.5 allows that version of the OS to be a para-virtualized guest in RHEL 5, which then allows those who want to move quickly to RHEL 5 to run existing setups on top of the new OS. The next full release of RHEL, version 5, is at the beta stage, will include full virtualization capabilities, and is due out in late March.
Availability: Available now
Riverbed offering now optimizes SSL traffic
Riverbed Technology is adding SSL support to its Steelhead WAN optimization gear, making it possible to accelerate a potentially large volume of network traffic that the equipment couldn’t get at before. With an upgrade of Riverbed’s RiOS software, the Steelhead appliances terminate SSL sessions, optimize the traffic and then re-encrypt the traffic as SSL. Before, the devices did not terminate SSL sessions so they could not access the payload to optimize it, the company said. With the RiOS 4.0 software upgrade, Steelhead appliances also improve the performance of HTTP traffic by more efficiently retrieving objects that make up Web pages that have been requested before. Riverbed claims this boosts the speed of HTTP traffic between seven and 20 times more than RiOS 3.0 software did.
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Colligo updates SharePoint tool
Colligo Networks, a Vancouver software company specializing in offline mobile collaboration tools, has released Version 2.0 of the Colligo for SharePoint offering with support for the 2007 Microsoft Office System and Windows Vista. The tool is designed to extend access to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to users who need access both online and offline. The Colligo for SharePoint product family consists of Colligo Reader for SharePoint, which provides offline read access to SharePoint sites for individuals, and Colligo Contributor, which is designed for businesses and adds Microsoft Outlook integration, two-way synchronization and advanced security and deployment options.
Availability: Available now
URL: tinyurl.com/efdhn
New AMD PC chipset features ATI graphics
Advanced Micro Devices has announced the availability of its 690 chipset, the company’s first integrated chipset for AMD processors that includes the ATI Radeon X1250 graphics processor. Integrating the Radeon X1250 into the 690 chipset means PCs based on the chipset will not require an add-in graphics card. And by building the chipset itself instead of relying on partner companies, AMD said it will gain competitive leverage against Intel. AMD acquired ATI Technologies Inc. last year and has worked quickly to harness the company’s graphics expertise with its own processor lineup, including chipsets. The 690 chipset is compatible with AMD’s desktop processor lineup and offers several high-end features.
Availability: Available now
URL: tinyurl.com/2ffq2c
Corel releases public beta of WordPerfect Lightning
Ottawa’s Corel Corp. released a public beta of WordPerfect Lightning, a word processor that blends a desktop-based application with online collaboration and storage features. WordPerfect Lightning has a “Notes” tool to save text and images from the Internet, in addition to a “Viewer” that can handle the portable document format (.pdf), WordPerfect and Microsoft Word documents. It also has a “Navigator” to organize files. The desktop application is 20MB and is compatible with Microsoft’s new Vista OS and XP, Corel said. If users are not at a computer running the desktop application they can use Lightning’s online site to access files stored by Corel. Users get 200 MB of storage space to back up data such as e-mails, contacts, bookmarks and documents, in addition to a calendar and free e-mail. Corel is also now offering a free trial of its full WordPerfect Office X3 office suite via a free download.
Availability: Available now
Pricing: Free download
AirDefense redesigns wireless intrusion app
A new release of AirDefense’s wireless intrusion prevention and detection software features a major user interface redesign, big boost in speed, and greatly expanded reporting tool. The changes in AirDefense Enterprise 7.2 were made with large enterprise wireless LANs in mind, according to executives at the Atlanta-based software company. With the new version, network administra