Jeff Burt

Intel’s 32-nanometer “Westmere” processor, the next step in the chip maker’s “Nehalem” architecture, looks to be a focus of the upcoming Intel Developers Forum next month. In a blog post Aug. 19, Ken Kaplan, a member of Intel’s corporate communications team, noted that consumers and corporations will soon be seeing desktops and notebooks powered by […]

A survey of IT professionals conducted earlier in 2009 by CA indicates that many still value the reliability and security of mainframes, even at a time when distributed data center environments continue to grow. System management, resilience, compliance and energy efficiency also were issues cited by the 103 respondents when talking about the ongoing appeal […]

A startup is introducing a new desktop virtualization architecture officials say gives businesses central management capabilities while offering users a full desktop experience. Sixteen-month-old Wanova, which came out of stealth mode Aug. 19, is unveiling its DDV (Distributed Desktop Virtualization) architecture, which among other benefits lets users work offline. A key focus of the company […]

CA is rolling out 17 new and enhanced offerings as part of its larger Standardized Services initiative. The services, tied to CA’s software offerings that run across all of the vendor’s product lines, are designed to help businesses deploy and use CA products. They’re also part of CA’s larger Lean IT strategy, which aims to […]

American Express is jumping into the virtual meeting space. American Express Business Travel is conducting a pilot of its new virtual meetings eXpert offering, which will act as an aggregator of public telepresence facilities and private networks that businesses may already have in place. In addition, the solution, announced Aug. 18, also will help businesses […]

With Intel and Advanced Micro Devices driving down the power consumption of its x86 processors, and ARM chip makers increasing the performance of theirs, research firm In-Stat expects the competition in the mobile chip market to increase this year. A key area of competition will be the fast-growing mini-notebook market, according to In-Stat analyst Jim […]

Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd said the IT business climate is beginning to stabilize, though he stopped short of calling it a recovery. In a conference call Aug. 18 with analysts and journalists after the company released its fiscal year third-quarter financial numbers, Hurd said HP officials are beginning to see an uptick in […]

Businesses big and small are paring their IT budgets in 2009 as they look to ride out the global recession, according to analyst company Forrester Research. In dual reports, Forrester analysts Andrew Bartels and Heidi Lo found that enterprises and small and midsize businesses in North America and Europe are cutting IT operating and capital […]

IBM Using DNA to Build Next-Generation Chips by Jeffrey Burt Binding In this image, low concentrations of triangular DNA origami are binding to wide lines on a lithographically patterned surface. Triangular DNA Origami High concentrations of triangular DNA origami are binding to wide lines on a lithographically patterned surface. The inset in the image shows […]

IBM researchers are turning to DNA to create even smaller and more powerful computer chips. IBM announced Aug. 17 that its scientists, teaming with others at the California Institute of Technology, are working on ways in which DNA molecules can be used to create a scaffolding onto which tiny circuits can be built. The millions […]

In the 1960s, Union Pacific became the first railroad in the world to schedule each shipment at the car level and automate the tracking of the cars when it brought in an IBM mainframe. Forty years later, the railroad is in the midst of a multiyear project that will see a new distributed network, comprising […]

Big Iron Mainframes Versus x86 Servers: What You Need to Know by Jeffrey Burt Five Advantages of Distributed Environments Acquisition Costs Some low-end x86 servers can be had for a few thousand dollars; a basic configuration of a Dell PowerEdge R805 starts at just under $2,000. Mainframes can run into the millions of dollars, though […]