Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • Double-Take Announces Workload Optimization Products


    Double-Take Software is building on its current data protection repertoire by taking on the challenge of workload optimization, writes Samantha Sai for storage-biz.news.

    Workload management encompasses the hardware, the operating systems, applications and data that underpin an organization’s IT-backbone.

    Southborough, Massachusetts-headquartered Double-Take has designed a workload optimization suite to cater to workload portability, backup and availability needs.

    Dean Goodermote, CEO at Double-Take Software, said the move was to align the business to best meet its customers’ evolving technology needs.

    Dean Goodermote, CEO at Double-Take Software

    "Our new Workload Optimisation suite exemplifies Double-Take Software’s focus on providing highly functional, non-intrusive software to an overloaded IT department looking to reduce costs," he said.

    "It represents our affordable approach to meeting customers’ migration, availability, backup and recovery needs."

    There are four products that make up the new suite:

    • Double-Take Move – as the name suggests, moves workloads between physical and virtual hardware within data centers for hardware refreshes. It can also move data across locations for data center migrations and consolidations
    • Double-Take Flex – is for managing workloads by booting from iSCSI SANs running on any kind of hardware
    • Double-Take Backup – backs up workloads continuously and recovers them on demand to new physical or virtual machines using CDP capabilities
    • Double-Take Availability – makes sure that critical IT workloads are available when disaster strikes for recovery and business continuity. It allows real time replication and failover for protection of individual applications, entire servers or virtualized workloads that run on VMWare ESX or Microsoft Hyper V

    Goodermote said all other Double-Take flagship products are built around the new workload optimization suite with new functionalities and licensing options.

    He said users can now migrate, backup, protect and flexibly operate physical and virtual workloads across the enterprise whatever the Operating system, hardware or location.

  • Belkin Flywire Delayed, Price Rises


    The launch of Belkin’s FlyWire has once again been delayed – this time until August.

    First announced at CES 2008, the initially promising-sounding wireless device streams 1080p HD content from multiple HDMI inputs to HDTV televisions using the 5GHz band.

    So the Flywire hub can be used to wirelessly connect devices such as Blu-ray players, receivers, video-game consoles, and set-top boxes to HDTVs and projectors.

    The company claims its device offers whole-home range that penetrates walls or windows. An IR backchannel allows users to control AV devices hidden behind cabinet doors or in other rooms.

    Automatic frequency hopping is designed to reduce conflicts with Wi-Fi or other signals.

    Originally due for release in the US in January, this has now shifted back to the end of the summer.

    Along with the release changes, Belkin has raised the price of the FlyWire from USD $1,000 to $1,500.

  • Enciris Launches Low-cost HD Compression Solution


    Enciris Technologies has unveiled HD video compression technology aimed at solving problems with reducing bandwidth and storage requirements.

    The LT-100 is a Windows Media Video/ VC-1 HD video acquisition and compression board.

    France-based Enciris says it has been designed to meet the needs of demanding real time true HD acquisition and compression.

    A company statement said that the proliferation of HD video in all market segments has created a significant need for this type of compression technology.

    It adds that specialized, high performance dedicated hardware for real time compression is the only solution due to the massive computational requirements.

    "The low cost of the LT-100 now allows high quality HD compression to be used in product/ projects that previously would have been prohibitive," said the statement.

    "It is a perfect solution for the demanding needs of medical, surveillance, internet, broadcasting, videoconferencing, and video gaming applications."

    Enciris said the LT-100 captures video from both analog and digital HD and SD video sources including DVI, RGB, component, S-video and composite.

    An HD/SD-SDI option is also available.

    Additionally, the LT-100 can function as a HD compression coprocessor for video supplied by the host via PCI or USB.

    The LT-100 will compress HD Windows Media Video (WMV/ VC-1) up to advanced profile level 3 with resolutions from 176×144 to 2048×2048 pixels.

    The maximum compression frame rate is 240 frames per second at lower resolutions. At 1080p the LT-100 can compress 30 frames per second.

    All standard HDTV resolution are supported including the acquisition of 1080p60. The LT-100 can simultaneously acquire uncompressed video for preview purposes or occasional snapshots.

    Designed for low latency applications, the LT-100 outputs compressed video within only a few milliseconds of acquisition.

    Drivers for WindowsXP/Vista and Linux are included. Under Windows, DirectShow is fully supported.

    A cross platform SDK is also available for Windows and Linux application development.

    Mac OS X support will be available soon. Available as a combination PCI/USB board, the LT-100-VC1 can be either placed in a PCI slot or be connected via USB 2.0.

    It is ideally suited for OEMs and system integrators. The LT-100-SDI is an optional HD/SD-SDI daughter card. A USB only module, the LT-100-VC1U, is also available which includes a 140x100x40mm enclosure.

    The LT-100-VC1US is the USB module with the HD/SD-SDI option. A hardware decompression feature will be offered Q3/2009 free of charge via firmware upgrade.

  • Torrent Offers Magnetic Solution To HDMI Connector Problems


    Torrent     has released a magnetic connector that aims to overcome the frustrating problem of loose HDMI cable connections.

    The start-up says that with the help of a sliding sleeve its MagLoc connector gives a five-fold improvement in the HDMI connection strength.

    It suggests this will ensure optimal connectivity – while sparing users the headache of trouble shooting for the source of HDMI connector disconnection problems.

    No release date has yet been given, although Torrent’s initial product lines are slated for availability this Spring.

  • Verizon's Hub To Get App Store – And Multi-touch Controls


    Verizon is creating an application store for its Hub home phone service as part of plans to broaden its market.

    The move follows the trend among mobile makers such as Apple, RIM and Palm to open up to third-party apps.

    It comes less than three months after the launch of the product – which offers connectivity through any broadband connection and provides unlimited VoIP calling for USD $35 per month.

    Prototype Screen for Verizon’s Hub

    A further development to widen the appeal of the Hub will see Verizon removing the condition that Hub buyers have to be Verizon Wireless customers.

    The application store will launch later this year, although no specific date has been given.

    Initially targeted at families looking to use a phone and access limited Internet services on their kitchen counter, the Hub attempts to close the gap between wireless and wireline services.

    Verizon sees the applications market attracting new types of customers with an array of software suited to their own interests, such as Internet radio.

    A prototype of a smaller, sleeker Hub product – similar in looks to a digital picture frame – has been developed. It comes with a much skinnier cordless phone handset.

    The company is also working on multi-touch controls for future devices, another trend popularized by Apple’s iPhone.

    All these developments are moving the Hub in the right direction.

    Whether consumers will be convinced enough to pay USD $199 for the Hub and $34.99 a month in service fees is another matter.

  • Meru Unveils Video-Over-Wireless Infrastructure


    Meru Networks has introduced what it says is the first wireless LAN solution optimised for delivering high-quality video over the new generation of IEEE 802.11n networks.

    The company’s Video Services Module (ViSM) is designed to address video-delivery issues specific to 802.11n networks – which are susceptible to unpredictable loss rates that can negatively impact video quality.

    The module applies application-aware optimisation techniques to web streaming and real-time multicast video, underlying technologies that enable a broad array of video applications, from wireless projection, IPTV and event simulcast to videoconferencing, telepresence and video surveillance.

    Vaduvur Bharghavan, Meru’s chief technology officer, said video-based applications are becoming pervasive in schools, health-care institutions and other enterprises because they boost productivity significantly for a relatively low cost.

    But he said high-definition video delivery over wireless is especially challenging because it combines the high bandwidth requirements of heavy data traffic with the delay sensitivity and loss characteristics of voice traffic.

    Vaduvur Bharghavan, Meru’s chief technology officer

    "And while 802.11n dramatically increases available bandwidth, it also increases per-transmission error rates," he said.

    "For multicast applications this translates to lost portions of video; for web video streaming it can mean stalled video or the loss of voice-video synchronization."

    Bharghavan said the power of the ViSM lies in its unique virtualized WLAN architecture, which gives every client device its own dedicated wireless ‘port’.

    "With Meru’s Virtual Port, each client gets its own copy of the multicast application traffic, delivered at the highest possible data rate and unaffected by the transmission or power-save behaviour of other clients," he said.

    "In other vendors’ legacy micro-cell solutions, which force all clients to share the same wireless resource, some clients will always suffer in terms of the timely delivery of multicast frames when other clients require buffering of traffic, thus causing multicast video delays for every client."

    The ViSModule works by using several mechanisms to deliver video traffic based on application and user characteristics.
    The company says this allows scaling to large numbers of concurrent video sessions without appreciably degrading user experience.

    • Application-aware prioritization: synchronises the voice and video components of a video stream, adapting the delivery of each frame based on its importance to the application. Higher-priority MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 marked frames are transmitted with greater assurance of reliability and timeliness.
    • User- and role-based policy enforcement: provides granular control over application behaviour (e.g., a teacher can be assigned higher priority than a student).
    • Seamless video-optimised handoff: proactively reroutes the multicast delivery tree to prevent lost video frames during a transition between access points, and ensures zero-loss for mobile video.
    • Multicast group management: optimises delivery to only those virtual ports whose clients are members of the multicast group, reducing network waste both wirelessly and on the wired network.
    • Graphical visualisation: reveals which clients are running which applications (data, voice, video) to aid in monitoring network-wide application performance.

    ViSM is available in June as an add-on module to Meru’s System Director software. For a network with 100 wireless access points, the module is priced at USD $7,995.

  • LG Launches First Eyestrain-Minimising HD Monitors


    LG Electronics’ HD widescreen LCD monitors – the W53 series – will be available in the UK from next month, the company announced today.

    The monitors are the first with automatic brightness control technology specially designed to reduce eyestrain during extended use, according to LG.

    This feature apparently automatically optimises the picture settings and the brightness of the screen based on the light in the room and the content being viewed.

    The company says that by lowering the intensity of the backlight, it also reduces the W53’s power consumption, making it a more energy efficient option.

    Another little innovation aimed at further avoiding eyestrain is a timer that reminds users to take a break from their work at predetermined intervals.

    Soyeon Shin, marketing manager, LG Electronics Business Solutions Company, said LG conducted extensive research around monitor usage in Europe and found one of the main complaints people had was eyestrain, caused by the screen being either too bright or too dark.

    "To address this, LG has incorporated the world’s first full suite of features that optimises the brightness of the screen in its new W53 series, ultimately reducing eyestrain," he said.

    The W53 series’ Cinema Mode feature enables users to eliminate distractions often found when watching online videos, such as pop up adverts, by blacking out everything except for the video clip.

    There is also a proximity sensor under the monitor’s bezel which detects when a hand approaches the screen and activates lights to make buttons easy to find. When not in use, the lights disappear.

    Screen sizes for the W53 series range from 18.5" to 27" and all monitors larger than 21.5" offer a 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio.

  • LG-Nortel Launches New Line Ahead of Expected Surge in IP Phone Demand


    LG-Nortel has responded to an expected doubling of IP phone penetration in businesses this year by launching a new line of desktop IP Phones.

    Geared towards business users and carrier-hosted VoIP services, JD An, vice president, Enterprise Solutions at LG-Nortel, said the IP Phone 8800 series had been designed to meet rising demand for IP phone solutions from enterprises.

    "LG-Nortel has worked diligently to meet this demand with the industry’s most feature-packed, cost-effective IP phones," he said.

    An said models in the series extend from entry-level units designed for ease of use by employees, to feature-packed models providing a range of communications features.

    These include:

    • multi-line support
    • a phone directory screen
    • Bluetooth wireless headset support

    The series also provides support for common protocols, including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) ensures compatibility with a broad range of VoIP call servers, according to An.

    "In an era where businesses are looking for the most cost-effective telephony solutions possible, VoIP has become the option of choice for businesses of all sizes," he said.

    An said the standards compliance LG-Nortel IP Phone 8800 series makes it easy to install and manage, while providing employees with the right mix of features to help them work more efficiently and become more productive.

  • Drobo Goes PRO, Let Your Data Grow


    DroboPro is the latest storage array that has been released by Data Robotics. The earlier versions of the device were known as Drobo External Storage Device. This version of the storage array is designed to manage itself. It is bigger, stronger and more capacious. It has 8 bays and is targeted for use by small businesses and creative professionals.

    Drobo Pro is similar to the earlier versions in looks. It supports up to 16 TB of storage and features the proprietory BeyondAID technology which was the mainstay of its predecessors. The technology permits a number of hard drives of varying capacities to be aggregated into one volume for redundancy and data protection. It cannot be used with networks. However, the subtle changes that distinguish this product are that it has integrated power supply and fully supports dual drive redundancy. Users can also switch between single and dual drive redundancy from a user friendly dashboard. The time that will be taken to shuffle the data around is displayed while we wait for the process to complete. This device is compatible with a 3U rack mount attachment that will have to be purchased separately. Hotswap is possible up to one drive at a time in single redundancy mode and two drives in a dual redundancy mode.

    The array has a USB 2.0 port, twin Fire Wire 800 sockets and gigabit Ethernet jack. The FireWire supports both 800 to 400 adapters. The Ethernet jack cannot be used to set it up for NAS. It is there to take advantage of iSCSI that is a fast interface that is used with severs and workstation rigs. OS X users get a homegrown iSCSI driver free.

    Data Robotics has clearly indicated that it prefers that the DroboPro should be used for direct attached storage with an option to connect it to a Windows Home Server or a networked computer if network access is essential. It is also possible to do professional video work on Drobo Pro.

    Tom Loverro, Director of Product Marketing at Data Robotics says: "One of the beta testers, who is well known in the video editing and animation community, is editing on DroboPro using Final Cut Pro with three video streams of 720p using Apple’s ProRes with no problems. That’s not to say you can do 5 streams of uncompressed 4K on DroboPro though — that sort of situation obviously calls for a different type of solution. But I do think we address 75% of the video editing market with this product according to our research."

    The price of the completely empty Drobo Pro is $1299. Pre stocked options cost $1599-$1949 and the top of trees version costs $3999 with 16 TB capacities. Existing Drobo Pro customers will receive a discount of $200 on the MSRP as an appreciation of their loyalty. The product has been shipped on April 7th.

  • CTIA 2009: Samsung Launches First WiMAX-Enabled Mobile Internet Device

    Samsung Mobile announced at CTIA WIRELESS 2009 in Las Vegas the upcoming availability of the Samsung Mondi, advanced mobile WiMAX enabled handheld device. The touch screen Mondi is designed for use with the Clear mobile WiMAX service from Clearwire.

    The Samsung Mondi includes the following features:

    • Windows Mobile 6.1
    • Microsoft Outlook and Windows Mobile Office
    • WiMAX Mobile Internet Access
    • WiFi Access (BTv2.1+EDR)
    • GPS: Route 66 Navigation with Preloaded Maps
    • 4GB of Internal Memory
    • Direct Push/Mobile Email (POP3, IMAP, SMTP)
    • Supports Instant Messaging and MMS
    • 3.0 Megapixel Camera and Camcorder
    • Bluetooth ® 2.0
    • Opera 9.5 Web Browser
    • HDMI TV Out

    WiMAX (Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access), the emerging next generation technology for wireless access is supposed to be, together with LTE (Long Term Evolution) a base of 4G networks.

    Samsung is the global leader in delivering mobile WiMAX Technologies. Beside cooperation with U.S. Clearwire, it is now preparing to deliver mobile WiMAX solutions to operators in Japan and Russia.
    Clearwire is building the first, nationwide 4G mobile Internet wireless network in U.S. Currently provides mobile WiMAX-based service, to be branded Clear, in two markets, and provides pre-WiMAX communications services in 50 markets across the U.S. and Europe.
    “The Samsung Mondi is an important step toward our goal of bringing 4G network speeds and connectivity to people across the U.S.,” said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile.