Sun supercomputer takes on IBM's Blue Gene

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Sun supercomputer takes on IBM's Blue Gene
Related Reading: Sun needs AMD chips to launch new supercomputer
News: Symantec takes heat over Chinese compensation offer
News: Data breaches start at the gas station, analyst says
News: Dassault Systèmes to build on Microsoft's Virtual Earth
News: Wi-Fi Alliance starts testing draft 802.11n gear
News: Secret Service operations hit ID, credit card theft rings
News: Analysts: Vista SP1 delay won't hurt enterprises
News: Retailers asked to adopt standard to combat card theft
News: Quantum storage appliance could attract OEM partners
News: Oracle updates Demantra software one year after purchase
ITWhirled: "Paris Exposed" exposes customer data


NEWS UPDATES

News: Sun supercomputer takes on IBM's Blue Gene
Sun is aiming to wrest the world supercomputing crown from IBM's Blue Gene courtesy of a US$59 million contract from the University of Texas for its Constellation design.

Related Reading: Sun needs AMD chips to launch new supercomputer
As Sun Microsystems Inc. prepares to demonstrate a new high-performance computer Tuesday at a technology conference in Germany, it hopes that quad-core processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. that will power the computer arrive on time to deliver one of the machines to its first customer.


Symantec takes heat over Chinese compensation offer
Symantec Corp.'s attempt to make amends with Chinese users who saw their computers crippled by its antivirus software is off to a rocky start, with critics saying the company's compensation offer isn't good enough.


Data breaches start at the gas station, analyst says
Using a credit card at a gas station could pose more of a risk for data theft than shopping online, as point-of-sale terminals have emerged as a weak link in the security chain, according to a Gartner Inc. analyst.


Dassault Systèmes to build on Microsoft's Virtual Earth
Microsoft Corp. will work with 3D design and visualization software developer Dassault Systèmes SA, to add a new dimension to its Virtual Earth mapping and satellite imagery service, the companies announced Tuesday.


Wi-Fi Alliance starts testing draft 802.11n gear
The Wi-Fi Alliance on Monday launched the action phase of its plan to get faster wireless networking products into the market, kicking off certification testing of gear based on a draft version of the IEEE 802.11n standard.

Secret Service operations hit ID, credit card theft rings
The U.S. Secret Service has cracked down on an international ID theft ring that is responsible for more than US$14 million in fraud losses, the agency said Monday.

Analysts: Vista SP1 delay won't hurt enterprises
Although Microsoft Corp. may not have the first service pack for Windows Vista ready at the end of this year as some expected, financial analysts say that a delay should not have a negative effect on enterprise adoption of the OS.


Retailers asked to adopt standard to combat card theft
As governments around the world step up efforts to protect citizens from the potentially devastating effects of payment card data theft, merchants are being asked to comply with a new security standard.


Quantum storage appliance could attract OEM partners
Quantum Corp. introduced a disk storage appliance Monday that could both appeal to enterprise customers and improve its partnerships with other storage vendors.


Oracle updates Demantra software one year after purchase
Oracle Corp. has released the first major new version of its demand management software a year after acquiring the technology through the purchase of Demantra.


ITWHIRLED

"Paris Exposed" exposes customer data
A Website selling access to X-rated videos starring imprisoned heiress Paris Hilton was less than discreet with its customer data: the site accidentally allowed anyone to see a list of customers, including addresses and credit card numbers. The question: which is worse, having your credit card number used fraudulently by someone who found it this way, or having to admit that you paid to see this site?