Oracle delivers 43 security patches
Oracle released 43 security fixes on Tuesday for a range of applications, including its flagship database, Oracle Application Server, E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise and WebLogic Server. Read more...

A faster, sleeker way to do MySQL?

Researchers: Databases still beat Google's MapReduce

Experts: MySQL could enable IBM to take over the database market

Virtual software appliances: A no-brainer or a nonstarter?

Pentaho and Amazon.com deliver BI to the cloud

Oracle offers scaled-down version of Database Machine

Zoom zoom: Upstarts speed past big BI vendors in data warehouse loading speeds

Oracle 11g R2, Middleware 11g coming soon

Users, analysts cite potential benefits and pitfalls of IBM buying Sun

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Analytics: Unlocking Value in BI Initiatives
Over the past few years, one of the hottest growth areas in IT has been in the business intelligence (BI) space. Companies have finally realized there is value in their data and have launched major BI initiatives in their organizations. But most companies are making a colossal mistake in how they are approaching this challenge because they fail to realize data does not equal information.

Fate of Sun's products up in the air
With rumors of an impending Sun-IBM merger becoming more intense late last week, the next big question mark pertains to what happens to Sun's vast product line, which has hardware and software that overlaps with a lot of IBM's own product lines. Observers -- including a former Sun employee, a former software developer for the Sun platforms, and the founder of the Ruby on Rails Web framework -- maintain varying perspectives on what to expect and offer degrees of both optimism and pessimism about the whole endeavor.

Bernie Madoff's Client List vs. MDM: Lessons Learned
While Bernard L. Madoff awaits sentencing from the comforts of his prison cell, the rest of world (financial and legal authorities) is untangling the web of investor connections, "feeder funds" and victims' transactional data that grew out of his now-infamous Ponzi scheme.

Slacker databases break all the old rules
So you've got some data to store. In the past, the answer was simple: Hook up an official database, pour the data into it, and let the machine sort everything out for you while you spend your time writing big checks to the database manufacturer. Now things aren't so cut and dry. A fresh round of exciting new tools is tacking the two letters "db" onto a pile of code that breaks with the traditional relational model. Old database administrators call them "toys" and hint at terrible dangers to come from the follies of these young whippersnappers. The whippersnappers just tune out the warnings because the new tools are good enough and fast enough for what they need.

Open source and SaaS offerings rethink the DB
The world of low-rent key-value storage silos is exploding. Here's a list of some of the more prominent new projects:

10 IT agenda items for the first U.S. CIO
Last week, President Barack Obama made good on his promise to appoint a national tech leader for the United States. As the country's first-ever CIO, Vivek Kundra faces significant challenges modernizing the nation's IT infrastructure and will be charged to do so at a time when self-interests and a lack of industry oversight threaten not only our freedoms and privacy but also the long-term innovation potential of IT.

Q&A;: Where today's data centers have gone wrong
Afcom CEO Jill Eckhaus talks about how data centers got where they are today, what's gone wrong, what they'd be wise to concentrate on right now and one bright spot amid the economic uncertainties.

Thumbs-up to FileMaker upgrade
A wonderfully easy-to-use desktop database product that runs on Windows and the Mac, FileMaker Pro is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as departments of large and enterprise-sized businesses. FileMaker is simple enough for the office technologist to set up, and for almost anyone in the office to use.

Database Crime Scene Prevention
A good detective understands the criminal mind, techniques, and tools of the trade. To protect your database and prevent it from becoming a crime scene, it is crucial to understand the common methods of attack, data theft, and cover up techniques. The suspect line-up can come from outside hackers and from within the ranks of trusted employees, contractors, and partners. Some threats are easily prevented or contained; while others more elusive. Fortunately, many of the security mechanisms and tools required to protect databases are readily available.

Privacy: It's the databases, stupid
There are plenty of reasons to be outraged about the recent revelation that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroid use. But the one that gets me is this: Supposedly anonymous data, which was supposedly destroyed, has instead been splashed all over the newspapers.

Editors' Picks

Linux, Mac, Windows XP: Whatever your choice of operating system, we have some fun things for you to try. The operating systems of yesteryear weren't all sunshine and roses. Cyber cynic Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols names his picks for some of the worst OSs of all time. Apple's newest Mac Pro takes a significant step forward with the move to Intel's new Nehalem processor and an infrastructure that should be able to squeeze the utmost out of the upcoming Mac OS X 10.6. Satellite radio will die soon anyway, but Apple will accidentally perform a mercy killing of Sirius XM Radio this summer, says Mike Elgan.

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