Barker Bites Back
A look at some newsy stuff and interesting bits as well as those hopefully amusing byways of technology.
Thursday 23 April 2009, 11:51 AM
Magic from Vodafone expected on 5 May
The mobile phone company Vodafone said on Wednesday that the much anticipated Google Android phone, dubbed Magic, will be available from 5 May.
The phone can be pre-ordered now from the company's website for from £15 per month for a minimum plan with no free minutes to £80. Those who mainly want the phone will find it costs £195.74 on some of the cheapest calling plans.
This is the second Google Android phone, the first is the T-Mobile G1 which is already available. Along with the Android operating system the phone has a full touch screen, 500MB of internal memory and can also take a 2GB memory card.
Other details include support for 3G and Wi-Fi and a camera with 3.2-megapixels.
The phone can be pre-ordered now from the company's website for from £15 per month for a minimum plan with no free minutes to £80. Those who mainly want the phone will find it costs £195.74 on some of the cheapest calling plans.
This is the second Google Android phone, the first is the T-Mobile G1 which is already available. Along with the Android operating system the phone has a full touch screen, 500MB of internal memory and can also take a 2GB memory card.
Other details include support for 3G and Wi-Fi and a camera with 3.2-megapixels.
Thursday 23 April 2009, 11:29 AM
Magic from Vodafone available May 5
The mobile phone company Vodafone said on Wednesday that its much anticipated Google Android phone, dubbed Magic, will be available from May 5.
The phone can be pre-ordered now from the company's website for from £15 per month for a minimum plan with no free minutes to £80. Those who mainly want the phone will find it costs £195.74p on some of the cheapest calling plans.
This is the second Google Android phone, the first is the T-Mobile G1which is already available. Along with the Android operating system the phone has a full touch screen, 500MB of internal memory and can also take a 2GB memory card.
Other details include support for 3G and Wi-Fi and a camera with 3.2-megapixels.
The phone can be pre-ordered now from the company's website for from £15 per month for a minimum plan with no free minutes to £80. Those who mainly want the phone will find it costs £195.74p on some of the cheapest calling plans.
This is the second Google Android phone, the first is the T-Mobile G1which is already available. Along with the Android operating system the phone has a full touch screen, 500MB of internal memory and can also take a 2GB memory card.
Other details include support for 3G and Wi-Fi and a camera with 3.2-megapixels.
Thursday 23 April 2009, 9:21 AM
No welcome for Oracle from Ingres
Database supplier Ingres, an Oracle competitor, has not exactly welcomed the news that its rival has just grown even bigger with the acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Ingres is, like MySQL, an open source database and the company has close ties with other open source suppliers like Red Hat.
Roger Burkhardt, chief executive of Ingres, suggested that open source products now in Oracle's portfolio such as the MySQL database and Glassfish application server would cause it a problem because "Oracle won't allow them to cannibalise the license revenues from their core database and Weblogic application server business".
"Customers won't see the long-term investments required to create a competitive enterprise-class mission and are likely to see MySQL make even more use of proprietary Oracle interfaces and management tools," he said. He believes that Oracle's intention will be to find revenue from the software that up to now has been available at little or no cost.
With the merger, Oracle which has always been a software company, now will find itself selling Sun Microsystems hardware, a position that Burkhardt believes the company has been forced into because "the revenue and earnings momentum from the string of acquisitions that Oracle has made is forcing them to buy into the hardware business as they have run out of software assets to buy".
Roger Burkhardt, chief executive of Ingres, suggested that open source products now in Oracle's portfolio such as the MySQL database and Glassfish application server would cause it a problem because "Oracle won't allow them to cannibalise the license revenues from their core database and Weblogic application server business".
"Customers won't see the long-term investments required to create a competitive enterprise-class mission and are likely to see MySQL make even more use of proprietary Oracle interfaces and management tools," he said. He believes that Oracle's intention will be to find revenue from the software that up to now has been available at little or no cost.
With the merger, Oracle which has always been a software company, now will find itself selling Sun Microsystems hardware, a position that Burkhardt believes the company has been forced into because "the revenue and earnings momentum from the string of acquisitions that Oracle has made is forcing them to buy into the hardware business as they have run out of software assets to buy".
Tuesday 21 April 2009, 8:28 AM
HP surprised by Oracle's Sun purchase
In a time when the modern IT executive stays almost locked to a Blackberry it is hard to catch them by a surprising bit of news. All the more gratifying then to catch out a few of them at the Technology@Work event in Berlin on Monday, with the news that Oracle was buying Sun.
"Really?", said in a tone of disbelief was the average answer. Some could claim to have been ready for something like it, but generally they were pretty surprised by the revelation that it was not just speculation but that, bar the usual regulatory details, it was a done deal.
Martin Fink, HP's vice president in charge of business critical systems, had the most reasoned comment to make. "We plan for various scenarios and this was one of those possible," he said. But it was not one of the most likely options, he admitted.
Fink said he could see issues though. "Sun is a place of experiment, a 'play-pen' for trying out ideas," he told ZDNet UK. "Oracle is a place where you go to make money."
It is going to be interesting to see "how that warm inclusive structure, mixes with Oracle," he said.
We will also have to wait and see what Oracle wants to do with the Sun hardware, he said. "If they decide they want to stick with the hardware then that brings a whole new competitor to the strategy," Fink said.
Franseco Serafini, the head of HP's Technology Solutions Group in EMEA was not too fazed by the prospect either and he tried to also maintain that HP, if not expecting it, thought it was a likely option.
"In a market where stock is going down there are many options for companies," he said. "What [Oracle] needs now is a plan for the next five years because everything is down and they need to be prepared for the market picking up."
Overall the HP executives thought that the news was interesting and it was not difficult to see their internal calculators trying to work out any options the move would give them. This in its own way is good news for Oracle and Sun customers. If companies like HP cannot see an immediate reason to scoff at this purchase and instead are beginning to consider the serious options, it would suggest that Oracle, in line with the company's usual practice, has at least given the competition something to think about.
"Really?", said in a tone of disbelief was the average answer. Some could claim to have been ready for something like it, but generally they were pretty surprised by the revelation that it was not just speculation but that, bar the usual regulatory details, it was a done deal.
Martin Fink, HP's vice president in charge of business critical systems, had the most reasoned comment to make. "We plan for various scenarios and this was one of those possible," he said. But it was not one of the most likely options, he admitted.
Fink said he could see issues though. "Sun is a place of experiment, a 'play-pen' for trying out ideas," he told ZDNet UK. "Oracle is a place where you go to make money."
It is going to be interesting to see "how that warm inclusive structure, mixes with Oracle," he said.
We will also have to wait and see what Oracle wants to do with the Sun hardware, he said. "If they decide they want to stick with the hardware then that brings a whole new competitor to the strategy," Fink said.
Franseco Serafini, the head of HP's Technology Solutions Group in EMEA was not too fazed by the prospect either and he tried to also maintain that HP, if not expecting it, thought it was a likely option.
"In a market where stock is going down there are many options for companies," he said. "What [Oracle] needs now is a plan for the next five years because everything is down and they need to be prepared for the market picking up."
Overall the HP executives thought that the news was interesting and it was not difficult to see their internal calculators trying to work out any options the move would give them. This in its own way is good news for Oracle and Sun customers. If companies like HP cannot see an immediate reason to scoff at this purchase and instead are beginning to consider the serious options, it would suggest that Oracle, in line with the company's usual practice, has at least given the competition something to think about.
Tuesday 21 April 2009, 5:59 AM
HP launches all-in-one data system Matrix
HP has launched data BladeSystem Matrix as a converged system that offers software, server, storage and networking in one package intended to make it easy to install a complete data centre solution, the company said.
Using a single interface, the aim behind Blade System Matrix is that users have a one-stop shop to build a complete data centre solution as quickly and easily as possible.
HP has its sight set on making it as easy as possible to install a complete system using an integrated pool of resources that operate in both physical and virtual environment, the company said.
Talking to HP executives at the launch of the new system on Monday it became clear that their ambitions for the new system are high. The Matrix is intended to be all you need to set up a complete data centre system in one package as an alternative to having to go out and design and build your own data centre.
No more having to work out what different resources you need, with what processing and networking capacities or having to worry about where you are going to source them from. Instead, says HP, you can get them all in one box.
On top of that, it starts at $150,000. Pricing outside the US has yet to be fixed.
HP said it showed evidence of what can be possible in terms of simplicity of approach. The aim, the company said, is to remove the complexity that makes systems expensive and hard to implement.
The complete packaged system includes the new HP LeftHand P4000 SAN storage system, the StorageWorks SB40c storage system bundled in, a StorageWorks modular disk system and finally the Insight Capacity Advisor Virtualisation System.
HP is selling Matrix through its HP Factory Express which it said is intended to make it a little easier to set the whole thing up. The company will be offering on-sight deployment services to guide users through setting up their own, complete Matrix system. Thanks to the purchase of EDS, HP has access to the human resources required to guide users through the process, the company believes.
Although the aim is to provide a starter-kit in one package, HP said it can help users build a systems architecture that can scale up to 1,000 systems.
BladeSystem Matrix is an ambitious idea. All a user's requirements for computer, storage and services available in an off-the-peg system that comes in one box and ready to go. Choosing an idea for expanding a data centre and then having to work out the different resources required and where to source them, is a time-consuming process. The idea of one system that offers a possible answer to all the problems and that can be sourced from one supplier, is bound to have an appeal.
Using a single interface, the aim behind Blade System Matrix is that users have a one-stop shop to build a complete data centre solution as quickly and easily as possible.
HP has its sight set on making it as easy as possible to install a complete system using an integrated pool of resources that operate in both physical and virtual environment, the company said.
Talking to HP executives at the launch of the new system on Monday it became clear that their ambitions for the new system are high. The Matrix is intended to be all you need to set up a complete data centre system in one package as an alternative to having to go out and design and build your own data centre.
No more having to work out what different resources you need, with what processing and networking capacities or having to worry about where you are going to source them from. Instead, says HP, you can get them all in one box.
On top of that, it starts at $150,000. Pricing outside the US has yet to be fixed.
HP said it showed evidence of what can be possible in terms of simplicity of approach. The aim, the company said, is to remove the complexity that makes systems expensive and hard to implement.
The complete packaged system includes the new HP LeftHand P4000 SAN storage system, the StorageWorks SB40c storage system bundled in, a StorageWorks modular disk system and finally the Insight Capacity Advisor Virtualisation System.
HP is selling Matrix through its HP Factory Express which it said is intended to make it a little easier to set the whole thing up. The company will be offering on-sight deployment services to guide users through setting up their own, complete Matrix system. Thanks to the purchase of EDS, HP has access to the human resources required to guide users through the process, the company believes.
Although the aim is to provide a starter-kit in one package, HP said it can help users build a systems architecture that can scale up to 1,000 systems.
BladeSystem Matrix is an ambitious idea. All a user's requirements for computer, storage and services available in an off-the-peg system that comes in one box and ready to go. Choosing an idea for expanding a data centre and then having to work out the different resources required and where to source them, is a time-consuming process. The idea of one system that offers a possible answer to all the problems and that can be sourced from one supplier, is bound to have an appeal.
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