RackForce’s state-of-the-art GigaCenter aiming for international clientele

Stuart Hunter
Province

Kelowna‘s business community got a little bit greener yesterday with the opening of Canada‘s first large-scale eco-friendly data centre.

Highlighted by a news conference and facility tour, brass from RackForce Networks Inc., proudly opened the first phase of a multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art GigaCenter, which, it seems, has found a well-suited home in the Okanagan community.

The new GigaCenter facility — one of the greenest and most advanced data centres in the world — will provide support to the next generation of IT systems to customers from around the globe.

“We built the GigaCenter here in Kelowna because it’s one of the most stable and eco-friendly areas in North America,” Tim Dufour, president and CEO of RackForce, said in a news release.

“The highly advanced network and scalable infrastructure supports our customers’ most demanding computing needs, today and in the future, while contributing to their corporate environmental goals.” The RackForce GigaCenter will use B.C.’s supply of clean hydroelectric power to produce about 1/50th of the carbon footprint of most conventional data centres, which are typically powered by coal or natural-gas electrical-generation plants, which typically produce significant CO2 emissions.

The GigaCenter’s first phase is roughly 30,000 square feet.

Space can be secured in increments ranging from a single cabinet to dedicated rooms — called GigaVaults — which can vary in size from 12 to more than 170 cabinets.

Moreover, about 120,000 more square feet are slated to be completed in 2011. That will ensure RackForce’s GigaCenter is among the largest North American service-provider data centres.

The RackForce GigaCenter — built using IBM’s data-centre expertise — incorporates innovative design features to support both present-day and future technologies such as large data storage, high-density blade servers, virtualized computing clusters and mainframe systems.

“We are proud to have been involved with RackForce on this exciting project,” John Ostrander, vice-president of IBM Global Services, said in a news release.

“The GigaCenter is a clear example of how Canadian companies continue to innovate and find new ways to improve global business practices, while reducing our impact on the environment.”

RackForce brass said they chose Kelowna due to its location, considered one of the most stable geographically in North America to build a data centre, its temperate climate and relatively low risk of natural disaster.

The airport also played a role in the decision, as did the Okanagan’s tourist industry, with its amenities for the corporate IT traveller.

“I’m very excited about them being in our community — especially with the economy being like it is,” said Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd.

“It’s good to have potential jobs for young people in the city.”

© Copyright (c) The Province

 

Sun

A seemingly harmless toy is causing mounting frustration for the RCMP, who say they are spending more and more time responding to fake 911 calls from old cellphones. Many parents give their children deactivated cellphones to play with. But cellphone carriers are required to keep the 911 function active, even on deactivated phones. And every 911 call, phoney or not, has to be investigated.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Rogers admits it slows data, even if user pays for speed

Matt Hartley
Province

TORONTO — Canada‘s largest cable Internet providers want federal regulators to steer clear of crafting new rules for how carriers can manage the flow and speed of web traffic on their networks.

Executives from both Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. argued any technologies they employ to slow certain forms of web data are purely for the benefit of the majority of their customers and that market forces should determine which practices prevail in the industry.

However, questions were raised about what Internet service providers (ISPs) should be obligated to disclose to their customers regarding how they handle traffic flow on the Net.

On the sixth day of hearings into traffic-management policies of Canadian ISPs, Rogers told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission it slows peer-to-peer web traffic used to upload files to the Internet to the same slow pace, regardless of the advertised speed of the pricing plan the user is paying for.

“I think that’s a rather stunning disclosure, and one that should be disclosed to users,” said Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce law.

“You’re representing to users that this is part of your user experience . . . and now they admit that, from an upload perspective, you get the same service.”

Ken Engelhart, Rogers‘ senior vice-president of regulatory affairs, said that, even though the company slows peer-to-peer traffic — usually used to transfer large files such as videos, which ISPs say congest their networks — customers can still upload at the speed associated with their plan using other programs.

Over the past week, some consumer groups have called upon the CRTC to demand ISPs disclose their traffic-managing practices, including the “throttled” speed at which data flows when it is being slowed.

ISPs have said this information is competitively sensitive, but opponents argue it is crucial for consumers when choosing a provider.

“You can’t say: ‘Let the market decide,’ . . . then not give them the information they need,” Geist said.

© Copyright (c) The Province

Ed Baig
USA Today

Microsoft is taking the wraps off the next major release of Office today, with an early peek at freshly-baked versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and several of the other business-oriented programs that comprise the company’s market dominant suite of software applications.  Microsoft made the announcement this morning at its World Wide Partner Conference in New Orleans.

Microsoft hopes to reclaim some of the attention focused on Google, which said last week it was developing a new Chrome operating system that will compete against Microsoft Windows.

If Windows is the bread, then Office is the butter at Microsoft. Only techies invited by Microsoft will get an up-close look at a “Technical Preview” of Office 2010. A beta or test version that’s open to the public isn’t likely until the Fall, still well ahead of the expected spring or summer release.

And the Technical Preview doesn’t include a sneak peek of the brand new Web browser-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote (notetaking software).  Such online versions will be available free to consumers through Windows Live.

Microsoft didn’t announce pricing for Office 2010 either, but said it’s cutting the number of Office editions from eight down to five. That’s welcome — I always thought having so many versions was confusing. The Home and Student 2010 edition will include Excel, PowerPoint, Word and OneNote. The Home and Business version adds Outlook to the mix. Office Professional 2010 also includes Access (database) and Publisher (desktop publishing).  The two other Office 2010 versions add capabilities aimed at larger businesses and enterprises. 

Microsoft is hoping customers will continue to pay for versions of Office, even as more users access free online productivity-type programs, most notably Google Docs. In addition to its well publicized intention to unveil its own new operating system, Google lifted the “beta” tag last week on Google Docs, Google Calendar and Gmail.

The last major new release of Office, Office 2007, introduced the concept of a Ribbon, a strip at the top of Word (and a few other applications) which purported to make it easier for users to find the commands and tools that were needed for the task at hand. In Office 2010, Microsoft is spreading the Ribbon to all of the Office applications. I’ve grown accustomed to the Ribbon in Word and like it, though there definitely was a learning curve, so there may be some growing pains when the new Office arrives.

Office 2010 will also include a new “Backstage View” so that related but separate tasks are brought together in one place, along the lines of printing commands and tools that were previously scattered throughout the program (page layout, preview, print).  Among numerous other features, Microsoft is adding video and picture editing to PowerPoint.

Gillian Shaw
Sun

MHS-PM1 Mobile HD Snap camera, Sony, $230 Cdn

Pocket HD camcorders are the must-have beach accessory this summer and Sony’s Snap offers both five-megapixel stills and high-def video. Geared for the growing social networking market, the Snap takes stills and videos and makes it easy to upload them straight online. It doesn’t just link to YouTube, it also offers direct uploading to Shutterfly, Picasa, Dailymotion and Photobucket. You can drag and drop files from the camera to your computer. Five selection modes including low light, sports and landscape. Video and photos are recorded straight onto Sony’s Memory Stick Pro Duo, which you have to buy separately. www.sonystyle.ca

XPERIA X1, Sony Ericsson, $250 Cdn with Rogers on a three-year contract

What with the arrival of Google Android phones to Canada, followed shortly after by the iPhone 3GS, you might be excused for thinking there are no other prospects in the cellphone market. The XPERIA X1 is one. It is a little like the Android-powered HTC Dream with its QWERTY keyboard. The XPERIA X1 also has a touch screen, a three-inch (7.6-cm) VGA display. It runs on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system and has Microsoft Office. Also has a 3.2 megapixel camera. www.sonyericsson.com

Micro Auto Charger and Dual Auto Charger, Belkin, $15 US and $30 US

I like to charge up my iPhone and BlackBerry in the car, usually because I’ve run out the door only to find the batteries sinking fast. Belkin has a couple of handy solutions: the compact Micro Auto Charger that sits almost flush with the dashboard, and its powerful sidekick, the Dual Auto Charger, which lets you charge two devices, including BlackBerry models, using a mini USB connection. A charge-and-sync cable lets you charge your iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry or other cell phone. One USB port powers at one amp and the second at 500 milliamps. www.belkin.com

Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000, Microsoft, $50 Cdn

I don’t mind using a trackpad with a laptop or netbook computer, but I have colleagues who find it a nuisance. And with Microsoft’s new Mobile Mouse 4000 with BlueTrack technology, which works on virtually any surface, I might also be tempted to throw a mouse in the netbook bag. Targeted by Microsoft at the growing netbook market — with some 35 million shipments of the mini-notebooks expected this year — the 4000 is made to be used on the go. It can be used on surfaces that would defeat other mouse technology, from smooth and shiny like granite or marble to uneven surfaces like carpet and unfinished wood. It connects to a PC via a tiny nano transceiver, sticking out less than a centimetre from the USB port so it can be left plugged in when you pack up and go. www.microsoft.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Gillian Shaw
Sun

It could be a clash of the titans.

Google, a dominant force in the web world with a long-term vision of converting software users to applications delivered online, announced Wednesday it is launching its own computer operating system, Google Chrome OS.

The new operating system, initially to be focused on the exploding netbook market, not only takes on Microsoft in the OS market but also advances Google’s challenge of Microsoft’s domination in corporate office productivity software.

The announcement of Chrome OS comes nine months after Google launched its Chrome browser, which it says is regularly used now by more than 30 million web surfers. In an announcement on the company blog, Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice-president of product management and Linus Upson, its engineering director, said the new OS was Google’s “attempt to rethink what operating systems should be.”

The post points out that the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in a pre-web era. Google promises a new, utopian-era OS in which viruses disappear and long waits for systems to crank up are a thing of the past.

“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS,” Pichai and Upson say in the post. “We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web.

“And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates.

“It should just work.”

Chrome OS is to be an open-source operating system that Google describes as “lightweight.” The company said it will open-source its code later this year and netbooks with the new operating system will be available in the second half of 2010.

“For application developers, the web is the platform,” the post said. “All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favourite web technologies.

“And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux, thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.”

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Jefferson Graham and Byron Acohido
USA Today

Challenging Microsoft‘s grip on PCs, Internet search giant Google said late Tuesday night that it intends create its own computer operating system.

Google said the OS is initially aimed at netbooks — small, cheap and incredibly popular sub-notebooks — and would be an “open source” project built with and by many developers.

Google is currently meeting with hardware manufacturers to aprise them of its plans, and hopes to have it on computers by the second half of 2010.

Google has denied for years any interest in taking on Microsoft, or Apple with its own operating system, but Tuesday took a new direction.

In a blog post on the official Google blog, Google positioned the new Chrome Operating System as the “natural extension” of Chrome, the Internet browser Google introduced to acclaim in 2008 and which now has 30 million users.

The new operating system is “our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be,” wrote Google’s Sundar Pichai, vice president of Product Management.

Google Chrome OS will focus on “speed, simplicity and security,” he said, similar characteristics to the Chrome browser, which advertises itself as ultra-speedy.

Both Microsoft and Apple have plans to release new operating systems in 2009. For Microsoft, Windows 7 is an opportunity to erase the stain left by poor customer response to Vista.

Just because Google wants to get into operating systems doesn’t automatically mean it will be a success, says SearchEngineLand editor Danny Sullivan. “But if I were Microsoft, I’d be nervous.”

In the blog post, Pichai outlined Google’s goals: “We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.”

Google has been trying to fly somewhat under the radar with its plans to get into the PC operating systems business. Since launching its Linux-based Android operating system for mobile handsets, it has been quietly talking to all major computer makers about extending it into netbooks, says Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group.

“Every major OEM (original equipment manufacture) I know has some sort of Android netbook project in the works,” says Enderle.

Enderle said he could not disclose specific names of PC makers who are planning to deliver netbooks using the operating systeem. And he said Google is not expected to have it ready for most of the major netbooks manufacturers until 2010.

But upstart PC maker Acer jumped the gun by recently announcing plans to bring Android-powered netbooks to market by late this year. Presumably, they will be lower priced than Acer Windows or Acer Linux netbooks, since Google is expected to supply the operating system for free, or a nominal fee, to PC makers, says Enderle.

“Google is left to execute, but the potential to be disruptive is very high,” says Enderle. “This may be the biggest threat Microsoft has ever faced to one it its keystone products.”

The scenario Google is hoping for is that netbooks using its operating system become a major offering from all netbook manufacturers in early 2010. That would give the search giant a small toehold on the operating landscape.

Introducing the Google Chrome OS

July 7, 2009

 

It’s been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we’re announcing a new project that’s a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It’s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we’re definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We’re excited for what’s to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director

Gillian Shaw
Sun

Archos 9 PC Tablet, Archos, price not announced

Look for this new tablet PC to start shipping after school starts this fall. A skinny minnie at a mere 1.6 cm (0 .63 inches) in thickness, weighing 0.6 kilograms (22.29 ounces). The touch screen is a nine-inch one, not much bigger than the smallest netbook screens and it has a virtual soft keyboard. Archos bills it as “the power of a netbook in a tablet.” It’s a Windows machine, running on the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system and comes with Microsoft Office, Web TV and Radio, video conference, photo and movie editing and other apps. WiFi 802.11b/g connection, Bluetooth 2.1 and an 80 GB hard drive. No answer from Archos on my request for Canadian pricing but is expected to be around $630 US when it is released in September or October. www.archos.com.

BM-IB netbook/notebook sleeves, Elecom, price not announced

I recently heard a story from the owner of a brand new netbook who watched in horror as it fell on the floor. Not that I’d recommend doing that even with a case but sliding your netbook into one of Elecom’s new protective sleeves that come with a handle could help avoid those mishaps. It also has space for accessories like an AC adapter and USB memory sticks, items that usually disappear in the bottom of my cavernous carry bag and take ages to unearth. Zipper closing allows you to fully open the case so you can use your computer while it’s still in the sleeve. In four models to fit most netbook PCs, mobile PC and notebook computers.

www.elecom.co.jp/global/

Grace Aqua Sounders Floating Speaker System,

Grace Digital Audio, $150 Cdn

These floating speakers look so cool I’m ready to build a pool to go around them. Or a Jacuzzi. Waterproof — of course, though you’re not supposed to submerse them for more than 30 seconds; specs give a range of six to 10 hours of listening with batteries that you buy separately; a 46-metre listening range and system that is expandable to add more speakers if your pool is truly Olympic size. www.gracedigitalaudio.com/

World Travel Adapter Kit, Apple, $50 Cdn

Summer travel can send you scrambling to find the right adapters and plugs to keep your gadgets powered up wherever you go. My quest to keep an iPhone, iPod and MacBook operating around the world turned up this kit that could also come in handy at home. The AC plugs work for outlets in North America, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Korea, Australia and Hong Kong. It comes with a USB power adapter, USB cable and six AC plugs and works with iPods, iPhones, Apple MagSafe power adapters, portable power adapters, and AirPort Express. May seem a bit pricey but it’s a better deal that buying some of these items separately from Apple. www.apple.com.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Hundreds of channels will be available to 90 per cent of customers in B.C. and Alberta following deal to sell Bell’s service in the West

Fiona Anderson
Sun

Vancouver-based telecommunications giant Telus Corp. has added satellite television to its suite of services.

Telus satellite TV — with more than 500 digital channels, including more than 80 in high definition — is now available to more than 90 per cent of homes in British Columbia and Alberta, the company said in a news release.

In May, Telus announced it had signed a deal with BCE Inc. to sell Bell‘s satellite TV in the two western-most provinces under the Telus brand.

Telus also has its own television service, Telus TV, which is delivered through its broadband network. That service has been launched in major centres — where the broadband infrastructure exists — and has more than 100,000 subscribers.

With the launch of satellite TV, Telus can now attract television customers in rural areas sooner and provide bundled services to 90 per cent of households in the region.

“We’re very committed to providing that triple play of video, local and broadband across the widest footprint possible,” Chris Langdon, Telus’s vice-president of networks services said in an interview. “So we’re really excited about Telus satellite and we think it has lots of legs for Telus.”

With Shaw Communications gaining local telephone subscribers who can bundle with its cable television service, bundling is important.

“The strategic imperative for Telus is all around bundles and ownership of the home,” Langdon said.

But Telus will continue to invest in its broadband, which would enable Telus TV to reach more homes, Langdon said.

“We very much view the two services — both satellite and IP TV — as complementary and it just puts us in such a better position to offer bundles across a much broader percentage of households,” he said.

Langdon expects the two will remain complementary for a long time.

The services will be very similar, but there are some advantages to each technology type, he said. For example, some people won’t want a satellite dish on their home so they would be better off with Telus TV.

“There are lots of cases where both will have their niche and I think we’ll be advantaged by having both,” Langdon said.

Greg MacDonald, an analyst with NBF Financial, called the agreement between Bell and Telus “a marginal positive” for Telus.

“We have witnessed this dual-prong approach of IP/satellite TV with AT&T, which has seen some merits,” MacDonald wrote in a note.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Roberto Rocha
Sun

Zip.ca, the mail-order DVD rental service, will go digital by the holidays, letting Canadians watch movies and TV shows on their computers or on special Internet-connected televisions.

The Ottawa-based service will allow customers to buy movies in digital format or watch them once by “streaming” them to a device.

This will make Zip.ca the third provider of downloadable videos in Canada, after Apple’s iTunes video store and Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store. Bell Canada had an online video store, but it is being shut down.

A spokesperson for Bell said it will focus instead on a website with extra features for its TV subscribers.

Zip.ca CEO Curt Millar said the service should be up for the holiday season.

“Our goal is to give as wide a selection as possible to our members at a nice price point,” he said. What the price will be was not disclosed, but the online service will start as pay-as-you go and evolve to a subscription model.

Zip.ca is the Canadian equivalent of Netflix. Members pick movies they want to watch on a website and the service lends out the DVDs over mail.

In the U.S., Netflix also allows members to watch online movies on a TV set, but it requires a set-top box. Zip.ca is negotiating with electronics companies to allow videos to stream directly to TVs and DVD players.

This will require special Internet-connected televisions equipped with software called CinemaNow. Such TVs do not yet exist in Canada.

“Over the next months, as new TVs are rolled out, we hope they will have this technology,” Millar said.

Given the number of Canadians who watch movies online — legally, that is — this is a risky venture, said Brahm Eiley, president of research firm Convergence Consulting.

“It’s a tiny market here,” he said. “The numbers hardly register.”

While in the U.S., video downloads claim two per cent of the rental market, in Canada it’s less than one per cent, he said. Mail order DVDs, self-service DVD kiosks and downloads represent two per cent of the rental market.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun