News

IT hardware

November 24, 2011 24 Nov'11
How Experian is retro-fitting its datacentre to boost efficiency

Experian's Fairham House datacentre in Nottingham uses blade servers, virtualisation and cold aisle containment to improve energy efficiency.
November 18, 2011 18 Nov'11
MIT scientists take a step closer to artificial intelligence

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an analogue silicon chip with 400 transistors that emulates the activity of a brain synapse in the first step to building truly intelligent systems.
November 17, 2011 17 Nov'11
Biffa ups virtualisation in infrastructure refresh

Biffa Waste Services is reducing the number of physical servers it uses from over 150 to about 25 as it accelerates its existing virtualisation strategy.
November 16, 2011 16 Nov'11
Thai floods could impact revenues and prices, says Dell

Computer maker Dell says flooding in Thailand is causing a worldwide shortage of PC hard drives that will last into the first quarter of 2012 and could impact the company’s revenues.

November 03, 2011 03 Nov'11
HP puts ARM at the heart of energy-efficient datacentres

Hewlett-Packard has introduced a line of servers using the Calxeda EnergyCore ARM Cortex low-energy processors which it claims will enable datacentres to host 2,800 servers in a single rack.
October 28, 2011 28 Oct'11
HP announces U-turn to keep PC division after Whitman completes internal review

HP has reversed its decision to spin-off the company's PC division following an internal review by CEO Meg Whitman, who replaced form head Leo Apotheker in September.
October 06, 2011 06 Oct'11
Technology industry figures pay tribute to Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs

Apple's co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs has died, aged 56. Jobs battled with pancreatic cancer, and had liver transplant surgery in 2009. He stepped down as Apple CEO in August 2011 after his second bout of medical leave since the start of the ...
October 04, 2011 04 Oct'11
GPU cracks six-character password in four seconds

A £30 nVidia GeForce GT220 graphics card is capable of cracking strong passwords in a matter of hours.
September 29, 2011 29 Sep'11
The impact of the Olympics power drain on London-based datacentres

Power shortages and costs are becoming an increasing concern for companies with datacentres in London as the Olympics approaches.
September 29, 2011 29 Sep'11
Security firm selects Fujitsu IT services

Security company G4S has outsourced its IT infrastructure and services to Fujitsu and has agreed a £32.9m seven-year contract.

September 28, 2011 28 Sep'11
Amazon launches Kindle Fire tablet but experts doubt its use as a business device

Amazon has confirmed its much-anticipated entry into the tablet market with the US launch of its Kindle Fire device - but analysts doubt it will appeal to corporate IT buyers.
September 28, 2011 28 Sep'11
Microsoft starts roll-out of Mango update for Windows Phone 7

Microsoft has started rolling out the next major version of its Windows Phone 7 operating system, codenamed Mango.
September 27, 2011 27 Sep'11
Power protection for the data centre

All the servers in the world are useless without electricity. And securing the supply of power has become a key challenge for data centre managers. Swinburne University faced this challenge in the solution design for their data centres.
September 26, 2011 26 Sep'11
Boots launches mobile site to expand multichannel offering

Retailer Boots has launched a mobile version of its website to expand its multichannel portfolio.
September 22, 2011 22 Sep'11
Government pulls plug on ailing £11bn NHS IT programme

The troubled £11bn NHS National Programme for IT is to be axed, the government is expected to announce later today.
September 22, 2011 22 Sep'11
BASF extends BT network contract

Chemical group BASF has signed a €200m deal with BT for networking 900 BASF sites in more than 80 countries. The contract includes the provision of IP telephony and local network services (managed LAN services) at 300 sites in North and South ...
September 21, 2011 21 Sep'11
HP webOS lay-offs could affect European employees

Hewlett-Packard could lay off European employees as part of the company's decision to discontinue its webOS hardware division, including the Touchpad tablet range.
September 20, 2011 20 Sep'11
How to justify the business case for virtual desktop infrastructure licensing

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) technology can cut energy bills, increase business agility and improve mobile working flexibility. But licensing cost and complexity can wipe off the financial savings of VDI deployment. Jenny Williams explores ...
September 20, 2011 20 Sep'11
Gartner: Keep encryption simple and standardised to cut cost and complexity

Businesses should consider self-encrypting drives (SEDs) for new installations that hold significant volumes of sensitive data, says Gartner.
September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11
Cisco halves sales forecast as CEO John Chambers eyes Huawei market share

Following Cisco Systems' warning it is to halve its sales forecast as it struggles with reduced demand and increased competition, CEO John Chambers said he intends to battle with Chinese network provider Huawei.
September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11
Sabre develops apps marketplace for travel industry

Sabre, the global distribution system for reserving hotels, airlines, cruise ships, rail tickets and car hire, has taken the concept of the app store and applied in to its own travel market.
September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11
Openreach expands fibre to 114 more exchanges

BT Openreach has unveiled 114 exchanges that will be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband as part of its plan to deliver fibre to two-thirds of the UK by the end of 2015.
September 12, 2011 12 Sep'11
HP refunds Touchpad owners

Anyone who purchased an HP Touchpad prior to the price crash can now obtain a refund. Users who purchased the 16Gb version will be eligible for a refund...
September 09, 2011 09 Sep'11
RBS and Natwest launch native Blackberry app for bank transfers

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Natwest have launched a mobile application to allow Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry device users to transfer funds between bank accounts.
September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11
University challenge: using IT to improve services and reduce costs

Universities face a balancing act as they become increasingly expected to improve the experiences of more demanding students while making budgets go further, and IT is a critical tool in finding this balance.
September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11
Ofcom gives green light to use TV spectrum for rural broadband

Telecommunications regulator Ofcom has given the go-ahead for internet providers to use unused TV spectrum to deliver broadband to rural areas.
August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11
Nokia launches three smartphones running Symbian Belle operating system

Nokia has unveiled three smartphone devices running its new operating system, Symbian Belle.
August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11
Durham University upgrades communications infrastructure and adopts IP telephony

Durham University is to upgrade its communications infrastructure after signing a deal with Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEC) which will see the university adopt IP telephony.
August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Technology retailers slash Touchpad tablet prices in bid to empty HP inventory

Best Buy in the US is reportedly selling the HP Touchpad for just $99 as the retailer gets rid of its inventory of the soon-to-be-defunct tablet.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Government must change the way it stores citizens' personal data, calls the EHRC

The government must bring in changes to better protect personal information, calls the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Blackberry to co-operate with police after youths used BBM to organise riots

Research in Motion has said that it will co-operate with the police after it was revealed that London rioters used Blackberry Messenger rather than Twitter to organise looting sprees across the capital, with violence later spreading to Birmingham, ...
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
Case Study: Data encryption at the Salvation Army

The Salvation Army in the UK supports flexible working from home using laptops owned by the charity, but says finding a good way of protecting data was a challenge.
August 03, 2011 03 Aug'11
eBay boosts virtual servers with 100 terabytes of flash memory

Online auction site eBay has deployed more than 100 terabytes of flash memory to power its VMware virtual server infrastructure. The S-class flash storage from solid state disk provider Nimbus is believed to be among the world's largest consolidated...
August 02, 2011 02 Aug'11
Amazon closes Android appstore submissions in Germany after Apple lawsuit

Amazon has closed submissions for its Android app store in Germany following a lawsuit from Apple.
July 29, 2011 29 Jul'11
Apple and Samsung overtake Nokia as worldwide smartphone shipments grow 76%

Nokia's woes continue as Apple and Samsung overtake the Finnish giant to become the largest global smartphone manufacturers, according to analyst figures.
July 29, 2011 29 Jul'11
BSkyB wins 174,000 new broadband subscribers

BSkyB has reported a surge in its broadband business in yearly results, taking its subscriber base to 711,000.
July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
ElasticStack delivers cloud with SAN-resilient storage on commodity hardware

Cloud platform provider ElasticStack has refined its software to deliver a cloud platform with resilient storage using low-cost commodity hardware...
July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
KLM deploys RightNow natural language search for mobile website

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has rolled out software-as-a-service provider RightNow's CX Intent Guide on its mobile website.
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Virgin Media sees small drop in business sales, and loses 18,000 broadband users

Cable telecoms supplier Virgin Media has reported a small drop in business revenue for its second quarter, while the firm also revealed it has lost 18,000 broadband users...
July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11
UK fails to make world’s top 10 high-speed broadband countries - but Ireland scrapes in

The UK has failed to make it into the top 10 countries with the highest average broadband speed, but neighbouring Ireland scrapes in...
July 25, 2011 25 Jul'11
Virgin Media trials 1.5Gbps broadband at London's Silicon Roundabout

Virgin Media has rolled out broadband speeds of up to 1.5Gbps as part of a trial for businesses in the "Silicon Roundabout" area of London...
July 25, 2011 25 Jul'11
Automated web application attacks are the top security threat, study reveals

Websites are attacked about 27 times an hour or once every two minutes on average, peaking at 25,000 attacks a minute or seven a second, according to research...
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
IDC blames decline in European PC market on weak consumer demand and high inventories

The west European PC market declined 8.9% compared with the same quarter the year before. A shift in interest and budget towards other products contributed to weak consumer demand and slow stock depletion across Western Europe, according to analyst ...
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
Nokia reports £429m loss as smartphone revenues drop 32% in first half of 2011

Nokia has reported operating losses of €487m (£429m) in the first half of 2011, fuelled by a decline in smartphone sales.
July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11
Ofcom UK broadband speed map shows wide areas of internet underinvestment

An interactive map of broadband speeds has revealed large sections of the UK need investment in internet connectivity.
July 01, 2011 01 Jul'11
Betfair sees 120% increase in mobile customers

The online gambling firm increased sales via mobile applications by 88% as customer mobile use grows.
June 27, 2011 27 Jun'11
Unite members at Fujitsu’s Crewe site to strike

Members of the Unite union at Fujitsu's site in Crewe have voted to take strike action over the alleged unfair treatment of a trade union activist.
June 24, 2011 24 Jun'11
Oracle Q4 revenues climb 36% but decline in hardware sales drops share price 7.5%

Oracle's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings climbed 36% to $3.2bn and total revenues were up 13% to $10.8bn. But a decline in hardware sales and a forecast of only 10% to 20% growth in licence sales sent Oracle shares down by as much as 7.5% in late ...
June 22, 2011 22 Jun'11
European Commission gives green light to CSC acquisition of beleaguered iSoft

The European Commission (EC) has approved CSC's acquisition of healthcare software maker iSoft.
June 15, 2011 15 Jun'11
Government to create market for personal identity data

The government is preparing to create a marketplace for citizens' personal data to be used for accessing online public services, according to documents that were issued to industry in preparation for the coalition's next-generation identity scheme.