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Stories by Oliver Rist

  • Exploring Sun's new Galaxy

    In response to the market's dual-core mania, Sun is releasing its new Opteron-powered Galaxy line of rack-mount dual-core servers, intended to augment its Sun Fire line of Intel-based machines.

  • Bridging connectivity gaps

    IT infrastructure requirements can shift quite suddenly. Say, for example, your company lands several large new accounts at the same time. The sudden influx of sales and account management staff so quickly outstrips your office's square footage that the only reasonable thing to do in the time available is to look for additional space. That space turns out to be a mile or so down the street. As an IT administrator, you need to get the new location connected to the network as soon as possible.

  • Utility computing: A dream deferred...

    Paradigm shifts were easier before the bubble burst. Serious change costs serious money, and few IT organisations have gobs of green stuff to throw around anymore. So it's no surprise that utility computing - hailed as the biggest paradigm shift since the first disk drive spun up - has stalled. It doesn't help that the marketing geniuses who came up with the concept still can't agree on what it means. There are three basic definitions.

  • Microsoft serves miscellaneous morsels for May

    Ever since I began paying taxes, April just hasn't been much fun. Everything comes due in April, making May a month dedicated to grumbling and reactionary belt-tightening. Seems Redmond feels similarly, because so far Microsoft hasn't made many waves this merry month.

  • ENTERPRISE WINDOWS: Microsoft monitors chipmaker dogfight

    It's like two big dogs fighting over a bone while a little dog sits by watching as it happily gnaws on the prize. Of course, in this case, the little dog is actually just as big as the other two, if not bigger, and the bone really isn't just one bone; it's - hell, I'm no good at similes.

  • Software sets IBM’s hardware apart

    In an ever more price-conscious market, IBM is one of the few server heavyweights still swinging with authority. Though mail-order outfits like Dell are beginning to add engineering value to their server lines, IBM and HP (via Compaq) are among the last Intel-based server manufacturers doing more than just slapping components together. Additional software and intelligent, embedded hardware brains give these machines a competitive edge.

  • Catalyst 3750 stacks up well

    Look out, because Cisco Systems is going gigabit. With 10Gig switches heading into the enterprise backbone at full steam and 10/100/1000Mbps becoming commonplace in workstations and servers, Cisco has decided that Gigabit Ethernet’s day has come. To prove it, the company has released its Catalyst 3750 line of stackable switches.

  • Performance and polish

    Just when you thought Dell Computer had taken over the world and servers had become pure commodity items, HP has taken server technology to the next level with its ProLiant line, acquired from Compaq last year. I reviewed two of the newest stars in the ProLiant family, the ProLiant DL560 and DL760, and was more than impressed. Performance junkies take note: These machines deliver.

  • Putting Liberty to good use

    Online consumers and corporate end users burdened with dozens of online identities, as well as the IT administrators who must manage all of their passwords and access privileges on the back end, may soon see relief in the form of e-commerce-oriented identity management systems.

  • Eudora now free (if you can stand the ads)

    To compete with free Web-based e-mail from companies like Hotmail and Yahoo, Qualcomm has revamped the way it offers Eudora Email. Users get one package that they can use in one of three ways: pay nothing for standard Eudora Lite; pay $50 for Eudora Pro; or accept an ad in the bottom left-hand corner of the interface and get all of Eudora Pro's features for free. I tested version 4.3 in beta, with the ad.