Automation for the people: A new approach to datacentre management

Webcast On 11 March at 11am, we have a few special guests to talk us through the finer points of managing a data centre efficiently. Tim Phillips from The Register is the host for the day and he’s joined by Tony Lock from Freeform Dynamics, Greg Charman from Microsoft and Graham Rushton from Avanade.

For some people, managing the services that the data centre delivers is very much a manual job. But with the creeping demands of the business there’s a steady march towards automation taking place. We’re not talking about full-scale automation here, mind. R

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Apple Hits Original iPad With Discount Gun, Price Drops To $399

If you were waiting for the iPad to get marked down, today’s your lucky day– as long what you want is the original iPad. While the newer, thinner, lighter, faster iPad 2 isn’t even available for pre-order, Apple’s slashed the original down $100, making the 16GB Wi-Fi version just $399. Considering that both generations offer the same apps and functionality, $399 is a good deal. Looking for the 3G version? The 16GB version of that model is now $529, or roughly $70 less than the Motorola Xoom,  and the top-of-the-line 64GB with 3G is marked down to $729.

Apple introduces the iPad 2 Tablet with Cameras

Apple has announced its long anticipated iPad 2 Tablet which is the successor of the original iPad. When compared to the first iPad, the iPad 2 is thinner, lighter and more powerful. It measures a mere 8.8mm thick and weight in at approximately 1.3 pounds with the original iPad weighing 1.5 pounds. It packs the power of a dual-core Apple A5 processor that according to Apple is two times (2X) faster than the processor found in the original iPad, it offers 900 percent faster graphics plus they have also added a gyroscope which can be found in the new versions of the iPhone and iPod touch plus other competitions such as the Motorola Xoom and Web Cameras as well. Read more…

AOL Says Huffington Post Deal Could Include Layoffs

Internet company AOL could lay off a portion of its employees following its acquisition of online news commentary site Huffington Post, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said Thursday during an industry conference.

“There will be job changes,” Mr. Armstrong said, in response to a question of whether there would be layoffs coming at AOL, during the paidContent digital media conference in New York.

Jonathan Fickies/Bloomberg News
AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong, in New York, after AOL agreed to buy the Huffington Post for $315 million.

“We’re in the middle of integrating the two companies. There w

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Misa Kitara digital stringless guitar has touchscreen, onboard synthesizer

The Kitara aims to bring digital keyboard capabilities to the guitar with synthesizers and MIDI controls.

If you’ve already mastered the likes of Guitar Hero, it’s time to move on to the next invention in digital guitars. Those old-school guitar strings are always getting in the way, right? If you’d rather play a strange, artificial instrument, Misa Digital Instruments is now taking pre-orders for their new Kitara stringless digital guitar. The Kitara ($849) uses a digital interface and 8-inch touch screen to integrate sounds of traditional guitar with digital audio production techniques. The c

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