HP launches product blitz for virtualization

Hewlett-Packard has announced a broad sweep of new virtualization products along with survey results claiming that most businesses aren't making the most of what the technology has to offer.

For the best part of the last 20 years, pundits have reported on challengers to Microsoft Office and Exchange, the hugely powerful and lucrative franchises that sit alongside Windows in the underpinnings of the world's biggest software company. Most have failed to survive, never mind prosper, but the latest web-based challenger from Google seems to have some legs.

Google puts Chrome on browser options

Google Tuesday released its own browser with a revved-up Java Script engine called V8 designed to make its online applications run better and with an eye toward eventually taking on Microsoft on the desktop.

Google brings out big guns in support of Chrome

Google's famed cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin came out to support Chrome, saying that browser technology is fundamental to the company's success, so Google decided to get more involved in this area.

Nations question ISO's merit following dropped OOXML appeals

Countries whose appeals were dismissed regarding the ISO/IEC's approval of Microsoft's OOXML as an international standard are questioning the judgment and relevance of the ISO/IEC and the standards they approve.

Better BI: Boyne Resorts

BI projects are frequently driven by the demands of executives who want to scour dashboards to analyze sales and other business trends. But at Boyne Resorts, the company's BI directive was marshaled by its CIO.

Katrina whipped Louisiana's top court into shape for Gustav

Gustav had nowhere near the effect on the Louisiana Supreme Court that Katrina did three years ago -- in fact, the network never went down.

Erlanger (Ky.) Police Department

By combining business intelligence and two foundations of Web 2.0 -- search and mapping -- a police department in Kentucky has built a brand-new window into crime. This Web-based BI portal allows patrol officers to enter data -- or even pieces of data such as a few numbers from a license plate -- into a simple search interface and retrieve information from their own databases and those of neighboring towns.

Dana-Farber researchers view genetic info via a portal

A cancer that strikes white blood cells and eventually bone marrow, multiple myeloma can be difficult to treat. Now, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is harnessing the dual power of business intelligence and Web 2.0-based scientific search tools to gather complex, scattered data to better treat patients and work toward a cure for this formidable disease.

Verizon offers free DSL for up to six months

Verizon, following a quarter when it lost 133,000 DSL customers, has rolled out an offer of up to six months of free DSL with a yearlong contract.

Harris Corp.

By the time Leon Shivamber was hired in 2004 by Harris Corp. as vice president of supply chain and operations, the company had already shifted out of its semiconductor and printing businesses and was focused squarely on building communications systems for governmental and commercial customers. But the company still had a very divisional structure for its four businesses.

Better BI: Guy Carpenter & Co.

Rather unpredictably, hail pounds U.S. crops and property to the tune of about US$1 billion in damage each year, according to the National Weather Service. These icy agents of chaos account for just one of many catastrophic scenarios that Guy Carpenter & Co. must simulate and model, if the company is to protect its policyholders and stay one step ahead of disasters.

Platinum Solitaire for iPhone

Platinum Solitaire is certainly more limited in scope than some other solitaire games for the Mac--it has six games, including "traditional" solitaire (Klondike), Golf, FreeCell, Pyramid, Spider and Yukon. Compare that to hundreds you'll find in Mondo Solitaire from Ambrosia, and you might find the selection lacking. Where Platinum Solitaire ups the ante--quite literally--is in a casino environment.

Mercury Pro DVD-/+RW Samsung Super Writemaster

The DVD burners in the iMac (8X write speed for DVD±R) and the Mac Pro (16X write speed for DVD±R) aren't the fastest on the market. There's actually a mechanism created by Samsung that can write DVD±R at 20X, and it's found in OWC's Mercury Pro DVD-/+RW Samsung Super Writemaster 20X External DVD burner.

Can Web 2.0 save BI?

Chief Jon Greiner recently expanded his staff of crime analysts from one to 11 without hiring a single new officer at the Ogden Police Department in Utah.

Apricorn 160GB Aegis Mini hard drive

How much would you pay for a portable hard drive that lets you tote around 160GB in a shirt pocket -- with no need for a power brick? Apricorn is betting you'll be willing to spring for upward of US$260 for its 160GB Aegis Mini. However, it remains to be seen how many are willing to pay that price for portability.

Dive Planner for iPhone

Both my wife and I are certified scuba divers--although as residents of the Pacific northwest, we don't do as much diving as we'd like. We did just recently return from a trip to Bonaire, which was simply incredible, but that's a story for another day. Becoming a certified scuba diver isn't overly difficult, but you will spend a fair bit of time learning to read and interpret dive tables. When you first start diving, dive tables are a key tool in your portfolio--they tell you how long you can stay at a given depth, and more importantly, how long you can stay at a given depth on subsequent dives. (When you dive, your body retains nitrogen, which isn't a good thing. Over time on the surface, this nitrogen is naturally cleared--so the longer you stay on the surface after your first dive, the longer your second dive can be.)

Slow Ugandan broadband speed criticized

Some Ugandans who think they have a broadband Internet connection have actually only purchased broadband equipment and not the service, according to Edward Nsubuga, managing director of Data Fundi, an ICT consulting and systems integration company.

Novell unites identity management, security-event management

Novell Tuesday is launching its Compliance Management Platform, a combination of existing identity management and security-event management products with additional reporting and analysis tools.

Rwanda gets locally made handsets

A-Link Technologies, a Chinese electronics company, has unveiled its first mobile phone handsets manufactured in Rwanda. This makes Rwanda the first country in the region to sell locally manufactured mobile phones.

Google seeks route around Microsoft with Chrome

Google's surprise announcement of a new browser, Chrome, via a Web comic book could prove to be another game-changing development for the Internet in the coming years.

Committee to address Zambian telecom's finance woes

Zambian Minister of Communication and Transport Dora Siliya has formed a committee to address the financial viability of the troubled Zambia Telecommunication (Zamtel).

Mac MagSaver protects your MagSafe connector

I'm a big fan of Apple's MagSafe power connector, which uses a nifty magnetic design to connect the power adapter to the laptop. As we explained back when Apple announced the original MacBook Pro models, "The MagSafe power connector safely disconnects from the notebook when there is strain on the power cord, helping to prevent the notebook from falling off its work surface if the power cord is inadvertently yanked."

Oracle buys ClearApp for SOA management

Oracle plans to buy ClearApp, maker of software for managing the performance of composite applications in service-oriented architecture environments, the company announced Tuesday.

Group preparing second PC shipment to Sierra Leone

World Computer Exchange (WCE) is keen on shipping more computers to Sierra Leone, said its president and founder, Timothy Anderson.

Vodacom increases share of African telecom market

Vodacom has increased its share of the African telecom industry by acquiring the subsidiaries of Gateway Telecommunications for US$700 million.

VMware's research head defects to Oracle

VMware's executive vice president of research and development has quit the company and taken a job at Oracle, VMware said Tuesday.

Nokia Comes With Music comes to market at last

Consumers in the U.K. will be the first to try Nokia's Comes With Music on the 5310 XpressMusic phone, Nokia announced on Tuesday.

Google adds YouTube-like service to Apps suite

Google has added a video sharing component to its Apps Premier suite of hosted communication and collaboration software, betting that companies will find it useful for a variety of workplace uses.

Social networking startup goes self-service

Social-networking site provider Socialcast announced a "self-service" pricing model on Tuesday that allows smaller customers to get up and running without the need for a formal sales process.