Review: MiniFrame SoftXpand Business

Businesses looking to save money on IT deployments and significantly reduce their carbon footprint should investigate MiniFrame's SoftXpand Business system.

SoftXpand installs onto a desktop PC system, to which six monitors, six mice and six keyboards are attached. Six users can then log on simultaneously and use what feels like a traditional desktop PC.

The theory behind this configuration is that a traditional desktop PC has underused processing power, which could easily be used to service six user accounts running under one operating system.

Had the system been linked through an RJ45 cable, using layer-3 switching would make the systems essentially separate, with each user being unaware that five others are sharing the same system. However, the USB cabling and graphics card connections mean that user systems will essentially be located closer to each other, probably in visual contact.

The benefits would be that firms deploying the package would need only one system and a fully configured backup system in the unlikely event of a failure. Application management and other associated system management costs would similarly be reduced, since initial setup would be a once-only exercise. Patching and system administration would be limited to the one desktop system.

The peripherals are standard, and the desktop PC is to all intents and purposes standard, albeit with subtle modifications to improve performance and reliability. For instance the power supply used in the system is a more reliable and energy efficient model.learn more>>

Yahoo names Carol Bartz as chief executive

Confirming earlier reports, Yahoo has officially appointed Carol Bartz as chief executive.

Bartz had been serving as chief executive and chairman of Autodesk, a software firm specialising in computer-aided design, which she joined from Sun Microsystems in 1992. Bartz also sits on the board of directors at Intel, Cisco and NetApp.

"There is no denying that Yahoo has faced enormous challenges over the last year, but I believe there is now an extraordinary opportunity to create value for our shareholders and new possibilities for our customers, partners and employees," Bartz said in a statement.

The appointment closes the troubled tenure of Yahoo co-founder and former chief executive Jerry Yang.

Netbook sales driving Linux adoption

The burgeoning netbook market is helping to drive Linux adoption around the world, according to new figures from Forrester Research.

The analyst firm's Netbooks are the Third PC Form Factor report suggests that netbooks have driven adoption of the open source operating system in ways that have not been achieved with either the PC or notebook markets.

"While Linux-based netbooks have not gained much consumer acceptance in the US, their success varies greatly by geographical market. In developing countries, Linux-based Eee PCs have fared better," said Forrester analyst J P Gownder.

"Even if a majority of netbooks run Windows, the minority that run Linux are the most successful non-Windows, non-Macintosh consumer PCs in the industry in terms of penetration."

Nokia reveals UK release date for 5800 Tube

Nokia has announced that its upcoming touchscreen phone, the 5800 or Tube, will be available to customers in the UK from 23 January.

The new phone, touted to go head to head with Apple's iPhone, was originally announced in August and was expected to be released on 2 October.

Like the iPhone, the Nokia 5800 offers a 3.2in 640 x 360 touchscreen interface designed to be used with a fingertip, stylus or plectrum. The Tube also includes tactile feedback to help users confirm button and key clicks.

Nokia said that the device will feature a dedicated media bar, giving easy access to music, maps, Ovi share and other multimedia applications. It also has surround sound built-in speakers and promises 35 hours of music playback.more>>

Macworld: Apple iTunes tracks go DRM-free

Apple has used its last appearance at Macworld to announce a revamp of the iTunes music store, making almost its entire catalogue free of digital rights management (DRM) protection, and allowing iPhone users to download songs over a 3G connection.

The company said that iTunes users will now be able to download songs from Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, along with thousands of independent labels, in the 256Kbps iTunes Plus AAC format free from DRM.

Many have praised the move, but at least one company has declared itself unimpressed. "Downloads from iTunes are still in the AAC file format regardless of whether they are DRM-free," said Ben Drury, chief executive at music download site 7digital.

7 Best Free/Open-source Backup Software for Linux

"Clonezilla
"Clonezilla is an open source clone of Symantec Ghost Corporate Edition. It is based on DRBL, Partition Image, ntfsclone, partclone, and udpcast that will allow you to do bare metal backup and recovery. Two types of Clonezilla are available, Clonezilla live and Clonezilla SE (server edition). Clonezilla live is suitable for single machine backup and restore. While Clonezilla SE is for massive deployment, it can clone many computers simultaneously.

"Duplicity
"Duplicity backs directories by producing encrypted tar-format volumes and uploading them to a remote or local file server. Because duplicity uses librsync, the incremental archives are space efficient and only record the parts of files that have changed since the last backup. Because duplicity uses GnuPG to encrypt and/or sign these archives, they will be safe from spying and/or modification by the server."

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Apple users gain more Skype functionality

Apple Mac users will be able to enhance their Skype functionality from Wednesday with pay-per-minute Wi-Fi access and screen-sharing capabilities, according to new reports appearing ahead of the annual Macworld conference.

Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac OS X, which is set to launch tomorrow, will provide Apple users with breakthrough Skype functionality Windows users do not even have access to yet.

According to reports the pay-per-minute Wi-Fi access will be provided through hotspot provider Boingo but user fees will be deducted from the credit the user has uploaded to their Skype account, rather than asking the user to pay a monthly Boingo fee.

A screen-sharing feature will also allow users to share portions of their screen with their contacts.

In related news, mobile voice calling service Truphone has this week announced its application will carry new support for Apple Skype users, which will allow them to import their Skype contacts into the Truphone application, used on the iPhone and iPod touch, and chat with them from the Truphone interface.more>>

Motorola launches eco-friendly mobile phone

Motorola has unveiled a new eco-friendly mobile phone, which it claims is carbon neutral and made out of recycled materials.

The Moto W233 Renew is manufactured using plastic from recycled water bottles.Additionally, an alliance with the non-profit Carbonfund.org will ensure that the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone is offset through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. Current Carbonfund.org technology partners include Virgin and Dell.

"From the product's design to the packaging and our partnership with Carbonfund.org, we wanted to ensure that this device makes the right impact with consumers and the environment," said Jeremy Dale, global marketing vice president at Motorola Mobile.

Motorola said that all the packaging used to deliver the mobile, and all the materials inside, will have been recycled. A postage-paid envelope will allow users to return their old mobile phone for recycling at no cost.