Seagate Enters The SSD Arena With New "Pulsar" Drives

Seagate has officially entered the SSD market with the announcement of their new enterprise class Pulsar solid state drives (SSD).

Seagate today introduced the Seagate Pulsar drive, the first product in its new enterprise solid state drive (SSD) family. Designed for enterprise blade and general server applications, the Pulsar drive uses single-level cell (SLC) technology, delivers up to 200GB capacity, and is built in a 2.5-inch small form factor with a SATA interface. The Pulsar drive leverages Seagate’s 30 years of leadership in meeting large enterprise customer needs in product development, qualification, and support.


“Seagate is optimistic about the enterprise SSD opportunity and views the product category as enabling expansion of the overall storage market for both SSDs and HDDs,” said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president, Sales, Marketing, and Product Line Management. “Our strategy is to provide our customers with the exact storage device they need for any application, regardless of the component technology used. We are delivering on that strategy with the Pulsar™ drive, and you can expect additional products in the future from Seagate using a variety of solid state and rotating media components.”

The Pulsar SSD delivers the necessary performance, reliability, and endurance to match the application environments of enterprise blade and general servers. It achieves a peak performance of up to 30,000 read IOPS and 25,000 write IOPS, 240MB/s sequential read and 200 MB/s sequential write. Its SLC-based design optimizes reliability and endurance and helps provide a .44% AFR rating with a 5-year limited warranty. As an additional safeguard, the Pulsar drive leverages Seagate’s enterprise storage expertise to protect against data loss in the event of power failure.


Seagate began shipping Pulsar units to select OEMs for revenue in September 2009. With Seagate’s enterprise knowledge and expertise, OEMs have peace of mind knowing that Seagate has the global enterprise systems, people and processes in place to support their largest requirements.

“To deliver and serve the enterprise SSD marketplace effectively, it is critical for suppliers to understand the needs of their storage system customers with respect to design, manufacturing, supply chain delivery, and support,” said Dave Reinsel, IDC group vice president. “With its well-established OEM and eco-system relationships and a long history of serving global storage OEMs, Seagate is in a unique position to fortify its leading enterprise storage position with its entry into the enterprise solid state storage market.”

As the worldwide market leader in enterprise storage and the first enterprise HDD vendor to deliver an enterprise-class SSD solution, Seagate brings credibility, experience and leadership to this new market segment.

“The enterprise SSD market is now primed and well-positioned for growth from both a revenue and unit perspective, with Gartner estimating unit growth to double and sales to reach $1 billion for calendar year 2010,” said Joseph Unsworth, research director at Gartner. “Superior enterprise SSDs provide transformational capabilities when optimized in storage and server environments.”

The Seagate Pulsar SSD is available to OEM customers for qualification. More information can be found at http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/servers/pulsar/pulsar/

Source: Seagate

Two New Tools From Google Help Speed Up Your Web And Your Website

Google this week introduced two new tools meant to help speed up not only your browsing experience but the browsing experience of visitors to your blogs and websites.

Google Public DNS

Google has launched their own public DNS resolver called Google Public DNS. The goal of Google's new DNS service is to make users' web-surfing experiences faster, safer and more reliable.

Google explains: The average Internet user ends up performing hundreds of DNS lookups each day, and some complex pages require multiple DNS lookups before they start loading. This can slow down the browsing experience. Our research has shown that speed matters to Internet users, so over the past several months our engineers have been working to make improvements to our public DNS resolver to make users' web-surfing experiences faster, safer and more reliable. You can read about the specific technical improvements we've made in our product documentation and get installation instructions from our product website.

Google Site Performance

With Google's new Site Performance tool webmasters will see real time how fast their pages load, how they've fared over time, how their site's load times compare to that of other sites, examples of specific pages and their actual page load times, and page speed suggestions that can help reduce user-perceived latency.

The data given is derived from aggregated information sent by users of your site who have installed the Google Toolbar and opted-in to its enhanced features. The tool will only show the performance charts and tables when there's enough data, so not all of them may be shown if your site has little traffic. The data currently represents a global average; a specific user may experience your site faster or slower than the average depending on their location and network conditions.

To get the new tools, install the Firebug add-on and head to the Site Performance section of Google Webmaster Tools. At the bottom of the page you’ll see a button to install the new Firefox plugin. Once installed, head to your site, click the Firebug icon and look for two new tabs: Page Speed and Page Speed Activity.

New Light Weight Chrome OS Available

A UK student and programmer known as Hexxeh has developed a new slimmed down version of Google's Chrome OS. This new 300MB version only requires a 1GB drive compared to most other version floating around the web which typically require 4GBs or more.

Hexxeh's Web site offers instructions on how to install the lighter Chromium build on Windows, Mac and Linux machines. You can also find detailed instructions over at Make Use Of.

Walmart To Offer $50 Walmart Gift Card With Wii Purchase

In an attempt at getting more gamers through the door Walmart and many more of the nation's largest retailers are using deals to lure customer to their stores.

Reuters reports that beginning December 5th Walmart will be offering a $50 Walmart Gift Card with the purchase of the Nintendo Wii for $199. Walmart has also cut prices on several popular video games by as much $10 each.

Now through December 24, Walmart will sell "Rock Band: Beatles" for the Wii for $40, down from $50, and it will offer "Left 4 Dead 2" for Microsoft's Xbox 360 for $50, compared with its previous price of $60.

Nintendo reported that they sold more than 550,000 Wii consoles during the week of Thanksgiving, so far topping the console sales charts. The down side being sales dropped some 30 percent from the estimated 800,000 or so the company sold during the same period in 2008. Trends suggest more consumers are buying frugally this holiday season and are so far are shunning the big ticket items.

New Avast Update Causes False Reports

Update: Avast - confirmed Win32:Delf-MZG [Trj] was a false positive the newest update should fix the issue. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to restore the files from the Virus Chest:

Avast latest update has apparently caused a stir as users are flooding forums wondering if they have been hit with a new infection.

Malware name: Win32:Delf-MZG [Trj]
Malware type: Trojan Horse
VPS version: 091203-0, 12/03/2009

Avast sent out a new update this afternoon that has been causing grief amongst the online community. The new update has begun reporting a new trojan dubbed Win32:Delf-MZG. According to users on the DSL Reports forums the apparent false positive shows up on almost any application.

Doing a quick Google search shows user have been posting similar issues across several other sites including the Avast forums (post 1 - post 2).

There has been no official word from Avast as of yet confirming that this is indeed a false positive however given the reach and the volume of applications reportedly infected it looks like that is indeed the case.

For now you may want to check your system with an online scanner such as Panda Active Scan or Trend Micro's house call. Once you have confirmed that your system isn't infected then you can exclude the files from scanning and submit the file as a false positive so Avast will have a sample to work with. Send the sample to virus@avast.com zipped and password protected with the password in email body, a link to this topic might help and false positive in the subject.

Update: It looks like the Avast forums are being flooded with hits right now. The site hasn't been reachable for the last 30-40 mins. Avast is on Twitter @Avast_AntiVirus, there still has been no official word confirming or denying this is a false positive. For now I'd suggest rolling back to the previous VPS version or not updating if you haven't already.

Skype expands Skype for SIP beta program - About Skype

Businesses can now use SIP-based PBX & Unified Communications systems to make voice calls via Skype

Skype is opening up the Skype for SIP beta program to allow businesses of all sizes to utilize Skype for SIP with their existing SIP-based PBX or Unified Communications (UC) systems. By using Skype for SIP, companies can save money on calls around the world, while also changing how customers globally reach them.

A company's IT administrator just creates and registers a Skype Business Control Panel (BCP) for the organization and then follows the instructions to configure Skype for SIP to work with its existing SIP-enabled communications system. This Web-based tool allows a company to control its Skype usage from a single point and enables centralized billing, easy allocation of Skype Credit, subscriptions and online numbers to users, as well as reporting about both usage and spending. Furthermore, it gives companies the ability to manage internal employee accounts, including who uses Skype and who doesn't and what features they can use.

"We have received applications from nearly ten thousand businesses and service providers around the world about using Skype for SIP to seamlessly connect their existing communications systems with Skype," said Stefan Oberg, VP and General Manager of Skype for Business. "Now that we are opening up the beta program, the companies on the waiting list and any new applicants can set up Skype for SIP and experience how it can help them save money on outgoing calls, as well as accept free incoming Skype calls from the more than 520 million registered Skype users around the world."

One company that has started testing Skype for SIP is Maxim Integrated Products, a Fortune 1000 company that designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance semiconductor products used in the industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets.

To date, Maxim has deployed Skype's desktop software to more than 2,000 employees in 70 locations around the world, a move that supplemented its existing PBX systems and has already saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars on long distance calling. This enabled Maxim to avoid a costly multi-million dollar upgrade of its aging legacy PBX systems. Maxim has now rolled out a trial of Skype for SIP using a ShoreTel PBX in its Dallas office, which is configured to use 22 concurrent channels for domestic calling.

"Our Skype deployment has already turned Maxim into more of a real-time organization where we get our work done better, faster and cheaper," said Walter Curd, CIO of Maxim Integrated Products. "With Skype for SIP, our ShoreTel PBX will now enable calls from desktop phones to go out via Skype. This will allow us to capture more calling traffic via Skype and save even more money, while making it invisible to our employees."

Key Features

Skype for SIP beta enables businesses with interoperable PBXs to:

• Place calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide from any device connected to a SIP-enabled PBX or UC systems via Skype;
• Receive and manage inbound calls from Skype users worldwide on SIP-enabled PBXs by either connecting the company Web site to the PBX via Skype click-to-call buttons or purchasing online Skype numbers; and
• Manage Skype calls using existing PBX or UC system features, such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail; no additional downloads or training required.

"Businesses are looking for ways to better organize their communications across mobile devices and their PBX, while also saving money," said Rebecca Swensen, analyst at IDC covering IP Communications Services. "SIP interoperability is the key to delivering this type of service; vendors looking to stay competitive in the business market need to offer it as a fundamental component of their communications platform."

Pricing and Availability

Companies using Skype for SIP must purchase a monthly channel subscription from Skype based on the number of concurrent calls being made or received. Each channel allows for one inbound or one outbound call at any given time. Incoming Skype calls to the SIP-enabled PBX or UC system are free of charge to the Skype user. Calls to landlines and mobiles made using Skype for SIP are billed at Skype's standard per-minute calling rates (a connection fee may apply).

As part of the Skype for SIP open beta program, Skype has created a low introductory price for the monthly channel subscription of just €4.95 / $6.95 per channel.

For more information or to sign up for the Skype for SIP beta, visit www.skypeforsip.com.

Source: Skype

Acer Plans To Be The First To Launch Chrome OS Netbook In 2010

Digitimes today reported that Acer plans to launch a Chrome OS based netbook in 2H10.According to the report Acer chairman JT Wang expressed confidence that Acer will be the first vendor to officially launch Chrome-based netbook to the end user market.

Acer has been well known to be an early adopter as they were first first-tier vendor to launch a Google Android-based netbook in the market.

Acer might have some competition in being the first company to launch a Chrome OS based unit as a group of Dell employees have already created a build that is compatible with the Dell Mini 10. Dell hasn't officially said they are working on build however it is reasonable to assume that given enough support they would be interested in taking up the project.

Google's Chromium OS source code was released to the public late late month with Google pormising that new devices would be ready by this time next year.

Ticktetmaster.com Finally Adds Interactive Seating Map

One of the biggest gripes of buying tickets online via Ticketmaster was the lack of seating selections. Generally you were limited to sorting tickets via price or level and then you were given the option to buy what the system chose as the best available. Often times even those these seats were a row lower, or a section over from other available they weren't the "best" option out there.

Gone are the days of that hassle! Recently the ticket giant introduced an interactive seating map. The new map is full of great features that will help you look through all the available seating so you can find the perfect seat for your next concert or sporting events.

click to enlarge

This useful interactive guide will show you exactly how it all works, but the key benefits are that it allows you to view available seats in each section row by row seat by seat. No longer do you have to guess as to how far away from the aisle you are, or wonder if there are seats one row back closer to the middle of the Arena.

click to enlarge

The seating map is still listed as being in beta so its not going to be available for all events but it was available for several of the sporting events I browsed. Ticketmaster hasn't officially announced the new feature, in fact it looks like it just went live today. So don't be surprised if your event doesn't have an interactive map. I'll try to get more details on future roll outs ASAP.

My thoughts

I'll definitely give Ticketmaster kudos for this one. I've complained for years about the poor seat selection process through their website. I can't wait to see if they do a full rollout on this and expand it to include all their events and venues. Now if we could just get them to drop some of their processing fees I'd be a full on supported!

New Ransomware Blocks Internet Access, Demands Money

Ransomware is nothing new, we've all seen Windows trojans resorting to a little blackmail, and locking up a users PC waiting for them to spend money on fake anti-virus that turns out to be more malicious than the original infect. Today however has to be the first I've ever heard of a piece of Ransomware that blocks a users internet access flat out demanding a ransom before it will return control.

Computer Associates' Internet Security Business Unit, first discovered the new trojan bundled with software named uFast Download Manager. Once downloaded the software was installed along side the uFast download manager without informing the user. The trojan then goes to work blocking internet access until the user enters an activation code. This activation code is obtained by sending an SMS containing a particular number to an expensive premium rate phone number – CA does not mention the sum involved.

The malware, dubbed 'Win32/RansomSMS.AH', appears to be Russian in nature, as it uses a Russian language GUI. The ransom page translates to state:

Internet access is blocked due to violation of the
license agreement schedules of uFast Download Manager
You must activate your copy

Get a registration code by sending an SMS with the following
code fw0004199 to number ****

In response you will receive an activation message.

Enter the activation message received from the SMS response ________

CA withheld the details of the amount involved in sending the SMS to the premium rate phone service however past ransomware programs demanded upwards of $50-60 for removal. This time around CA ISBU found a way to circumvent the activation scheme and created an activation code generator for this particular ransomware. As of yet there has been no word on actual removal tools. It is suggested that you keep your AV, anti-malware and anti-spyware update to possibly stave off infection.

Source: CA Security Advisor Research Blog

AT&T Offers Voicemail To Text Service

AT&T has finally stepped up and has begun offering a new voicemail to text service, the cost? A whopping $10/mo!! Yes I said $10/mo!

AT&T's Voicemail to Text lets you:

• Receive your voicemail messages as text messages, emails, or both
• Respond how you want – call back, send a text, or reply by email
• Forward your voicemail messages to others by text message or email
• Save your messages in your phone or on your computer for as long as you want

In addition, the service lets you archive the messages forever, instead of deleting them in 21 or 30 days. You can also read or listen to them in any order whenever you want.

I applaud AT&T for stepping up and finally offering the service, but $10/mo come one. I've been testing Google Voice and Ribbit Mobile and both of those are currently free. I haven't tried the new service, nor do I plan to. However I've seen a few of the early reviews and most people say the transcription service isn't all that great.

For the most part most basic voicemail-to-text services aren't going to be 100% accurate, but if I'm spending an extra $10 I want a top notch service. According to Appscout's Sascha Segan the service has has "serious trouble with proper names. It never gets my wife's name right - she's Leontine, and she's become Ilene, Jane, and Nancy when processed through Nuance's system. Union Square has become Indian Square. My own name has become Natasha."

The one intriguing feature that Sascha mentioned in his review was the forwarding of a wav file along with the text transcription. The feature isn't listed on the AT&T Voicemail To Text site but that would be one feature that could be handy.

ZiiLABS Announces The New TRINITY Smart/Media Phone

Zii TRINITY Smart Phone Platforms Capable of Supporting 3.5G/4G Devices in Super High Definition Video and 3D Graphics

ZiLABS, a cutting-edge media processor and platforms company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd., today announced Zii TRINITY, a complete 3.5G/4G Smart Phone and development platform supporting the Optimized Android and native Linux-based Plaszma operating systems. The Zii TRINITY delivers superior High Definition 1080p video output and accelerated 3D graphics to enable OEMs and ODMs to quickly and cost effectively bring differentiated Android and Plaszma based solutions to market.


Superior multi-format media processing is enabled by ZiiLABS' StemCell Computing array which lies at the heart of ZiiLABS' ZMS-05 and ZMS-08 media-rich applications processors, offloading the ARM® CPU to deliver the low-power, high performance media-rich processing required of next-generation mobile devices. Accelerated OpenGL ES 3D graphics enable developers to create rich 3D experiences in the form of enhanced user interfaces, games and pedestrian navigation.

"The growth in Smart Phone use to incorporate multimedia features is driving the demand for manufacturers and operators to deliver differentiated products and services faster than ever before," said Hock Leow, President of ZiiLABS. "The Zii TRINITY is a proven media-rich platform that offers our partners a complete market-ready solution with the built-in flexibility for customization. We are showcasing an exciting 3.5G concept phone at the Zii Summit 2009."

Features of the Zii TRINITY 3.5G Concept Phone

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Tri-band WCDMA, HSDPA Cat 8 at 7.2mbps
• Full featured platform featuring ZMS-05 StemCell Processor
• Linux-based Zii Optimized Android and Plaszma Support
• Accelerated OpenGL ES 3D Graphics, Video and Imaging
• 3.1" 480x800 16M colour Active Matrix OLED with capacitive multi-touch
• Mini HDMI port for 1080p video output
• Xtreme Fidelity#8482 X-Fi audio technology
• 5M pixel rear facing, auto-focus camera
• VGA forward facing camera for video conferencing
• USB 2.0 Micro port for connectivity and charging
• MicroSD storage expansion and SIM card slots
• 256MB low-power DDR memory
• Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and Hardware GPS
• Composite Video output
• 1130mAH lithium polymer battery

The Zii TRINITY Platform can be supplied to potential cellphone manufacturers as a complete design package including schematics, Gerbers, mechanical drawings, Board Support Package, middleware and OS.
A Zii Development Kit '3G Phone Edition' provides a modular development platform that enables developers the flexibility to innovate around the Zii TRINITY platform to create product solutions based on their own preference of hardware components. The Zii Development Kit supports both the ZMS-05 and the recently announced ZMS-08 processors.

Future versions of the Zii Development Kit Phone Edition will be made available for 4G networks such as WiMAX or LTE.

Source: ZiiLabs