Virtualisation lets the applications roll
Virtualisation can ease desktop application deployment in a variety of ways.
It separates the application not just from the underlying hardware but also from the operating system. It means, for example, that you can run applications – or several copies of the same application – side by side in separate virtualised spaces without fear of clashes between them or with the operating system.
Seen primarily as a desktop technology, virtualisation offers the key advantage that because applications are independent of the client architecture you can deliver them in different ways, depending on the user's needs.
Just an illusion
They can be installed within their own virtualised space on the client, or they can be streamed so that the user sees only an image of the application, with almost no code downloaded. Applications can be deployed quickly and managed centrally so users stay abreast of security patches and other updates. Read more...
Anonymous takes another shot at Arizona police
The Anonymous hacking group has taken another swipe at police in Arizona, launching online attacks against several police union websites and publishing e-mail messages stolen from law enforcement officers.
Regional sites belonging to the Fraternal Order of Police were defaced Thursday night and many of them remained offline Friday. Anonymous took credit for the attacks, saying it was continuing its assault in protest of the state's tough anti-immigration laws. Read more...
Microsoft ignores IE slide, touts IE9 success on Windows 7
Chrome and Safari continued to chip away at Internet Explorer's usage share last month, while Firefox remained stalled for the fourth straight month, a Web statistics firm said today.
Meanwhile, Microsoft used the same data from Net Applications to tout the success of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) on Windows 7, where the new browser is now the second-most-popular behind the 15-month-old IE8.
Total IE share fell by six-tenths of a percentage point in June -- the fourth consecutive month that Microsoft's browser slid by that amount or more -- to end at 53.7 percent, a new low for the browser. The drop was less than the previous three months, when IE's decay accelerated , and more in line with the average decline over the last 12 months.
At its current pace, IE could slip under the 50 percent bar before the end of this year, ending the majority Microsoft has enjoyed for more than a decade. Read more...
U.S. agencies aren’t tracking data center use
Even though the U.S. White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has pushed government agencies to reduce the number of data centers they operate, a new survey has found that most agencies aren't tracking how close to capacity their data centers are or how much energy they're using.
The survey, of 157 U.S government IT decision-makers, found that only 25 percent are tracking the amount of storage capacity used at their data centers, and only 26 percent are tracking their data centers' energy consumption. Twenty-three percent of respondents said they can track the savings from data center consolidation, the survey said.
Just 41 percent of respondents said their agencies track the number of servers they operate at data centers, and just 32 percent track their annual storage spending, according to the survey, released this week by MeriTalk, an online network focused on the government IT community. Read more...
10 reasons BlackBerry can survive – and even thrive
RIM is facing tough questions over whether it can survive in an increasingly cut-throat mobile market, dominated by Apple and Android. The BlackBerry maker may be down but it's not yet out of the mobile game altogether. silicon.com's Natasha Lomas looks at 10 reasons why RIM can still turn its fortunes around.
1. Security, security, security
Focusing on security and enterprise device management may not be sexy, but it does give RIM something of an edge among business mobile users - in particular those in security-conscious areas such as the public sector, for whom having top-notch security and granular device-management policies remains essential.
For these users, an Apple iPhone or similar is likely to remain forbidden fruit for the foreseeable future - with the BlackBerry there to fill the gap. Read more...
HP plans major enterprise push for TouchPad
HP straddles two worlds: enterprise systems and consumer electronics. Its new TouchPad tablet is intended to satisfy the needs of both. But you'll have to look harder and wait longer to see HP's unfolding enterprise plan for TouchPad.
The Wi-Fi TouchPad, running the WebOS firmware created by Palm, goes on sale Friday starting at $500 in stores ranging from Amazon to Walmart, the same outlets that handle its PCs and printers. But the tablet is "enterprise ready," says HP's David Gee, vice president of marketing and enterprise solution for the Palm Global Business Unit. He oversees the marketing strategy for all WebOS devices as well as development of WebOS-based "solutions" for business customers.
He's got a tough job ahead of him. Analysts are lukewarm about the TouchPad's prospect for success against Apple's iPad 2 and the latest crop of tablets running the Android 3.1 firmware. But the market is still barely a year old, since it was created in 2010 with the release of the first iPad. Read more...
Google Plus: 8 Quick Tips and Tricks
Google Plus (aka Google+), Google's new social network, might offer the right mix of sharing and privacy to woo you away from your Facebook account. If you don't know how to use it, though, it's just a confusing mess of circles and contacts. So we've assembled a few tips to help you get started. (If you aren't on Google Plus yet, try our Google Plus invite trick.)
Tweak your email notification options. By default, Google Plus will spam your Gmail account with notifications for practically anything involving your new account. You can go to the Google Account options to uncheck all of the ones you don't want to get, thereby reducing your Gmail traffic considerably. Read more...
Elgan: Declare independence… from Facebook!
The 4th of July is American Independence Day, and a perfect day to declare independence from Facebook.
Before the American Revolution, most colonists considered themselves British loyalists. But the growing conflict between colonies and crown revealed to Americans that the British monarchy was abusive and unwilling to give people control over their own lives.
You know, like Facebook.
We need another revolution. Facebook uses us to make gazillions of dollars, but doesn't give us the ability to control or even know exactly who we're communicating and sharing with.
What's wrong with Facebook?
Facebook has lots of little problems, and two big ones. The first big problem is that everyone you know is by default lumped into the same category: "Friend." It's like your spouse, niece, college buddy, BFF from high school, boss, grandma and former assistant are all in the same room. The things you would say to all of them are different from the things you would like to say to each of them individually, or in smaller groups. Read more...
Mystery of the missing Honeycomb apps
Google's much-anticipated tablet operating system, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, made its splash in late February with the launch of the Motorola Xoom. Few Honeycomb-optimized apps were available at launch, but no matter: The expectation was that they'd follow soon after. Why wouldn't they, given the ever-growing popularity of Android?
But instead of an explosion of Honeycomb apps, the fuse burned down to the powder keg...and then nothing happened. Four months later, we're still waiting: The number of Honeycomb-optimized apps remains in the low hundreds. By comparison, there are over 100,000 apps optimized for the iPad.
So, what gives? Is there something especially hard about optimizing an Android 2.x (Froyo, Gingerbread) app for Android 3.x (Honeycomb)? Are developers waiting for Ice Cream Sandwich (presumably, to be called Android 4.0), which will merge the tablet OS and phone OS into one? Is there just not enough demand? Are there problems with tablet app discovery in the Android Market? Is it just because Honeycomb is so new? Read more...
Apple ships Lion ‘gold master’ as release date rumors swirl
Apple on Friday released a "gold master" build of Lion to developers, providing a clue that it will ship the new operating system shortly.
"Gold master" (GM) is a label some developers use -- Microsoft calls it "release to manufacturing," or RTM -- for software that has been completed and presumably is ready to send to duplicators and distributors.
In Apple's case, however, Mac OS X 10.7, aka Lion, will not need to be burned onto DVDs, packaged in boxes and shipped to retail stores because it will be available only as a download from the Mac App Store. Read more...