Chris Preimesberger

An increasing number of federal IT systems are being migrated from proprietary Unix systems to open-source Linux systems and desktops in order to gain quicker upgrades, platform flexibility, increased security and several other advantages, a trio of IT experts concluded Monday during an online panel discussion. That was the consensus of top IT experts who […]

Flock, the new Web browser which aggregates services no other browser has yet been able to provide, has attracted widespread user attention with its first beta version after only six weeks in release. But it remains to be seen whether its ad-driven business model will be able to sustain it over time. Co-founder and CEO […]

Sun Microsystems Inc. on Wednesday released fixes for vulnerabilities discovered in the Sun Java Runtime Environment and in the Java Software Development Kit, which could be exploited by remote attackers to place and execute malicious files on a vulnerable system. Security alerts aggregator Secunia Inc. rates the issue as “highly critical” and said malicious hackers […]

TiVo Inc. announced this week that new software it plans to make available next year will allow users to download TV shows and films to Apples iPod and Sonys PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld devices. The new enhancement to TiVos TivoToGo feature will include capabilities such as TiVo auto-sync, which will allow subscribers to choose if […]

Five of Japans largest semiconductor manufacturers apparently have reached an agreement to establish a huge joint-operation fab to build next-generation processors, the Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri reported Friday. A fab (short for fabrication) is a factory for producing integrated circuits. This would become the first such joint venture for Japans biggest chip manufacturers and one […]

Microsoft Corp. Thursday expanded the scope of its anti-phishing Internet software by announcing agreements with independent data providers Cyota Inc., Internet Identity, and MarkMonitor Inc., to supply round-the-clock information about confirmed and suspected phishing Web sites. Real-time information about illicit Web sites collected by these three companies—who all developed their software on Microsoft .Net platforms—will […]

One day after one of its biggest competitors, Macromedia Inc., announced its second-generation heavy-duty streaming media server, RealNetworks Inc. Wednesday unveiled its own new industrial-strength enterprise media server, the Helix Server Unlimited, for wired and wireless devices. This latest version of the Helix server enables RealNetworks enterprise customers the ability to deliver high-end 3rd Generation […]

Sun Microsystems Inc. announced the largest high-performance computing deal in its 23-year history Tuesday with an AMD-powered, grid-based megasystem it will deliver for deployment next spring to the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The project ultimately will become Japans largest supercomputer, surpassing that nations Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, which only a year ago was clocked […]

For the first time, IBM swept the top three rankings and five of the top nine in the most recent listing of the worlds fastest supercomputers. The 26th semiannual Top 500 Supercomputer Sites listing was released Monday on the independent Top500.org Web site. Big Blues defending champion, the Department of Energys IBM BlueGene/L system, installed […]

Linux desktop software maker Xandros and Rome-based NoMachine, which specializes in Linux terminal server remote access and management software, Thursday announced they are teaming up to build new Linux thin-client platforms. A certified NoMachine NX Client will be included in the first German edition of Xandros Corp.s Desktop OS 3.1, which will debut Nov. 15 […]

Sun Microsystems Inc. Wednesday announced its largest grid-computing sale to date—an agreement with high-performance computing service provider Virtual Compute Corp. to use more than 1 million hours of CPUs on the Sun Grid Compute Utility during the next several months. VCC client Paradigm Geotechnology, in turn, will use the Sun computing power to supplement its […]

Appligent, Inc. Wednesday introduced its APSplit Desktop Edition, a standalone desktop application for preparing PDFs to meet the document-size requirements imposed by courts and other government institutions on electronic filing submissions. APSplit DE is a drag-and-drop desktop application that enables users to deliver large PDF documents in compliance with an institutions sizing requirements. It is […]