integration

Intel outside Apple's pending MacBook launch?

Apple might have decided its partnership with Intel doesn't mean it has to use all of Intel's products.

AppleInsider reports that Apple could be using a chipset from a different company--or even an internally developed one--in the next iteration of the MacBook, expected to arrive in the next six or eight weeks. Like other notebook vendors, Apple had been using Intel's mobile Centrino chipsets in its MacBook line ever since 2006 but it's going to pass on the Montevina version of those chipsets this time around, according to the report.

Intel has done an excellent job … Read more

Smeg's bella lavastoviglie (beautiful dishwasher)

After reading about Italian manufacturer Smeg's recent artsy appliance accomplishments, I decided to check out their other new products. If you were a fan of the new line of Smeg ovens, or their retro refrigerators, then chances are you'll also be excited about their fully integrated dishwasher.

Right now, Smeg is Italy's largest kitchen appliance manufacturer, specializing in sleek designs and presenting their products under their motto, Tecnologia che arreda, which translates to "technology with style."

To achieve their distinctive style, Smeg enlists the help of high-end architects to design custom products. According to their … Read more

Anti-swimmer system bad news for frogmen

You can't really say you have a private beach until you've installed a SM 2000 Underwater Surveillance System by Kongsberg to keep out the riffraff.

The system is designed to protect commercial piers, government and military vessels, cruise ships, terminals, and other high-value assets, but it'll work just as well for your hideaway surf break. You know it's good if the oil sheiks buy it. Kongsberg installed an integrated system at a "High-Value Seaside resort" in the United Arab Emirates; the exact location is classified.

The U.S. Coast Guard just picked up $2 … Read more

Siemens looks for competitive advantage in open source

What do you do when you're trying to unseat an incumbent in your market? You could try competing with the same tools as your competitors, or you could try to disrupt them with open source.

For Siemens, the latter course makes more sense:

Siemens' outsourcing unit is snapping up some of South Africa's brightest open source minds as it readies to offer large-scale open source services to clients. Going, as it does, head-to-head with the likes of IBM and T-Systems, the company is hoping its open source strategy will find a new niche in an already highly-competitive market. … Read more

Try doing this with proprietary software

I've written before about the huge opportunity that open source presents for EAI (enterprise application integration). Open source doesn't require lawyers to meet before integrating products. It's a question of code, not counsel.

Today I get to see it happening to me or, rather, to my project, Alfresco. Jeff Potts, a third-party consultant employed by Optaros (and a hard-core Alfresco expert), decided to integrate Alfresco with Ringside Network's social networking platform, while Rob Purdie announced the integration of Alfresco with Drupal's excellent web content management system for Amnesty International.

The common thread running between both? … Read more

Intel chipset delay shows the devil's in the details

As has been widely reported (for example, by EDN Magazine and both Brooke Crothers and Dan Ackerman here at CNET), Intel has delayed the first customer shipments (FCS) of its "Montevina" chipsets, part of the new Centrino 2 platform.

The delays are pretty short, however... a matter of just a few weeks.

Intel attributes the delays to two independent problems: one with FCC certification of the 802.11n WiFi feature in the chips (just "paperwork," Intel says), and one with the integrated graphics engines in some models.

Intel's probably right about the WiFi certification problem. … Read more

What to expect from the community

I stumbled across this news from Openbravo this morning, and thought it indicative of the type of contribution typical to commercial open-source projects. Egyptian accounting for Openbravo's open-source ERP platform. No way that a proprietary software company is going to write that, not until every other aspect of the product is already complete.

For organic open-source communities, bug fixes, code contributions, etc. can be expected, though not to the levels commonly expected. It turns out that all (or nearly all) communities are small, even for projects like Linux and Apache. Some, like Drupal, break this mold, but they are the exception, not the rule.

For most projects, including commercial open-source projects, localization and some bug reporting constitute the primary contributions from the community.… Read more

Who needs matching appliances when your counter is the appliance?

Let me paint a picture for you: you're in the mood for a burger and some French fries. The health nut in you insists that you include some steamed broccoli too. So you squat on your kitchen floor and set to the task of rooting through your bottom cabinet in search of the antiquated hand-me-down appliances that you're going to need to make your perfect meal happen.

First, you grab the fryer. Granted, it may have remnants of last year's deep-fried Thanksgiving turkey experiment and the residual oil slick on the outer edges may make it a … Read more

Coming to a mall near you: Power-generating windows

Solar company HelioVolt and Architectural Glass & Aluminum on Tuesday announced a partnership to produce glass windows capable of generating electricity.

HelioVolt is one of several new solar manufacturers using different materials to produce thin-film solar cells.

The company intends to make solar cells for rooftop panels and later get into building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), where cells are embedded onto roof shingles, blinds, awnings, or other building components.

The deal with Architectural Glass & Aluminum calls for the companies to design solar-enabled curtain walls, the glass facades on the outside of buildings, or architectural glass in the interior of buildings.

Citing … Read more