Lenovo ThinkPad T400 series notebooks will be the first laptops to use a new Intel anti-theft technology called Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection. These anti-theft technologies, which Intel is building into the chip set, will work in conjunction with Lenovo ThinkPads that use the newer Intel Centrino 2 platform and Intel’s vPro technology. The Intel anti-theft technology offers a number of security features, including a way to deliver a “poison pill” to a laptop that has been reported stolen.
Open-source messaging and collaboration software maker Open-Xchange is set to release its iSync software connector, OXtender for Mac OS X, which will let users access their Open-Xchange e-mail, appointments, contacts, tasks and documents through Mac applications and the iPhone. Supporting Macs and iPhones is increasingly becoming table stakes for enterprise applications users. What better platform to support than Mac for Open-Xchange, which is trying to take down Microsoft Exchange?
Nokia is expected to reveal a new mobile phone Dec. 1 at an industry event in Barcelona that many believe will be an improved touch-screen smartphone the company expects will challenge Apple's iPhone for mobile phone and smartphone dominance. Nokia still dominates the market for smartphone handsets, but sales dropped in the third quarter from a year earlier, and it lost share to Apple and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. The battle for smartphone business has heated up since Apple introduced the iPhone last year, with all vendors trying to grab a bigger slice of a market that is seen growing despite the global recession.
Social networking powerhouse Facebook plans to expand Connect, a service that enables connections between Facebook profiles and other Web sites. This messaging and collaboration development presents opportunities for SMBs negotiating an entry into the world of social networking.
MySQL founder Monty Widenius criticized Version 5.1 of the MySQL open-source database in a blog post, stating numerous bugs have not been fixed despite the fact that the database is now GA. Officials at Sun Microsystems responded that Widenius' opinion does not represent the entire user community and that enterprises should test any piece of software - MySQL or otherwise - before deploying it.
With Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks investing $3.2 billion, Sprint Nextel and Clearwire combine in hopes of building the first nationwide WiMax network. WiMax's 4G technology allows for the delivery of last-mile wireless broadband access and promises faster download speeds than current cellular networks.
Many SMBs are looking for a way to harness the power of social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and others. Power.com says it offers “social inter-networking functionality”--the ability to view all your social networking sites in one place.
Many SMBs require "road warriors," employees who spend much of their time in the car. A new study finds talking on your cell phone while driving is more dangerous than talking to a passenger. With insurance rates on the rise, SMBs need to inform their employees about the danger of phoning and driving.
The court-rule amendments, known as the FRCP and placed into effect on Dec. 1, 2006, say businesses must be able to quickly find and make available relevant data when required by a court. Often, business information that could also serve as evidence in a criminal or civil lawsuit is required to be made available in as few as 30 days. Many enterprises are still in the dark about this.
A scarcity of cheap Blu-ray video players and the effects of a recession are expected to delay adoption of the high-definition Blu-ray DVD format in Europe, according to media research company Screen Digest. Screen Digest says supply problems early in 2008 led to a shortage of affordable Blu-ray players, and most of those available were being channeled to the more developed markets of the United States and Japan.
A renewed effort by U.S. regulators to auction off part of the airwaves to a commercial entity that must share the spectrum with firefighters, police and other emergency workers faces its next test within weeks. The Federal Communications Commission's latest proposal to lure bidders to the slice of airwaves that will be vacated when television broadcasters switch to digital signals is set to take center stage at an FCC meeting in mid-December.
Touch-screen phone users are discovering that much of the fun of their devices stems from downloadable applications. A good example is Google's newly updated Mobile App for the Apple iPhone. Google Mobile App has been generating a lot of buzz because of its voice search. Want to find the nearest pizza place, show times for the James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace," or the latest Bruce Springsteen video? Google voice search is uncannily accurate.
Janel Landon, who runs a small PR consultancy in Chicago, has long been aware of the potential of online networks: Now in her mid-50s and facing a global recession, she's decided to sign up. "Given the state of the economy, I recently decided to jump on board," Landon told Reuters. "Professional networking is a 'must do' during unstable economic times." The economic crisis slamming firms across the globe has sparked a spike in usage of professional networks such as Xing and LinkedIn as people hedge against the possibility of losing work and laid-off employees seek jobs.
Keeping the "e" in eWEEK, our beat reporters turned up gadgets, apps, phones, GPS devices and even a portable device with 1 terabyte of storage for less than $200, all with an eye toward informing a shopper whose day job involves terabytes, not megapixels.
Even with computer notebooks finishing third behind peace and happiness on adults' holiday wish list, this year could mark the worse holiday shopping season in 30 years. Analysts say iPhones, BlackBerry Storms, T-Mobile's G1 with Google, notebook computers, flat screen televisions and video game systems may stack up on retailers shelves in unprecedented numbers. The good news? Aggressive price cutting.
The vulnerability in the Windows Server Service that Microsoft patched in an emergency update last month is facing a new wave of attacks. Microsoft officials reported a spike in exploits targeting the vulnerability earlier this week. If you haven't patched, now is the time to put it on your schedule.
With the 2008 holiday shopping season here, consumers looking for that special gift are likely checking out the new Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro that hit the market earlier this year. The two new Apple MacBooks remain high on the list of must-haves this holiday season. For those interested in PCs, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Gateway and Toshiba all have new notebooks ready for the 2008 holiday season as well. While laptops remain popular, there are still bargains out there for a solid home desktop PC.
With all the talk about smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 3G, security vendors have sought to stir up discussions about mobile phone security. While those mobile and wireless malware threats haven't fully materialized, this holiday season may be the time for consumers to begin arming themselves for the mobile malware battles ahead.
Microsoft is reportedly working on a mobile AJAX technology code-named Kojax. The goal of Kojax is said to be to enable developers to create interactive mobile applications using a combination of Visual Studio tools and JavaScript.
Those looking for something to do during their Thanksgiving break from work can check out these new Web services: Glue, Plista, Zenbe, Hulu, Blist, EtherPad, DotSpots, Mobspin, Socialcast and Searchme. These social services, search, and productivity tools have a little something for everyone living on the Web.
President-elect Barack Obama names two telecom lawyers and Google's head of global development efforts to oversee technology, innovation and government reform working group. Former Cisco CTO Judy Estrin, Frontline Wireless co-founder John Leibovitz and Google lawyer Andrew McLaughlin also join the team.
Have a loved one with an unpatched computer? Or someone who does mobile banking or has difficulty remembering passwords? Consider some of these IT security solutions for their stockings.
Economy got you down? Cautious about spending too much this holiday season? Here are 10 gift ideas--all priced under $200--for the mobile warrior on your list.
For years, the Macy's Parade and Entertainment Group office used to collect paper applications for all the volunteer staff and simply kept all those unwieldy physical files in drawers and boxes. Three years ago, the office moved to a Microsoft Access database system, but it proved difficult for many people to use. So this year the venerable FileMaker Pro 9 came to the rescue.
PC makers are struggling to boost sales in the face of an increasingly dire economic outlook. Most large business and institutional customers will be eligible for zero percent financing, the Dell said, along with some select smaller business. Dell will also offer deferred payment plans to some businesses.
The revelation that Apple has authorized retail staff to match reseller prices might have some SMBs in the channel worried. But one Boston-based reseller says Apple's decision is just the reality of the current economic environment.
Nordic River launches TextFlow, a parallel word processing application for consumers and business users who need to spice up their productivity workflow with collaboration capabilities. TextFlow won't challenge Microsoft Word or Google Docs overnight, but it will fire up the conversation about more interactive editing.
New 25GB and 50GB solid-state drives from data storage maker Samsung are designed specifically for high-performance server applications, such as video on demand, Web serving and online financial transaction processing.
Spam levels are heading back up after dropping dramatically following the shutdown of Web hosting company McColo. According to Symantec security research, some notorious botnets are back in action.
Google says GeekCondition.com's claims about a Gmail vulnerability are incorrect. The issue is just an example of a successful phishing attack targeting Web domain owners, Google says.
In just a little more than six months after completing its acquisition of Telelogic, IBM has integrated the Telelogic tools into the IBM Rational portfolio. The combined portfolio gives IBM perhaps the most complete arsenal of tools for developers to attack the entire application development lifecycle, with application lifecycle management solutions for IT systems as well as large complex systems, scientific and engineering applications, and embedded systems.
Shares of HP (Hewlett-Packard) fell more than 7 percent on Tuesday on concerns about weak sales of printer ink and personal computers, fed in part by pessimistic quarterly earnings from one of the company's distributors. HP, a Dow Jones industrial average .DJI component, was down far more than the index which dropped 0.4 percent. In its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings release on Monday, HP reported a 9 percent increase for printer supplies year-over-year, and an 8 percent drop in printer hardware shipments. HP said its market share would be sustained because slower printer sales have affected the entire industry, and that sales of ink and printer supplies would remain brisk.
Stolen and misplaced laptops can leave SMBs susceptible to data breaches if the laptops remain on, but a messaging solution can aid midmarket security. Lenovo's SMS-based kill command gives users the chance to shut down a PC remotely via text message.
The emergence of Microsoft Windows Azure and its Online Services pose a real challenge to Google in enterprise applications, according to one analyst. Another expert argues that Google's native Web position makes it the stronger candidate to pursue business with SAAS and Web services. What cloud computing camp are you in?
Hewlett-Packard is upgrading its xw9400 workstation to include the latest Advanced Micro Devices quad-core Opteron processor formerly called “Shanghai.” In addition to the xw9400 workstation, HP, along with Dell, IBM and Sun Microsystems, is also supporting the new Opteron processor with revamped server systems that take advantage of the 45-nanometer AMD Opteron processor.
Analysis: Enterprises are using virtualization technology from Microsoft, VMware and Citrix for servers, desktops, applications and storage. While virtualization saves money, it creates management headaches. Vendors ranging from BMC, CA, HP and IBM are building virtualization management tools, but more cross-platform capabilities are needed.
Intel and Micron are teaming up to take on Samsung and Toshiba in the battle for NAND flash memory, used for multimedia storage on consumer products such as iPods and digital cameras. But when falling consumer confidence is taking its toll on the flash memory market, is this the right time for Intel and Micron to invest?
What could be more practical for anybody with a personal computer than the gift of personal data storage? Capacities keep going up, as does the number of value-added and optional features. Prices keep coming down, much to the joy of buyers and to the chagrin of storage executives.
Lenovo is using text messaging to add an additional layer of security to the company’s line of ThinkPad notebooks. Starting in 2009, Lenovo ThinkPad notebook users can use an SMS text message to shut down a laptop that has been stolen or has been lost. This new feature, called Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable, was developed in conjunction with Phoenix Technologies to work with the ThinkPad’s BIOS.
Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest PC vendor, officially released its fourth-quarter earnings, which showed that while’s HP’s revenue increased, the company’s net earnings slipped. HP CEO Mark Hurd said the company will face a “challenging” market for PCs in 2009. Hurd added that HP will also look to cut spending in 2009 as the company adjusts to the strains of the ongoing financial crisis.
A study from the Anti-Phishing Working Group shows phishers are increasing the use of top-level domains in their campaigns to breach security through social engineering. According to the APWG research, the .hk and .th domains lead the way with the most phishing attacks per 10,000 domains.
A lawsuit claims the way the Apple iPhone lets users browse the Web infringes on a patent granted in October. The lawsuit was filed by EMG Technology in the U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas, by Los Angeles real estate developer Elliot Gottfurcht and two co-inventors. The suit alleges that the technology the iPhone uses to navigate and display some Web sites designed for small phone screens infringes on a patent obtained by Gottfurcht and his co-inventors and assigned to EMG.
Cyber-crime and the online underground economy are booming as more and more SMBs turn to online stores and services to cut costs. From data encryption to regular password changes, midmarket companies may find it necessary to beef up security standards.
Twitter, the free social networking and microblogging service, is the newest hip online destination for spreading and receiving information about your products and services. But how do you maximize the impact Twitter can have on your SMB social media strategy?
IBM demonstrates for eWEEK a new Web collaboration project called Blue Spruce. This coup in application development lets multiple users work together through what look like shared screens and communicate via telepresence. Though only at a proof-of-concept stage, the IBM Blue Spruce messaging and collaboration solution could be a big step toward more collaborative Web services. Questions remain: Will Blue Spruce appear in Lotus or WebSphere? Will Microsoft respond via Silverlight or Adobe via Flash?
In a new year-long study, Symantec took a look at the black market for stolen credit cards, banking information and other goods. According to the report, the overall value of the goods observed by Symantec to the traders is around $276 million, but the potential value for cyber-thieves stretches into the billions.
IBM introduces IBM Resilient Cloud Validation Services, in which its IBM Global Services group helps other companies determine whether their internal cloud computing systems are airtight and fully functional—even though IBM itself has no centralized, clearly marketed cloud computing strategy of its own as a reference.
Analysis: New fixed mobile convergence products from vendors such as Agito Networks and DiVitas Networks are making it easier for businesses to save money and ease concerns about their mobile platforms. Seamless mobility between voice over Wi-Fi and cellular voice service help businesses integrate their mobile phones into the coporate PBX.
Google Apps Product Manager Rajen Sheth denies any clandestine strategy to help Google Apps steal share from messaging and collaboration software rivals Microsoft, IBM and Cisco. But new voice and video chat in Gmail say otherwise and position Google Apps as a serious unified communications and collaboration suite for cloud computing in the enterprise.
Google's annual holiday party has been known as among the most extravagant in Silicon Valley. But Silicon Valley has few reasons to celebrate this year and even Google is putting the wraps on extravagance. Hewlett Packard, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems and Applied Materials, have cut more than 140,000 jobs in the last few months.
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