Symantec warns of bot network epidemic

Its latest Internet Security Threat Report says that infected computers - or bots - which hackers can control remotely, have grown in twelve months from less than 2,000 in the first half of 2003 to more than 30,000. And on one day that figure topped 75,000. These networks can be commandeered to do the attacker's bidding. ...more

IBM launches new mainframe range

IBM went back to its roots yesterday and rolled out a new line of mainframe computers. The new System z9 line of computers concentrates on key security and virtualisation features. The new machines can process up to one billion transactions per day, double the performance of the Series z990, and process up to 6,000 secure online handshakes per second, around three times as many as the previous generation. ...more

Oracle brings JDeveloper 10g to OS X

Enterprise database giant Oracle has announced that it is to make its Java application development framework available to OS X users. Oracle JDeveloper 10g is a J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) development environment for Java and Web services, and is exactly the sort of high-profile enterprise product Apple will love to see on OS X, given its efforts in the server and RAID fields. In addition Oracle Database 10g for OS X has been made available to Oracle Technology (OTN) members, with the production version to be available later this year. ...more

Apache on warpath with Microsoft Caller ID

Open Source development group the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is at loggerheads with Microsoft about licensing restrictions it places over its contributions to the Sender ID technology proposed to help combat spam and fraudulent email. One of the pillars of the Sender ID technology is the Caller ID software, which has been added under a Royalty-Free Sender ID Patent License Agreement. But in an open letter, the Apache Foundation, which builds the popular Apache Web server and other Internet and email applications, has criticised Redmond for placing any restrictions on the technology. ...more

IBM sells the Cell outside the gaming market

IBM has signed a deal with US systems developer Mercury Computer Systems to licence the revolutionary Cell processor. This deal is the first that sells the new design outside of the games market. The Cell chip, jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, combines nine processors on a single piece of silicon and is set to revolutionise graphics processing. ...more