Darryl K. Taft

Acer Aspire S3 At 13mm, the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook is one of the thinnest Windows 7-based notebooks on the market. Enjoy life on the go with Innovative Acer Green Instant-On technology, which provides instant-resume functionality and ensures battery longevity, while Acer Instant Connect delivers Internet access in 2.5 seconds. This techno-wonder comes in an […]

IBM has announced plans to acquire Texas Memory Systems, a maker of high-performance flash memory solutions. Big Blue announced Aug. 16 that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held, Houston-based TMS. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move will bolster IBM’s already significant storage solutions portfolio. IDC estimates the […]

Microsoft has made the final version of Windows 8 available to developers and IT pros. Developers and IT pros can download Windows 8 from the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet. The Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of the new operating system is available via these channels for MSDN and TechNet subscribers, but general consumers […]

Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2012 and .NET 4.5 to the Web. Visual Studio 2012 and .NET 4.5 are the tools that form the backbone for developing on Windows 8, and Microsoft has released them more than two months ahead of the Oct. 26 planned release of Windows 8 to give developers a head start […]

Getting Started: Define the Big Data Starting Point and Compelling Business Drivers Structured and unstructured data are growing at an annual rate of 60 percent, according to IDC. Enterprises are awash with data, easily amassing terabytes and even petabytes of information in all forms—sensors, photos, videos, online transactions, and cell phone signals, to name a […]

Rackspace has announced the release of Rackspace Private Cloud Software, powered by OpenStack and code-named Alamo. The new offering is designed to make it easy for organizations to install, test and run a multi-node OpenStack-based private cloud environment. The software, which uses the same OpenStack compute platform, Nova, that runs Rackspace clouds, is available as […]

Atlassian, a provider of collaboration software for product development, has announced GreenHopper 6, the newest release of its agile project management and planning system that simplifies agile adoption for development teams. Atlassian announced GreenHopper 6 at the Agile 2012 Conference in Dallas. GreenHopper supports and enhances JIRA, Atlassian’s issue and project tracking system, to help […]

Oracle has announced the availability of several Java updates, including Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) 7 Update 6 and more. In addition to Java Platform, Standard Edition 7 Update 6, Oracle announced JavaFX 2.2, as well as the first release of JavaFX Scene Builder. With this release, Oracle is providing full availability of Java […]

IBM and scientists at ETH Zurich, a leading European university, have introduced the first-ever direct mapping of the formation of a persistent spin helix in a semiconductor, Big Blue said. The goal of the project is to use electron spins for storing, transporting and processing information. However, up to this breakthrough, it was unclear whether […]

Red Hat announced the release of a preview version of its OpenStack distribution for enterprises. Red Hat’s OpenStack distribution is based on the popular open-source OpenStack framework for building and managing private, public and hybrid infrastructure as a service (IaaS) clouds. With this release, Red Hat delivers the next step in its plans for the […]

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is spending its first weekend on Mars getting a software update to give it pointers on how to drive on the red planet. NASA officials said the update prepares the rover for some of the tasks it must perform going forward, including driving and using its strong robotic arm. NASA said […]

Landing Stages Here’€™s a look at the various stages of the Curiosity landing process. Robot and Chemist This artist’s concept features NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars’ past or present ability to sustain microbial life. In this picture, the rover examines a rock on Mars with a set of […]