ITNews

IBM upgraded the z9 mainframe to the 50% faster z10. The refrigerator size box selling price starts at $1 million.

(From IBM)

What do you get for a cool million? IBM says the z10 machines have the computing power of 1,500 standard business server computers, but are smaller and 85 percent more energy-efficient than such a server cluster.

IBM has been doing multiprocessor systems for ever. The z10 uses quad-core processors. A fully loaded z10 has 64 processors.

The z10 isn’t just for the “legacy” crowd. It also runs Linux.

This grey beard recalls when a cool million for a mainframe was chump change, size of a truck, and required another truck full of refrigeration gear.

…John

Don’t want to continue on the Microsoft trek? Maybe dumping Windows is your ticket.

(From: InfoWorld)

The InfoWorld posting Time to dump Windows? says

Can it be done? Is it the right time? Find out what it’ll take to finally switch to desktop Mac OS X or Linux

The Mac OS X option
Of the plausible alternatives to Windows, Apple’s Mac OS X has the largest market share and history. InfoWorld chief technologist Tom Yager has written that the latest version of the Mac OS, Leopard (10.5), is simply the best operating system available.

The PC Mag posting Apple OS X 10.5.2 (Leopard) says

After three months with Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard Version 10.5, I have three main things to say about it. First: Despite minor problems, it’s by far the best operating system ever written for the vast majority of consumers, with dozens of new features that have real practical value—like truly automated backups, document and spreadsheet preview images in folders, and notes and to-do lists integrated into the mail program. Propeller-heads with IT know-how will no doubt hold up Linux as the better choice, and Vista has its devotees as well (and will probably have more when SP1 is widely available), but, for the average user, Leopard is the most polished and easiest to use OS I’ve tested. Second: Leopard started out with a generous share of first-version glitches, but almost all of them have now been resolved by the second of two automated updates, which brings Leopard up to version 10.5.2. Finally, Leopard is extravagantly overdressed for the jobs that it’s designed to do, and its pervasive eye-candy starts out looking dazzling but soon becomes distracting. Fortunately, from the beginning, the OS started out with options that let you put it on a low-eye-sugar diet, and the latest update has even more.

I’ll second that. My only regret about switching to a Mac is I didn’t do it sooner.

The Linux option
The more technically inclined may be attracted to Linux, the most popular form of desktop Unix. Linux desktops typically are challenged by limited hardware compatibility (due to lack of drivers), limited application options, and user interfaces that require active participation to get work done, which tends to keep Linux away from the general user population. But those who work with a Linux server all day may find that using it on the desktop as well actually makes their lives easier.

InfoWorld Enterprise Desktop blogger Randall Kennedy argues that desktop Linux is doomed to remain a tiny niche OS, given the Linux community’s lack of interest in providing a UI that regular people could use.

Before switching to a Mac, I gave Linux desktop a shoot. I like may attributes of Linux. Unfortunately, I agree with Randall Kennedy view about the desktop.

I regularly connect to local and remote Windows server and workstations using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client running on my Mac. Thanks Microsoft.

…John

Who says Linux isn’t secure, except Microsoft. The Network World posting Red Hat Linux gets top government security rating describes IBM achieving EAL4 Augmented with ALC_FLR.3 certification for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, putting it on a par with Sun’s Trusted Solaris operating system.

… the certification is “big news for the Linux industry” because it shows that open-source software can be used for sensitive computing tasks. “If anyone had any doubts that you could do this with an open-source operating system, we’ve proved them wrong.”

…John

No, not your fathers KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse) but Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine.

Industry players such as Novell and IBM say they’re watching to see how well KVM fares. But Brian Stevens, the chief technology officer of dominant Linux seller Red Hat, believes KVM is viable.

“There’s a year of work, I’d guess, to really make it at parity to where Xen is today…But I think it’s going to happen,” Stevens said. “The (open-source programming) community is really going to gravitate (to KVM) much more so than (to) Xen.”

Read more about it in the ZDNet posting KVM steals virtualization spotlight.

…John

Two industry behemoths, Oracle and Sun, are attacking Red Hat where it hurts. Oracle is charging half the Red Hat price for Linux support, and Sun is charging half the Red Hat price for supporting open source Solaris.

Read all about it in the TechWorld posting Red Hat is under siege.

…John