- Test Center Tracker: Storage trading, virtualization video
- Serena touts mainframe-change management
- Review: ComVu wows with camera-phone video broadcasts
- Bostech unfurls Java ESB software
- Test Center Tracker: Let the blade battle begin!
- Review: Firefox 2 yields goodies for users and developers alike
- Test Center Tracker: BEA AquaLogic BPM keeps business processes flowing
- Test Center Tracker: A first look at Xserve Xeon
- A peek into Vista RC2 and Office 2007 beta
- Test Center Tracker: Gear6 to cache in on virtualization
October 31, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Storage trading, virtualization video
Buy low, sell high: Can predictive market technology make a difference in which storage products and ideas make it to market? Mario Apicella examines Storage Markets, a predictive market research tool aimed at storaged: traders buy shares in ideas they like, giving a company an idea of which concepts have the most market interest. Sound curious? Read more on the Storage Network blog.
Server virtualization video chat: At the InfoWorld Virtualization Forum last month, Test Center Executive Editor Doug Dineley talked to Stephen Jenvey, Investment Professional at Fidelity Ventures, about the chief challenges faced in implementing server virtualization. Watch the video here.
InfoWorld 2006 Security Survey: Our annual security survey has some good news - fewer attacks happening these days. Unfortunately, the attacks that are happening are more serious, targeted, and intelligent. Find out how hackers make off with enterprise data, how you can stop them, and other security trends in our special report.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on October 31, 2006 06:00 AM
October 30, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Serena touts mainframe-change management
Serena Software on Monday is announcing availability of Serena ChangeMan ZMF version 5.6, for controlling software change on mainframes.
Version 5.6 features ease of use, extended application lifecycle support and team collaboration. Users can visualize the impact of proposed changes before they are put into effect. Responses to changes also can be readied. Change policies and processes can be enforced to enable enterprise security, consistency and compliance.
Integrated support for the IBM WebSphere Developer for z/Series developer environment enables ease of use and productivity, Serena said. Also, through enhancements to the ChangeMan ZMF Windows Explorer interface, developers working on mainframe applications can do so from their Windows environment with the same capabilities featured in the mainframe's Interactive System Productivity Facility.
Version 5.6 also exposes its API through Web services, enabling the tool to be used with the Eclipse Application Foundation Lifecycle Framework and exposing ALF-compliant events through a log-based notification mechanism. This technology is used to alert the Serena TeamTrack product of activities such as 'create package" and promotion events.
By integrating TeamTrack with ZMF, the Web-based process modeling and enforcement of TeamTrack is delivered on the mainframe.
Auditing, manageability and traceability also are improved in Version 5.6.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 30, 2006 10:54 AM
October 30, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Review: ComVu wows with camera-phone video broadcasts
YouTube proves the value of Internet video. But what if you could build the infrastructure for live video, broadcast from camera phones (like the Motorola Q or Palm Treo 700w), and embed GPS tracking data frame-by-frame as a bonus? That's exactly what ComVu's done with its PocketCaster solution.
OK, so you're probably thinking this is cute for embedding videos into personal Web pages and blogs -- but it has little place in the enterprise world. After looking at various ComVu products, I can say for sure that's not the case.
Fundamentally, the company's developed an elegant back-end distribution system that connects to the Internet backbone of 10 tier-1 global ISPs -- plus sophisticated software running on the phone. Just set up an account, load up the PocketCaster software, and hit the Start button. Your video's streamed to ComVu over the wireless data network (Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, BGAN), optimized for viewing, and also archived. Subscribers receive instant notification of the Webcast (via e-mail, IM, RSS, or SMS) which is viewed on desktop systems or mobile devices.
So fast-forward and consider how enterprises and agencies are already leveraging this self-service streaming. Security is one obvious application. A guard dispatched in response to a break-in alarm immediately goes live and broadcasts video to the proper authorities. Or, insurance adjusters transmit and archive videos of accidents or disasters.
What makes these situations even more convincing is ComVu's automatic Geotagging. Real-time GPS coordinates embedded with the video (which sync up to a map available in a secondary Web window) would be very difficult to fake -- making this solution significant for investigative purposes and priceless in life-and-death emergency situations.
Internet video has undeniably changed the broadcast and cable industry, with viewers expecting instant coverage of breaking news. Here, too, ComVu plays an important role. In the pivotal minutes while TV crews race to a scene and setup a remote broadcast an on-site reporter (or citizen journalist) could be sending live video.
Even in less spectacular circumstances, there are other business uses I see. PocketCaster Pro (currently in beta) runs on a laptop or Ultra Mobile PC. Using a Webcam or DV cam, you could broadcast from client events or seminars; the service's security lets you restrict the audience (or potentially charge for viewing).
Lastly, Mobile Video Studio (also in beta), would be a fine fit for corporate or media Websites. Like a traditional broadcast studio, you preview multiple live feeds (or archives) and select the one for Web viewing.
ComVu Mobile Video Studio
Availability: PocketCaster currently shipping; Pro version and Studio in beta.
Pricing: Starts at $10 per month for individual accounts to $50,000 for Mobile Video Studio.
Verdict: ComVu ups the value of camera phones as business tools. One-button transmission of live video, embedded GPS data, and archiving have broad appeal, but should especially interest security firms, insurance companies, and the broadcast industry.
Posted by Mike Heck on October 30, 2006 10:19 AM
October 30, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Bostech unfurls Java ESB software
Bostech on Monday unveiled ChainBuiler ESB, a Java Business Integration offering that can be used as an enterprise service bus.
ChainBuilder, which currently is in an alpha stage of development, enables disparate software systems to plug into ESB and SOA infrastructures. Featuring a graphical interface rather than a programmatic interface, ChainBuilder enables depiction of an integration environment. Developers can consider the flow of application integration and drill down on each component to define specific details.
By plugging into the Eclipse IDE, users can configure ESB components.
The product can incorporate back-end systems that operate with non-XML formats, including EDI X12 as well as fixed and variable formats.
A dual license format enables ChainBuilder to be available under a common GPL license and through subscriptions as well. Subscriptions feature training, support and intellectual property indemnification. A commercial license also is available.
ChainBuilder will be generally available on January 15, 2007.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 30, 2006 09:15 AM
October 30, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Let the blade battle begin!
Prepping for a blade duel: Senior Contributing Editors Brian Chee and Paul Venezia are getting ready for a big three-way blade server review of offerings from Dell, HP, and Sun at the state-of-the-art SOEST Advance Network Computing Lab at the University of Hawaii. Check out the latest entry in the Geeks in Paradise blog for an in-depth look at how InfoWorld Test Center analysts prepare for a test of enterprise-class hardware and software of this caliber.
Tune in to Office 2007: Oliver Rist has been neck-deep in Office 2007 for the past couple of weeks and has taken the time to share some hands-on experiences in his SMB IT blog about the newly refurbished Outlook and PowerPoint. In his latest Emerging Enterprise podcast, Rist dissects Redmond's overarching strategy in cramming so much feature-y goodness into the newest version of its productivity suite. Take a listen!
Is Sun next on Oracle's list? Oracle's plan to offer inexpensive support for Red Hat Linux has caused quite a stir in the IT community -- and quite a drop in Red Hat stock. Senior Editor Neil McAllister contemplates whether Oracle's old dot-com buddy Sun has cause for concern, given that it's now effectively competing with Oracle in the open-source OS business. Could an eventual Oracle acquisition of Sun be in the cards?
Posted by Ted Samson on October 30, 2006 06:00 AM
October 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Review: Firefox 2 yields goodies for users and developers alike
Every time I hear about a new dot-zero release of any software, my QA-engineer antennae immediate rise up since dot-zero software releases usually mean major changes with some bugs sprinkled in for good measure.
After spending the last two days with the new Firefox 2.0 release , I'd have to say that my initial impressions are mainly positive despite some minor bugs.
The tabbed browsing approach that gave the Mozilla-spun browser its leg up until very recently - Internet Explorer 7 now offers tabbed browsing - have received some useful functional improvements in this 2.0 release. Each tab now has its own close button which speeds up productivity.
Moreover, users going to the History menu will find that they can easily re-open a closed tab by clicking in the "Recently Closed Tabs" option of the menu. A new Live Titles feature also lets you view updated Web page summaries in a bookmark label.
Aside from core functionality, one of the things that make Firefox compelling is the level of extensibility one can achieve with it. Through a combination of plug-ins, extensions, and themes, a user (or site administrator) can truly tailor the browser to meet their particular needs. 
I haven't downloaded all of the more than 1,000 add-ons available for the browser, but of the several that I have tried thus far a fair number of them have been quite compelling. For example, an extension called Cooliris enables you to hover near a link in any Web page and quickly see the contents of the page represented by the link without actually having to launch the Web page.
Other add-ons let you make phone calls, block ads, get a weather report, view download statuses within your browser, and a lot more. (QA hat on here still – many more add-ons to test!)
Developers will find a plethora of new features and functionality in this release. For example, Web developers will find added support in Firefox 2.0 for client-side session and persistent storage of structured data as well as the new mozStorage database API, which is supported via SQLite. XML aficionados will find SAX support a useful addition and "Javascripters" will find support for version Javascript 1.7 in this release. A useful breakdown of these additions and other new development-related features can be found here.
The Apple QuickTime plug-in for Firefox 2.0 exhibited fairly consistent results. I was able to frequently crash Firefox whenever I tried playing any QuickTime videos. While this is not good (and I'm sure it will soon be remedied), the bug allowed me to test another new Firefox feature called Session Restore. When Firefox did crash, I restarted it and I then received a dialog that allowed me to return to exactly where I left off when things went amuck.
Aside from the QuickTime issue, there were several other add-ons and themes that I liked from previous releases that are not yet available in the 2.0 release. Firefox does include an enhanced, built-in update manager that can keep you posted on new Firefox and add-on versions.
As much as I liked the easy recovery, there are also times when I don't want to save and restore things. Firefox provides a useful option to protect your privacy: Clear Private Data. 
This function lets you choose when to clear things like cache, cookies, browsing history, and the like. I set it up to ask me each time I close out Firefox so I can choose what to keep and what to clear.
Also on the privacy front, this Firefox release includes useful tools to warn the user of phishing scams before they click on a bad link. This browser release also will not just allow software installation. Only authorized sites are permitted. In similar fashion to the Opera browser, Firefox 2.0 also sports the ever-useful pop-up blocker.
On the search front, Firefox continues to offer useful in-browser search support. I also like the expanded number of search interfaces that are supported. Users can choose from a bevy of general and content specific search engines. And, for some search engines, the interface can provide searching suggestions as the user starts typing in their query.
Firefox has always been RSS-friendly. New in this release, users can choose which feed reader they want to use. Firefox supports Firefox Live Bookmark as well as services, such as Bloglines, My Yahoo, Google Reader, or a third party feed reader you have installed. I rather like a scrolling newsticker RSS reader that I've been using for a time and Firefox took right to it.
Finally, Firefox provides useful accessibility features for the visually impaired. This release includes support for Microsoft's Active Accessibility API standard for Windows, which allows Firefox (Windows version) to work with screen readers that meet government standards for folks with physical impairments.
The new Firefox 2.0 Web browser contains a few bugs and some add-ons from earlier versions that are not yet available. Yet, giving Firefox a look at your organization is highly worthwhile.
Mozilla Firefox 2
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, Windows
Cost: Free
Verdict:This Web browser continues to innovate in line with a very rapid release cycle, which its users have come to appreciate. The great degree of extensibility and usability will increase user productivity. Given one or two minor point releases to address bugs, this browser can be an easy and useful fit in most any enterprise.
Posted by Maggie Biggs on October 27, 2006 10:34 AM
October 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: BEA AquaLogic BPM keeps business processes flowing
Swimming in the process pool: Faulty business processes can result in costly hiccups in the day-to-day workflow of your organization. In an exclusive InfoWorld review, Senior Contributing Editor James R. Borck finds that BEA's AquaLogic BPM 5.7 delivers an effective, albeit somewhat complex, all-purpose process management engine, bridging application integration with human event management and offering some good analytical insight along the way.
Barracuda sinks its teeth into malware: Following in the wake of the Barracuda Spam Firewall, the Barracuda Web Filter 310 combines potent anti-spyware chops with the capability of blocking unauthorized Web sites, viruses, adware, malicious Web content, and unauthorized applications -- all at an impressively low price, according to security whiz Roger A. Grimes. Reporting shortcomings are a notable weakness, however.
Tiptoeing through the patches: If you're a Windows admin, you know the second Tuesday of the month as Patch Tuesday, when Microsoft releases its latest round of patches. But what happens if vulnerability is discovered two days later? You can wait four weeks for a patch from Redmond -- or you can try out a patch from a third-party vendor. What to do? Find out why Roger Grimes suggests that sometimes, the latter approach makes sense.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 27, 2006 06:00 AM
October 26, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: A first look at Xserve Xeon
Xserve in the spotlight: Chief Technologist Tom Yager got his talented hooks into an Apple Xserve server with Xeon, and has been putting it through the wringer, gauntlet, and lots of paces for the past five days. Do its Intel guts make it worth a switch from the Xserve G5, despite missing Apple's October delivery deadline? Find out Tom's opinion, plus plenty of hands-on details, in his two-part review on the Enterprise Mac blog.
Feeding the need for green storage: In this week's Storage Insider column, Mario Apicella takes a look at the impact of some of EMC's recent news onslaught, including the push for more energy-efficient storage. It raises a quandry: how do you create power-saving infrastructure for all the different types of storage architectures out there? Is this a realistic possibility? And what do we do in the meantime to keep power costs (and usage) down? Check out the column and Storage Network blog, and post your own thoughts.
Visting Vista, continued: Oliver Rist continues his exploration of Vista RC2, this time navigating the security and mobile-compatibility waters. Find out his verdict in today's edition of the Enterprise Windows column, then check out Part One and the Prologue if you haven't already.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on October 26, 2006 06:00 AM
October 25, 2006 | Comments: (0)
A peek into Vista RC2 and Office 2007 beta
We may need to change Oliver Rist's byline to "intrepid explorer": After spending a week in the world of browser-based apps and living to tell the tale, Oliver's now venturing into Office 2007 beta. So far, it's looking pretty good - check out the continuing tale on the SMB IT blog and Oliver's Enterprise Windows columns. Plus, there's a snazzy slideshow of Vista screens for those who want a visual take on the new features.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on October 25, 2006 10:16 AM
October 25, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Gear6 to cache in on virtualization
Gear6 turbo-charges networked storage: InfoWorld Senior Analyst and Storage Guru Mario Apicella reports on Gear6's forthcoming Cachefx, which "promises to bump up the performance of any storage system by one order of magnitude or more." While the details are a bit hazy, he reports it's an appliance filled to the brim with terabytes of RAM with some management software that capable of selecting which applications or which files need to go faster.
Mobile landing pad for Leopard: Mac enthusiast Tom Yager was quite pleased to wake up to Apple's announcement of a Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. This 64-bit notebook offers some important advantages of their predecessors, he notes, including being based on Intel's 64-bit Core microarchitecture, performance improvements of up to 39 percent -- and a MagSafe airline power adapter hook to ensure you can keep computing while airborne.
Virtualization meets security: Aplix has unveiled a user-space virtualization technology that dynamically generates virtual execution spaces for native app, writes David Marshall. By creating a virtual execution space for an app, it restricts the application itself from directly accessing the underlying OS, thus providing a secure environment.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 25, 2006 06:00 AM
October 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Fedora Core 6 expands admins' options
Boasting better performance, improved features for admins and developers, and enhanced virtualization management, The Fedora Project today announced Release 6 of Fedora Core.
Admins may be most interested in an enhancement to the installer, which enables a network-accessible installation to access third-party RPM repositories, such as Fedora Extras or a local repository, at install-time. "These installation improvements, coupled with improvements in package dependency and updating tools, make it easier to manage systems," according to a release from The Fedora Project, which is sponsored by Red Hat.
Fedora Core 6 also delivers new GUI management tools including a virtualization manager, an SELinux troubleshooting tool, and an improved LVM cluster management tool.
Other improvements include IPv6 support as well as a single 2.6.18-based Linux kernel that automatically detects and configures for the number of processors on a machine, according to The Fedora Project.
Another enhancement: Fedora now supports Intel-based Macs on top of its previous support for x86, x86-64 and Power PC chip architectures.
On the performance front, Fedora claims speedier app startup, resulting from the optimized DT_GNU_HASH. NFS (network file systems) performance is also improved.
The Fedora Core desktop also spruced up fonts and artworks, as well as better usability "from the latest upstream releases of GNOME and KDE."
There's also a new platform that enables GL-accelerated effects on a standard desktop, better and faster software updating tools, and the latest upstream versions of popular open source applications.
Fedora Core 6, is available for download at fedoraproject.org. To view a slideshow of Fedora screens, go here.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 24, 2006 02:45 PM
October 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Gear6 sets sights on virtualizing cache
Startup Gear6 is getting ready to launch a new product, Cachefx, that promises to bump up the performance of any storage system by one order of magnitude or more.
How? Imagine an appliance filled to the brim with terabytes of RAM that sits at a nice vantage point in your network, between application servers and your disk drive arrays.
Add some management software capable of selecting which applications or which files need to go faster, and you can probably see where this is going. Gear6 is not divulging many details at the moment, but you can listen to the marketing-speak of their demo clip for a little more.
The first implementation of Cachefx, which is now being beta tested by some pioneering customers, will address only NFS file systems. Sorry CIFS folks, no cigar for now, but future versions should address other file systems and block storage.
According to Gear6, early customers are seeing their applications go 10 to 50 times faster, something that is difficult if not impossible to attain with traditional storage solutions. The Gear6 approach doesn't require massive and expensive hardware replacement, and should resonate well with customers approaching the physical limits of space, power, or cooling in their datacenter.
Moreover, deploying Cachefx shouldn't require any application changes: it should be like having a large virtual cache that you can flexibly assign to different tasks as needed.
Isn't such a large cache a recipe for disastrous data losses if something breaks? Possibly, but Gear6 is playing it safe in their first attempt to bring cache memory outside of the traditional server and storage arrays locations. In fact, Cachefx will accelerate only reads, leaving writes follow their usual, uncached data path.
It's difficult to make a meaningful assessment of a new solution without knowing how much it costs and without a technical blueprint to analyze. However, if the people at Gear6 have been half as good at developing their solution as they are at keeping a veil of secrecy around it, Cachefx should bring a true revolution to networked storage.
Posted by Mario Apicella on October 24, 2006 12:04 PM
October 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Sun Java Studio Creator screencast
New AJAX screencast The newest addition to our AJAX screencast series is live! Sun's David Botterill navigates a two-part trip through the Java Studio Creator's AJAX features. Check out Part I here, then follow it up with http://www.infoworld.com/video/archives/2006/10/screencast_sun.html. You'll find more AJAX screencasts on our video page, including a host of open-source and free options from our summer roundup.
Data marts -- they're ba-aack: Just in time for Halloween, it looks like the much-maligned data mart of yore is coming back from the grave -- with a vengence, thanks to the supporting technology of better Web interfaces and more complete management tools. As SOA and other real-time services require data to be at their fingertips at all times, the more-nimble data marts are looking like a better option than hulking Frankenstein-style enterprise repositories. For more on data management, check out Jon Udell's thoughts on in-memory data management and the importance of data synchronization.
So you want to be a DBA: Test Center Analyst Sean McCown has plenty of experience - not just with databases and their associated apps, but also with the skills good DBAs sport and the career questions they ponder. Check out his advice on some must-have DBA skills, interview questions to avoid, and a four-part series on the foibles of IT recruiters (check out part one here and make your way to the fourth installment). All this and more is found in the Database Underground blog.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on October 24, 2006 06:00 AM
October 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Google unveils do-it-yourself search engine
In a move that will likely bolster Google's search dominance, the company late yesterday unveiled the Google Custom Search Engine, equipping anyone with the ability to set up a free, tailored Google-powered search engine on any Web site -- and make money in the process.
Users may hone the content focus of their search engine, be it fishing or phishing, Playdough or Plato, bass (the fish) or bass (the musical instrument), Spam (the meat product) or spam (the e-mail blight), etc. They accomplish this by choosing which Web pages they want to include or exclude in their index, as well as how content should be prioritized.
User also may opt to allow others to contribute to their index, according to a written statement from Google. Finally, users may then customize the look, feel and functionality of their search engine.
"We want to make it easy for anyone to create a search engine about all of their favorite topics, without needing a Ph.D.," said Marissa Mayer, vice president of Search Products and User Experience at Google in a written statement. "Everyone -- businesses, organizations, moms, dads, teenagers, and teachers -- can harness the power of Google technology to create a personalized search experience that reflects specific knowledge and interests."
The setup process is very easy, promises Shashi Seth and R.V. Guha of the Google Co-op team. "In a matter of minutes you can create a search engine that reflects your knowledge and interests," they wrote last night in the Official Google Blog.
If the prospect of a free, customized, Google-powered search engine isn't incentive enough, Web proprietors may be won over by the prospect of earning money via the Google AdSense Program -- at the expense of populating their Web sites with Google text ads. In most cases, participation in the program is required if you opt to use the Google Custom Search Engine.
"Universities, non-profits and government organizations can choose not to run ads on their search results if they'd rather not," according to Google.
Revenue from text ads, of course, is Google's bread and butter, helping to generate the $150 billion Google has piled up in its short eight-year lifespan.
Web sites already taking advantage of the Google Custom Search Engine include RealClimate.org, a site focused on providing expert opinion about the science of climate change. "They have created a searchable subset of the Web to provide reliable scientific information to its visitors," according to Google.
"Unfortunately, since this topical subject has become rather politicized, the quality of information [on climate change] available on the Web is very variable, ranging from the excellent to the atrocious," said Gavin Schmidt, who helps run the site. "With the Custom Google Search facility, we are able to create a searchable subset of the Web that in our expert judgment provides solid and reliable information."
To enroll in the Google Custom Search Engine program, go to www.google.com/coop/cse/.
What do you think of Google's Custom Search Engine? Do you plan to implement it on your Web site or blog?
Posted by Ted Samson on October 24, 2006 12:08 AM
October 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Oracle SOA suite boasts governance
Oracle at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco on Monday announced availability of Oracle SOA Suite 10g Release 3, featuring governance capabilities.
The suite has an integrated, browser-based console to administer policies across multiple distributed enforcement points in Oracle and non-Oracle middleware. Other features include the ability to identify and publish services to a registry and facilities to view services securely. Centralized management of service-level agreements also is featured.
Governance capabilities in Release 3 include an enhanced registry and manager for Web services. A component of the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform, the suite also features a one-click install, an enterprise service bus, expanded workflow and enhanced Web services security and interoperability.
BPEL (Business Process Execution Language for Web Services) functionality includes expanded workflow capabilities that provide a simplified workflow designer and new algorithms for complex task routing and escalation.
The suite is priced at $50,000 per CPU with Oracle Application Server Enterprise Edition and $65,000 per CPU for non-Oracle application servers.
Also at the show, Oracle and Adobe announced a collaboration to help developers build enterprise-level Web 2.0 applications. These applications will be able to include animations, charts and graphs in Adobe Flash combined with other AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) content in a Java-based portal such as Oracle Portal. Development of enterprise mashups featuring animated graphs and visualizations is a goal of the arrangement.
Oracle also unveiled Oracle Developer Depot, a free developer productivity tool that simplifies how Java developers find and provision Java applications for learning or prototyping purposes. The product runs with Oracle Application Server 10g. Web 2.0 technologies such as AJAX, the Spring 2.0 Java framework and RSS are leveraged to boost code reuse and simplify development.
The company at the conference announced Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer Challenge, designed to award achievements in categories including: best SOA-based application or service, best Web 2.0/AJAX-based user interface or mashup and best application demonstrating the combined use of Oracle and open source software.
Developers in the United States and Canada can submit entries between now and Dec. 31, 2006. Oracle technologists will judge the entries, with the grand prize winner receiving a 37-inch high-definition television. Two runners-up receive a Slingbox Pro streaming device.
Rules can be found here.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 23, 2006 04:20 PM
October 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Azaleos expands Exchange management arsenal
Azaleos today announced that it has packed a pile of new functionality into Version 2 of its OneServer and BladeMail Exchange-management appliances, including e-mail archiving, reporting, monitoring, and security functionality.
The company also has extended its OneStop Managed Services to support "the majority of IT requirements" for maintaining an e-mail infrastructure based on Exchange 2003 and 2007
"Azaleos has delivered an end-to-end solution for Microsoft Exchange that should significantly reduce the variability of Microsoft Exchange total cost of ownership," said Michael Osterman, analyst at Osterman Research. "The hybrid solution approach to helping IT organizations manage their e-mail environments is a unique and market-defining approach that I believe customers will have a lot of interest in exploring."
New software modules include ArchiveXchange, "a complete solution for archiving e-mail for storage management that improves Exchange performance, reduces Exchange backup and recovery times, and eliminates much of the need for Exchange-based quota management," according to the company.
There's also VieweXchange, which provides admins with reports on Exchange health monitoring, e-mail traffic analysis, spam and and virus activity, as well as archiving and mobility statistics. VieweXchange also send e-mail appliance health and hygiene information to Azaleos NOCs.
Finally, SecureXchange, a remote command and control system, enables logged, auditable, repeatable, scripted remote command execution, helping Azaleos staff to troubleshoot and fix issues in the Exchange environment without requiring VPN access.
InfoWorld reviewed a previous version of Azaleos OneServer earlier this year.
For more information, go to www.azaleos.com.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 23, 2006 03:51 PM
October 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Developers at Sun Microsystems have released JRuby 0.9.1, which will serve as a predecessor to the planned 1.0 release of the programming language.
JRuby is Java implementation of Ruby. Highlights of the 0.9.1 release include a 50- to 60-percent performance boost, a new interpreter design and refactoring improvments. Also featured are enhanced parser performance and a new syntax for including Java classes into Ruby.
Sun has Charles Nutter and Thomas Enebo, the chief maintainers of JRuby, working on the project. They joined Sun as full-time employees five weeks ago.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 23, 2006 02:15 PM
October 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Google Website Optimizer helps you boost site sales
Food companies have elaborate taste-test labs. They can get instant feedback from a taster whether they like a product or not, and the taster will stick around providing feedback until the recipe is just right.
But if you're purchasing Google AdWords, how do know if the visitors driven to your Web site will like what they see -- and stay around to actually purchase products? High-end Web analytics packages let you test alternate page designs and report which variations users respond to best. Google Website Optimizer does the same for anyone with an AdWords account at no additional fee -- yet with Google's hallmark simplicity and excellent results.
The biggest problem with evaluating a Web design's effectiveness is the number of elements on a page, and thus the number of variations you must create and track. Website Optimizer both automates this step and provides definitive reports.
Technically, Google uses a multivariate testing model rather than the more common (and less accurate) A/B testing where you merely compare two different finished pages.
Put simply, you decide which parts of a Web page you want to change -- a headline, image, body copy, or call to action. Within Website Optimizer (which is accessed from your AdWords administration area), you note these areas and the system creates JavaScript which a Webmaster inserts within the page. Lastly, you indicate alternate content for each section.
When the experiment runs, Google automatically serves variations of the page and collects data about the effectiveness of every combination. With A/B testing, you could never do this.
Website Optimizer offers two very readable graphical reports. The first shows which overall combinations work best to convert visitors into customers. The second analysis breaks this down further and shows which specific page section within each variation had the biggest positive or negative effect on behavior.
From what I've seen, marketers in any organization with AdWords spending should look forward to Google Website Optimizer.
Google Website Optimizer
Availability: Currently accepting beta testers.
Pricing: Included with AdWords accounts, which start at $30 per month.
Verdict: Minimal time effort will yield a better return on your AdWords investments by scientifically showing which Web page designs entice visitors to take action.
Posted by Mike Heck on October 23, 2006 10:06 AM
October 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: IE7 undoes rootkit damage
IE7 to the rescue: Test Center Contributor Victor Garza was pleasantly surprised to find a fix for a rootkit-damaged version of Internet Explorer 6 that just wouldn't go away. Not even reinstalling the browser would work. The solution? Loading IE7 onto the system. "Humm, whadda ya know, something that fixes things right off the bat and is actually more secure than the previous version of IE."
Podcast interview with Cricket Liu: Test Center Lead Analyst Jon Udell had a chance to chat with Cricket Liu, a DNS maven and author who is working on identifying and correcting DNS security vulnerabilities. Udell steers the conversation to the question of "why it might or might not be a good idea to extend DNS in ways that identify humans rather than machines."
Sun expands virtualization set: Sun has announced a heap of virtualization-related products, reports David Marshall. Among them: LDoms, a virtualization technology for Sun Fire T1000 and T2000 that lets customers run multiple OSes simultaneously with Solaris containers; as well as Solaris on Xen, a plan to bring fully supported Xen functionality to Solaris 10 come 2007.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 23, 2006 06:00 AM
October 20, 2006 | Comments: (0)
InfoWorld has not published a comparative review of WAN optimization solutions, but it is not because we didn't try. Back in early 2005, just before Juniper's agreement to acquire Peribit kicked off a buying spree in the space, we made plans to round up a bunch of WAN products, expose them to a variety of traffic types and link characteristics, and see how things shaked out. We extended invitations to many vendors, and we discussed test methodology with a few, but in the end only one or maybe two were willing to be measured against competitors. Nearly all were eager to support a stand-alone review. But a comparison? The answer was either "Nope" or "We'll get back to you."
Some of the vendors offered what you might call artful excuses. Here's a list of the jucier ones we heard:
Because most WAN links have no appreciable packet loss, our solution doesn't handle that and we'd prefer you not test us that way
We don't want to be compared to vendor XYZ's CIFS optimization, although we are the best at CIFS optimization
Our focus is on optimizing long, fat pipes, not short skinny pipes, or short fat pipes, or long skinny pipes
We don't want to confuse our customer base by being compared to vendor XYZ
We do WAN optimization, not WAN acceleration (or vice-versa)
Posted by Doug Dineley on October 20, 2006 01:13 PM
October 19, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Well-polished blades from Egenera
A sharp set of blades: Egenera takes a unique stab at delivering an adaptive datacenter using blades, specifically its BladeFrame EX system. In his exclusive review of the solution, Contributing Editor Paul Venezia concludes that, despite a limited management UI and some absent features, "Egenera succeeds in delivering a modular, high-performance, and highly adaptive blade server system."
Flow, WAN, flow! Users hate slow application performance. The budget guys don't like throwing more money at fatter pipes. Enter Riverbed with its set of Steelhead WAN optimization appliances, powered by Release 3 of RiOS (Riverbed Optimization System). Contributing Editor Keith Schultz liked what he saw from the latest additions to the Steelhead school: " Riverbed continues to impress with expanded CIFS and NFS support, allowing for better performance with both Windows- and NFS-based servers."
Know thy (new) enemy: The ongoing race between malware writers and security vendors continue. Now that companies have a pretty good handle on squishing common viruses, worms, and Trojan, a new batch of malware has emerged: companion worms and viruses. " Also known also known as spawners or twins… thet modify the infected computer's environment in such a way that when the system attempts to execute a legitimate file, a malicious file is run first," explains Security Adviser Roger A. Grimes. But fear not: Admins have a way of protecting their systems, such as employing inspection discs. Roger helpfully points to some specific solutions to consider.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 19, 2006 10:05 PM
October 19, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Xythos' Records Management Meets DoD Specs
Enterprise content management (ECM) applications can cost millions of dollars, with records management modules further inflating the bill.
Foremost, records management features (certified to meet the U.S. Department of Defense 5015.2 standard) are embedded into this version of the easily understood Web-based ECM system. You start by creating a records management folder within the system where users drop documents. Thereafter, every action –- including read, write, and change -- is automatically logged. Additionally, version 6.0 adds more granular security roles to limit document access.
Yet records management isn't just about access and auditing, which the Xythos system's designers clearly understand. Enterprises can archive e-mail and attachments, which are also subject to monitoring.
Going further, the 6.0 release includes necessary record assessment features: You set alerts when documents reach the end of their retention period (or other triggers); after review, managers assign a disposition plan. Conversely, you might schedule automatic updates to vital documents or ensure that they are retained for a certain amount of time. I liked the clear presentation of these action schedules, which can help IT staff plan storage requirements.
Records compliance efforts often fail because systems are too costly and complex -- issues that don't come into play with Xythos Enterprise Document Manager 6.0. Based on my early look, I believe this release will have broad appeal. Government agencies should certainly put it on their wish list, but any public or private sector organization faced with complying with growing regulations -- including HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley -- will likely benefit, too.
Xythos Enterprise Document Manager 6.0
Availability: Beta, expected to ship at the end of 2006
Pricing: $25,000 for 100 users, $45,000 for 250 users; goes down to $30 per user for 10,000 seats
Platform: any server supporting J2SE or J2EE (Windows, Linux, Solaris, IBM AIX, HP/UX, Mac OS X)
Verdict: Records compliance efforts often fail because systems are too costly and complex. That's not a problem with Xythos Enterprise Document Manager 6.0. Based on an early look, I believe this release will have broad appeal.
Posted by Mike Heck on October 19, 2006 12:15 PM
October 19, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Feasting on Vista
Vista re-revisited: Enterprise Windows columnist Oliver Rist has been tracking Vista since before it was even called Vista. Now that he's had plenty of time to play around with Release Candidate 2, he's delivering some in-depth insights about Redmond's forthcoming OS spawn, not to mention a mighty snazzy slideshow of Vista visuals. Thus far, it appears stable, but there are still some Active X and third-party-app interoperability issues that need to be resolved. No doubt developers at Microsoft will be working longer hours than Santa's elves to get Vista shipped on time,
Testing, testing, 1-2-3: Our Test Center contributors are continuing to crank out some really nice product previews and reviews here in the Test Center Daily. Take, for example, this preview of Tableau 2.1 by Jeff Angus. Jeff finds a nicely upgraded business intelligence solution, loaded with additional functions, better scalability potential, tighter work with back-end databases and a boatload of new analytical functions.
Decoding encryption: As customer and employee data slowly leaks out of company databases around the world, the word encryption has grown in popularity. But organizations should encrypt with care, cautions Sean McCown, scribe of the Database Underground: It can be quite invasive, limiting users' access to data and potentially gumming up business processes. "The point is that encryption can be necessary, but really only under limited circumstances where all other tactics have failed. Basically, you should look at encrypting your data as surgery. Don't do it unless all of the other avenues have been exhausted, and there's just no other way to get the gerbil out." (Thanks for the visual, Sean.)
Posted by Ted Samson on October 19, 2006 06:00 AM
October 18, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Tableau 2.1 remains a low-overhead BI dynamo
When I first wrote about Tableau version 1.0, I noted this business intelligence (BI) product's twin revolutions: It works and acts like a broadly distributable desktop client, and the software is sold by the desktop, making it as straightforward to deploy as any other desktop software. The actual client's feature set was middleweight for the BI world, but quite usable, especially for end-users who have mastered the accursed pivot table.
Tableau is now at version 2.1 and loaded with additional functions, better scalability potential, tighter work with back-end databases and a boatload of new analytical functions.
I have seen a couple of demos, one guided by the Tableau Software team, and I'm very impressed with where they've taken the product — from middleweight to light-heavyweight in the feature department. What I don't yet know, and what I won't until I deploy an actual application, is whether it conforms to or bends Angus's 2nd Law of Software: As the number of features added goes up in an arithmetic progression, the friction of using it goes up in a geometric progression.
Some of the interfaces on the new features are perfect. "Quick filters," a method for filtering hits interactively on the fly, is intuitive and snappy, as is the new feature that lets you zoom in on sections of graphical charts.
The screenshot below shows results in the basic pivot-table-like interface. The shelves to the left and on top are interactive drag and drop areas.
View larger image
Also, Tableau users can now join multiple tables or other data sources on the fly, leading to easier interaction that results in more questions being tried out and possibly answered.
To enhance scalability in general, Tableau 2.1 supports easy sampling of massive data sources, so the client can get a manageable slug of data that the analyst's workstation can chew through and present faster. Added Web integration features allow Tableau work areas to reach out to the Web and grab search results and data; the results look reasonable, though I don't think they will serve more HTTP-oriented shops better than the majority.
Perhaps the most important new feature is the built-in ability to create chained analytical windows into workflows. I'm excited to try out this feature not only for the possible modular development of analysis routines but also to build structured, documented analyses for those with less ability to bend software to their cognates.
Posted by Jeff Angus on October 18, 2006 11:37 PM
October 18, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: SOA and VoIP, unite!
SOA and VoIP a perfect match: Test Center Lead Analyst Jon Udell weighs in on the inevitable pairing of SOA (services-oriented architecture) and VoIP. Thus far, he notes, "voice and data networking remain two different cultures that have so far failed spectacularly to come together." He envisions a time when a BPEL script will be able, for example, to set up a VoIP conference call among multiple parties whose verbal interaction is required to move a business process forward. "It's admittedly creepy to imagine empowering that business rule to detect our common availability, initiate a conference call, and receive a signal from us that tells it to proceed. But the alternative that we constantly endure [missing one another] is arguably worse." (If you missed it, InfoWorld had a recent cover article on the subject of SOA and VoIP convergence.)
Transmeta takes on Intel: Intel proudly touts the power efficiency of its chips, but Transmeta claims Intel achieved that bragging right by appropriating some of its patented adaptive power technology. Noting that other companies, such as AMD, have struck deals with Transmeta to use the company's intellectual property, Chief Technologist Tom Yager opines that "If Transmeta IP or lessons learned from it did get into Pentium 4, Core, and Core 2 CPUs as the complaint alleges, Intel should pony up -- and not because it's cheaper to pay than go to trial. Any Transmeta inventions that Intel used would be pivotal in positioning Intel as the self-described performance-per-watt leader."
Virtualization meets the Mac desktop: It's been a couple of months since VMware announced plans to bring a virtualization product to Macs, but it looks like the fulfillment of the promise is growing nearer, according to Virtualization Report blogger David Marshall. "It seems as though VMware is going to be announcing their Intel-based Mac product soon enough. Codenamed 'Fusion' - it is currently in beta at build 33141. ... The company claims that its first product for the new Intel Macs makes it easier than ever to take advantage of the security, flexibility, and portability of virtual machines." How will this affect Parallels, the company that has dominated Mac virtualization? Stay tuned!
Posted by Ted Samson on October 18, 2006 06:00 AM
October 17, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Open source PBXes get managed support
Adding yet another layer to the open source ecosystem, Packet Island announced today that it will offer PacketSmart for Asterisk, a software-as-a-service [SaaS] Voice over IP [VoIP] managed service.
Asterisk is an open source software VoIP PBX implementation.
The PacketSmart solution uses what the company calls a micro-appliance, a four-inch by four-inch box that sit between the router and the broadband connection in order to monitor network traffic prior to installation of a VoIP system.
The proliferation of VoIP solutions in all but the largest enterprises that can afford the high cost of support, has been slow.
"Our solution is targeted at SMEs who don't have an in-house network or in-house network expertise," said Vince Khanna, a Packet Island vice president.
At the same time, these smaller companies cannot afford the repeated visits of service providers and VARs that are usually required to support a VoIP network. Instead they are looking for a lights out or automated solution.
Prior to installation of a VoIP PacketSmart works remotely to generate a varying amount of traffic to see how the network holds up as volume builds. Once a VoiP system is deployed the micro appliance is replaced by a software agent which captures all the VoIP traffic and sends the reports to the Packet Island backend server.
The PacketSmart for Asterisk service is available now.
Posted by Ephraim Schwartz on October 17, 2006 03:57 PM
October 17, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Apple's day will come -- after Vista's
Will Vista's buzz bury Leopard? So it turns out that this technology outfit out in Redmond, Wash. has a new operating system coming out soon, called Vista. I think InfoWorld has mentioned it a couple of times. But this other technology company, Apple, is working on an upgrade to its own OS, and it's called Leopard. InfoWorld Apple enthusiast Tom Yager contemplates how the two platforms will be received. "When Vista reviews start running, we'll see the professional and lay media pile on with the predictions of doom for OS X and the "too little, too late" Leopard that journalists have never seen outside apple.com. ... The media wags and flame-baiters will have a nice run through early January until MacWorld shuts them up. Steve Jobs had a wink in his voice when he projected Leopard's Spring delivery during his WWDC keynote."
Quickie bliki: If your organization is in the market for simple, easy, and free collaboration tool that brings together the worlds of blogs and wiki, check out Maggie Biggs's review of SnipSnap 1.0. "While SnipSnap provides core collaboration and editing capabilities, it is not as feature-rich as some other wiki and blogging solutions. Still, SnipSnap does provide an easy way to organize content at a budget-minded price: free."
Dimension hopping: Lead Analyst Jon Udell continues his foray in the digital third dimension, presenting a three-minute video report on his experience at the Greater IBM Virtual Block Party in alternative online universe. "I found myself in a breakout session chatting with strangers about a topic whose premise I disagreed with. That would be unproductive enough in the real world. Because we lacked a synchronous voice channel, real identities, and sufficient emotional bandwidth, it felt even less productive here."
Posted by Ted Samson on October 17, 2006 06:00 AM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Review: SnipSnap 1.0's a bliki for the budget-conscious biz
In enterprise settings, wiki and blog software is often used to document projects, form a departmental community, or perhaps keep everyone across the enterprise informed and engaged. The SnipSnap project blends wiki functionality together with blogging tools to form a "bliki" that can easily address these enterprise requirements.
SnipSnap, free and licensed under GNU-GPL, is a Java-based solution that can easily be deployed in a matter of minutes. I was able to quickly deploy the SnipSnap Web archive (WAR) file using the Apache Tomcat Web container. Its user- and role-based features work well as do its blogging and wiki functions.
Sites seeking a wiki, blogging, or bliki solution should consider SnipSnap a work in progress. Its developers have a roadmap, but some features, such as categorization, are only partially implemented. Moreover, SnipSnap text editing is rudimentary when compared to other solutions, such as Confluence.
Like other solutions, SnipSnap offers the capability to attach documents. Therefore, you might use SnipSnap to organize your content, since it includes a linking feature, and actually house the detailed content in organized attachments, such as PDF files. In this way, users could create content in an editing tool of their choice.
Most blogging and wiki solutions offer a content change notification feature – usually via e-mail. In the case of SnipSnap, notifications of content changes are provided via instant messaging and this works well. However, I'd like to have the ability to receive a daily digest of SnipSnap content changes added as a feature in the future.
SnipSnap includes many of the same useful tools that are on par with its rivals. For example, a calendar function is included as an aid for locating content. Moreover, the SnipSnap search function is on par with rivals and it provides a fast way to find related content – referred to as "snips" in SnipSnap-speak. If you are evaluating wiki or blog solutions, SnipSnap is worth test-driving.
Bottom Line
SnipSnap 1.0
Platforms: Any Java-capable (tested on Windows 2000/XP, Linux, MacOS X 10.2, Solaris 9)
Cost: Free under GNU-GPL
Bottom Line: SnipSnap combines blogging and wiki functions to form a "bliki." Most sites will find it useful for departmental-level documentation projects and the like though it could be more broadly applied. While SnipSnap provides core collaboration and editing capabilities, it is not as feature-rich as some other wiki and blogging solutions. Still, SnipSnap does provide an easy way to organize content at a budget-minded price: free.
Posted by Maggie Biggs on October 16, 2006 06:14 PM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
VoiceObjects opens phone app server API
Looking to advance development of phone-based self-service applications, VoiceObjects this week is announcing that the API for its VoiceObjects Server is being opened up to the public.
This move enables third-parties to create IDEs and other tools to use with VoiceObjects Server. This product is a Web services-enabled phone application server that lets enterprises and telecommunications carriers develop and manage self-service applications for phones. VoiceXML is generated for development of personalized dialogs with each caller, leveraging information in CRM or other databases.
Additionally, VoiceObjects is making available VoiceObjects XDK, an XML development kit for building tools to work with VoiceObjects.
IDEs to support VoiceObjects via the API include SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer, Angel.com Site Builder, OpenMethods openVXML Studio and SpeechVillage SpeechDraw. Third-party tools supporting the phone application server feature the same benefits as the VoiceObjects Desktop tool for building voice-activated applications. These benefits include the abilities to develop personalized dialogs and prompt menus and perform online application maintenance with no downtime.
Other benefits include integration with other IT assets via Web services as well as analytics and reporting for dialog interaction and systems usage.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 16, 2006 04:35 PM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Rapid7: Vulnerable driver blob loose on Linux
If you're running a Nvidia graphics driver on Linux systems at you organization or home, network security company Rapid7 suggests you disable it immediately.
According to a security advisory released today by Rapid7:
"the Nvidia Binary Graphics Driver for Linux [v8774 and v8762] is vulnerable to a buffer overflow that allows an attacker to run arbitrary code as root. This bug can be exploited both locally or remotely (via a remote X client or an X client which visits a malicious Web page)."
The Nvidia drivers for Solaris and FeeeBSD are also likely to be vulnerable, according to the advisory.
The solution, Rapid7 says, is to disable the binary blob driver and use the open-source "nv" driver that is included by default with X.
The aforementioned binary closed-source blob provides graphics acceleration, unlike its open-source counterpart. The blob "contains an error in its accelerated rendering of glyphs (text character data) that can be exploited to write arbitrary data to anywhere in memory."
InfoWorld Senior Editor and "Open Enterprise" Columnist Neil McCallister wrote about the usage of proprietary blobs in drivers not too long ago. He observed that making these blobs open source could, among other things, "bring the ability to leverage community development to squash critical flaws such as the exploits that recently plagued Intel's wireless drivers".
Seems we can now add Nvidia's flaw to the list.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 16, 2006 03:11 PM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
OpenLogic, Black Duck boost open source users
Two companies assisting users of open source software, OpenLogic and Black Duck Software, are advancing their product lines in the areas of indemnification and encryption, respectively, this week.
OpenLogic, which provides software, stacks and support for open source environments, will offer customers indemnification coverage for intellectual property infringement on more than 160 open source products in the OpenLogic Certified Library. The move is intended to provide peace of mind about lingering legal concerns over using open source software in the enterprise.
Indemnification is available to all OpenLogic Enterprise customers who have purchased support from OpenLogic. The company will provide indemnification for intellectual property infringements including defense of claims, repair and replacement of the infringing software and as much as four times the value of the contract for damage awards.
Software compliance management vendor Black Duck Software is announcing exportIP, which is a platform to help ensure that software does not violate government restrictions regarding encryption export. Black Duck's new platform identifies algorithms within software code and ensures that companies comply with export restrictions; it features role-based interfaces for those involved in export encryption compliance. Roles are featured for developers and export specialists.
The exportIP offering is particularly applicable to Microsoft Windows developers targeting a global market where software can include algorithms that are being reused and not categorized in a current project, Black Duck said.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 16, 2006 01:40 PM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Is that a Wiki in your pocket?
Bar bouncers may need to start patting down patrons for PDAs on pub trivia night. Using technology from "offline Web technology provider" Webaroo, you can now download the contents of the expansive knowledge-trove Wikipedia to your portable device.
Webaroo is a free software program and service. Essentially, Webaroo servers gather key content of Web sites and compress them into "Web packs," which users can then download to their laptops, PDAs, and phones to search while on the go, even without a connection. (When you re-connect, the device content gets updated.)
You're not limited to Webaroo Web Packs, either; you also can download Web pages of your choice.
The Wikipedia Web pack is a 6GB download, though the company recommends you have 1GB of RAM and 10GB of free space. You also may opt to select individual sections of Wikipedia instead, such as Wiki - Unix, Wiki - Business Leaders, and, of course, Wiki - Canadian Music. (Who doesn't need constant access to the discographies of Celine Dion and Raffi?)
Roaming techies might also find use in some of the Technology Web packs, such as Chip-India Know-How Internet & Networking (resources for creating and running a smooth network) and Chip-India Know-How Operating System (topics related to desktop operating systems--from Windows XP to Mac to several flavors of Linux).
Or, again, if you have a Web-based tech resource you refer to often, you might find use in downloading its content yourself.
Another enterprise application: You could, for example, download a customer's Web site before a business trip and read up on them on the airplane.
The list of supported document formats as well as audio and video formats is pretty extensive, too. Check out the FAQ for more info,
Webaroo is free and works on Pocket PCs or a Pocket PC Phones running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition or Windows Mobile 5.0. For laptops, you need Windows XP Service Pack 1+ or Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.
What kind of Web sites would you like to save to your PDA?
Posted by Ted Samson on October 16, 2006 12:31 PM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Sweet SOA suite and a BizTalk video treat
Oracle's SOA Suite spot: Unlike, say, parachute pants and pet rocks, SOA (service-oriented architecture) is more than a passing fad, and InfoWorld is committed to helping guide you down your SOA path. To that end, Senior Contributing James R. Borck, who has already proven himself a very capable ESB (enterprise service bus) driver, is taking an in-depth look at Oracle SOA Suite 10.1. While his full review (an InfoWorld exclusive) is yet to come, he has shared some preliminary and promising observations.
See BizTalk run If a picture's worth a thousand words, then we have quite a few thousand more words to say about Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, in the form of a detailed, narrated screencast. Whether or not you've had a chance to check out Contributing Editor Martin Heller's review of the impressive EAI solution, the video is worth watching so as to get a feel of just how rich an offering BizTalk is.
I can't believe it's not open source! Ambivalence ranks right up there with irony as one of those words that rarely gets used properly. It means "the condition of holding opposite feelings (such as love and hate) for the same person or object." Why the vocabulary lesson? So I can allude to Opera's apparent feelings of ambivalence toward open source. The way Senior Editor Neil McCallister tells it, the company supports open source; it just sees no way of adopting the open source model for its browser while being able to remain competitive.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 16, 2006 06:00 AM
October 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Oracle SOA Suite 10.1 Developer Preview
The SOA (services-oriented architecture) conundrum: how to glean simplification through services without sacrificing enterprise management and security. 
I had a glimpse at the forthcoming Oracle SOA Suite bundle and found it does a good job propping up the business case for next-phase, real-world enterprise-services deployment on an Oracle infrastructure.
The suite contains an updated BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) process manager, ESB (enterprise service bus), business rules, and Web services manager. The requisite Oracle 10g Application Server (with OC4J and J2EE support, and a wealth of enterprise-grade management tools in tow) was also included, although the final release is slated to support non-Oracle J2EE servers as well.
Despite the headiness of the infrastructure, Oracle has done a nice job masking the installation complexity. For the most part, this was a one-click process with some minor wizard-driven configuration en route. To be sure, this installation did not entail any of the advanced configuration testing that will be undertaken for the final release, but the simplification showed good effort on Oracle's part.
The development lynchpin is a hardened new release of JDeveloper Studio with some SOA Suite-specific plug-ins that greatly enhance Oracle's feasibility for services composition, BPEL, and ESB design.
I found the graphical BPEL process manager tools, wizards, and support for lifecycle management to be strong additions to flow and orchestration. New features, like keyword search on BPEL elements, pay mind to usability in larger models. And, wizards for defining human workflow integration simplify bridging approvals and notifications into processes.
The ESB designer also showed graphical development of bus-based app integration. Good routing and transformation improvements, as well as added features for service virtualization and interdependency analysis, got me hooked. As Oracle's ESB supplants its InterConnect as the force majeure in app integration, more comprehensive management tools like this will be compulsory.
The beta preview had limitations and key pieces, like BAM (business activity monitoring, were not yet shown. But, Oracle SOA Suite appears poised to pit battle with competing offerings like BEA's AquaLogic.
The Oracle SOA Suite Developer Preview is available now for download from the Oracle Technology Network site with a final public release due Oct. 23. Watch for my forthcoming in-depth, exclusive review for the InfoWorld Test Center.
Oracle SOA Suite 10.1.3.1 Developer Preview
Available: Now; generally available on Oct. 23
Pricing: Starts at $50,000 per CPU
- James R. Borck, InfoWorld Test Center Senior Contrubuting Editor
Posted by James Borck on October 16, 2006 05:45 AM
October 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Adobe lights Fireworks beta program
Adobe is seeking participants for a beta program for its Abode Fireworks 9 Web graphics and site layout design tool.
The next release of Fireworks will leverage the current rich hybrid vector-bitmap tool while expanding capabilities for rapid prototyping of Web sites and applications. Features for version 9 include native Photoshop and Illustrator file import, hierarchical Web and layer organization, page-based layout, intelligent scaling and "click-thru" HTML mockup support, Adobe said.
Persons interested in participating in the program can submit a request here. General release of Fireworks 9 is anticipated by the end of the year.
Editor's note: After this entry was first published, Adobe reported back that the public beta will be out by the end of the year, not the general release.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 13, 2006 04:04 PM
October 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
I'll be posting my Week in Vista/Office 2007 article on SMB IT next week (Microsoft has to answer a few questions, first); meantime, I figured I'd give Vista Release Candidate 2 a try since it became available right in the middle of my review.
Under RC1, we tried the upgrade from XP as well the clean-install route. Clean install took about 90 minutes. The upgrade took more than twice as long and never really got its sea legs.
RC2 seems to have worked out a lot of those bugs. Moving from XP Pro to RC2 worked reasonably well, though a clean install is still faster and winds up with a more stable installation overall. I didn't try an RC1 to RC2 upgrade because, well, who cares?
Microsoft still has some work to do in the software department, however. A surprising problem occurred with IE 7 and Windows Live Spaces, Microsoft's blogging service. Posting a photo to Spaces requires an ActiveX control, which did a face plant under Internet Explorer 7/Vista. Ironically, Firefox 2.0 Beta under RC2 handled Spaces photos just fine. QA, QA, QA.
My next issue came under both RC1 and RC2. Security is going to be an issue. Using Symantec's Internet Security resulted in Vista telling me to uninstall that firewall and use its internal firewall until I could find a Vista-compatible replacement. That could be a problem for folks using enterprise-managed desktop firewalls. Definitely a must-test issue prior to deployment.
Overall, however, RC2 does show more stability than RC1, and I was able to survive more than a week on that, no problem. All my peripherals and network devices were fully supported and most were discovered and installed automatically. Graphics are hungry, but if you feed them a good video card they're crisp and happy.
Just be careful to fully test your business application library before deploying this operating system. Under XP, Windows 2000 applications were almost guaranteed to work. Vista is different enough on the inside to make that more of a question mark, so get those answered before using your install disc. (Security Adviser Roger A. Grimes has similar advice regarding upgrading to Internet Explorer 7.)
Have you had a chance to try out Vista RC1 or RC2? How have your experiences been?
Posted by Oliver Rist on October 13, 2006 12:20 PM
October 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: PowerEdge ages beautifully
Proud heritage lives on: Dell introduced its PowerEdge line about a decade ago, and time has treated the server family well. Test Center Contributor Paul Venezia discovers that the attractively priced 2950 comes packed with power as well as some nifty updates such as SAS and SATA disk options, refreshed DRAC, and support for the newest Intel chips.
IBM IICE heats up content federation: Many companies have myriad data tucked away in ECMSes (enterprise content management systems), workflow software, and other repositories. You can get at that data in individual chunks via proprietary UIs, or you can see it with an enterprise search engine. But you want to actually add, modify, and manipulate that data, and from a single UI, consider IBM's WebSphere IICE (Information Integrator Content Edition) v. 8.3. It provides a capable means of federating access to portals and CMSes, says Test Center Contributor Andrew Binstock, thought its enter-prise orientation and pricing might not make it a good fit for all companies.
Are you ready for IE 7? The newest iteration of Microsoft Internet Explorer is on the horizon, and Security Adviser Roger A. Grimes urges you to be prepared. On the plus side, the browser is packed with a bunch of security features that could finally relieve IE of its punch-line status in IT security jokes. However, you may find that IE doesn't play well with all the Web apps and software tools your users need to get their jobs done. Best start testing now, Grimes suggests.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 13, 2006 06:00 AM
October 12, 2006 | Comments: (0)
LogicLibrary bolsters SOA repository
LogicLibrary on Thursday announced availability of Logidex 5.0, which is that latest version of the company's design-time repository/registry for managing SOA services.
Service consumption governance and integration with Eclipse projects are featured.
Logidex provides a combination of a repository for services production, a registry for services and artifact consumption and UDDI and ESB (enterprise service bus) publication options. Governance capabilities are provided for the SOA lifecycle.
The 5.0 release expands the use of the company's Smart Controls technology, for controlling software development assets, to include service consumption governance. Also featured are SOA-based ROI metrics, dynamic user views and internationalization. Version 5.0 extends Logidex's reference modeling support to cover the Eclipse Modeling Framework.
An AnySource Artifact Adapter feature in Logidex 5.0 acts as a single sign-on facility for artifact retrieval, insulating users from cumbersome access complexities, LogicLibrary said. An Active Asset Analysis function provides feedback on service and asset usage. Integrated governance reports are provided based on the Eclipse Business Intelligence Reporting Toolkit.
IBM Global Services will be reselling Logidex. LogicLibrary is part of the IBM SOA Specialty Partner program.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 12, 2006 11:47 AM
October 12, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: EAI, EAI, oooh!
Get down to bizness: It's been a couple of years since InfoWorld last looked at Microsoft BizTalk Server, and time has treated the EAI product well. Now in its 2006 iteration, BizTalk remains an excellent solution for stitching together complex applications, Web services, and databases, according to Test Center Contributor Martin Heller, plus it provides useful UIs for users of varying technical savvy. "Enterprises that support Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000/2005 in their server infrastructure and have developers familiar with Visual Studio 2005 would do well to consider BizTalk as the centerpiece of their EAI and b-to-b e-commerce solutions."
Virtualization video: Does virtualization make IT management discipline easier or harder? InfoWorld Executive Editor Eric Knorr poses that very question, and others, to Andi Mann, senior analyst at IT research and analysis firm Enterprise Management Associates. (Eric caught up with Andi for the brief chat at InfoWorld's recent Virtualization Forum in New York.)
Tasty storage clusters: Senior Analyst and storage guru Mario Apicella bites into clustered storage systems, noting that the advantages to the technology are similar to those of server clustering: "You get better scalability, both for capacity and performance, and more resilience than traditional solutions can provide." He looks specifically at Isilon's impressive OneFS 4.5 (stands for One File System) clustered storage solution, a distributed file system that runs on multiple nodes of proprietary hardware, connected via iSCSI links to their hosts and interconnected via iSCSI or InfiniBand.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 12, 2006 06:00 AM
October 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Web services notification standard gets nod
OASIS on Wednesday announced its approval of WS-Notification version 1.3 as an official OASIS standard.
WS-Notification defines a pattern-based approach to disseminating information amongst Web services. The standard actually consists of three different specifications: WS-BaseNotificiation, for standard message exchanges; WS-BrokeredNotification, defining message exchanges to be implemented by a "Notification Broker," and WS-Topics, providing an XML model to organize classes of events. Also, WS-Notification leverages the WSRF (Web Services Resources Framework) standard from OASIS and is used in turn by the OASIS Web Services Distributed Management (WSDM)standard.
AmberPoint, Fujitsu and IBM already have implemented WS-Notification, OASIS said.
Companies such as CA and Tibco Software endorsed the specification in prepared statements released by OASIS.
"WS-Notification provides an essential publish/subscribe event mechanism for higher-level, service-oriented management protocols such as OASIS WSDM. This standard will enable the IT community to further advance the flexibility, efficiency, and ease by which enterprises can maintain the health of their increasingly complex computing environments," said Paul Lipton, senior architect for the CA Wily Technology Division.
"The approval of WS-Notification is a significant milestone for developers and users responsible for SOA at their organizations. By standardizing the way events are communicated using open, as opposed to proprietary protocols, WS-Notification has become a key element to the foundation of service-oriented, event-driven enterprise architectures," said Matt Quinn, vice president of Product Management and Strategy at Tibco Software.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 11, 2006 01:12 PM
October 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)
IBM builds out SOA partner programs
IBM on Thursday is expanding its SOA outreach, with new programs, services and partner incentives, including the development of SOA Specialty Wikis for vertical industries.
As part of its Web 2.0 push, IBM and SOA Business Partners are building Wikis for SOAs in both vertical industries and specialized focus areas. Also, podcasts will be available to educate business partners and customers on the business value of SOA, IBM said.
IBM's new "Ready for SOA" program, meanwhile, provides incentives for IBM SOA Specialty Business partners supporting the IBM SOA Foundation, which is a set of software, best practices and patterns for deploying SOA. Upon passing a Ready for SOA validation test, partners can receive technical enablement, support and a skills-building roadmap to access SOA market opportunities. Ready for SOA is a branding mark.
Additionally, IBM is developing SOA Joint Solution Galleries to assist partners by providing technical resources, demos and marketing materials. IBM's "cross-sell" kits for SOA hold relevant information and roadmaps for business partners to expand product or service offerings to include SOA.
IBM has commitments from eight SOA Business Partners to develop industry-specific services for the WebSphere Business Services Fabric, which is a new technology based on pre-built, customizable SOA assets, semantic models and policies supporting standards such as ACORD and HIPAA.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 11, 2006 11:03 AM
October 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: x86 isn't just for games
Leveraging x86: Application developers can learn from the example set by game developers and media editors insofar as how they use , opines InfoWorld Chief Technologist Tom Yager. "Despite the fact that every living PC has SIMD extensions by now, I am sure that [x86] extensions aren't used where they could make the greatest difference." By taking better advantage of x86, developers could inject cryptography, compression, and real-time business analytics in their wares.
Second Life, third dimension: Blogger in Chief Jon Udell observes the striking similarities between building HTML Web pages in the 1990s and constructing 3-D artifacts in online 3-D environment Second Life today. "Just as Web page authors were scarce and expensive then, Second Life builders are now. " But the similarities end when it comes to difficulty. Web pages are 2-D pages. whereas "you build Second Life objects using two-dimensional gestures that render in a simulated 3-D space. I used to be handy with 3-D CAD software, and let me tell you, that third dimension is a doozy."
Java does Vista: Contrary to rumors, Java Client Group Architect Chet Haase asserts that Java runs quite well on Vista, thank you, particularly Java SE 6. He notes that adapting Java to the ever-evolving Vista platform has been no easy trick, though. " [S]ince Vista has been a moving platform during the Java SE 6 development process, we've been in this development cycle continually with every new drop of Vista (they are still releasing weekly builds for us to test; we just found a bug in RC1 that has since been fixed in the latest release we got yesterday)."
Posted by Ted Samson on October 11, 2006 06:00 AM
October 10, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Responding to a rumor started on Microsoft Watch that Java doesn't get along well with Vista, Sun Java Client Group Architect Chet Haase declared quite firmly in his own blog that Java runs quite well on Redmond's next-born.
In a Sept. 29 blog posting, Microsoft Watch cited eWeek Lab tests running various Java-based apps on Vista. "In each case, Aero Glass [the Vista UI] wasn't just disabled for the (apparently) offending application, but for our test machine as a whole--until we closed the Java app."
The entry dispenses the following advice to Sun: "Sun Microsystems would do well to give a ring to one of the interop contacts at Microsoft that came out of the firms' historic make-nice agreement back in 2004, and figure out how to make Java apps first-class Vista citizens."
That final bit particularly irked Haase, who responded in a recent entry in his blog.
"[O]lder versions of Java do have problems on Vista, and that's what the original report was about; someone tried running some older version of Java on Vista and noted some problems. But that's like saying that your favorite XBox game, Bloody Mess X, doesn't work on XBox360. Of course it doesn't; the original game was written for a completely different system."
Haase goes into great detail to explain just how hard Sun has worked to adapt Java to the ever-evolving Vista.
"... [It] has been an ongoing process of learning, testing, debugging, submitting bugs against Microsoft, fixing our bugs, re-testing. ... And since Vista has been a moving platform during the Java SE 6 development process, we've been in this development cycle continually with every new drop of Vista (they are still releasing weekly builds for us to test; we just found a bug in RC1 that has since been fixed in the latest release we got yesterday)."
(Application developers in particular may want to read his post; it's quite detailed, technical, and blissfully devoid of marketing.)
Java SE 6, by the way, "is the best solution for Vista," Haase writes. "That release has received most of our focus during the Vista beta release timeframe, and it is where most of the fixes to the known problems currently reside."
As for other flavors of Java: "J2SE 1.5 should work fine, but there may be some nuances that may not be as perfect... . Some additional Vista-specific fixes (such as component animation) may not be back-ported, so the fidelity may not be as close as that in Java SE 6... . But the full gamut of Vista work that we feel is necessary for J2SE 1.5 should be available in update 11, which we hope to release around January of 2007."
Moreover, J2SE 1.4.2 will basically work, according to Haase. "We see 1.4.2 as being functional, usable, and perfect for situations where a customer is absolutely locked into that particular release for now. But we encourage developers and customers to migrate to a more full-feature Vista release soon."
Stay tuned to InfoWorld's ongoing coverage of Vista for the latest news and reviews.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 10, 2006 09:41 PM
October 10, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Developer tool leverages Google kit
Instantiations later this month will unveil GWT Designer 1.0, which the company describes as a comprehensive tool for building AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) Web applications using the Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
GWT is a Java development framework intended to make it easy to develop AJAX applications. GWT Designer is built on WindowBuilder Pro, Instantiations's Eclipse tool for building Java GUI applications for Windows, Linux, Macintosh and other platforms. With GWT Designer, Instantiations is providing a WYSIWIG GUI construction environment. Developers drag and drop composites, layouts and controls when building a user interface.
With the Instantiations tool, developers can focus on building and testing rich Internet applications using Eclipse, Java and GWT without having to deal with the complexities of AJAX coding.
Other features in the tool include: bidirectional code generation, in which changes to Java source code are reflected immediately in the graphical designer, and vice versa; Cascading Style Sheets support and rich editing. One-click deployment also is featured, as is internationalization.
GWT Developer is priced at an annual subscription of $39 per seat. Two- and three-year subscriptions cost $69 and $89. A two-week trial copy can be accessed here.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 10, 2006 01:14 PM
October 10, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: VoIP over SOA
When acronyms collide: Peanut butter and jelly. Laurel and Hardy. SOA and VoIP. OK, so the last paring in the trio may not be a classic pairing, at least not yet, but they're starting to get cozy, and there's plenty of potential there for a long, meaningful relationship, Leon Erlanger finds. "As with mainframe applications, what was once the isolated, proprietary office PBX, then the IP PBX, has started evolving into a set of abstracted software services for unified communications that can be interwoven with business app services and processes in an SOA."
Slippery Slidy: InfoWorld Lead Analyst Jon Udell laments that we still lack a standard compound document format for the Web, which creates problems for such tasks as creating a presentation with HTML Slidy. He has concocted a couple of workarounds in the meantime, though.
You won't find these on YouTube: Sean McCown doesn't spend all his days taming databases. He also invests plenty of time viewing IT training videos, then kindly lets folks like us know whether they're worthwhile. Application developers, he says, would be well-served checking some selections from (fittingly) AppDev. "Their training is simply top notch. The production quality is very high, and the instruction is fantastic. ... If you ever get a chance to take any of their training, don't pass it up." There there's SQLUSA training: "I honestly can't imagine a bigger waste of money. You'd really be better off learning SQL from a house painter."
Posted by Ted Samson on October 10, 2006 06:00 AM
October 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Trapeze distributes switching smarts
Trapeze Networks today unveiled Smart Mobile, intelligent switching software aimed at giving companies the potential benefits of both a distributed and a centralized WLAN.
Wireless LANs today require data traffic to flow through the controller, which isn't always necessary and can sometimes result in latency and jitter. Using Smart Mobile, according to the company, organizations can pick and choose on an app-by-app and user-by-user basis whether data needs to travel via the controller, or if the switching and encryption can be done at the AP level.
So, for example, were a guest to connect to your company WLAN, the traffic from his session could all go through the controller in a centralized fashion, making it more secure.
However, a low-latency application such as voice over WLAN (VoWLAN) might take the distributed AP-to-AP path, enabling them to communicate directly in a peer-to-peer fashion without requiring round trips to the central controller. With traffic flowing directly from handset to handset, VoWLAN deployments can scale dramatically, according to the company -- not just for a few users, but for hundreds to thousands of users.
"Smart Mobile represents a fundamental shift in WLAN architectures," said Dan Simone, VP and CTO at Trapeze Networks. "By distributing intelligence throughout the network while retaining centralized policy and management, Smart Mobile delivers the technological breakthrough enabling customers for the first time to deploy next-generation wireless applications such as voice over WLAN on an unprecedented scale."
According to the company, Smart Mobile also compensates for the shortcomings found in outdoor Wi-Fi solutions, which lack Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) support and WPA2 security. Thus organizations seeking to expand outdoors, such as on large university campuses can benefit, and can manage the entire network from the Trapeze RingMaster management software.
"Centralized WLANs have failed to deliver scalable outdoor service, because they require centralized policy enforcement, resulting in inefficient use of scarce over-the-air bandwidth. Smart Mobile overcomes this limitation through intelligent switching, which distributes policy enforcement throughout the network to optimize traffic flow and eliminate unnecessary traffic."
In touting the Smart Mobile technology, Trapeze has the forthcoming 802.11n standard in mind. (802.11n is expected to be 50 times faster than 802.11b, and well over 10 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g.)
Trapeze makes the case that by deploying Smart Mobile, companies looking to upgrade to 802.11n down the road won't have to gut their switch closet to reap the benefits. "In contrast, Trapeze's Smart Mobile is 802.11n ready out of the box, enabling customers to support a 10-fold increase in network load without having to upgrade their entire switched infrastructure," according to the company.
"For CIOs and network managers who are wondering how to cost-effectively scale their WLANs to deliver enterprisewide mobility, support rapidly increasing numbers of users, and provide mobile applications such as voice and video, Smart Mobile provides in-place scaling. No forklift upgrades are required," Simone said.
Time will tell how long it takes other vendors to start supporting 802.11n. According to InfoWorld Test Center Senior Contributing Editor (and Geek in Paradise) Brian Chee, "WMM is an integral part of 802.11n and is what WiFi VoIP is betting the farm on. So while folks like Tra-peze already have WMM and are demoing it with guys like DiVitas, the reality is that folks like Nokia, Erickson, Motorola, etc. are all waiting for 802.11n before really dumping a lot of bucks into WiFi VoIP. The 802.11n chipsets from folks like Broadcom are only in OEM samples right now."
Smart Mobile will be made available this month, free to existing customers. It also will be built in to Trapeze products moving forwarded, though their costs will remain unchanged.
For more information, go to www.trapezenetworks.com.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 9, 2006 04:06 PM
October 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: BEA calls out open source?
Whistling or swaggering in the dark? In a recent tour of BEA, IDG reporters got an earful from BEA CTO Rob Levy as to why open source competitors fall short of the company's SOA wares. Open Source columnist Neil McCallister suggests that Levy relied on "half-truths and misleading facts" in attempting to make his case, and that his case, frankly, was bogus. For example, Levy suggests that BEA picks up the management slack where Apache Tomcat falls short. McCallister notes, however, that Tomcat is merely a Java servlet container, and "if what you want is a fully integrated, highly manageable Java application server, you might want to look for products a little higher up the stack -- such as Apache Geronimo or JBoss, for example."
Another taste of Vista: Further whetting the appetite of Windows fan, Microsoft last Friday unveiled RC2 of Vista. The company still claims the OS will be ready to businesses next month and for users in January. Details of just how the new RC is an improvement over the previous one remains hazy, but stay tuned to InfoWorld's ongoing coverage.
Riding the SLED: After testing SLED 10 on his Thinkpad 60 laptop, Open Source blogger Dave Rosenberg concludes that Linux is A-OK for business users, despite a hiccup connecting to Wi-Fi after creating a new user account. "I can confidently say that the hardware is fantastic, the SLED Linux is good, but the applications are only mediocre. The only reason I haven't switched entirely is because of Photoshop, though I suppose I could use WINE or Crossover," he writes.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 9, 2006 06:00 AM
October 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)
BEA Systems on Tuesday is unveiling AquaLogic BPM Suite 5.7, which is the first release of the former Fuego business process management (BPM) product since BEA acquired the technology in March.
With this release, BEA is attempting to bridge BPM and SOA. Version 5.7 provides browsing and discovery of managed services as well as dynamic binding to services. IT personnel can separate system complexity from business processes. Also featured in version 5.7 is support for a multi-language approach to BPM, with Unicode certification and localized versions of the product's designer and modeling environments. Among languages supported include English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, simplified Chinese and Spanish.
Additionally, version 5.7 features new capabilities for leveraging best practices within a process template repository and a master role directory. Common process patterns can be captured as templates and managed within a central repository. UDDI is supported in version 5.7 to allow services used within a modeled process to be discovered and bound to a process from within the design-time modeling environment. Improved business activity monitoring dashboards also are featured.
BPM Suite 5.7 is part of a multi-product introduction taking place as part of BEA's SOA 360 plan and blended strategy for mixing open source and commercial offerings.
BEA also is rolling out its Kodo 4.1 persistence engine product, basing its JPA (Java Persistence API) implementation on the same packages used in the Apache OpenJPA incubator. This boosts compatibility between Apache and BEA's commercial products. Kodo 4.1 supports the JDO (Java Data Objects) 2.0 specification for persisting objects to data stores either via JDO 2.0 or JPA. Kodo is an object-relational tool for linking to databases.
BEA also is releasing its BEA Workshop for WebLogic Platform 9.2 development tool featuring an updated IDE Design Views function. The new product builds upon existing integration with the Eclipse 3.1 platform and the Eclipse Web Tools Platform 1.0 project. This Design Views capability now features point-and-click development of Web services, said Pieter Humphrey, senior manager of product marketing for the BEA Workshop tools division.
Before, developers were using Java 5 standard annotations or writing source code in Eclipse. "Point-and-click makes it a lot faster. You can develop a pretty enterprise-quality Web service in just a few clicks," Humphrey said.
Also in version 9.2, a new Page Flow overview for Beehive Web applications provides developer navigation and documentation. Version 9.2 relies on the Eclipse Update Manager for distribution.
Additionally, BEA is introducing is a new version of the Workshop Studio development tool, labeled version 3.2.1. This version includes updates from the Eclipse platform as well from the Eclipse Web Tools Platform 1.5.1 project. The Spring 1.3.4 Java framework also is supported. The Studio product is a platform-independent offering running on WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, JBoss and Tomcat.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 9, 2006 05:33 AM
October 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Five spam blockers by the numbers
We've evaluated five anti-spam solutions this year, and for the third year running Symantec (and secret sauce Brightmail) reigns supreme in accuracy. Here's the ranking by percentage of spam blocked in our tests:
Symantec Mail Security, 97% accurate, 0 critical false positives, .199% non-critical false positives
Proofpoint Protection Server, 95% accurate, 0 critical false positives, .215% non-critical false positives
IronPort C-Series, 93% accurate, 0 critical false positives, .058% non-critical false positives
Mirapoint Message Server, 92% accurate, .46% critical false positives, 4.661% non-critical false positives
Microsoft Antigen Spam Manager, 82% accurate, .358% critical false positives, 2.454% non-critical false positives
Symantec, Proofpoint, and IronPort all proved quite accurate, and all three excelled at avoiding false positives. IronPort deserves special mention here, having registered only 1 false positive in nearly 10,000 messages, and this a "non-critical" one. Non-critical false positives are mass mailings that are incorrectly identified as spam, while critical false positives are personal messages that are incorrectly blocked.
Anti-spam gateways have come a long way since 2003, when we first began testing them. It's hard to find a viable commercial solution today that isn't at least 90% accurate, and the best ones exceed 95%. Microsoft Antigen's 82% accuracy is head-scratchingly behind the curve. Click the links to read the full reviews.
Posted by Doug Dineley on October 6, 2006 05:41 PM
October 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Critical MS patches coming Tuesday
The Big Redmondian Machine has announced that 11 patches are forthcoming next Tuesday, October 10. They include six patches for Windows, four for Office, and one for Microsoft .NET Framework.
Microsoft doesn't specify what vulnerabilities are being patched; just that the highest Maximum Severity rating for the Windows and Office set is Critical. The .NET Framework fix is Moderate.
One patch is expected for Internet Explore to fix the SetSlice vulnerability, which lets malicious hackers load identity theft Trojans and rootkits on infected machines. Redmond announced the flaw on Sept. 28.
Additionally, the company will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the Download Center. "Note that this tool will NOT be distributed using Software Update Services (SUS)," the announcement states.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 6, 2006 01:23 PM
October 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Jtest 8 brings more hope to Java developers
Jtest 8 passes with honors: Contributing Editor Rick Grehan has tracked the evolution of Parasoft's Java testing tool Jtest for some time now, and he's pleased to discover that it keeps getting better. "Version 8 adds more preloaded rules and the new BugDetective analysis module for locating problems and identifying their origin," and that's just the beginning. Java developers, rejoice.
MS Antigen nails viruses, chokes on spam: Spam and viruses continue to flood users' mailboxes. Vendors of all sizes offer an array of products to battle the onslaught, and with varying success. Consider Microsoft Anti-gen for SMTP Gateways Version 9.0, with Antigen Spam Manager. Antigen for SMTP Gateway is a well-designed virus slayer that nailed every bugger analyst Logan Harbaugh threw at it. But the optional Spam Manager add-on fared worse than just about any anti-spam tool he's seen.
Virtualization Forum reloaded: A couple of weeks ago, InfoWorld Editor in Chief wrote a column singing the praises of Executive Test Center Editor Doug Dineley -- and deservedly so. Doug knows enterprise technology like Bo knows knew football. So if you were one of the unlucky individuals who missed out on our Virtualization Executive Forum in New York, or if you want a recap, check into the InfoWorld IT Exec-Connect Virtualization Chat Room today (Friday) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
Sad state of security: Sometime the first step to solving a problem is recognizing it -- and Security Adviser Roger A. Grimes sees a doozy. Make that many doozies. "The world of computer security is so much worse than the average Internet user or politician believes... . The people who make a living at closing tens to hundreds of thousands of bot-infected computers a day readily admit that they are not making a dent in the bad guy's ability to use bots for crime. ... Sadly, the world has decided that real computer security doesn't mat-ter any more than real terrorist security. It's all lip service. We are, and apparently choose to be, reactive sheep." It may not be uplifting reading. It may not even be heeded. But it's important.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 6, 2006 06:00 AM
October 05, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: The next big storage thing?
One smart switch: Storage maven Mario Apicella reveals what he deems "one of the most important releases in recent storage news": iNSP (Incipient Network Storage Platform). "iNSP is the first (and for now only) storage virtualization software that resides entirely inside an intelligent switch module. That's an architectural difference from competing products that run on arrays or ancillary appliances." Benefits include quicker data migration, and "the ability to automate recurring storage provisioning tasks with templates that classify storage according to applications' demands."
Uber 10-gig NIC: What happens when you combine NetXen's intelligent, 10-gig network controllers with HP's Multifunction Network Adapters for ProLiant servers? A powerful NIC, potentially capable of TCP/IP offloading, RDMA, iSCSI acceleration -- maybe even I/O virtualization, according to Test Center Head Honcho Doug Dineley. And according to HP and NetXen, there's plenty more to come. Stay tuned.
Shooting from the HIPS: The promise of a technology panacea is alluring, as is the case with HIPS (host intrusion prevention systems), notes Enterprise Windows author Oliver Rist. "The technology aims to combine AV, malware, and network intrusion detection into an intelligent overall security umbrella that covers your entire desktop -- and some-times server -- landscape." But HIPS has the potential to put a real strain on your systems, he cautions, so approach with care -- and a fire extinguisher -- until these types of solutions prove their worth.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 5, 2006 06:06 AM
October 05, 2006 | Comments: (0)
HP taps NetXen's big, fat, intelligent NIC
Last week HP announced that it has integrated NetXen's intelligent, 10-gigabit network controllers into the HP Multifunction Network Adapters for the ProLiant family of servers. This is the first 10-gig NIC to become available in ProLiants, and it may be the first "multifunction" 10-gig NIC available anywhere.
The functions the smart NICs promise to handle are TCP/IP offloading (TOE), RDMA, and iSCSI acceleration. Eventually they might also include I/O virtualization, but none of these is in the cards quite yet. Rather, HP ProLiant guy Steve Cumings reports that they'll "roll out at regular intervals in the future. The first will be TOE, expected in a few months."
Cumings expects the 10-gig NICs to get an immediate warm welcome from customers running high-performance compute clusters, and that they'll also appeal to more mainstream customers who are consolidating servers using virtual machines or who want to consolidate networking, iSCSI storage, and management data streams through a single data link.
Cumings didn't reveal HP's plans for NetXen's I/O virtualization capabilities, which NetXen unveiled September 18. Called NetSlice, the I/O virtualization firmware provides a number of functions aimed at eliminating the gross processing overhead associated with hypervisors, such as VMware and Xen, handling I/O data transfers for multiple virtual machines. (For an elegant description of the problem, see Tom Yager.)
In the near to mid term, NetXen vows to remove the hypervisor from the data path, without compromising its control functions. The company also promises to leverage standards for I/O virtualization (currently being considered by the PCI-SIG I/O Virtualization Workgroup) as they emerge, though the wait may be a year or more.
Meanwhile, both HP and NetXen are mum. "We are planning on delivering a couple of different solutions for virtual I/O, but unfortunately because they are future solutions we can't talk about them yet," said Cumings.
Added NetXen's CEO, Govind Kizhepat, "You will see a flurry of releases in the near term future. We don't want to specifically comment about what will come when. It will be an ongoing, rolling thunder of releases."
Posted by Doug Dineley on October 5, 2006 05:59 AM
October 04, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Google launching code search app
Google on Thursday is launching Google Code Search, which enables developers to search publicly available source code.
The application searches repositories such as Subversion and CVS and crawls the Web for code.
"We're bringing over billions of lines of code," said Tom Stocky, Google product manager for the Code Search application. With the application, Google is providing a tool for developers looking to find specific code, sample calls or function definitions.
"They can now search for it in one place," Stocky said.
"Usually, the first thing a programmer does when they're going to build apps is they search over existing code, which is pretty hard to do today," Stocky said.
The application is available at google.com/codesearch.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 4, 2006 09:15 PM
October 04, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Preview: Egenera BladeFrame EX looks sharp
After a rather nice fall drive to Egenera's headquarters in Marlboro Mass. (nice, with the exception of Rt 495, which is never nice, yet always a uniquely Massachusetts experience), I spent the day in their labs taking a good look at the new BladeFrame EX and PAN Manager 5.0.
Egenera's digs have all the hallmarks of a company growing very fast; crowded hallways, a literally overflowing parking lot, and the ever- present rattle and hum of a serious engineering firm. Egenera's new BladeFrame EX is the latest installment of the company's flagship product, representing the efforts of the six-year-old company very well.
The BladeFrame EX is relatively difficult to describe. It's a blade system, but not really. It's a virtualization platform, but well, not really. Grid computing? Well, not really. It's the marriage of all three in a sense, with stateless blades that have CPUs and RAM, but no disk, NICs, HBAs, or any other form of connectivity other than a backplane connection, coupled with controllers and switching modules that deliver the missing pieces. All of this is wrapped up in a chassis that looks like a standard server cabinet.
The key is the management software, and a connection to a SAN. All together, a single BladeFrame EX represents 24 servers that can be sliced and diced to run any single server instance (called a pServer ) at any given time, with disk delivered by way of the SAN, and all other connections flowing through the backplane.
A few clicks can turn any individual blade from a Windows 2003 server into a RedHat EL 4 server. A blade failure results in the server instance running on that blade moving to a spare blade in a matter of a minute or so, no imaging required.
Stay tuned for the first official review of Egenera's BladeFrame EX, once I figure out how to put the full solution into words. Barring that, my preliminary opinion can be distilled into one word: Cool.
Posted by Paul Venezia on October 4, 2006 02:27 PM
October 04, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Nexaweb offers framework for AJAX, Java
Nexaweb Technologies at the AJAXWorld Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, Calif. this week unveiled Nexaweb UCF (Universal Client Framework), giving developers the flexibility of using AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) or Java for Web applications.
UCF is being billed by Nexaweb as the industry's first zero-install, universal client framework using Java or AJAX to deploy enterprise-class business applications over the Web. Both Java and AJAX clients download automatically to a Web browser and access cache data and program components to minimize network overhead, Nexaweb said.
In combination with messaging and integration components from the Nexaweb Enterprise Web 2.0 Platform, UCF provides an application development and deployment platform to leverage legacy and service-enabled IT assets and build secure business applications for a browser. UCF is part of Nexaweb Web 2.0 Platform.
Nexaweb Enterprise Web 2.0 Platform with Nexaweb UCF is due to be generally available on November 30.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 4, 2006 11:00 AM
October 04, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Amazon's SOA experiment
Amazon's SOA play: InfoWorld Lead Analyst Jon Udell looks at Amazon's recently announced FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), which will make Amazon's warehouse, its customer service, and its pick, pack, and ship machinery available to sellers. How will the endeavor work? We'll have to wait and see, but Udell predicts that "as we watch it unfold, we'll all deepen our understanding of what SOA [service-oriented architecture] can mean and how services can evolve into products."Pool your IT assests: InfoWorld Chief Technologist Tom Yager presents a novel approach to IT spending that could eliminate spending redundancies. Rather than creating separate IT spending budgets, "virtualize all assets, and turn managers with spending authority into IT investors... . IT gets to decide where the new boxes live and what badge is on them; but new investments always buy the latest hardware, and even though everything is virtually pooled and dynamically provisioned, no investor in the pool ever gets fewer cycles, less memory, smaller network pipes, or less storage than what their investment entitles them to."
VMware Converter evolves: Over in the InfoWorld Virtualization Report, David Marshall takes a look at VMware Converter 3. The company is aiming to meet the needs of data centers seeking ways to migrate their physical servers into virtual machines. VMware's "next generation conversion tool that enables fast and reliable Physical-to-Virtual and Virtual-to-Virtual conversions through a simple and centralized management product."
Posted by Ted Samson on October 4, 2006 06:00 AM
October 04, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: iNSP a storage virtualization breakthrough?
One smart switch: Storage maven Mario Apicella reveals what he deems one of the most important releases in recent storage news: iNSP (Incipient Network Storage Platform). "iNSP is the first (and for now only) storage virtualization software that resides entirely inside an intelligent switch module. That's an architectural difference from competing products that run on arrays or ancillary appliances." Benefits include quicker data migration, and "the ability to automate recurring storage provisioning tasks with templates that classify storage according to applications' demands."
Super 10-gig NIC: What happens when you combine NetXen's intelligent, 10-gig network controllers with HP's Multifunction Network Adapters for ProLiant servers? A powerful NIC, potentially ca-pable of TCP/IP offloading, RDMA, iSCSI acceleration -- maybe even I/O virtualization, according to Test Center Head Honcho Doug Dineley. And according to HP and NetXen, there's plenty more to come. Stay tuned.
Shooting from the HIPS: The promise of a technology panacea is alluring, as is the case with HIPS (host intrusion prevention systems), notes Enterprise Windows author Oliver Rist. "The technology aims to combine AV, malware, and network intrusion detection into an intelligent overall security umbrella that covers your entire desktop -- and sometimes server -- landscape." But HIPS has the potential to put a real strain on your systems, he cautions, so approach with care -- and a fire extinguisher -- until these types of solutions prove their worth.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 4, 2006 06:00 AM
October 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Google on Tuesday launched Google AJAX Search API 1.0, enabling developers and publishers to add a Google search box to their site or build Web applications on top of Google's offerings.
The API was unveiled at the AJAXWorld Conference & Expo in Santa Clara, Calif. Although this is a 1.0 beta release, the company since June has had a release numbered 0.1 that had not been publicized. New in this release is the addition of Google News results and Maps results in five additional countries: France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Canada.
Also featured is targeted advertising alongside AJAX Search API Web results; this feature currently is in the experimental phase and advertisers will not be charged for ads clicked.
Google with the API is looking to make it easier for developers to build their own search-based applications, Tom Stocky, Google product manager, said.
The general release date for the API has not yet been determined. The API beta is available here.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 3, 2006 03:59 PM
October 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
The Spring 2.0 Java framework was released Tuesday, with such a great user reception that the download site has been crashing, according to a representative of Interface21, which has guided the project.
The company is working to mend the situation.
Although originally anticipated late last month, version 2.0 is arriving just a few days late. Spring 2.0 features enhancements pertaining to aspect-oriented programming, JRuby and Enterprise JavaBeans. Additionally. The release makes Spring simpler and and adds increased power and performance.
"Version 2.0 brings major new simplifications to the framework's overall usage model. As our existing users know, the heart of Spring is the Bean Container which drives the configuration of your Java and Java EE application. In version 2.0 many common configuration tasks have been simplified through the introduction of custom Bean Configuration Dialects," the Spring site says.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 3, 2006 11:05 AM
October 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: How well do Web-based apps handle real-world work?
It was supposed to be a three-hour tour...: Senior Contributing Editor Oliver Rist spent a week living in a browser-based world, from e-mail to spreadsheets to presentation-making apps. According to his recounting of this expedition to Browser App Island, some things went well (Yahoo mail), some things didn't (trying to work in Web apps on spotty wireless connections), and some things required a dose of liquid courage (Johnnie Walker Black). Read more about Oliver's experience and tell us: Do you use any of these online apps? Love 'em? Hate 'em? Let us know on the TalkBack forum or post your comments here on Test Center Daily.
This open-source integration tool is no donkey: Heard of MuleSource before? Open Sources blogger Dave Rosenberg scored an interview with their CEO... which may not have been too difficult, seeing as how Rosenberg is the CEO of MuleSource. But with version 1.3 of this open-source ESB and integration now available, Rosenberg's providing a little glimpse behind the curtain. It's worth a peek.
Virtualization Forum presentations now available: Did you attend the InfoWorld Virtualization Executive Forum in New York last week? If you did - or didn't, but are curious about the seminars and discussions that went on there - the presentations are now available on our Forum Resources page.
Posted by Stephanie McLoughlin on October 3, 2006 06:00 AM
October 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)
MuleSource trots out ESB upgrade
MuleSource on Tuesday is releasing version 1.3 of Mule, which is an open source enterprise service bus for integration projects.
Mule features a simplified development model that has prompted its use in many enterprise integration scenarios, MuleSource said. Enhancements in Mule 1.3, which is based on Java, support the platform's use in SOA, MuleSource said. MuleSource in version 1.3 extends support of XFire, which is a next-generation SOA framework that uses an API to make SOA approachable, MuleSource said. Additionally, Mule developers can interoperate between Apache Axis, webMethods Glue and .Net Web services. Version 1.3 also backs popular application server transaction managers, including BEA Systems's Web Logic and IBM's WebSphere as well as JRun, JBoss and Resin. Generic JNDI (Java Naming and Director Interface)) support also is backed.
Version 1.3 also features performance upgrades, including faster HTTP transport, JMS (Java Message Service) session caching boosts and optimization of metadata-handling for higher execution times. Mule services in the 1.3 release can be invoked by Spring remoting services. A new HiveMind container allows developers to obtain objects from a HiveMind registry.
MuleSource offers support services for Mule.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 2, 2006 03:56 PM
October 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)
JetBrains on Monday is announcing the release of its IntelliJ Idea 6.0 Java IDE, which expands support for Java standards.
Highlighted are enhanced Java Enterprise Edition capabilities including JSP (JavaServer Pages) Web content development improvements. Support also is featured for the JavaServer Faces (JSF) component model for Web development and the Struts framework.
Version 6.0 offers support and migration mappings for the Enterprise JavaBeans 3.0 component architecture. Users can refactor EJB 1.x and 2.x modules into EJB 3.0 modules, JetBrains said.
The Swing GUI designer in version 6.0 supports multiple Swing layout managers and allows for quick importing of existing user interfaces.
Code-editing has been enhanced as well. Web development functions include support for JavaScript, AJAX( Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), HTML/CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and XML.
More application servers are supported, including BEA WebLogic 9, IBM WebSphere and JBoss. A team collaboration tool called IDEtalk, meanwhile, lets developers exchange messages.
Testing and code analysis tools in version 6.0 include code coverage and JUnit 4 integrations and code inspections for Java and Java EE.
JetBrains also is announcing availability of JetBrains TeamCity, an integrated team environment for .Net and Java developers and managers. Key features include an automated build and testing capability, notification of when a change fails a test, server-side code inspections and a rich Web interface with a project dashboard.
Posted by Paul Krill on October 2, 2006 09:56 AM
October 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Tracker: Keep your Exchange mail flowing
Keep Exchange chugging: E-mail is a critical communication tool of choice at just about any organization. So when the e-mail server goes down, you're in for some costly downtime. Exchange shops out there might be well-served by one of various e-mail failover solutions, recently tested by Test Center Contributing Editor Logan G. Harbaugh. Neverfail for Exchange and SteelEye LifeKeeper bring true fail-over to an entire Exchange server. Cemaphore Systems MailShadow and Quest Availability Manager protect individual mailboxes on one or more Exchange servers. And Lucid8 DigiVault provides backup of data stores that can be restored to a secondary Exchange.
eCart worth checking out: Microsoft Commerce Server isn't the only player in town when it comes to developing an e-commerce Web site. If you're using Adobe Dreamweaver, you should check out the new release of WebAssist's eCart extension. Contributing Editor Mike Heck reports that "this potent combination provides coders with point-and-click, fully customizable shopping carts." He notes that "one significant new feature lets you select PayPal Website Payments Pro for checkout. Many merchants will find this important because there's one transaction rate for all payments and low monthly fees."
Open source storage seeds? Virtualization is catching on in the enterprise, but Neil McCallister notes in his Open Enterprise column that although server virtualization has some open-source-product representation, proprietary product rule exclusively in the realm of storage virtualization. However, change may be on the horizon, he suggests, as standards such as iSCSI mature.
Posted by Ted Samson on October 2, 2006 06:00 AM