Toshiba's first fuel cell coming in a few months
Toshiba is close to launching its first commercial direct-methanol fuel-cell device, which promises a faster way to recharge portable electronics products.
T-Mobile says Android presales stronger than expected
T-Mobile on Monday said preorders for the first Android phone have been three times greater than it expected and that it won't promise to ship any more phones in time for the Oct. 22 launch.
Creating better vision
As Sankara Nethralaya took on more applications to meet patient needs, its network went on a blink, leaving the hospital blind for hours. When the problem moved from being an irritant to life-threatening, it knew only a network management system could save it.
Right on track
Bound by complex labor laws, the largest employer in the world was desperate to automate the process of monitoring and assigning duties to millions of staffers.
Higher education goes back to school on communication technologies
Changes in communication technologies are forcing higher education to make big, expensive, and potentially risky decisions, according to two campus CIOs speaking at this week's fall seminar for ACUTA, an association of higher education IT professionals.
Cisco unveils surveillance camera for SMBs
Cisco's Linksys unit this week unveiled a wireless Internet surveillance camera for small and midsize businesses.
Acceptable risk in changing economic times
You know the game "chicken"? That describes what it feels like as companies push for more growth and innovation in a time of increasing economic uncertainty. Today's business landscape is like a volcanic field, with eruptions taking place left and right. Rising fuel and commodities costs have changed the equation for many businesses. The effects ripple from suppliers through layers of the value chain to businesses that might not initially have thought they were at risk.
Shell blames IT contractor for benefits fraud
Shell Oil is warning employees that a contractor used their personal information to run an unemployment-insurance-claim scam in Texas.
Your own virtualization flight test
NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center wasn't shooting for the stars when it turned to virtualization to meet its storage needs. IPAC's cash-strapped effort to record images of our universe -- up to 30 million objects captured each night and 42 billion records over the life of the project -- required big storage capabilities, and the engineers needed them fast and at a low cost.
Virtual headaches
There's an age-old choice in IT -- whether to adopt a "best of breed" strategy for the power and flexibility it can bring, or go with a single vendor for accountability and simplicity. J. Craig Venter Institute Inc. (JCVI) believes in best of breed. The genomic research company runs Linux, Unix, Windows and Mac OS in its data center. For storage, it draws on technology from EMC, NetApp, Isilon, DataDomain and Symantec.
Porn filters on in-flight Wi-Fi may be just the start
A reported decision by Delta Air Lines to block "inappropriate" Web sites from its planned in-flight Wi-Fi service could be just the tip of the iceberg for airlines' control of Internet use.
GoDaddy hosts Exchange to offer first desktop mail service
Web domain and hosting provider GoDaddy Monday unveiled its first desktop mail offering based on a partnership with Microsoft to host Exchange Server 2007.
The virtual mindset
As companies are diving deeper into virtualized storage projects, IT managers are getting a better understanding of the staff skills they need to make those projects succeed. The exact talents required depend on the type of storage implementation, but most employers say they're in the market for two kinds of IT worker: technicians with vendor-specific SAN or NAS knowledge, and systems administrators and IT architects who understand the complexities and interdependencies among applications, operating systems and I/O, all of which affect storage requirements.
Project releases version 2.0 of open source .Net
The Mono Project, which develops an open source implementation of the .Net Framework, released the long-awaited 2.0 version on Monday.
10 steps to loading dock security
It's the stuff of CSO nightmares. Early on the morning of Sept. 2, while most folks were home sleeping off the hot dogs, thieves used bolt cutters to break into an Alltel Communications warehouse and four of its loading docks in Fort Smith, Ark. Sources say they escaped with an estimated US$10 million worth of cell phones, not a bad haul for their Labor Day efforts.
Patriot SSD balances performance and capacity
Although still not mainstream, solid state drives (SSD) are slowly becoming a more practical means of storage. We've already covered Intel's impressive 80GB X25-M SSD. Now, Patriot Memory has introduced its new Extreme Performance Warp series SSD. I looked at the 128GB drive.
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Razer ProClick Mobile laptop mouse
Razer Pro Solutions, best known for gaming mice such as the DeathAdder, has added a new wireless portable mouse to its lineup, the ProClick Mobile. The ProClick Mobile takes Razer's excellent high-precision 1,200 dpi optical resolution technology, and packages it into a smaller wireless body. The ProClick Mobile is available in four colors--while I'd call them black, white, pink, and red, Razer's marketing department has named them Naughty, Nice, Sugar, and Spice.
Gas station finders for the iPhone
Given the iPhone's ability to locate itself (precisely, for an iPhone 3G, and roughly, for a first-generation iPhone or iPod touch), it's not surprising that a number of location-aware programs have sprung up in the App Store--you can find programs that will track your iPhone via its GPS chip, show you where your friends are, and tell you which businesses and places of interest are in your immediate neighborhood, such as Yelp.
Microsoft lays out SQL Server road map
Microsoft Monday laid out its road map for SQL Server and a complement of business intelligence and data warehousing add-ons.
SAP warns on Q3 earnings, cites economy
Turmoil in the world's stock markets over the past several weeks and resulting concern among customers caused "a very sudden and unexpected drop in business activity" at the end of SAP's third fiscal quarter, the company said Monday.
HP puts more automation into SOA governance
HP updates SOA governance suite with new features that automate the service life cycle, create reusable business processes and control unauthorized services.
Yar'Adua tasks ICT ministers with lessening digital divide
In his opening remarks at the Commonwealth ICT Summit in Abuja this week, Nigerian President Alhaji Umara Musa Yar'Adua tasked Commonwealth ministers of ICT with lessening the digital divide.
US Supreme Court refuses EchoStar appeal of DVR ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal brought by EchoStar Satellite over a 2006 jury decision awarding US$73.9 million to rival TiVo in a patent infringement case.
Uganda cyber laws going to Parliament
Uganda's draft electronic laws have been approved by Cabinet and are set to be debated before they are passed into law by Parliament.
Classic Closeouts retailer booted from TRUSTe program
Online retailer Classic Closeouts has been expelled from the TRUSTe consumer-protection program due to inappropriate handling of unauthorized credit-card charges.
Militants send terror messages in India by 'wardriving'
Citizens need to be vigilant and patch poorly secured wireless networks, the Indian police said Monday after announcing the arrest of technology-savvy members of a militant group that exploited insecure wireless networks to send messages.
Mauritius sets up Universal Service Fund for ICT
The government of Mauritius is establishing a Universal Service Fund (USF) that aims to give citizens in poor regions of the country better access to ICT.
Mauritians turn to the Internet to pay taxes
Nearly 10 percent of Mauritian taxpayers took advantage of a new online service that allows them to submit tax returns and make payments to the Mauritian Revenue Authority (MRA) using the Internet.
Soulco takes over Siemens Enterprise in East Africa
Soulco Kenya officially took over the operations of Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEC) in East Africa on Thursday.
Imperva tailors Web app firewall for midsize businesses
Imperva is introducing a scaled-down version of its Web application firewall designed for quick installation in midsize businesses.
Porn producer sentenced to prison for online distribution
A producer of pornographic video known as Max Hardcore has been sentenced to 46 months in prison after a conviction on multiple obscenity offenses, including charges he transported obscene material over the Internet.
IPO dry spell could hurt tech start-ups
There were zero venture capital-backed IPOs in the second quarter of 2008 -- the first time that’s happened in 30 years.
Techies showcase projects at innovation meetup
An international electronic token system, a school timetable, an electronic payment gateway and Oracle training analysis were some of the projects showcased at Saturday's Skunkworks@innovation meeting in Nairobi.
Splunk splashes into Europe
Search company Splunk has launched in Europe. The startup, which has accrued about $40 million in funds from venture capitalists has opened an office in the U.K. to serve as a European HQ. The company has also appointed Brian Haynes as vice president of sales in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region.
Open-source resource for government launches online
The Free and Open Source Software Foundation for Africa has launched the online Government Open Source Software Resource Center.
Significant rise in hosting services predicted
Demand for hosting services is set to soar over the next five years according to a recent customer survey by hosting provider, Rackspace Hosting.
Technology companies honored as Kenya’s top 100 SMEs
Technology companies won accolades at the inaugural awards for Kenya's top 100 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), showing a shift in emphasis away from the country's traditional agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
Nomura acquires Lehman Indian back office
Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial services group, announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement with ailing Lehman Brothers Holdings to acquire Lehman's back office and IT operations in Mumbai, India for an undisclosed amount.
Data center spending stays strong, AFCOM says
Many companies are stepping up their data center investments even as they try to make cutbacks in other parts of their business, according to survey released Monday by AFCOM, the association for data center professionals.