Mistletoe SlimLine: In-line, gigabit network appliance

Mistletoe Technologies has announced the company’s newest products set, the Mistletoe SlimLine series of network appliance.

If you recall, Mistletoe Technologies were the folks who developed the industry’s first complete network and security system-on-chip (SoC) with features such as VPN, firewall, traffic management, as well as denial of service prevention (DoS) applications entirely in silicon

Flying the very friendly open-source skies on America’s newest airline

Virgin Atlantic, America’s newest air carrier and possibly the geekiest, launches Wednesday with flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) and SFO to New York (JFK) on new and uniquely equipped Airbus aircraft. JFK-LAX flights begin later this month, SFO-Washington-Dulles (IAD) next month, and SFO-Las Vegas (LAS) and LAX-IAD follow in October.

Its IT department shops for IT talent on Craigslist and builds an eclectic mix of infrastructure, with Microsoft’s Great Plains replacing what would typically be run by Oracle in an enterprise of its size, and it uses open-source software for spam filtering and network load balancing. Virgin Atlantic also distributes from-home customer service reps and outsources the development of its Aires reservation system to a software firm on the Subcontinent.

Passengers on this discounted airline enjoy time-of-day mood lighting, recline in Recarro seats, have Linux-based in-flight entertainment with video-on-demand, a unique in-flight chat program (text to a buddy or to all onboard?), order food and beverage from seatback consoles that also run open-source games (yes, even Doom), USB and Ethernet ports at every seat, and two AC power sockets per row.

Does the added e-glitz enhance your desire for low-price air fare?

Share USB 2.0 devices over your LAN

Weary of running a desktop just to keep USB devices online or of connecting them to your wireless laptop by entangling cables? Keyspan has upgraded its three-year-old USB Server design with its new USB 2.0 Server, which connects a pair of USB 2.0 ports (with half an amp of power on each port for peripherals) to a 10/100 Ethernet LAN.

Bi-directional communication allows print job, paper, and ink or toner remote monitoring of a connected printer. A hard disk could be added to serve as a basic NAS system. Connecting devices over a LAN eliminates problems caused by the standard 10 meter (33 feet) USB cable distance limits. USB audio/video equipment and USB hubs are not yet supported, but both PCs and Macs can use the server to connect to peripherals.

This joins IOgear’s multi-function USB server to a very short list of USB-LAN adapters that permit a broad variety of devices.

Is sharing USB devices important to your office?

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CompTIA: The 10 technologies having the greatest impact on IT in 2007

CompTIA: The 10 technologies having the greatest impact on IT in 2007

In a poll of 1,124 IT professionals between March 29 and May 15, CompTIA asked which technologies would have the greatest impact on IT in 2007. Here's how the respondents ranked them: Security technologies - 24.5% Wireless data applications - 13.1% Convergence solutions (VoIP and unified messaging) - 12.1% Open Source solutions -...

Vonage enjoined from using certain VoIP technologies in Verizon lawsuit

Vonage enjoined from using certain VoIP technologies in Verizon lawsuit

Vonage has issued a press release that theyve been enjoined from using certain VoIP technologies in the Verizon patent dispute in a US District court in Alexandria VA. Vonage maintains that they are not infringing on any of Verizons patents with the statement:"We remain confident that Vonage has not...

Consultants or CON-sultants; and other June polls roundup

Being a blogger at IT News Digest does have its perks. One of them obviously is the the privilege of being able to share the latest technological news and other fun stuffs with readers at TechRepublic.

Another benefit (to me at least) would be the access I have to this little tab nested in the administration back-end called “Polls”. And as the number of votes cast on some of the more interesting topics mount, so does my itch to present them.

Obviously, poll results won’t exactly be something I would base a Gartner report on. But hey, the combined opinion of TechRepublic’s IT professionals must mean something, right? So, I have dug out what I feel are the top 3 most popular and/or interesting polls for the month of June.

Multi-gigabit wireless coming within three years

According to Press Esc, a team of Georgia Tech scientists working at the institutes’s Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) expressed confidence that their research into multi-gigabit wireless technology will be able to yield commercially viable products within three years.

Multi-gigabit wireless technology uses extremely high radio frequencies to achieve very high data transmission rates. The downside is that the necessarily high frequencies results in a wireless range that tends to be relatively short. The transmission is also extremely susceptible to physical barriers. The team currently focuses on RF frequencies around the unlicensed 60 gigahertz (Ghz) range.