Microsoft Completes the 'Triple Launch'
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft last week celebrated the launch of Windows Vista, the 2007 Office system, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the first so-called "triple launch" undertaken by the company. Despite some technical glitches during the event, Microsoft carried out its promise to ramp up the hype to a level befitting what it considers as the most important new products in its 30-year history. How well Microsoft has timed the delivery of the oft-delayed operating system with the PC upgrade cycle, however, is a different story. READ MORE >

Dell Carves Out Energy-Efficient PowerEdge Server Line
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Hoping to capitalize on the craze for energy-efficient machinery, server maker Dell today rolled out a new line of PowerEdge Energy Smart servers, which use low-powered processors, storage, and power supplies. The machines also have a little extra engineering in them to make them use less electricity and therefore require less cooling, and the net effect is that an Energy Smart machine can deliver 25 percent better performance per watt than a regular PowerEdge box. READ MORE >

Microsoft's Business Intelligence Plan for the Masses
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft yesterday announced the first community technology preview (CTP) for Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, a new business intelligence product expected to ship in the middle of next year. Unlike other corporate performance management and planning tools that are primarily used by business intelligence "power users" and financial analysts, Microsoft envisions PerformancePoint Server 2007 being used by all workers in an organization.READ MORE >

AMD Creates Two-Socket Athlon FX Variant, Demos Quad-Core Opteron
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices last week announced part of its answer to rival Intel's launch three weeks ago of quad-core chip modules, branded the "Clovertown" Xeon 5300s for entry servers and the "Kentsfield" Core 2 Extreme for high-end PCs. AMD did not deliver a quasi-quad core chip, like Intel did, based on the AMD 64 cores, but rather did a variant of what high-end PC buyers have already been doing: building two-socket machines based on Opterons.READ MORE >