Product Central
Dispatches from the Reviews Editor's desk
Thursday 30 November 2006, 11:01 AM
It's Microsoft Day
Today's the day when the tech media's guns point towards Redmond and fire a triple salvo at Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007. ZDNet UK, of course, is weighing in -- as I write this, the Office 2007 Special Report is live, and the Vista and Exchange ones are imminent.
In the interests of balance, we'll also be taking a close look at how you can avoid going anywhere near Microsoft's products to get your work done. Our fearless Technology Editor, Rupert Goodwins, has been using Ubuntu Linux, OpenOffice and a bunch of other open-source stuff on our office LAN for some time, and will be reporting just as soon as he returns from a press trip to Hong Kong. Which is why, for once, you won't see Rupert's visage all over the televisual media on a big Microsoft Day. Then again, we wouldn't put it past him to find a TV crew to pontificate to out in HK...
Monday 20 November 2006, 4:20 PM
N-triguing wireless results
Wireless networking kit based on the draft 802.11n specification has been available for a while, and we've now performed some throughput tests on a range of products built around different chipsets.
This is important, because until the standard is ratified in 2008, there's no guarantee that products from different vendors will work with one another. Nor is there any guarantee that today's Draft-N products will be compatible with 2008's proper 802.11n gear.
So what did we find? Check out our Group Test for the full details, but here's a summary. Draft-N data rates, even at close range, are disappointing: Atheros- and Broadcom-based products delivered between 60 and 80Mbps, while the Marvell-based Netgear RangeMax Next almost reached 100Mbps. This is considerably below the manufacturers' claimed rates of around 300Mbps.
Not surprisingly, interoperability is best among Draft-N products that use the same chipset. In the worst case -- a Marvell-based Netgear adapter talking to the non-Marvell-based routers -- data rates were almost down to 802.11b levels (8-12Mbps).
So if you must buy Draft-N gear, stick with one vendor -- and don't let anyone with 'rogue' Wi-Fi kit log onto your wireless LAN.
Wednesday 15 November 2006, 11:09 AM
Big Brother network appliance
'Only the paranoid survive' is the title of a book by ex-Intel boss Andrew Grove, but it would also make an apt marketing slogan for network appliance maker Chronicle Solutions.
The company develops what it calls 'content capturing solutions' for enterprises and government agenices that need to keep close tabs on what's happening on their networks. The netReplay appliance (which comes in several versions tailored for different-sized organisations) performs real-time monitoring, capturing and indexing of all user communications, including email, web mail, instant messaging, blogging and VoIP traffic.
With corporate governance and compliance increasingly high on the business agenda, the advent of such a product was inevitable, but it's hard to imagine how much more intrusive an organisation could get. Blanket CCTV coverage? Microchipping the staff?
Before passing any judgement, however, we must review this thing. Check the Reviews channel in the coming weeks for a full evaluation.
Monday 13 November 2006, 9:12 AM
In praise of The Grauniad
As a one-time Production Editor in the olde worlde of print, I was pleased to see Kim Fletcher's article in today's Media Guardian, entitled 'In praise of the subeditor'. He deftly explains the ancient rivalry between free-ranging journalists and office-bound production staff (including the 'subs') who turn the former's often semi-literate and error-strewn efforts into polished, reader-friendly product.
Fletcher goes on to predict that, far from being an endangered species, the subeditor will evolve into a multi-tasking beast, capable of reworking content for the many platforms in today's digital media landscape -- desktop and handheld web browsing, podcast, video clip and so on.
The article is illustrated by a picture of one of the Guardian's subs editing the very piece in question. And being 'The Grauniad', the story just has to have its very own typo, in the final paragraph: 'Newspapers have found it difficulty to recruit subeditors over the last few years'.
Doncha just love 'em?
Thursday 9 November 2006, 12:15 PM
Now for Longhorn Server
So Microsoft's Vista desktop OS has finally been released to manufacturing (RTM). Thank goodness for that, many will say: although we've assiduously covered the many pre-release versions, there are probably only so many Vista previews one can take. We're nearly there now -- just the full, rated, review to go!
The next big Windows release has received far less attention from the mainstream technology press than Vista, but is equally if not more important for businesses: this is Longhorn Server, the successor to Windows Server 2003.
Beta 2 of Longhorn Server is available now, through MSDN and TechNet subscriptions. Community Technology Preview (CTP) builds are expected in late November and late January 2007, with Beta 3 arriving shortly after that. The final release is expected sometime in the second half of 2007. You can find more details in Mary Jo Foley's blog over on ZDNet.com.
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