News
- Microsoft: SQL Server 2008 Will Be Late
-
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.
- Open Source Poised for Surge in Education
-
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."
- iTunes U--Educators Do 'Cool Stuff' with Technology
-
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.
- Macs Vulnerable to Malware? Say It Ain't So!
-
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."
- Newfoundland Adopts Sweeping LMS Change in All Public Education
-
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.
- Zend Rolls Out PHP App Server and Dev Tools
-
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.
- Renaissance, Pearson Partner for Classroom Response System
-
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.
- WSO2 Releases Web Services Framework for Ruby
-
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.
- MPAA Rescinds College Piracy Figures, Remains Unrepentant on Policy
-
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.
- Sold at Auction: One Mainframe
-
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.
- Epson Debuts Short-Throw WXGA 3LCD Projector
-
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.
- NetSupport Debuts Desktop Mass Notification System
-
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.
- Microsoft Opens Up Vista Virtualization
-
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.
- NEC Launches High-End 30-Inch Display
-
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.
- Mindreef Boosts WS-Security and SOA Testing
-
1/21/2008
Mindreef released a new version of its collaborative flagship server solution for testing service-oriented architectures (SOAs). SOAPscope Server 6.1 lets architects, developers, testers and support engineers collaborate in the creation of Web services and composite applications.
- Strongspace's 10-Day Crash Highlights Web Storage Risks
-
1/21/2008
For the last 10 days, Sausalito, CA-based online document and storage hosting company Joyent struggled to get its online secure document collaboration service, Strongspace, back online.
- Smart Adds Leopard Support to Whiteboard Software
-
1/21/2008
Smart Technologies has released an update to its whiteboard software, Smart Board 9.7. The update comes on the heels of a full-version upgrade for the company's Notebook software, announced last week at the Macworld expo in San Francisco. Smart Board software powers Smart's line of interactive whiteboards (Smart Boards), its Sympodium interactive pen display, and its AirLiner wireless slate.
- DataSynapse To Offer FabricServer 2.5
-
1/21/2008
DataSynapse has upgraded its FabricServer application virtualization product, which is part of the company's suite of solutions that help businesses attain high availability for their applications.
- Temple U Moves to Unified Digital Campus
-
1/21/2008
Temple University in Pennsylvania announced recently that it's shifting its campus systems over to SunGard Higher Education's "Unified Digital Campus." The move is part of an initiative to improve and unify campus services, including administrative functions, learning communities, and other technologies.
- SANS Flags Browsers, Botnets as Top Security 'Menaces'
-
1/17/2008
Research and education organization the SANS Institute this week revealed its list of the top menaces facing IT in the coming year. Echoing earlier reports from security watchdog organizations, the group's "Top-10 Cyber Security Menaces for 2008" cited Web 2.0 technologies, converged devices, botnets, and browser addons among the worst, with a heavy emphasis on consumerized technologies and the vulnerabilities they present.
- Oracle Acquires BEA for $7.2 Billion
-
1/17/2008
Oracle Corp. and BEA Systems announced Wednesday that they have completed a deal whereby Oracle will acquire BEA for $7.2 billion, or $19.375 per share. Oracle originally offered to buy BEA in October for $6.7 billion, or $17 per share. BEA countered with a $21 per share price. Now that the companies have found a middle ground, the acquisition is going forward. With BEA's cash on hand, the total deal is worth $8.5 billion, the companies said.
- Oracle Databases Go Unpatched, Survey Finds
-
1/17/2008
Database administrators using Oracle Database products haven't been applying Critical Patch Updates, according to survey results described by Sentrigo Inc., which is in the business of providing database security software. Oracle typically releases its Critical Patch Updates on a quarterly basis, but these patches apparently are too much of a hassle to apply.
- Sun in Deal To Acquire MySQL
-
1/16/2008
Sun Microsystems is making a play to boost its standing in the $15 billion database market. The company announced Wednesday a definitive agreement to acquire MySQL AB, whose technologies are behind some of the highest-volume sites on the Web, including Google and Facebook. The deal will cost Sun about $1 billion, but the company said it expects the move to "[reaffirm] Sun's position as the leading provider of platforms for the Web economy and its role as the largest commercial open source contributor."
- Xignite Unveils Web Service Mashup Platform
-
1/16/2008
Xignite is offering subscribers an on-demand service that lets users create custom business applications via a Web services mashup platform. The platform, called Xignite Splice, enables composite Web services applications to be built using a visual development environment.
- Newsgator Declares RSS Readers Free
-
1/16/2008
Newsgator, one of the earliest entrants into the RSS and aggregated content reader business, has decided to offer its latest generation of client tools for free. That includes NetNewsWire 3.1, a Mac reader; FeedDemon 2.6, a PC reader; and NewsGator Go! for Windows Mobile 2.0, a mobile reader. The company is also offering a free version of NewsGator Inbox, which delivers RSS feeds to Microsoft Outlook folders.
