Computerworld Lucas Mearian News

New DDR4 memory to boost tablet, server performance

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:07:00 GMT

Although the standard for DDR4 memory won't be finalized until summer, several companies are already preparing to ship modules that will boost performance in data centers and on consumer devices

EMC buys flash-array start-up XtremIO

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:53:00 GMT

EMC today confirmed that it is buying out XtremIO, the maker of flash devices, in a deal pegged at $430 million.

Pogoplug service turns your computers into private cloud

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:42:00 GMT

Pogoplug launched a service today that allows small and medium-sized businesses, as well as home users, to turn their PCs and servers into pools of storage accessible from the Web.

Whiptail whips up modularly scalable all-flash storage array

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:47:00 GMT

Solid-state storage array maker Whiptail announced its first modular, scalable all-flash array with up to 72TB of capacity.

Seagate to demo 12Gbps SAS SSD

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:01:00 GMT

On the heels of Western Digitial's release of the industry's first 12Gbps SAS SSD, Seagate this week said it would demo one of its own for the enterprise market.

OCZ releases performance-boosting SSD firmware, new 64GB drive

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:32:00 GMT

OCZ today announced a firmware upgrade that boosts performance about 15MB/sec on its Vertex 4 SATA 3.0 SSDs. The company also touted a new 64GB Vertex 4 SSD aimed at mobile applications or for use as a boot drive.

Researchers use diamonds to boost computer memory

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:44:00 GMT

Researchers were able to use diamond tipped tools to add pressure to a phase-change memory alloy and increase its data storing capacity, its performance and its ability to store data longer.

Crowdsourcing game helps diagnose infectious diseases

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:51:00 GMT

Researchers at UCLA have created a crowd-sourcing game that allows hundreds, even thousands of players to help diagnose malaria victims by viewing and choosing among dozens of microscopic images

Feds outline plans for electronic exchange of patient information

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:37:00 GMT

Recognizing that health information exchanges will be built by public and private efforts, the U.S. government office in charge of healthcare IT said it wants to promulgate HIE adoption by developing technical standards and offering incentives to healthcare companies.

Apple rejecting iOS apps that use Dropbox SDK

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:34:00 GMT

Apple has reportedly been rejecting developer's iOS apps that use the Dropbox SDK.

Protocol wars: Can Fibre Channel survive Ethernet's assault?

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:07:00 GMT

Expensive and specialized Fibre Channel SANs have been under assault as companies consolidate data traffic over Ethernet. With Fibre Channel disks already largely eliminated from the market by SAS, can networking gear be far behind?

Dropbox adds photo auto-upload feature for cameras, smartphones

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:57:00 GMT

After launching a mobile app in February that can automatically upload photos and videos from Android phones, Dropbox unleashed an upgrade that expands the service to just about any device, including tablets, smartphones and Internet-enabled cameras.

Walmart to expand disc-to-cloud movie service to 30 countries

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:07:00 GMT

Walmart's cloud video service, Vudu, which allows DVD and Blu-ray disc owners gain access to that content in the cloud, will reportedly expand to as many as 30 new countries.

One in 10 secondhand hard drives in U.K. contain personal data

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:05:00 GMT

Britain's Information Commissioner's Office has discovered that more than one in every 10 secondhand hard drives contains recoverable personal information of the original owner.

Can Dropbox, other cloud providers survive Google Drive?

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The Web's 800-pound gorilla has landed in the cloud. Google is leveraging its existing relationships with hundreds of millions of users as it drums up business for its new cloud storage and file-sharing service, Google Drive. Can smaller cloud storage providers survive this assault?

Privacy advocates slam Google Drive's privacy policies

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:58:00 GMT

Privacy advocates and cloud services users are concerned about Google's terms of use for its new Drive storage services, saying Google can basically do what it wants with a customer's data.

With Google Drive, 'personal cloud' will soon overshadow the PC

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:08:00 GMT

The launch of Google's cloud storage and synchronization service -- Google Drive -- means hundreds of millions of tech users will now be introduced to file sharing, collaboration and integrated document search.

Update: Google Drive launches with 5GB free space

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:51:00 GMT

Google today launched its Google Drive cloud storage service, offering 5GB of free space -- an increase of 4GB over what it had been offering users of Google Docs.

Hitachi announces new unified file, block storage array

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:34:00 GMT

HDS's new midrange Hitachi Unified Storage system, which is similar to EMC's VNX array and NetApp's Fabric Attached Storage, can serve up both file- and block-based data through a single management framework.

EMC gives Oracle admins backup control, deduplication

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

EMC has announced a new Data Domain Boost integration with Oracle Recovery Manager, offering data deduplication on database servers and for Oracle administrators to have direct control of Oracle backup and disaster recovery operations.

EMC reportedly in talks to buy flash maker XtremIO

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:16:00 GMT

EMC is in talks to buy flash array storage maker XtremIO for bteween $400 million and $450 million and is close to pulling the trigger on the deal, according to an Israeli publication.

Diskeeper 12 adds TRIM, new interface and faster boot-ups

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:03:00 GMT

Condusiv today announced a new version of its disk defragmentation software, Diskeeper, which now includes TRIM commands to reclaim SSD space marked for deletion, as well as new monitoring tools and fast system boot-up features.

IT skills gap forces CIOs to get creative

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Finding IT workers who are well versed in ever-changing technologies is becoming more and more difficult. CIOs are responding by seeking job applicants trained in multiple disciplines and implementing cross-training programs for current workers. Insider (registration required)

EMC sees ninth quarter of double-digit growth in Q1

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:20:00 GMT

EMC today reported another quarter of double-digit revenue in Q1, with revenues hitting $5.1 billion. VMware was, once again, a leader in product sales with 25% year-over-year revenue growth.

What to consider before signing up for Google Drive

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:50:00 GMT

With Google reportedly looking to launch its GDrive service soon, would-be customers of cloud storage providers should consider several important questions about any service and their needs.

Verizon launches faster network for financial firms

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:11:00 GMT

Verizon today launched a new low-latency network for financial services firms that can complete a stock trade between New York and Chicago in as little as 14.5 milliseconds.

HVault announces holographic storage system with petabytes of capacity

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:15:00 GMT

Start-up hVault announced that it plans to begin shipping a holographic disc library later this year that will enable companies to store petabytes of data for at least 50 years without any degradation.

U.S. consumers turn to Facebook, Twitter for healthcare answers

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:33:00 GMT

A survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers shows that many now use social networks to discover healthcare information and then turn to those same sites to voice their opinions about their own experiences.

Quantum releases LTFS appliance that makes tape like NAS

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:15:00 GMT

Quantum today announced an LTFS appliance that allows tape drives to act like network-attached storage where data can be accessed as simple, open file formats.

SpiderOak launches secure storage cloud for businesses

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:29:00 GMT

SpiderOak, a consumer cloud storage provider, today released a business-class service that places management and security control of data in the hands of the user.

VA ends co-payment for in-home telehealth care

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:22:00 GMT

The VA plans to stop requiring that patients make co-payments for in-home video telehealth care. The move could cut costs and spur adoption among commercial healthcare providers.

EMC unveils preconfigured private cloud for partners

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:01:00 GMT

EMC, along with Cisco, Brocade, Intel, Citrix and others, announced a pre-configured private cloud architecture that it plans to sell exclusively through channel partners.

Fusion-io releases cheaper ioFX SSD for workstations

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:31:00 GMT

Fusion-io today announced the availability of a PCIe-based flash card for workstations that is less than half the price of its flash card for servers.

Cisco, NetApp tout entry-level FlexPod cloud architecture

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:47:00 GMT

Cisco and NetApp today announced a new pre-configured FlexPod cloud storage architecture that's designed and priced for smaller workloads.

New healthcare rule to cut red tape, save up to $4.6B, says HHS

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:30:00 GMT

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a proposed rule change to the Affordable Care Act that it estimates will eventually save healthcare providers and payers $4.6 billion by simplifying administrative chores.

Dell says AppAssure now its premier backup product

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:31:00 GMT

Dell's first in a flurry of software acquisitions was backup vendor AppAssure, which Dell said will be its primary data protection application even as it still resells Symantec and CommVault products.

Creating culture of IT innovation includes rewarding failure

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT

When David Richter took over Kimberly-Clark's infrastructure solutions group in 2008, morale was at an all-time low. Since launching a program that allows employees to freely pitch him new ideas and receive VC-like funding, morale is up, costs have been reduced and processes streamlined.

IT skills gap forces CIOs to get creative

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:04:00 GMT

IT managers faced with constrained budgets and a dearth of employees with technology skills are turning to cross-training programs to help develop workers with multiple skills.

Shell Oil targets hybrid cloud as fix for energy-saving, agile IT

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:14:00 GMT

To address soaring data storage and major power consumption issues, Shell Oil has turned to the public cloud to become more agile in deploying application and development services.

Freescale BYOD plan finds happy users

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:57:00 GMT

Freescale Semiconductor has responded to pressure from workers by implementing a BYOD infrastructure and a collaborative internal network that rewards people for new ideas.

Asavie launches pay-as-you-go VPN for iPad users

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:56:00 GMT

Asavie Technologies launched a cloud-based secure VPN service for iOS devices for corporate workers to access data from anywhere in the world.

Hitachi releases first enterprise-class 4TB hard drive

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:10:00 GMT

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies today announced its first enterprise-class 4TB desktop hard drive, which offers one-third more capacity than its predecessor.

LSI launches Nytro application acceleration cards

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:04:00 GMT

LSI announced three new PCIe-based NAND flash cards that are aimed at three market segments -- primary storage on an application server, all-in-one application caching and a RAID data protection product.

PCIe SSD task force to tackle interoperability issues

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:17:00 GMT

The Storage Networking Industry Association is forming a task force to tackle interoperability issues related to PCIe-based solid-state drives. So far, 50 industry representatives have agreed to participate.

As 60th anniversary nears, tape reinvents itself

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:06:00 GMT

Digital tape media will turn 60 in May, and while tape sales are on the decline, new open file specifications like LTFS and new markets could revive tape for the long term.

Druva, TeamDrive update data services

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:01:00 GMT

Cloud file-sharing service provider Druva and backup company TeamDrive announced upgrades to their respective mobile data services that include either a combined repository for all data regardless of the device or security through encryption.

Box releases mobile app menu for iOS devices

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:00:00 GMT

File-sharing and collaboration service Box announced a new menu of third-party iOS applications that work on its service and can be more easily accessed with a single mouse click.

Latest healthcare 'meaningful use' rules require patient involvement

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:46:00 GMT

The next round of 'meaningful use' healthcare rules require that patients begin using e-health records before hospitals and doctors' offices can qualify for reimbursements.

HP's server strategy focuses on SSDs, storage bottleneck

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:09:00 GMT

In its upcoming ProLiant Gen8 Smart Array, HP uses solid-state drives and a caching algorithm it calls Dynamic Workload Acceleration to address I/O throughput issues.

NatGeo moves its media archive to the public cloud

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The National Geographic Society announced that it is moving its backup and archive of large unstructured multimedia files -- including video, photos and graphics -- to Nirvanix's Cloud Storage Network.