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IT News Digest
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Sometimes juggling technology is a circus act
One of the IT News stories that I highlighted today in the IT News Digest newsletter was about the computers behind the scenes at the new Cirque du Soleil show, "Corteo": "The tech inside Cirque's...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | December 5, 2005, 9:53 AM PST
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Linux and Windows continue to siphon server marketshare from Unix
The latest IDC numbers show that the trend of Linux and Windows stealing market share away from Unix is continuing. Windows servers showed a 15% increase in units sold over the same quarter last...
Posted by Jason Hiner | December 2, 2005, 2:33 PM PST
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Are you ready to SNARF up social sorting software?
The lead story in today's IT News Digest newsletter discusses a new technology developed by Microsoft researchers called SNARF, which stands for Social Network And Relationship Finder: "SNARFing...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | December 2, 2005, 9:12 AM PST
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The Wiki version of "10 things" ... Join the party
TechRepublic's lists of "10 things" are some of the most popular articles and downloads on our site. We've decided to take some of these lists and open them up so that TechRepublic members...
Posted by Jason Hiner | December 2, 2005, 8:34 AM PST
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Can I buy you a cup of coffee?
Yesterday, I asked the TR community to guess when they thought Vista Beta 2 and Longhorn Server would officially be released. In fact, I promised to buy the winner(s) a cup of coffee....
Posted by Sonja Thompson | December 1, 2005, 8:37 AM PST
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Listen to the beat of another drummer: high-tech DJs
Electronic music has received more than its fair share of criticism over the past decade. Some people argue that "real" music requires band members and musical instruments, not just a synthesizer...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 29, 2005, 10:14 AM PST
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Cool gift ideas for the holidays
Holiday shopping. Whether you purchase your gifts online or brave the traffic and check-out lines, it's something that most people wait until the day after Thanksgiving to do. Each year, I...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 28, 2005, 9:13 AM PST
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Yes, even you could become an energy-sucking chair potato
The implications of these two News.com stories are pretty frightening: "Tech firms focus on TV" and "Energy hogs in your living room." As the latter story explains, "TVs are the biggest energy...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 23, 2005, 10:15 AM PST
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The Xbox 360 scramble -- relentless demand or a contrived publicity stunt?
I'm still trying to decide whether the mad scramble for Xbox 360 consoles is the result of overwhelming demand (and the growth of the video games) or if it is a masterfully contrived publicity...
Posted by Jason Hiner | November 22, 2005, 2:08 PM PST
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I have now watched my first video-on-demand movie
Last week I watched two very interesting movies (documentaries actually) - The Lost Mustangs (National Geographic) and America's Heart and Soul. What's significant about that...
Posted by Jason Hiner | November 22, 2005, 1:47 PM PST
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Amazon competes with search services
According to this News.com story, Amazon is making it very easy to search for the information you need without having to fight the traffic, lines, and other holiday stressors: "Buy the book,...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 22, 2005, 9:23 AM PST
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What's all the buzz about?
Or I should say the lack of buzz, according to this News.com article: "Wi-Fi mosquito killer coming to a porch near you." Wireless technology has been created to keep things "in" a certain...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 21, 2005, 9:58 AM PST
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Maps and snapshots with an attitude
There were a couple stories on News.com today that I thought were pretty interesting. "Mapping a revolution with 'mashups'" was one of them. Granted, we've seen a bunch of stories...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 18, 2005, 10:18 AM PST
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I could become a cell phone snob
I have a confession. I'm one of those people who is seriously attached to my cell phone. Unlike some people who spend all their time and money on their cell phones, I don't use mine a lot -...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 17, 2005, 11:02 AM PST
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Microsoft's 64-bit timeline -- it's a 64-bit future for servers
This week, Microsoft senior VP Bob Muglia (the Windows Server head honcho) explained the timeline for 64-bit versions of Windows. The most interesting remark was that Longhorn Server Release...
Posted by Jason Hiner | November 15, 2005, 11:22 AM PST
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When the phone is smarter than the person
This News.com story reveals the results of the annual Mobile Usage Survey from security software firm Pointsec: "Vital data often stored on unsecured devices." As you can tell from the...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 15, 2005, 7:51 AM PST
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Fantasy role-playing online scores a D&D
Real geekophiles will appreciate this News.com story: "'Dungeons & Dragons' goes virtual." According to the article, more than 4,600,000 people still play this paper-based...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 14, 2005, 11:58 AM PST
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SGI introduces Itanium-based blade servers
I just read about a new server move from SGI that is definitely ironic when you consider the fact that SGI was once a sworn enemy of the Wintel alliance, but since Linux has undercut its high-end...
Posted by Jason Hiner | November 14, 2005, 8:28 AM PST
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Some resources on SQL Server 2005
Here are some helpful resources on SQL Server 2005 for those who are evaluating it and/or preparing for it: Microsoft's SQL Server TechCenter MSDN's SQL Server Development Center SQL...
Posted by Jason Hiner | November 11, 2005, 1:13 PM PST
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Blogs are cutting off print circulation
Today's IT News Digest newsletter featured a News.com story that I think will appeal to the blogging community: "All the news that's fit to blog." Author Rob Conant provides shocking...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | November 11, 2005, 10:30 AM PST
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Google hack to instantly search for files
Thanks to Jimmy Ruska's video on YouTube, there are several quirks about phrasing search queries for Google that can find you files in a jiffy. I will detail the method and include it as a Firefox...
Posted by Arun Radhakrishnan | July 11, 2007, 9:35 AM PDT
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Toshiba's battery recall and tips on maintaining your laptop's battery
IDG News service and SlashGear report that Toshiba is initiating another series of battery recalls due to risk of fire. The models that may be affected are Satellite A100/A105 and Tecra A7 and...
Posted by Arun Radhakrishnan | July 20, 2007, 6:57 AM PDT
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Are the rewards of ERP systems worth the risk?
The country's biggest trash hauler, Waste Management, has announced that it is suing SAP for $100 million as a result of the failed implementation of SAP's ERP package. The suit claims that,...
Posted by Andy Moon | March 28, 2008, 3:59 AM PDT
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IronKey flash drive "self-destructs" on too many failed password attempts
Remember a month ago when I wrote about the SanDisk flash drive that comes with on-board hardware encryption in "SanDisk launches Cruzer family of USB flash drives with hardware encryption"?...
Posted by Paul Mah | July 28, 2007, 11:59 PM PDT
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Wal-Mart issues RFID mandate
Wal-Mart has decided to ratchet up the pressure on its 15,000 suppliers to comply with a 3-year-old inventory technology mandate. Beginning January 30, 2008, it will charge suppliers a $2 fee for...
Posted by Paul Mah | January 20, 2008, 11:59 PM PST
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The advantages of Sun's ZFS filesystem
Recent weeks have seen some waves created in the normal placid waters of filesystems by the inadvertent announcement of the inclusion of the ZFS into OS X by Sun's CEO, denial by Apple, then...
Posted by Paul Mah | June 17, 2007, 8:01 PM PDT
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OSI Layer-2 Encryption: Security goes one layer deeper
Encryption over Ethernet is emerging as a new solution for powering secure networks. Increasingly being adopted for military and critical networking infrastructures, Layer-2 encryption helps...
Posted by Arun Radhakrishnan | June 20, 2007, 7:53 AM PDT
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Share USB 2.0 devices over your LAN
Weary of running a desktop just to keep USB devices online or of connecting them to your wireless laptop by entangling cables? Keyspan has upgraded its three-year-old USB Server design with its...
Posted by John Bartley K7AAY | August 6, 2007, 10:40 PM PDT
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IT departments - Centralization vs. Decentralization
One of the big debates raginig within many organizations right now is whether to centralize or decentralize IT. Some companies are consolidating services such as help desks into one location and...
Posted by Jason Hiner | March 30, 2006, 8:18 PM PST
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Standalone gadget wipes your hard disk to DoD standards
As IT professionals, you already know that merely clearing the Recycle Bin from within the operating system does not guarantee that the data can no longer be retrieved. In many cases, a 100...
Posted by Paul Mah | November 14, 2007, 8:43 PM PST
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My ex put naked photos of me on the Web...
News.com started a series in July called "Police blotter," which intersects technology and the law. If you're easily sucked into the TV show "Cops," then you'll find this series even more...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | December 12, 2005, 7:47 AM PST
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BitTorrent plugin for Mozilla Firefox
The UK/Prague-based open-source firm AllPeers has developed a BitTorrent plugin for Mozilla Firefox that lets users search and share files through torrents in a process as simple as downloading a...
Posted by Arun Radhakrishnan | September 15, 2007, 1:43 AM PDT
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Dell introduces desktop power in a laptop form
Last October, Dell announced its plans to release a 19-inch wide-screen notebook in 2006: "Ready for a 20-inch laptop?" I also discussed the novelty (and possible awkwardness) of these...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | June 7, 2006, 12:03 PM PDT
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Do you need a cell phone to survive?
If you have a message that needs to be delivered immediately, such as a security alert, e-mail isn't the medium of choice -- or at least that's what cell phone providers will argue. Why?...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | April 20, 2007, 7:37 AM PDT
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Permanently deleting files at work could result in a lawsuit
Before you permanently delete a file at work, you should know that it could potentially come back to bite you in the butt. Check out this news story: "Police blotter: Ex-employee sued for...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | March 29, 2007, 8:25 AM PDT
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OLPC used by students to access porn
Remember the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program? IT News Digest ran a few pieces on OLPC in the last a few months, the most recent by John Bartley - Intel inside $100 laptop? - in which Intel...
Posted by Paul Mah | July 23, 2007, 11:30 PM PDT
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Wake up at the right time with a bio-alarm clock
At the end of August, I published a blog post about how technology (specifically, electronic gadgets) is responsible for "junk sleep." Right around the same time, another news story surfaced about...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | October 18, 2007, 5:13 AM PDT
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IT news for April 16: Microsoft-Yahoo saga; Zune VideoX; MySQL 5.1
News to know for April 16, 2008, features stories about: the epic Microsoft-Yahoo saga, Zune VideoX, MySQL 5.1, Pystar's Mac clones, and much more.
Posted by Sonja Thompson | April 16, 2008, 5:19 AM PDT
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Bring co-workers together with a team building exercise
A news story slipped by my blog-oscope yesterday, even though I featured it in the IT News Digest newsletter. I couldn't resist it for two days in a row, so without further adieu:...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | April 21, 2006, 9:41 AM PDT
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Cell phones have more effect on the world than computers
It's hard to imagine that cell phones could actually have more effect on the world than computers, but IBM software developer and blogger Sam Ruby made a great argument as to why this...
Posted by Sonja Thompson | July 25, 2006, 6:22 AM PDT
