1/30/2008
WSO2 is offering a new open source mashup server and has rolled out a beta of a new hosted mashup service. Both fall under Apache open source licensing and the WSO2 Mashup Server 1.0 represents "the first open source [server] solution for mashups," according to Jonathan Marsh, WSO2's director of mashups.
1/30/2008
Don't want Office 2003 SP3 rolled out across your desktops next month? Then make sure you don't have Microsoft Update set to automatic.
1/29/2008
IBM has unveiled several new collaboration tools and Web 2.0 technologies, including IBM Lotus Mashups, a forthcoming commercial mashup maker designed to allow "non-technical users to easily create enterprise mashups." At the Lotusphere conference in Florida last Wednesday, the company also introduced new versions of Lotus Connections and Lotus Quickr, a rich collaboration tool.
1/29/2008
Nokia announced Monday that it plans to acquire Norwegian software company Trolltech, a company known for its development of the Qt application framework, an integral part of the popular open source K Desktop Environment (KDE).
1/29/2008
Content management system developer Systems Alliance Tuesday launched a new version of its flagship Web CMS SiteExecutive. The latest release, version 4, includes expanded support for mobile devices for content delivery and multiple platforms for content authoring and also adds new optimization features.
1/28/2008
IBM announced last week that it would open up its Jazz.net development platform to developers. Jazz.net is an open commercial software development community that helps to create global collaboration solutions based on IBM Rational technology. Jazz was originally open only to IBM staff, academics and customers. Now, any registered Jazz contributor can influence projects using the open standards, Eclipse-based Jazz platform.
1/28/2008
Virtualization pioneer VMware has released the public beta of its new deployment management product, VMware Stage Manager. The application is based on the company's flagship virtualization platform, VMware Infrastructure 3.
1/25/2008
Adobe has released two new full version upgrades in its Flash Media Server line: Flash Media Streaming Server 3 and Flash Media Interactive Server 3. The latest versions, released Jan. 25, both include "major" performance gains and additional security enhancements for content delivery. They also add MPEG-4 support in the form of H.264 video and High-Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio.
1/25/2008
A breach at Baylor University is the latest in a string of a more than a dozen data security incidents on United States campuses reported by a variety of sources so far in January 2008. According to a report yesterday in Baylor's campus newspaper, The Lariat, a student employee accessed the IDs of 526 users of the university's communications service, the Baylor Information Network. It was the second suspected "inside job" reported this month at a university.
1/25/2008
IBM announced Tuesday the acquisition of Burlington, MA-based AptSoft Corp., a privately held business event processing software provider. The acquisition enhances IBM's current business process management (BPM) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions, according to Ed Lynch, product manager and transition executive for IBM's business integration portfolio.
1/25/2008
While Microsoft's record revenues of $16.4 billion and earnings of $4.7 billion for the second quarter put the spotlight on strong sales of Vista and Office, Redmond's latest financial report also showed steady growth in its server and tools business.
1/25/2008
Despite public confidence that SQL Server 2008 would ship by the end of June, Microsoft today indicated it probably is more likely to arrive toward the end of the year.
1/24/2008
Open source software will nearly double in the education space over the next four years. From its present level of $286.2 million, the market--including software, services, and maintenance--will reach $489.9 million by 2012, according to a report released today by market analyst Datamonitor, which proclaimed that "open source software has the ability to change the face of the education Industry."
1/24/2008
Speaking to a standing-room only crowd at FETC 2008 in Orlando, FL Thursday, presenters Ann Barron, James Welsh, James Takacs and Luis Perez--all from the University of South Florida (USF)--shared their insights on planning, producing, and administering the university's educational podcasts, hosted through Apple's service, iTunes U.
1/24/2008
IT security firm Sophos this week let the cat out of the bag, spilled the beans, and otherwise debunked the widely treasured myth that Macs are invulnerable to malware in its "Security Threat Report 2008," released Tuesday. The report said that, among other things, "in 2007 [organized] criminal gangs for the first time arrived at Apple's doorstep with the intention of stealing money." Proof, the firm said, that "hackers are extending their efforts beyond Windows."
1/24/2008
The province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada has announced a new initiative that will impact all public education within its borders, from kindergarten to higher ed. It's adopted a single LMS solution for al of its schools, colleges, and universities--the Desire2Learn Learning Environment--in an effort to unify and enhance collaborative learning.
1/24/2008
Zend Technologies Wednesday launched its PHP-based Web application server, Zend Platform 3.6, as a general-availability product, while simultaneously announcing the immediate availability of Zend Studio for Eclipse, its IDE plug-in for PHP development.
1/24/2008
Education publisher Pearson Wednesday unveiled a new student response system for K-12 and higher ed at the FETC conference in Orlando, FL. The system, developed in partnership with technology provider Renaissance Learning, is designed to be integrated with Pearson's Prosper assessment system.
1/23/2008
Web developers who use the increasingly popular combo of the Ruby programming language with the Rails framework, better known as Ruby on Rails, now have an open source framework for providing and/or consuming Web services. WSO2's newly released Web Services Framework for Ruby (WSF/Ruby) is the first Ruby extension to support the WS-* specifications, which include the SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism (MTOM), WS-Addressing, WS-Security, WS-SecurityPolicy, and WS-Reliable Messaging.
1/23/2008
Following a report from the Associate Press Tuesday, the Motion Picture Association of America Wednesday formally admitted that it made a blunder in its piracy statistics, which previously blamed college and university students for a whopping 44 percent of all movie industry losses attributable to piracy. It now says that figure is drastically lower than originally thought. But the association isn't backing down on its stance that the problem remains a "profound" one.
1/23/2008
Time to unplug the mainframe? Just what do you do with that big black box with all of its gear and software--especially if it's only three years old and still running in the data center? That was the dilemma faced by Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, FL when it outgrew its IBM z890 mainframe. Why, if you have nerves of steel, you auction it off on eBay, of course.
1/23/2008
Epson America has announced a new addition to its lineup of PowerLite 3LCD projectors, the PowerLite 400W. The new short-throw model sports a WXGA-native resolution (1,280x800) and is designed for classroom use with 16:10 interactive whiteboards.
1/23/2008
School security solution provider NetSupport Wednesday debuted a new notification system targeted not at cell phones or e-mail clients, but at desktops. The new system, NetSupport Notify, is now in beta and is being shown off at NetSupport's booth at the FETC conference going on this week in Orlando, FL.
1/22/2008
Microsoft, still trying to find its way in the new world of virtualization licensing, has changed its mind again on Windows Vista, and now says it will allow more versions of the desktop OS to be virtualized.
1/22/2008
NEC has debuted a new high-end model in its MultiSync 90 Series of professional LCD displays, expanding the lineup to include a 30-inch widescreen unit. The new MultiSync LCD3090WQXi widescreen display is targeted toward high-end graphics applications, including design, photography, print production, and 3D/CAD applications.