IBM Mainframe

IBM has unveiled two new software products that can provide a wider range of print options for mainframe clients. They incorporate virtualisation technologies to automatically, and securely transform and transmit print-ready jobs from a server running the z/OS operating system.

These technologies are designed to deliver a new level of automation that is 'critical' to clients who want more flexibility in where they want to print to help meet business recovery or outsourcing needs. The goal, of course, it to help reduce output costs, increase productivity, and improve document security.

New ANU research is set to radically overturn the conventional wisdom that early Earth was a hellish planet barren of continents.

An international research team led by Professor Mark Harrison of the Research School of Earth Sciences analysed unique 4 to 4.35 billion-year-old minerals from outback Australia and found evidence that a fringe theory detailing the development of continents during the first 500 million years of Earth history ? the Hadean (?hellish?) Eon ? is likely to be correct.

The research, published in the latest edition of Science, follows on from results by Professor Harrison and his colleagues published earlier this year that confirmed that our planet was also likely to have had oceans during most of the Hadean.

JVC has announced a new series of camcorders that eliminate the need to carry tapes, discs or any media at all, yet they can record up to 7 hours of DVD movie-quality video. They also record more than 10.5 hours at a quality level comparable to a DVD camcorder's 30-minute mode, claims the company. The new Everio G series record to a built-in hard disk drive and are available in 20- or 30GB versions.

JVC's initial Everio G offering consists of four models. The GZ-MG20 ($700) offers a 20GB hard disk drive and the GZ-MG30 ($800) ships with a 30GB hard disk drive, providing 7 and 10.5 hours respectively. Higher-end models with a 1.33-Megapixel CCD are the 7-hour 20GB GZ-MG40 ($800) and 10.5-hour 30GB GZ-MG50 ($900). To put the storage capacity in context, it would take around 22 DVD camcorder discs (8cm/1.4GB discs) to hold 7 hours of video.

Panasonic Computer Solutions has today announced the introduction of two new ultra-thin and light semi-rugged laptop computers.

Now available for purchase, the Panasonic Toughbook T4 and Toughbook W4 models are the next generation of thin-and-light laptop computers designed to meet the needs of mobile workers. The new models both come standard with a magnesium alloy case, shock mounted hard disk drive, integrated wireless LAN, removable hard disk drive, 12.1-inch anti-glare LCD, wireless on-off switch, and docking connection.

Despite the current dominance of Unix and Linux in supercomputers, Bill Gates predicted, in a speech yesterday at the Supercomputing 2005 conference in Seattle, that relatively cheap supercomputers will become common within the next few years and will be running a version of Microsoft's cluster operating system.

"What we see as a key trend here is that we will have supercomputers of all sizes, including ones that will cost less than $10,000 and be able to sit at your desk or in a department," Gates said.

Innovative new technology from PixAlert completely prevents pornographic images being displayed and viewed on computer screens in the workplace, schools and colleges or public areas such as libraries. Using advanced high-speed image analysis software to scan images in real-time, the latest version of PixAlert Monitor blurs illegal or inappropriate images as they are rendered on screen.

By preventing inadvertent or deliberate exposure to illicit images, PixAlert Monitor is designed to protect company directors, management and employees from the risk of criminal or civil claims for sexual harassment or corporate negligence, for example.

MIT recently announced that the $100 laptops?not yet in production?will not be available for sale. The laptops will only be distributed to schools directly through large government initiatives.

The MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop?a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. To achieve this goal, a new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created. The initiative was first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in January 2005.

Details are a Linux OS, a hand crank for use during power downtimes, rubber cased, and no hard drive. It will utilize flash memory.