Submission + - Citrix buys XenSource
firefly_blue writes: Citrix is buying three-year-old startup XenSource for $500 million, marking the second big deal this week to highlight the bustling virtualisation market.
Submission + - XenSource releases product, gets bought by Citrix (networkworld.com) 1
billstewart writes: XenSource has been in the news twice this week — Monday they release a product, then Tuesday they get bought for $500m by Citrix. Here's Network World's take on the buyout and on the product.
It looks like the product is packaging new releases of several of their components — there's a 64-bit hypervisor version 3.1 that uses the Intel and AMD hardware tricks, APIs, management tools, and XenMotion, which lets you move running virtual machines around. According to Xen's product page, the free-beer XenExpress version gets the hypervisor, APIs, and some of the management tools, but not the fancier management or XenMotion, and it's somewhat crippled in terms of capacity (max 4 VMs, 2 CPUs, 4GB RAM, while the commercial versions support 128GB total RAM, larger VMs, and unlimited VMs and CPUs.)
(But will it run Linux?) It will run Linux — one of the data sheets implies that Linux only runs in 32-bit mode, while Windows can run 64-bit. Perhaps there's more documentation that provides more details.
(But will it run Linux?) It will run Linux — one of the data sheets implies that Linux only runs in 32-bit mode, while Windows can run 64-bit. Perhaps there's more documentation that provides more details.
Submission + - Apple TV hacked to run Linux (mythic-beasts.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Though perhaps not as exciting as the recent iPhone hardware hacking, some guys at Linux web hosting company Mythic Beasts have even managed to get Linux to run on an Apple TV. A nice modification for an otherwise boring piece of hardware.
Submission + - Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted (scienceblogs.com)
grrlscientist writes: "Proof that some stories need no embellishment: squirrel spy ring arrested by Iranian police."
Submission + - Final Beta of XO Laptop Reviewed (eweek.com)
JimRap writes: "I had a chance to spend a lot of time at the One Laptop Per Child's offices and take a pretty deep dive into B4 of the XO laptop, which is the final beta. Also looked at the latest build of the Sugar operating system."
Submission + - New Ethernet standard:not 40Gbps,not 100, but both (mcox.com)
Artemis writes: "When Ethernet was originally created in 1974 it was a 3Mbps technology from Bob Metcalfe at Xerox PARC that few thought would beat out technologies such as Token Ring from the big boys like IBM. But Metcalfe left Xerox to found 3com and promote Ethernet, while also boosting the speed from 3Mbps to 10Mbps, compared to Token Rings 6Mbps. Now a days 1Gbps networks are becoming standard and 10Gbps networks are creeping in to specialized situations. But the Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) is not satisfied. They have approved a Project Authorization Request (PAR) for a new standard, IEEE 802.3ba, which will give Ethernet speeds of up to 100Gbps.
When IEEE 802.3ba was originally proposed their were multiple possible speeds that were being discussed, including 40, 80, 100, and 120Gbps. While there options were eventually narrowed down to just two, 40 and 100Gbps, the HSSG had difficulties decided on the one specific speed they wanted to become the new standard. HSSG chair John D'Ambrosia told PC World that although he "wouldn't say there was a fight, I would say their was an education going on, and it got heated at times." During the discussions two different groups formed, one which wanted faster server-to-switch connections at 40Gbps and one which wanted a more robust network backbone at 100Gbps. The higher speed required more expensive and power-hungry equipment, you can find out more about it from this presentation [PDF].
Unable to come up with a consensus the HSSG decided to standardize both 40Gbps and 100Gbps speeds as the IEEE 803.23ba standard. Each speed will use different connection equipment. 40Gbps can be 1 meter long on the backplane, 10 meters for copper cable and 100 meters for fiber-optics. The 100Gbps standard includes specifications for 10 kilometer and 40 kilometer connections over single-mode fiber.
According to D'Ambrosia this is the first time the specification group has approved two different speeds in the same specification. If IEEE approves the specification it could be completed by 2010 with devices that support is soon thereafter."
When IEEE 802.3ba was originally proposed their were multiple possible speeds that were being discussed, including 40, 80, 100, and 120Gbps. While there options were eventually narrowed down to just two, 40 and 100Gbps, the HSSG had difficulties decided on the one specific speed they wanted to become the new standard. HSSG chair John D'Ambrosia told PC World that although he "wouldn't say there was a fight, I would say their was an education going on, and it got heated at times." During the discussions two different groups formed, one which wanted faster server-to-switch connections at 40Gbps and one which wanted a more robust network backbone at 100Gbps. The higher speed required more expensive and power-hungry equipment, you can find out more about it from this presentation [PDF].
Unable to come up with a consensus the HSSG decided to standardize both 40Gbps and 100Gbps speeds as the IEEE 803.23ba standard. Each speed will use different connection equipment. 40Gbps can be 1 meter long on the backplane, 10 meters for copper cable and 100 meters for fiber-optics. The 100Gbps standard includes specifications for 10 kilometer and 40 kilometer connections over single-mode fiber.
According to D'Ambrosia this is the first time the specification group has approved two different speeds in the same specification. If IEEE approves the specification it could be completed by 2010 with devices that support is soon thereafter."
Submission + - Companies scramble to archive e-mail (computerworld.com)
Lucas123 writes: "At high IT costs, courts and regulators are increasingly pushing companies to produce stored e-mail documents on demand or face penalties. For example, Intel was recently fined for not archiving e-mails and Best Buy was caught falsifying e-mails related to a class-action lawsuit, according to a Computerworld story. 'You find corporate officials making admissions in e-mail that you would not find anywhere else, and a lot of the time, they forget they made those admissions.'"
Submission + - Fear, uncertainty and doubt behind US Nuke plan (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: "Is the nuclear arms race on again in the US? To a certain degree, yes it is. How far it will get remains to be seen, but a few recent actions recently have some folks on edge. Last week Secretary of Defense Robert Gates joined with the Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent to Congress a three-page statement on U.S. national security and nuclear weapons, entitled "Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st Century." At the heart of the Bush administration's plan Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program. Launched in 2004, RRW promises to produce new, technologically updated warheads that should be simpler, safer, easier to maintain, and more reliable than the estimated 10,000 warheads in the current U.S. stockpile. But the RRW plan has run into trouble.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/17827"
Feed The Earth's Climate Is Seesawing, According To Climate Researchers (sciencedaily.com)
During the last 10,000 years climate has been seesawing between the North and South Atlantic Oceans. Cold periods in the north have corresponded to warmth in the south and vice versa. These results imply that Europe may face a slightly cooler future than predicted by IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Feed Mobile Phone Game Will Help New Students Overcome Culture Shock (sciencedaily.com)
A mobile phone game developed by academics will be used to help international students cope with 'culture shock' and university life in Britain - including moments of cultural awakening such as going to the pub and watching people being affectionate to each other in public.
Feed Novelties: The Little Projectors That Pack a Punch (nytimes.com)
Lugging along a digital projector is less of a chore these days, with compact, portable models weighting less than a phone book.
Feed Vudu Casts Its Spell on Hollywood (nytimes.com)
A Silicon Valley startup hopes to turn America’s televisions into limitless multiplexes, changing the landscape of the home entertainment business.
Submission + - UK Voters Want To Vote Online
InternetVoting writes: "A recent research survey by ntl:Telewest Business found that nearly half of the respondents would be more likely to vote online. This year the UK government has authorized 13 local election pilots including Internet voting. ntl:Telewest Business estimates 10 million UK households have broadband and 4,789 local libraries offer public access. In the US political parties are beginning to test the Internet voting waters with the Michigan Democratic Party to offer Internet voting in their 2008 Presidential Caucus."
Submission + - Hawking, Lording it up..
Quietly_Confident writes: "A petition on the official
UK government 'Number 10 Downing Street'
web site is inviting
British citizens or residents to impetrate the conference of a
life peerage on Prof.
Stephen Hawking. The petition suggests that; "Professor Stephen Hawking, one of
the greatest minds this country has and has had, who should have been Knighted a
decade ago should actually be conferred a peerage [Lord Hawking]".
A life peerage would entitle Prof. Hawking to sit in the House of Lords should he wish to. With recent honours for cash scandals, it would be a breath of fresh air if a truly Great and deserving Britton was honoured appropriately, possibly in the Prime Minster's Resignation Honours List."
A life peerage would entitle Prof. Hawking to sit in the House of Lords should he wish to. With recent honours for cash scandals, it would be a breath of fresh air if a truly Great and deserving Britton was honoured appropriately, possibly in the Prime Minster's Resignation Honours List."
BBC White Paper Claims HD Over Low Bandwidth Signal 88
Kelten Miynos writes "According to CNet, the BBC has written a white paper in which they claim it's possible to double the available Freeview TV bandwidth by using some clever technologies. 'Doubling the space would mean we could easily have HD channels on Freeview, although everyone would need to buy a new receiver and aerial to pick them up. The key to all this is something called MIMO, which stands for multiple-input multiple-output. MIMO works using two transmitters, and two receivers. The two transmitters mean the two sets of data — sent on the same frequency — will arrive at the receivers at different times. Different arrival times are what allow the receiver to differentiate between the two separate signals and subsequently decode them.' These procedures could then be transplanted abroad to other countries with similar services."
