Punched from all angles!

There’s yet another ‘Blu-ray killer’ on the loose. I’m starting to feel sorry for Blu-ray, it looks everyman and his dog is out to bludgeon the format! Enough. Toshiba is working on extending the DVD format in order to offer Blu-ray-like video quality. The new format should be available in Toshiba DVD products in about 6 months time - at a lower price than Blu-ray players (now there’s aggressive marketing!)

According to sources, the new DVD player will be backwards-compatible with standard DVD discs - yeah, if it isn’t expect to see ‘many rats jumping ship’! On top of this, there is a claim circulating that suggests that the new technology would be able produce much higher-resolution images from existing DVDs - hmm, we’ll see.

So, another attempt by a major manufacturers to extend the lifespan of its existing  technologies by adding additional data formats. Will it work? I suppose I’ll have to fork out some cash and let you know - in about 6 months time.

Popularity: 2% [?]

But doesn’t make up for the loss of the NHS!

As you may be aware, Fujitsu have had the NHS contract for the South and South East regions terminated - £800 million worth. Not a good start to the financial year!

Hot on the heels of this loss comes the announcement of a contract win. Fujitsu have picked up a further two year contract with the Environment Agency to continue to develop a managed service that protects the public from the riskof flooding. During this period, Fujitsu will assist the Environment Agency to evolve the system to meet the recommendations of the Pitt Review.

The system, Floodline Warnings Direct (FWD), was designed and developed by Fujitsu in association with the Environment Agency and was opened up to the public at the beginning of 2006. It is a map based application, hosted in Fujitsu. The map based app allows the Environment Agency to determine target areas for pre-defined warning messages.

So, as long as it works, you should have plenty of time to get out before you house slips beneath the waves!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Sneaky fag breaks crippling big biz!

Ok, it’s not really that simple but little things compounded add up to big losses, according to a report just published. The current trend towards banning ersonal internet use in the workplace could be costing British businesses up to 4 billion every year. Apparently, the bans lead to a decline in staff productivity.

The eport by PopCap Games, proves that, far from distracting employees from their work, taking a 10-minute online break during the course of the working day erves to reduce stress while sharpening and refocusing the mind.

Around 7 in 10 companies have banned access to social networking sites with more considering banning personal internet access altogether (now I am worried!) But companies would do well to note that banning e-breaks could actually hurt and morale.

150k package plus all the browsing you want!

If only! It seems that popular social sites, news, dating, gaming and shopping sites has resulted in 57% of workers shunning the traditional tea-break in favour of an office e-break in a bid to unwind during the 9-5. Unfortunately, many companies don’t accept employees personal use of the internet during working hours - but the 5 minutes to have a tea break is fine! Hmm. No comment.

All I can say to big business is “It’s your loss” - literally.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Traditional methods failing.

Security specialist are now acknowleding that the standard approach to combating malware is flawed. Blacklisting, where code is prevented from running, is a reactive measure. Enter Whitelisting. This control method allows only pre-approved software (the whitelist) to run on a machine. Any unknown or unwanted code is prevented from executing.

Vendors such as Bit9 have been pushing this control method for some time now and have an impressive capability. Also, Microsoft appear to be taking  whitelisting one step further with Bitlocker. The tool encrypts the hard disk and only allows it to work on a specific machine. The software can also be set up for user authentication, so a computer will only boot after the user enters a unique key stored on USB. Who said Microsoft weren’t interested in security?

Popularity: 20% [?]

The economy is not dead!

Is the world economy going down the pan? Some say ‘yes’, some say ‘no’. US Online sales seem to be bucking the trend with a year over year growth of 15%. The figures from comScore show a significant rise in the April figures after a slow March (9%). Online sales in North America have, on average, seen double digit growth for every month over the past year (Jan - 12% to 28% in August).

“We hope that April will emerge as the beginning of a turnaround in the consumer economy, and that spending will accelerate as we move through the year and as the impact of the government’s tax rebate programme begins to be felt.” said Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore.

Online shopping in the US accounted for $32.8bn in revenue in the first quarter of 2008 although this was down from $42bn spent during Q4 of 2007.

Looks like it might be worth setting up an online store in America!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Beats IBM by a nose.

It looks like the growth of HP goes ever upward. Latest figures show that they have pipped IBM to the post in server sales.

HP has pipped IBM to claim the top spot in the server market, according to the latest research. A Gartner report shows that HP have 29.6% of the market for Q1 2008, a 10% increase over the same period last year. Meanwhile, IBM lost 0.6% down to 28.9%. Other vendors trailed in:

• Dell -12.1%
• Sun Microsystems - 9.7%
• Fujitsu/Siemens - 5.4%

In all, server revenues reached about $13.6 billion - who said hardware sales were dead?Much of HP’s success has been accredited to the ProLiant and Integrity brands, as well as a 13 per cent increase in revenue from blade servers. Energy and cost efficiency of these products has seen significant leaps in recent years and HP claims that customers are turning to its machines for lower power consumption and better value.

Saving the planet and making a fat profit, nice.

Popularity: 1% [?]

‘You’ll never tear us apart’.

How old is your mobile phone? 6 months, 1 year, 2 years…? It’s hard picking a new mobile phone. The keypad doesn’t feel ‘right’, it’s heavier, the layout is just not what you want. You see, we’ve experienced that lack of enthusiasm when it comes to finding a replacement for our aging mobile. So, it comes as no surprise that many users are keeping their phones for 1 year, 2 years and, in some cases even longer.

The technology fast lane.

Most manufacturers count on the latest release being the next big thing. I have 3G on my phone. Do I use it? Sometimes. Life wouldn’t be that much of a hardship without it. I had a Nokia handset that lasted for 3 years. It was clunky with text based web browsing but I liked it. Why change? I guess many people have the same view hence survey results by silicon.com showing that 28% of the 388 repsondents kept their mobiles for one to two years.

I wonder if my Blackberry will last that long.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Server hardware on steroids.

The latest additions to Sun’s range of64-bit and x86 servers has been announced. The Sun Fire and Sun Blade will be powered by AMD Opteron quad-core processors. And you get a choice of OS: Solaris 10, OpenSolaris, Linux AND Windows. Ok, nothing new on the MS announcement but it’s good to see Sun catering for all. Maybe some other companies should take a leaf out of Sun’s book.

The new x64 systems with quad-core AMD Opteron processors should offer increased performance, scalability and energy efficiency. All this adds up to - more value…theoretically. I haven’t seen the prices yet. That said, there are indications that consumers are already more than happy with Sun’s offerings with statistics showing that Opteron-based Sun Fire servers has been deployed by more than 12,000 customers at over 31,000 locations.

The quad-care Opteron Sun Fire X2200 M2, Sun Fire X4100 M2, Sun Fire X4140, Sun Fire X4200 M2, Sun Fire X4240 and Sun Fire X4440 servers are available now.

The quad-core Opteron Sun Fire X4600 M2 and Sun Blade X8440 servers are expected by the end of the quarter.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Android gets a slap in the face.

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will be using LiMo for future operating system rather than Google’s Android platform. The US telco has a seat on the LiMo Foundation and is set to become a core member of the consortium. The group, which includes Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung and Vodafone, was set up to create and open, Linux based OS for the mobile industry.

This news is a slap in the face for Google, whose Android platform has failed to get much support, despite initial interest. Could Android be squeezed out of the market? Analysts claim think so. The mobile market is currently dominated by Symbian and Microsoft but Linux is gaining supporters fast.

So, bad news for Google but good news for Linux as a whole.

Popularity: 2% [?]

A whole lot of law breaking!

Yep, it looks like most of us are prepared to break the law. A recent study reveals that 93% of road users are aware of updated driving legislation concerning the use of mobile phones.

Nomophobes.

The fear of being without your mobile. Statistics show that 13 million of us scared to be without our mobile phone. Joking aside, the reality of this is that drivers are unlikely to leave their mobile phones at home. But Government messaging is getting through. A Jabra survey shows that drivers know that using a mobile phone at the wheel is dangerous and is illegal if not used in the correct manner. Oddly engouh, 68%
of GB motorists think that this penalty should be tougher! (I suppose it comes down the age old view of ‘they haven’t caught me yet so I’ll carry on). Interestingly, 17% of respondents have actually stopped using their phone as a result of the new law.

Here’s five simple steps to keep you legal:

1.    Don’t talk unless it’s hands-free! How much does a handsfree set really cost? Not a lot.

2.    Think ahead! - prepare for every journey by ensuring that your
mobile phone is in its cradle and you are wearing a headset (if you have one) before you start driving.

3.    Keep it simple! - don’t argue or try to take notes whilst you are driving - bit of a no-brainer!

4.    The driving comes first, not the call! - don’t let the call distract you.

5.    Adapt your phone! - activate the voicemail. Don’t like your hands-free kit? Buy one that are happy with. Voice-activated and Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones would be the most suitable for in-car use.

There you have it. Some pearls of ‘wisdom’. One final point: consider other road users and the effects an accident can have on them and their families.

Popularity: 20% [?]