Microsoft Boosts PC Management with DesktopStandard Buy
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft has acquired DesktopStandard, a New England developer of software to help manage and secure PCs using Active Directory's Group Policy features. The acquisition nets Microsoft several popular products that the software giant views as complementary to its own, as well as development expertise and an installed base of about 3,000 customers. The deal does not, however, include DesktopStandard's former security business, which is being spun out on its own. READ MORE >

EC Widens Vista Probe as Microsoft Appeals Fine
by Alex Woodie

The battle between the European Commission (EC) and Microsoft continued this week as the software giant formally appealed the €280.5 million (about $357 million) fine that the EC levied in July and the EC expanded its ongoing investigation of Microsoft to determine if the soon-to-be-released Windows Vista operating system will hurt competition in the market for third-party security and handwriting recognition tools. READ MORE >

Intel Previews Quad-Core Chips, Talks Up Massively Cored RISC
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Chip maker Intel hosted its semi-annual Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco last week, and its future quad-core chips for desktops and servers were the centerpieces of the event. Intel also previewed a future 80-core RISC processor, which appears to be a variant of the i860/i960 family of RISC chips that was used in the Paragon supercomputer in the early 1990s. READ MORE >

Top 10 Requirements for High Availability
by Michael Bilancieri

Protecting systems and applications from downtime tops many IT managers' lists of "things that keep me awake at night." With new and more stringent compliance regulations, availability has become more important, yet more confusing, than ever. In this article, we'll take a shot at deciphering the array of definitions and terms used in the field, and then list the 10 most things you can do to prepare your shop for high availability. READ MORE >