Six Patches Issued by Microsoft, One Held Back Again
by Alex Woodie

For the second consecutive month, Microsoft changed its mind over the weekend and elected not to release a security patch it was working on the week prior. Instead of seven patches, as the software giant last Friday alerted the world to expect, Microsoft released six patches for nine security flaws, including four critical flaws affecting various versions of Windows, Word, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and SharePoint Server. READ MORE >

VMware Previews Future Hypervisor, Creates SMB Bundles
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Server virtualization juggernaut VMware today gave a preview of its upcoming ESX Server 3.5 hypervisor and the related add-ons it plans to put on this hypervisor in its Virtual Infrastructure stack. The new hypervisor and its extensions are expected to be delivered to customers before the end of the year. In addition to talking about the new software, VMware provided pricing information for the VI stack and some details on special discounted bundles it will create for small and medium businesses. READ MORE >

Akamai Debuts Service to Speed Any IP-Based Application
by Alex Woodie

Akamai Technologies this week unveiled IP Application Accelerator, a new service designed to boost the throughput of any Internet-based application from a factor of five to 10. The network optimization company says all IP-based applications can benefit from the new service, but chatty client-server applications, such as terminal emulation, VPNs, chat, and VoIP, have the most to gain from the packet loss reduction and latency minimization that Akamai's techniques can deliver. READ MORE >

Microsoft Wants To Manage Your Health Records
by Alex Woodie

Have you ever been caught in the middle of the healthcare shuffle, being asked by one doctor to fetch records from another doctor? Or to deliver confusing paperwork to your health insurance provider? These little annoyances of the modern medical establishment are the basis behind a new Web site launched by Microsoft last week called HealthVault that aims to help consumers better manage their health information. READ MORE >