... in a scheme to lower costs and increase functionality of network-edge devices. That's part of CEO John Kish's vision to revive the fortunes of Wyse Technology Inc. in San Jose. He arrived seven months ago and replaced nine of 12 top executives and shifted the 20-year-old firm from its hardware bias into thinking it's a software company. Oh, sure, Wyse continues to make thin-client machines, but most of its research and development is dedicated to making devices on the edge of the network -- handhelds, cell phones and even kiosks -- multifunction, on-demand devices. Kish, who holds a doctorate in mathematics, calculates that by combining Wyse's Blazer operating system for thin clients and Rapport, its software management tool, you can deploy low-cost, flash-free devices throughout the enterprise or for consumers. By streaming Rapport over the network to a device, it can load Blazer -- which boots a unit in 3 seconds -- along with an application after a device is turned on, eliminating the need to load software from wallet-whacking flash memory. Technicians in the field could use a single handheld to collect data and then quickly reload it with another application to do analysis; consumers could use their cell phones for chatting one minute and playing games the next. Kish estimates that by eliminating flash memory, device costs could tumble as much as 40%. Look for flashy flashless devices early next year. Developers can make do without ... ... Make, the software utility that builds a program from multiple component files. Tracy Ragan, CEO of Catalyst Systems Corp. in Glencoe, Ill., claims that "Make, in general, is antiquated." She says developers should dump their creaky Make tool and adopt Openmake, which on July 15 will be upgraded to Version 6.4. The new release will add a real-time build manager that lets you watch the software build as it happens. If you notice a problem during the process, you can fix the errant source code while Openmake continues to run the rest of the build, and then reload the revised file, which Openmake will handle to complete the process. Ragan says this is a boon to folks engaged in extreme programming. If Openmake doesn't strike your fancy, Ragan generously points you to her competitors. "We love the competition," she says. Next month, one alternative, the first release of PerfectBuild from Codefast Inc. in San Jose, is due. Like Openmake, PerfectBuild eliminates the need for developers to write scripts to link a program's many files together during a build by generating the scripts automatically, says Jon Gettinger, vice president of marketing. "The more complex
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Computerworld Executive Bulletin: Building a Robust Antivirus Defense
Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs. (Source: MessageLabs) Antivirus software alone isn't enough to prevent today's speedy, sophisticated virus attacks. Security managers should consider multitiered approaches that include behavior scanning, appliances that check e-mail for worms, and restricting user access to dangerous Web sites. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs, to learn more. Download this executive briefing
Quick Sizing Guide for SAS Grid Running on HP BladeSystems and EVA Storage
Download this white paper today! (Source: HP) Designed for CIOs, IT managers, data center managers and grid computing architects seeking to improve performance, SAS Grid Computing on the HP BladeSystem c-Class helps accelerate growth and mitigate risks with a simplified, consolidated infrastructure that's agile enough to efficiently handle change. SAS Grid Manager on HP BladeSystem can lower costs through automation, virtualization and improved IT efficiency. Download this white paper
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Securing your network begins at the gateway, also called the perimeter, to keep unauthorized users, viruses and malicious code from entering your systems. Deploying multilayer technologies is your first line of defense. With the mobility of employees and the ease with which external devices can be brought in and out of a network, continuing to build your security plan for network servers and clients is a must. Fortunately, there is much that organizations can do to protect themselves from attacks - internal and external. One of the key facets of a successful security strategy is protecting the servers that run critical applications and house so much of your essential data. Having the right policies, procedures and server configurations is critical.
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Companies today are realizing that competitive advantage is harder to sustain when based solely on gains in productivity and cost efficiency. The focus is shifting to invest more in business optimization initiatives which rely on trusted information to develop new insights that deliver better business results. But how can this be done efficiently in a business environment across multiple applications and processes. The answer is an Information Agenda - an innovative approach to transforming business information into a strategic asset for competitive advantage.
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Seth Weintraub:
Apple Macbook Event Liveblog
I'll be liveblogging here when the event begins. That's scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT. ... [more]
