Has Microsoft lost its war on open source?

Has Microsoft lost its war on open source?

Open source proponents say that it doesn't matter anymore if Microsoft threatens them with legal battles

Is Microsoft a friend or foe of open source? Going by the company's actions, Microsoft can't seem to decide whether to make love or war. But if it's war, Microsoft appears to lack the legal weaponry to defeat or even disturb its adversaries.

On one hand, Microsoft has extended an olive branch to the open source community, donating code to projects and backing big-name open source organizations like the Apache Software Foundation as part of an effort to do more than ever to acknowledge that it must work alongside open source, not fight it.

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-Ken

AMD overclocks new Phenom II X4 to 7GHz

AMD overclocks new Phenom II X4 to 7GHz

While 7GHz was achieved with extreme cooling, AMD says overclocking up to 3.8GHz for the 3.2GHz X4 955 is safe at home

AMD on Thursday introduced the latest member of its Phenom II X4 family of high-performance quad-core CPUs, which the No. 2 chip maker said it had run as fast as 7 GHz in extreme overclocking tests.
Out of the box, the new X4 955 Black Edition, which is aimed at gamers and hobbyists, runs at 3.2GHz, giving it similar performance to Intel's fastest desktop chips at lower cost, AMD says.

However, AMD was able to more than double the CPU's speed during its tests, said Brent Barry, an AMD product manager.

The Web site Ripping.org notes that hobbyists with early access to the X4 955 chip have been able to clock it at up to 6.7GHz.

Read the article here.

-ken

Budget: Cutting £7.2bn of IT costs is not enough

Budget: Cutting £7.2bn of IT costs is not enough

There is a need for greater efficiency and effectiveness in government, and as such the Operational Effectiveness Programme is a step in the right direction, writes Mike Zealley, associate partner at Atos Consulting.

It is good that the government recognises the need for innovative use of IT, and the need for further rationalisation and collaboration in procurement to enable this initiative.

However, given the current economic climate, the associated increase in demand for and expectation of government services, we believe that the OEP may not fully meet the challenge. Current plans focus on "more for even less" when what is needed is "much more, for many more, for much less".

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-ken

Microsoft 'best software brand'

Microsoft 'best software brand'

Microsoft has come in at first place in a list of top ten software brands compiled by one technology magazine.

Computing named Microsoft ahead of Google (second place) and Amazon (fifth) in its analysis of the world's best software brands and said that its decision should not surprise readers.

The publication estimated that the value of the Microsoft brand was just over £30 billion, almost three times the value of the third place candidate, Oracle.

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-Ken

IT 'reduces ad spend'

IT 'reduces ad spend'

Technology can help reduce organisations' marketing budgets but any changes should first be tested, an expert has suggested.

Thomas Brown, research projects manager at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), pointed out how IT has been 'changing the face of marketing' in recent years.

He added that businesses considering shifting their marketing strategies to the web should first do this on a trial basis before the completely go online.

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-ken

Windows 8 starts to come into focus

Windows 8 starts to come into focus

I get questions periodically about whether Windows 7 marks the end of the Microsoft operating system road.

Some users wonder whether will Microsoft’s next version of Windows be completely cloud-based? Will it be Midori with the Windows name slapped on it?

No and no. The bottom line: Windows isn’t done when Windows 7 is released to manufacturing (most likely in late fall 2009). Windows 8 has been on the drawing board/planning stages for a while now. And as the “Codename Windows” blog recently reported, Microsoft is starting to hire developers specifically for Windows 8.

Read the article here.

-Ken

Back-up options 'necessary'

Back-up options 'necessary'

Organisations must ensure they have back-up options to access their data in case of technological trouble, Get Safe Online has said.

Tony Neate, managing director of the government-backed initiative, said that businesses and consumers were becoming increasingly reliant on the internet and online applications.

He added that back-up arrangements were essential for users to be able to access their data in case their computers go on the blink.

Read the rest of the article here.

-Ken

Budget 2009: How does it affect Tech

Budget 2009: How does it affect Tech

The hi-tech green industry got attention in this year's budget, with £405m for advanced green manufacturing and £750m for emerging technologies.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said, "Green technology will be one of the big growth areas in next few years. We need thousands of high-tech companies and skilled high-tech jobs."

Not only is it important for the environment, he said, but it will play a part in getting Britain out of the recession.

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-Ken

Government should provide staff training tax breaks, say IT managers

Government should provide staff training tax breaks, say IT managers

With the budget just a matter of hours away the wish list from UK businesses continues to grow with tax breaks for skills investment the latest to be added to the list.

Managers quizzed by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) said that unless the government steps in then companies will not be able to support staff development.

The silver lining in the CMI's latest half yearly Economic Outlook is that 13% of those operating in the IT sector expect the recession to have a beneficial impact as they help customers control costs and improve efficiencies.

"Business managers are convinced that a skilled workforce will be an integral part of the recovery process, and are recommending that, especially in these difficult times, government should provide further financial support for skills development and training," said Lord John Eatwell, chief economist at the CMI.

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Sun rises for Oracle in $7bn deal

Not able to post this in News as I don't have the rights, but thought you would like to know:

Oracle Corporation is to buy Sun Microsystems in a deal worth $9.50 a share, valuing Sun at over $7 billion.

The deal comes a fortnight after talks between IBM and Sun collapsed, following IBM's decision to significantly lower its offer.

It will give Oracle access to Sun's strategically important Java and Solaris technologies, which underpin the Oracle database.

"Oracle will be the only company that can engineer an integrated system - applications to disk - where all the pieces fit and work together so customers do not have to do it themselves. Our customers benefit, as their systems integration costs go down while system performance, reliability and security go up," said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Read more here