NEC Launches M100 Storage System for Windows, Linux and VMware

 NEC Corporation of America (NEC), a leading provider and integrator of advanced communication and IT solutions, today launched the next generation of storage architecture, the M100 storage area networking (SAN) system. The M100 provides highly available and easily scalable storage that does not compromise performance or flexibility. M100 features complete array management suite for businesses of all sizes that includes snapshots, replication, performance management, multi-pathing, failover, compliance, energy conservation, and more.

 writes Mark Peters, senior analyst, ESG, in the company's recent product brief, "NEC M100: A Flexible, Scalable Data Storage System for Virtualized Environments."

In virtualized and clustered environments, the M100 has the ability to support LUN locking in a durable manner when multiple servers are accessing data, which eliminates access collisions, compromised data and sub-optimal performance. The M100 also provides highly available and easily scalable storage that does not compromise performance or flexibility while allowing faster access to data compared with the previous generation NEC D3/D3i storage solutions, all with great integrity and reliability.

The M100 is designed to address critical storage challenges including:

-- Rapid data volume growth

-- Energy-saving power and cooling efficiencies

-- Continuous accessibility

-- Scalable and efficient capacity management and data migration

-- Multiple layered virtualization across storage systems and storage management processes and tools

"ESG's product brief confirms that with the M100, NEC is delivering innovative scalability and adaptability efficiently for demanding virtualized environments," said Mike Mitsch, vice president, IT Platform Products, NEC. "The M-Series introduction marks another example of how NEC is looking ahead to provide ubiquitous access to data as more business critical information is stored in virtualized environments."

The M100 harnesses the powering of Intel(R) Xeon(R) processors, which includes integrated PCI Express 2.0 ports, non-transparent bridging, RAID 5 and 6 and connects to the Intel 3420 chipset. In addition, the M100 supports both Fibre Channel and iSCSI storage protocols for added flexibility.

IBM to buy software provider platform computing

 IBM agreed to buy software company Platform Computing, helping the technology heavyweight to accelerate its growth into technical and high-performance computing.

Platform Computing provides cluster and grid management software, which aids clients managing shared computing environments and in data organization and analysis. Platform's applications are used in product development, finance, science and manufacturing, among other disciplines. The company, based in Toronto, serves more than 2,000 clients.

The acquisition is expected to close by year's end and financial terms weren't disclosed.

"IBM considers the acquisition of Platform Computing to be a strategic element for the transformation of [high performance computing] into the high growth segment of technical computing and an important part of our smarter computing strategy," said Helene Armitage, general manager of IBM Systems Software.

In addition to strength in its hardware business, IBM recently has benefited from its investments in emerging markets and growing technology sectors such as business analytics and cloud computing.

APPLE IPAD may help visually impaired children

A University study on iPads has shown a promising lead in the treatment of children living with cortical visual impairment, a disorder that severely affects the interpretation of visual information.

Researchers at KU’s Life Span Institute have recorded high responsiveness in children living with CVI when using the Apple iPad.

Muriel Saunders, an assistant research professor at the Life Span Institute, said in a press release that the researchers tested 15 children and were shocked by the results.

“Every single child was enthralled with the iPad. Children that typically didn’t look at people, didn’t respond with objects or responded in a very repetitious fashion, were absolutely glued to the iPad. It was an amazing experience,” she said.

Toshiba AT200 super-thin Android tablet specs

 This tablet is the next-generation device after the Toshiba Thrive, a thicker Android tablet.
This tablet is a miraculous 7.7mm thin, making it the thinnest tablet in the world if it’s released before anyone else gets there.Wi-fi and Bluetooth capabilities in-tact.
This device also features the same 1.2GHz dual-core processor from Texas Instruments that the other two tablets mentioned do and will, imagine that! This tablet will run Android 3.2 Honeycomb right out of the box, and will have 64GB of storage right off the bat.

Half of the IPads Sold in China Are From the Gray Market

 Apple's iPad reigns as the top-selling tablet in China, half of the sales for the iconic device have come from unauthorized resellers, according to a Beijing-based research firm.

In the second quarter, 1.07 million iPads including both first and second generation were sold in China, according to Analysys International. But 49 percent of those devices were sold through China's gray market, where products are bought from overseas and then resold by local vendors.

The high number of gray-market iPad sales is partly driven by consumers wanting to buy the 3G version of the device, said Sun Peilin, an analyst with the research firm. In China, Apple only officially began selling the 3G versions starting in September, six months after they had already gone on sale in the U.S.

Chinese consumers have often had to wait months at a time, before the newest Apple products are officially launched in the country. While Apple's iPhone 4S goes on sale in the U.S. this week, the company has yet to say when it will hit stores in China.

China's gray market has taken advantage of the delay in launch dates, usually by charging higher prices to consumers wanting to be the first to buy the product. In the past, Apple products have also proven to be so popular that official sellers will run out of stock, giving gray market vendors another opportunity to cash in, Sun said.

Another factor helping the gray market is how Apple products are cheaper to buy in the U.S., than in China. In the U.S., a 3G version of an iPad 2 with 64GB storage will cost $829. But in China, the price for the same device is at 6,288 yuan or $990.

Apple has previously said the difference in prices for certain markets is due to currency valuation and government taxes.

Even as Apple has finally launched its 3G version of the iPad in China, gray market sales for the devices will continue to be high, Sun said. "The gray market still has many advantages that will attract customers," he added

TECHNOLOGY companies bring hope for economic growth in New York

• Days after last month's $4.8 billion mega-deal between the state and IBM Corp, Intel and other high-tech firms, a technology center in Canandaigua, Ontario County, started receiving inquiries from companies interested in locating there.
• And only days before the announcement, companies from the Hudson Valley toured the GlobalFoundries plant in Saratoga County in hopes of building partnerships with the new $4.6 billion microchip factory.
• The activity signals how New York has become a leader in research and development of nanotechnology and could provide the backbone for growth in the stagnant upstate economy.
• It comes at a needed time. Consumer confidence has fallen in the state, a Siena College survey found this month. In August, the state's unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, down from 8.3 percent a year ago. The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent last month.
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo's announcement with IBM and Intel said 2,500 new jobs would be created across the Hudson Valley and west along the Thruway in Utica and Canandaigua.
• What has created optimism among business groups is that the nanotechnology research, which aims to develop faster and cheaper semiconductor chips for computers and other devices, may also spur the manufacturing of the chips in New York.
• That's what has happened with the research at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Albany. It helped lead to the GlobalFoundries plant, which will employ about 1,400 workers and was aided by about $1 billion in state aid and tax breaks.
• IBM, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung announced Sept. 27 a five-year agreement for computer-chip research in New York that will create or retain about 6,900 jobs. The 2,500 new jobs are expected to include 950 at IBM's laboratory in Yorktown Heights in Westchester County and the chip plant in East Fishkill.

Ultra take centre stage at Gitex

Intel Corporation is leading the industry to re-invent personal computing with the introduction of a new breed of no-comprise computers, Ultrabooks. Ultra thin, ultra stylish and ultra responsive, these are the devices of the future.

Designed to deliver the most complete and satisfying computing experience, Ultrabooks combine best-in-class performance, improved responsiveness and security in thin, elegant, must-have mobile designs. 

Predicted by Intel to become the PC market norm by 2013, Intel is focused on investing significant money and resources to create and accelerate the Ultrabook category ensuring consumers enjoy the benefits of no-comprise personal computing. This includes a $300m Ultrabook Fund from Intel Capital that invests in companies around the world that are innovating in hardware, software, battery technology and design. 

Commenting on the introduction of the Ultrabook category to the Middle East market, Nassir Nauthoa, General Manager,Intel Corporation stated, "Intel aims to reinvent mobile computing once again with the introduction of Ultrabook devices that provide the most complete and satisfying computing experience in one device at affordable price points. The Ultrabook is an emerging breed of no-compromise computers that will increasingly combine best-in-class performance, improved responsiveness and security in thin, elegant, must-have mobile designs. "There are some fantastic Ultrabook products on display at Gitex Shopper from different vendors including Acer, Asus and Lenovo."