Even with our daily e-newsletter, CDN Now (clickhere to subscribe today), sometimes there’s interesting news that just didn’tmake the publication cut. In this new weekly feature, we’ll share with you someof the stories we didn’t write that still caught the eye of the CDN team this week.
*Distributor Avnet Technology Solutions is reworking its former Sun Microsystemspartner conference, to reflect both Sun’s acquisition by Oracle and Avnet’sevolving strategy around distributing solutions, not product. The newconference will serve Avnet’s partners focused on Oracle/Sun, Cisco Systems,Hitachi Data Systems and Symantec. It’s scheduled for July 26-28 at the OmniInterlocken Resort in Broomfield, Colorado.
*The team at Brother Canada in Montreal haslaunched a new Web initiative that leverages interactive videos for e-support,as part of the vendor’s “At Your Side” branding strategy. The Brother.ca Website now features 34 instructional videos available in English and French thatare customized to a range of Brother machines, including wireless multi-functioncentres and printers, and categorized according to a series of user questions,with separate video links for each product. By clicking on various links withineach video, visitors are guided on how to set up and troubleshoot their Brothermachines according to specific criteria. Click to check the videos out.
*Burlington’s eBridge Software is leveraging the freeForce.com integration application to allow Salesforce.com Enterprise owners toextract opportunities into the eBridge ePortal. Another application allowsintegration of their data to over 37 accounting packages including Sage,Microsoft, Intuit, SAP Business One and more. The new eBridge applicationallows Salesforce.com Enterprise owners to further streamline their data inputand order processing between Salesforce.com and the eBridge ePortal solution.This free service allows the user to access extended universal integration intoover 37 supported accounting packages. Additionally, the user can now gainadditional access to integration with eCommerce storefronts including Magento,Miva Merchant, Nexternal as well 100’s of Electronic Data interchange (EDI)Trading Partners, eliminating the need to manually re-enter information.
*Toronto’s Q9 Networks Inc. has announced plans toinvest $125 million in what will be its sixth data centre in the GreaterToronto Area. The new 6,500 cabinet equivalent, 240,000 square foot facility representsQ9’s largest-ever investment in new data centre capacity serving the GTA, and thefirst phase of capacity will be available to customers in January 2011. Q9 saidthe announcement is in response to continued strong demand for its highavailability data centre services and follows the August 2009 opening of thefirst phase of the company’s third Calgary data centre, a $50 millioninvestment. Including the facility announced today, Q9’s investments in datacentre capacity total more than $335 million. Q9 recently secured $210 millionin new financing and is backed by private equity investment firm, ABRYPartners, which has $4.4 billion of capital under management and is committedto Q9’s continued expansion.
PRODUCT ROUNDUP
*Apple Canada has launched a redesigned Mac mini,featuring up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor in a compactaluminum enclosure measuring 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. A newintegrated power supply eliminates the need for an external power adapter,reducing overall system volume by 20 per cent. A removable panel underneathprovides quick access for memory expansion. The new HDMI output connects Macmini to an HDTV and the new SD card slot enables easy transfer of photos andvideos from a digital camera. The new Mac mini features the NVIDIA GeForce 320Mgraphics processor, and comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duoprocessor, 320GB hard and 2GB of RAM. Mac mini comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopardand iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, makingmovies and creating and learning to play music. Pricing starts at $749 onentry-level configurations.
*Hewlett Packard Co. has brought two new computingsolutions to the Canadian market. The HP 4320t Mobile Thin Client enablessecure access to server-based, virtual PC or blade PC computing solutions whileproviding the mobility of a reliable notebook PC. With no hard drive to store data, usersaccess their files on a secure, centralized server, ensuring data is protectedin the event a thin client is lost or stolen.It boasts a 13.3-inch screen, brushed aluminum metal design and offers batteryoptions for longer weight or extended life, with pricing starting at $759. Alsonews is the HP Compaq 6005 Pro Ultra Slim desktop. Designed forenterprise-level customers, it offers energy-efficient features, enhancedgraphic capabilities, flexibility and expandability . Measuring 10 inches high and 2.6 inches wide,the 6005 Pro USDT features VISION Pro technology from AMD and is the first AMDPC in the industry to be BFR/PVC free. Pricingstarts at $689.