servers

Most of the tech products you buy are disposable.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average cell phone life span is 18 months. One hundred and twenty five million phones are discarded every year, resulting in more than 65,000 tons of waste. A lot of folks get a new computer every few years.

Bought a new home theater receiver last year? Great, but its HDMI 1.3 connection is about to be superceded by HDMI 1.4. That won't reduce the receiver's usability, at least in the near term, but it's unlikely you'll want to keep it around for the long run.

Audio Research's CD8 Reference player was designed to last a long, long time. It's also one of the least "digital"-sounding CD players I've ever used. That sort of statement is usually followed by something like, "CDs now sound a lot more like LPs." That's not the case here, but the CD8 is considerably more musical than other state-of-the-art CD players. You can read my complete review on the Home Entertainment Web Site.

Audio Research's CD8 Reference player uses vacuum tubes to amplify the converted-to-analog signals. That's hardly a new idea, as designers started sticking tubes in CD players in the 1980s. But most of those players used just a pair of tubes, typically as a "buffer" output stage. The CD8's tubes are configured much as they are in Audio Research's very best stereo preamplifier, the Reference Pre ($12,000). Measuring an imposing 19 inches long by 5.25 inches high by 15.3 inches wide, the CD8 is the size of a pretty serious power amplifier.

The CD8 doesn't have a disc-loading drawer; the drive mechanism is located under a sliding door on the top panel. Disc loading involves placing a small magnetic clamp on the disc. I like the "hands-on" approach, maybe because it's more like playing an LP.… Read more

I read Geoffrey Morrison's review of the Olive 4HD music server on the Home Entertainment Web site with great interest, because I recently heard the 4HD at a friend's house. The review provides a lot of information that I'm not covering here.

It's a cool-looking device, and I really like that it can be used without being hooked up to a computer. It's more like a CD player with a built-in 2TB hard drive.

There's a Gigabit Ethernet port and a Wi-Fi module if you're into the home network thing, and a free … Read more

It may be a little early, but I'm already keeping my eyes open for the first plants shooting up in my garden this spring. I'm ready for warmer weather and that fresh green color that seems to take over the whole yard. The Salad Plant Salad Servers may be the closest I come for the next few months, however. They're certainly the right shade of green and the handles look like those first little leaves that poke up. The salad serving set was designed by Martin Blum and Dan Black to mimic the early shoots of spring. … Read more

U.S. Department of Labor data suggest that systems analysts and software engineers comprise two of the fastest-growing six job categories through 2016. With 80 percent growth in Linux job postings over the last five years, according to the Linux Foundation, it could well be that these categories will be dominated by Linux geeks.

World domination...finally in sight?

It's looking more and more likely. Linux is everywhere, creating jobs, lowering IT costs, and serving as poster child for the open-source business and development movements.

This momentum isn't lost on Microsoft, which has revived its anti-Linux charm offensive. … Read more

A little while ago I wrote a small review that touched on the usefulness of the Mac Mini as a server. Since its release, the new mini has shown solid sales and clear interest in a small server product from Apple. Recently, Ars Technica has posted an in-depth review of the server software running on the new Mac Mini, attempting to in part define the exact niche for the system.… Read more

Systems are getting more general-purpose. At least in terms of units sold, servers with two x86 processors dominate the landscape.

And it's more than just servers. For example, on Tuesday Vyatta announced a new series of network appliances, the Vyatta 3500. These systems, like the other appliances that Vyatta sells, combine standard off-the-shelf x86 server hardware with an integrated software subscription that provides networking functions such as Firewall, VPN, IP address management, administration, diagnostics, and so forth. Vyatta pitches its appliance as a much lower-priced alternative to dedicated networking hardware from the likes of Cisco.

We've seen similar … Read more

This year is going to be amazingly full of change in IT. "Ennnh, IT sees a lot of change every year," you say? Yes, fine and true. But not like this one. Not at this magnitude. Consider:

Virtualization is being taken up at such a pace that it's hard to find a metaphor to describe it. "Exploding" has a pieces-coming-apart-at-high-speed vibe, when in fact virtualization's pieces are all coming together. "Imploding" doesn't work either. We've had maybe five years of fast growth, but now it's mainstream and ready for … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Network-attached storage servers have always been among the harder products to install and use. Most of them require at least some know-how of computers and networking setup. This might change, however, with what Promise has to offer.

The company released at CES the new SmartStor ZERO NS2600, which it claims is the first no-muss, no-fuss NAS server. According to Promise, all you need to do is plug the server in, power it on, and install the included software and the rest is taken care of. The software will map an open network share, allowing instant access for data backup … Read more