In a previous post, I was critical of the way Symantec was handling their beta version of Norton 360 for Windows 7. Since Windows 7 won’t be released till October (as of the last official pronouncement form Microsoft), it’s impressive that Symantec actually has a beta version that you can use while beta testing theContinue reading “Symantec Rolling 14-Day Update For Windows 7 Beta Works!”
Category Archives: Industry trends
TruCast Listens to Customers For You. You Learn, and Act
Visible Technologies, a privately held 75-person firm founded in 2003, believes the formation of communities in social media offers an opportunity for targeting better. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? There’s ample evidence that product matters in the blogosphere and the web in general – 2/3 or more of posts mention product names, and there is a rhythmContinue reading “TruCast Listens to Customers For You. You Learn, and Act”
Clearpace – Have Your Data and Archive it Too
Clearpace has a potentially lucrative question for you: how much of your data is really needed with any frequency at all? How much keeping it managed as if you needed it tomorrow cost you? What if you could take most of the 2 year old and older data out of your databases, compress it dramatically, putContinue reading “Clearpace – Have Your Data and Archive it Too”
Report Mining – Minimally Invasive BI
Every organization of any size has reports – usually too many, often largely unread, and typically a gold mine of information not available elsewhere without substantial investment of time and resources, even if the tools are available. Where existing reports are in place and in wide use – such as those accompanying packaged ERP, CRMContinue reading “Report Mining – Minimally Invasive BI”
Vista SP2: Seamless, Simple, but Search Still Lags
I’ve been talking here about the upgrade to Windows 7, which has been quite pleasant so far. It’s quicker, with some nice UI improvements, and other bits and pieces I’ll talk about in other posts before long, I suspect. But being the glutton for punishment I am, this evening before dinner I decided to tryContinue reading “Vista SP2: Seamless, Simple, but Search Still Lags”
Aster Data Systems: Specialty DBMSs Will Change the Market
In a market suddenly awash with new analytic DBMS entrants, Aster Data Systems differentiates itself with an aggressive posture: in-database computations, MapReduce integration and commodity hardware. Like several other firms I’ve talked to recently, the San Carlos-based vendor has a Big Customer (mySpace), a Recent Launch (May 2008) and a Core Team of Hotshots with industryContinue reading “Aster Data Systems: Specialty DBMSs Will Change the Market”
InfoSphere Streams Is A Game Changer
IBM has made it clear that InfoSphere Streams, the commercialized part of the System S research project that has been underway for some years, is a priority, and they are committing substantial investments to it. In fact, the release was hurried a bit, as I noted in my (hopefully) humorous post about naming for complex event processingContinue reading “InfoSphere Streams Is A Game Changer”
Adventures With Windows 7 – Smarter UI, [Confusing] Symantec Beta License
In the first post in this series, I talked about the install process for the Windows 7 RC. That is not what users will experience, so it’s only of marginal interest, except insofar as it shows whether the stuff “works.” Windows passed that test just fine. This time out, I’m exploring the user interface toContinue reading “Adventures With Windows 7 – Smarter UI, [Confusing] Symantec Beta License”
CEP: The Tech That Dare Not Speak Its Name
IBM has decided to go after the complex event processing (CEP) market with InfoSphere Streams a bit sooner than expected (by about a year, it seems.) The Product Formerly Known As System S (apologies to Prince – but at least it doesn’t have a weird symbol instead of a name) has been released into theContinue reading “CEP: The Tech That Dare Not Speak Its Name”
Information Builders Prepares to Ramp It Up
The last couple of years for Information Builders (IBI) have been a mixed bag. On the one hand, WebFocus, their flagship BI offering, has received stellar reviews, getting top marks from Gartner and Forrester in published research. On the other hand, growth stalled and sputtered a bit for the past year or two, and then theContinue reading “Information Builders Prepares to Ramp It Up”