buzz the & NEWS

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NEWS

& ANALYSIS

STORAGE

the buzz ability to add storage capacity to a server as needed without taking down the server, automated clustering and virtualization

MPC adds SAN box

among DataFrame 420 boxes, and instant backup via automated snapshot capabilities.

—Jeffrey Burt

MPC COMPUTERS JUMPED INTO the IP-based SAN (storage area network) space last week when it launched its DataFrame 420 IP

SAN product.

Officials said it will give midmarket businesses and workgroups storage capabilities often found in highend enterprises. It will replace MPC’s DataFrame 310fc

Fibre Channel storage device.

The DataFrame 420, priced starting at $19,999, has 16 Serial

ATA drives and up to 4TB of storage in each 3U (5.25-inch) enclosure. Users can add enclosures as needed and will have dual

Gigabit Ethernet iSCSI or Fibre

Channel connectivity. Software management features include the

The DataFrame 420 is the first IP

SAN product from MPC.

APPLE

New iPod plays photos

APPLE COMPUTER LAST WEEK unveiled a photo-ready, color,

60GB version of the iPod music player along with a 20GB version of the iPod, called the U2 iPod, and a new form of online music distribution. The 20GB U2 iPod features engraved U2 band signatures. It will ship at midmonth for $349.

The color model—the iPod

Photo—is available now in a

$499 40GB version and a $599

60GB version.

—Sebastian Rupley,

PC Magazine

PRINTERS

Xerox updates business line

XEROX THIS WEEK IS SHIPPING monochrome printers targeted at midsize and large businesses. The Xerox Phaser

5500 prints 50 ppm (pages per minute) for both singleand two-sided documents. The printer has a 500MHz processor and 128MB of RAM, which is upgradable to 512MB.

The Phaser 5500 comes in five flavors, with the base model starting at $2,499. A networked model costs $2,999, while a model with standard duplexing costs $3,399. Other models add paper trays and finishing options.

For smaller businesses, Xerox will roll out the Phaser 3150 desktop laser printer, which prints 22 ppm. Costing $349, it has 32MB of memory and a

166MHz processor.

Also for smaller businesses,

Xerox will ship a desktop multifunction machine, the WorkCentre

PE 120, which can print, copy and fax. The device prints 22 ppm. The base model costs $549, and a networked model, the PE 120i, costs

$649.

—Shelley Solheim

BY THE NUMBERS

Voting systems for presidential election

Machine-read paper ballots still lead, but electronic voting systems are gaining

ERP

Intalio extends app processes

INTALIO LAST WEEK ANNOUNCED technology to help companies extend business processes

Pricing begins at $549 for the multifunction WorkCentre PE 120.

within ERP (enterprise resource planning), supply chain management and CRM (customer relationship management) environments.

The Intalio/APEX 3.0 platform is optimized for SAP’s ERP software. The platform employs

SAP’s NetWeaver integration stack and lets users consolidate multiple instances of MySAP; integrate new SAP modules; or upgrade to the latest version of

SAP’s software, R/3 4.7, without making significant changes to the applications themselves,

Intalio officials said.

APEX, or application process extension, is compatible with

SAP’s Version 4.7 suite, as well as with older versions, including R/3.

—Renee Boucher Ferguson

Electronic

29.4%

Paper ballot, read by machine

34.9%

Paper ballot, read manually

0.7% Punch card, including

DataVote and

Votomatic

13.7%

Lever

14%

Mixed 7.4%

Source: Election Data Services Numbers do not add up to 100% due to rounding

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We have to have a decision, whether we’re going to Oracle or not, and let it be final.

Right now, we’re stuck in this middle ground.

Fred Pond , IS director for PeopleSoft user Schnitzer Steel

Industries

18 e W E E K n N O V E M B E R 1 , 2 0 0 4 w w w. e w e e k . c o m

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