SAP buys Pilot Software ... Microsoft releases SQL Server SP2 ... Sirius, XM merge

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft releases SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2
News: SAP acquires Pilot Software
News: Viacom, Joost enter Internet TV deal
News: Sharp preps widescreen Windows Mobile PDA
Storage Tip: Putting privileged information on hold
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Behold the glory of Cheddarvision!


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft releases SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2
Microsoft Corp. released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for SQL Server 2005 on Tuesday, a free upgrade, in addition to new virtualization licensing for the database.

SAP acquires Pilot Software
In a move to strengthen its portfolio of analytic applications, SAP AG has agreed to acquire privately-held Pilot Software Inc., a maker of strategy management software based in Mountain View, California.

Viacom, Joost enter Internet TV deal
Joost, the online TV service developed by the founders of Internet telephone company Skype Ltd., has struck a licensing deal with Viacom International Inc.

Sharp preps widescreen Windows Mobile PDA
Sharp Corp. has developed a widescreen Windows Mobile-based PDA (personal digital assistant) for a new Japanese cellular carrier that will begin service next month.

AMD speeds up and cools down desktop processors
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has pumped up the performance of its Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor and cooled down two single-core Athlon 64 processors.

Phishing scam uses Google Maps to locate victims
Account holders with at least two Australian banks have become victims of a phishing scam in which malicious code reveals the physical location of affected IP addresses using Google Maps. Bank account holders in Germany and the U.S. have also been targeted.

Sirius to acquire XM in satellite radio merger
Satellite radio operators Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. announced on Monday that they plan to merge, pending a potentially difficult approval process.

Red Hat opens support and R&D center in Serbia
Red Hat Inc., in collaboration with IBM Corp., opened a support and research facility in Vrsac, Serbia, to serve customers in South Eastern Europe.

10G-bit Ethernet arrives for blades
Blade switch specialist Blade Network Technologies and 10 Gig Ethernet vendor NetXen have collaborated to deliver what they described as "the industry's first solution offering 10GE connectivity for blade servers."

Illuminator shines light on data protection
Start-up Illuminator has announced a data protection management reporting tool that embraces both snapshot and replication, as well as backup. Current DPM tools from vendors such as Wysdm and Bocada only include reporting from heterogeneous backup products.


STORAGE TIP

Putting privileged information on hold
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

As part of the process of putting data on litigation hold in anticipation of or because of an actual lawsuit against your company, you may put privileged information on hold. Privileged information is any of the following: trade secrets, financial information, or other information that has nothing to do with the lawsuit at hand and can be considered confidential to your company. Your problem is to prevent producing (i.e., delivering) privileged information to the requesting party (i.e., whoever is suing your company) or, if you do produce it, getting it back. Here's what you need to know.


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Daily IT News Audio Update
SAP buys Pilot Software ... Microsoft releases SQL Server SP2 ... Satelite radio companies merge ... AMD releases faster Athlons ... PHP developers to get new IDE

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ITWHIRLED

Behold the glory of Cheddarvision!
All the decades of work that went into the transformation of an experimental network into the Internet we know today -- the network engineering, the development of faster and better computers, the creation of an Internet that could easily accommodate streaming video -- was it all building up to this Web site, on which you watch large wheels of cheese ripen and, once a day, be turned over? Most scientists say yes.

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