Novell halts Hula collaboration server project ... No more replies from Google Answers

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Novell pulls plug on Hula collaboration server project
News: EMC looks to get Asian operations back on track
News: U.S. and Russia strike deal to close AllofMP3.com site
News: HP Labs offers server cooling advances
Tip: Why complete and correct backups are even more important
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Japanese job referral company provides robot temp


NEWS UPDATES

Novell pulls plug on Hula collaboration server project
The future of Hula, the open-source collaboration server project initiated by Novell Inc., is in jeopardy since Novell pulled staff and funding from the project, according to a Hula newsgroup posting.

EMC looks to get Asian operations back on track
After several quarters of lackluster financial performance in Asia, EMC Corp. executives are looking to get the company's operations back on track.

U.S. and Russia strike deal to close AllofMP3.com site
Russia has agreed to U.S. demands to close the popular music website Allofmp3.com. The U.S. wants the site closed to fight music piracy, and Russia has agreed to improve its chance of gaining membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

HP Labs offers server cooling advances
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HP Labs research center has developed a new approach to cooling data centers by adjusting air conditioning systems to changing server loads more precisely than what's available now.

No more replies from Google Answers
Google Inc. is pulling the plug on Google Answers, a service that allows people to submit questions over the Internet that researchers answer for a fee.

BitTorrent makes deals with major studios
BitTorrent Inc. on Wednesday announced deals with several major movie studios and content producers, as the streaming software company moves towards legitimacy instead of being a tool for piracy.

Apple patches AirPort wireless bug
Apple Computer Inc. has fixed a number of flaws in the software that ships with its personal computers, including a bug in its AirPort wireless drivers that was disclosed earlier this month.

3Com to take ownership of Huawei joint venture
3Com Corp. has agreed to buy out Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd's stake in a joint venture the two companies founded in 2003 to build networking equipment for enterprises.


TIP

Why complete and correct backups are even more important
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

If you haven't lost the flexibility of occasionally missing a backup, you may soon. Missing a backup or deciding to bring an online system back up instead of rerunning a failed backup job are no longer options as compliance requirements and the changes in overall corporate governance intensify. That increases the burden on you to get backups done correctly and completely all of the time. Here's why.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Intel's Centrino to get pre-standard 802.11n ... Zune no threat to iPod ... Nokia sees uptick in emerging market sales


ITWHIRLED

Japanese job referral company provides robot temp
Anyone who's ever taken an easy temp gig between permanent jobs, beware: A Japanese staffing company is beginning to offer its clients access to a robot that can greet people, show DVDs, and hand out balloons. "There are jobs that robots are better at," a company spokeswoman said ominously. Don't worry too much, though: Ubiko costs $445 an hour.