bites, bytes, and teraflops

Spotlight Technology Continues to Grow

bitthebot — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:48:05 +0000

New advances in battery and LED technology are creating more powerful, lightweight and energy efficient spotlights than ever before. The creation of the rechargeable alkaline battery is giving spotlights longer charge retention, more charges per battery life than lead acid along with containing no toxic materials, making it the only battery in North America to be awarded the Ecologo from Environment Canada. They are also a bit lighter which creates and easier carrying light.

LED bulbs are also gaining popularity in the spotlight market. More and more spotlights are using led bulbs due to their energy efficient nature. LED bulbs pull fewer watts than halogen bulbs which means battery life is extended which is important for rechargeable systems. LED bulbs also almost never need replacing, unlike halogen, xenon and other bulbs. Additionally, LED bulbs also do not get hot which makes the spotlights that use them safer to hold and manage.

LED bulbs and and rechargeable alkaline batteries may not ever replace all the standard spotlights systems, but you can believe that as technology advances further you will see more acceptance and adaptation to these new technologies.

State of Oregon Judicial Department Selects CipherOptics for Data Encryption

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:23:55 +0000

Raleigh, NC (Vocus/PRWEB ) January 14, 2010 — CipherOptics, a leader in scalable data protection, announced today that the State of Oregon Judicial Department has chosen the CipherOptics CEP line of standards-based encryptors and CipherEngine, the industry’s most scalable policy and key management solution for network encryption, to protect their data.

The Oregon Judicial Department handles all of the state’s court case files and other records. To prevent the loss of this information in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, a back-up data center was established in a secured remote location. However, because of the highly sensitive nature of their data, the State needs to protect it as it travels between the courthouse and the data center.

“When we started looking for the best method to protect the data, we wanted a solution that would allow us to maximize the gigabit connection between our locations” said Brian Canfield, Telecommunications Administrator, State of Oregon Judicial Department. “We looked at several options, but it was clear that no other solution delivers the true gigabit performance of the CipherOptics solution.”

The CEP line of encryptors offers 10Mbps to 1Gbps wire-speed encryption for any Ethernet or MPLS network, with 10Gbps available in 2010. CipherEngine, a breakthrough policy and key management solution, makes it easy to deploy and manage any network encryption solution, regardless of scale.

The addition of CipherEngine will allow the Department to automatically refresh the encryption keys, add and remove sites and easily manage the deployment with the click of a mouse. Canfield added, “While the gigabit performance was critical for us, the addition of CipherEngine simplifies the management of the solution and in the end, will save us valuable time and resources.”

About CipherOptics
CipherOptics makes network encryption easy. Our scalable policy and key management solution and our wire-speed encryption appliances are quick to install and easy to manage. Whether you need to encrypt a single link or an entire network, our solutions offer the highest level of data protection and performance for the lowest total cost. For additional information, visit www.CipherOptics.com.

Technology Advances in the Most Unassuming Areas

bitthebot — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:57:31 +0000

When you think of ponds and water gardens, you dont automatically associate that with technology or computers, but just like all aspects of our life, advances in technology has made pond maintenance simpler and easier. To the assuming person a pond seems like a simple thing…a hole in the ground filled with water. The fact is, it is a very complicated investment that requires several components to operate efficiently. Most important of which are the pumps and pond filters. These two units have to work symbiotically to help filter out waste matter to prevent the pond from becoming septic. These days there are pond supplies, pond pumps and filters of all shapes and sizes that can do all sorts of things from simple filtering of floating debris to complete filtration of debris, chemicals and bacteria…all within one unit. Of course these systems come with a hefty price tag, but most items in the world cost more when cutting edge technology is used.

So next time you are looking at a pond and thinking that it is just a water filled hole, take a second and check out the plumbing and you will see a whole different world.

Extentech Announces the Release of Sheetster 1.1 — The First and Only Open Source Java Web Spreadsheet and Server

bitthebot — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:06:38 +0000

(PRWEB) December 2, 2009 — Today, Extentech Announces the Release of Sheetster 1.1 the Latest Version of the First and Only Open Source Java Web Spreadsheet and Server

Sheetster 1.1 offers much of the functionality found in Excel along with Web 2.0 features, such as document management, collaboration, sharing and chat. Sheetster can be run online or offline and is Open Source, so developers can easily extend or embed it within their Web applications.

Unlike other Web spreadsheets, Sheetster includes a content management system, making it possible to create and manage categorized content with attachments such as PDFs, videos and images. Sheetster also has fine-grained security and sharing, so users can create groups, share, chat and access documents with their fellow coworkers, clients or friends.

Some of the new features in this release include: conditional formatting (beta), cell validations (allowing for control of cell data entry), export spreadsheets to PDF (beta), improved charts and chart legends, support for upload/import of CSV files, and much more.

Sheetster was created with developers in mind. The Web spreadsheet is integrated with Sheetster live data mapping, and the ExtenXLS 7.4 Java Spreadsheet SDK. This combination provides a comprehensive Web 2.0 spreadsheet toolkit for developers wishing to integrate spreadsheet functionality, publish spreadsheet logic as web services, and present editable live data grids in their Web applications without reinventing the wheel.

John McMahon, CEO states, “We offer Sheetster as a competitive advantage for developers that want to embed spreadsheet technology within their applications. Whether you are an OEM software developer, a value-added reseller building a vertical application, or you want to use it as a hosted product, Sheetster provides many of the features of Excel but is Open Source and written in Java–allowing our customers to integrate, customize, use and sell Sheetster.

The hosted online version is free and can be found at: www.sheetster.com.

Sheetster Server Collaboration Edition is free and can be downloaded at: Extentech.com (http://extentech.com/estore/product_detail.jsp?product_group_id=230&product_id=321)

About Extentech, Inc.

Extentech, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco CA., is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Extentech Inc. is a leading developer of Java integration and spreadsheet tools that help corporate decision makers, developers, and business users maximize ROI by leveraging spreadsheets and Web 2.0 technologies. Founded in 1999, Extentech Inc. provides state-of-the-art spreadsheet automation, integration and business intelligence tools to IBM, JPMorgan, Accenture, Toyota, and hundreds of companies worldwide.

For more information, visit: www.extentech.com (http://extentech.com).

Pooch 1.8 Clusters Snow Leopard and Linux

bitthebot — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:51:53 +0000

Portland, OR (PRWEB) November 17, 2009 — At Supercomputing 2009, Dauger Research, Inc., announces version 1.8 of Pooch (Parallel OperatiOn and Control Heuristic application) and Pooch Pro clustering software. The patented easy-to-use clustering technology now uses nodes running Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard”. The only solution that merges a modern graphical user interface with supercomputer-compatible parallel computing, Pooch debuts support of 64-bit Linux compute nodes alongside Macintosh nodes.

“The Pooch clustering solution is still the simplest way to get into parallel computing and the most flexible way to use clusters”, said Dr. Dean Dauger, President of Dauger Research, Inc. “Our patented technology, automatically configuring, managing, monitoring, and maintaining both Mac and Linux clusters using a modern user interface, is a honed ‘ad hoc’ clustering technology that makes computing resources reliable and accessible for users.”

Winner of IEEE Cluster’s “most innovative” award, Pooch technology combines powerful, numerically-intensive parallel-computing clusters with the famed ease-of-use of the Macintosh, applying the best of cluster and grid computing. Version 1.8 of Pooch is ready for both Snow Leopard and 64-bit Linux. Pooch’s infrastructure was heavily revised for compilation on 64-bit architecture, BSD-standard sockets for communications, POSIX-standard paths for file access, and the open source mDNS library from Apple. The result is a cluster computing solution so flexible it can run on and discover nodes running several versions of both Mac OS X and 64-bit Linux.

Pooch uses Bonjour (mDNS on Linux) for automatic node configuration and discovery, supports multicore by treating each core as a “virtual node”, including Intel Core’s, and launches parallelized Universal Applications onto a cluster, the first and only clustering solution to do so. Pooch is highly flexible, supporting seven distinct implementations of the Message-Passing Interface (MPI) industry standard and running on both Mac and Linux. The Dauger Research Vault presents eight tutorials extensively describing how to develop parallel applications and algorithms. Users can access tutorials outlining the different types of parallel computing, detailed MPI information, and descriptions, with example code in Fortran and C, of the basics of writing parallel code. Visitors to the web site can download GUI and command-line installers containing a trial Pooch, sample parallel applications and source code, a Software Development Kit, and full documentation. Dauger Research provides the easiest way to write, develop, and run your parallel code today.

Dauger Research ships updates to Pooch and Pooch Pro v1.8 to Pooch users whose subscriptions are active. The new Pooch also ships with the Pooch QuickTime Exporter for video compression on Mac clusters.

At Supercomputing, please join us at ACS Booth 2295 to ask about the Linux and Mac implementations of Pooch, and, at 11 am on Wednesday, we are presenting at the Exhibitor Forum Room E143-144.

Pooch v1.8 is available today for US$175 for the first compute node then US$125 for each node thereafter. Pooch Pro v1.8 is available for US$200 for the first compute node then US$150 for each node thereafter. The software includes both Macintosh and 64-bit Linux versions of Pooch. Users may order Pooch and other software using the forms on our web site or online through the Dauger Research Store. See the web site for special academic pricing.

Pooch and Pooch Pro requires networked Macintoshes and/or Xserves running Mac OS X 10.2 or later, including Mac OS X Server, with 16 MB of available RAM and 4 MB of disk space. Pooch on 64-bit Linux is supported on Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, and more.

Profiled and honored on national television by the William Shatner-hosted “Keeping America Strong” show, Dauger Research, Inc. makes high-performance computation and visualization easy to use and accessible to users. Our award-winning team, to better accomplish our scientific goals, reinvented the cluster computer in 1998, pioneering easy-to-use, high-performance clusters. Dauger Research, Inc., is committed to bridging the divides between the scientifically and technically complex and the mainstream.

“Fall Back” Also Means it’s Time for Students to Backup their Computer Files

bitthebot — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:50:00 +0000

(PRWEB) October 23, 2009 — The familiar saying “Spring Forward- Fall Back” is the catchy reminder to set our clocks ahead one hour in the springtime and one hour back in the fall, November 1st this year. After students set their clocks back, Maggie Tolkin and Amy Motschwiller, mothers of college students, suggest that students go a step further and “back-up” the schoolwork files stored on computers. They also suggest parents remind their students to back-up as well. Maggie and Amy are the founders of StudentBackup.Com, an easy to use software program that guards against loss of computer data. However, they are strong advocates for students backing-up work as often as possible and by using whatever device or means available.

While computers automatically adjust their internal clocks to Daylight Savings Time and Standard Time, they fail to guarantee students the most important task of all, safeguarding the files that contain students’ schoolwork. Without regularly backing-up there is always the possibility that information and work could be lost forever. If a computer is backed-up automatically and on a regular, secure basis, research papers and other important assignments can be retrieved. Not only do computers crash or malfunction, they are often stolen or lost. Unfortunately many students in high school, college and graduate school suffer academic consequences when these incidents occur. Little can console them if they find themselves in this situation.

“The majority of students experience a computer failure and lose their important papers and critical work files,” according to Maggie Tolkin and Amy Motschwiller. A Cornell University study they initiated revealed that 60% of college students don’t back-up their computer files. “Since students are complacent about the importance of backing-up files, parents can be the ones to suggest backing-up files or purchasing StudentBackup.Com, especially when they are turning back the time on their own clocks and realize the first semester of college is quickly drawing to a close for their children. Our product automatically and remotely backs-up critical work files; it is a very simple way to have an insurance policy against the loss of term papers and other school assignments,” said Amy Motschwiller co-founder of Student Backup.

Student Backup was created by Maggie and Amy, the mothers of college students who did not back-up their schoolwork and suffered as a result. The software program is easy to install and inexpensive at $49 per year. The newly released 2009 Student Backup.Com, is MAC and PC compatible and offers unlimited storage space for school work files. All files are backed up using military grade encryption. For more information about this student support product, visit www.studentbackup.com.

CTOEdge.com Launched to Bring IT Managers Information, Tools and Tactical Advice on Technology Projects

bitthebot — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:47:57 +0000

Louisville, KY (PRWEB) October 27, 2009 — IT Business Edge has launched CTOEdge.com, a new website targeted to support the information needs of IT managers who evaluate, choose and implement specific technologies. The CTOEdge.com site (http://www.ctoedge.com) is being helmed by award-winning technology journalist Michael Vizard, who will oversee editorial content as well as provide his insight for readers with news and blog posts.

CTOEdge.com is the first new site to be launched by IT Business Edge outside the company’s flagship site, ITBusinessEdge.com. While that flagship site focuses on the strategic aspects of business technology, CTOEdge.com will help IT managers understand the actual technologies and how to implement them. CTOEdge.com content includes:

* Analysis of specific technology approaches

* In-depth features and blog commentary

* “How-to” content, including templates, tutorials, policies, checklists and more

* Guest opinion columns from industry leaders

* Targeted news for IT managers

* Videos

CTOEdge.com editor Vizard has two decades of technology-publishing experience, including stints as editor-in-chief at InfoWorld and CRN, and as editorial director at Ziff Davis Enterprise, where he guided the editorial strategies for eWEEK, Baseline, CIO Insight, The Channel Insider, Publish and Microsoft Watch.

Rolling out CTOEdge.com is a logical expansion for IT Business Edge, and the new CTOEdge.com site is the first of several Web properties IT Business Edge plans to launch focusing on specific topics important to its core audience of technology decision makers.

CTOEdge.com Launch Quotes:

“CTOEdge.com will cover emerging technologies to help our readers prepare for the future, as well as offering practical guidance to assist them in implementing the IT projects that are on their to-do list today.” – Michael Vizard, editor, CTOEdge.com

“If your job is defined by how well you master information technology for your company, then CTOEdge.com is going to be the site for you.” – Michael Vizard, editor, CTOEdge.com

“On the IT Business Edge site, we provide analysis, strategic insight and purchasing context for more than 650,000 business technology decision makers. CTOEdge.com will meet another important need for this audience by focusing on how they implement technologies inside their organizations.” – Phil Branon, president, IT Business Edge

“We’re very fortunate to have a technology journalist as seasoned and respected as Mike Vizard working with us on our first network site.” – Phil Branon, president, IT Business Edge

“He’s a great catch for IT Business Edge. Mike has been a thought leader in the IT industry longer than today’s college freshmen have been alive.” – Paul Gillin, noted social media marketing consultant, author and journalist

About IT Business Edge

Published by Louisville-based NarrowCast Group, LLC, IT Business Edge delivers an intelligent approach to business technology information that is focused, personalized, thorough, practical, concise and current. The site allows technology decision makers to gain up-to-the-minute analysis of evolving issues and strategies, solve problems with the help of peers and industry experts, and choose cost-effective approaches for their business IT needs. IT Business Edge combines expert opinion and research culled from more than 3,000 sources (technology publishers, vendors, analysts and associations) with a moderated professional community of business IT decision makers. To join the IT Business Edge community, visit www.itbusinessedge.com.