Microsoft SQL Server’s newest release adds in-memory OLTP (online transaction processing) and Azure cloud deployment options to the favored database management system. Here’s why that’s important. Microsoft SQL Server 2014 have been released to manufacturing, the corporate announced on Tuesday, promising general availability of the product on April 1. The corporate also announced the overall availability of Hadoop 2.2 support in its Windows Azure HDInsight service, bringing support for YARN and Stinger (Hive SQL Query) improvements to the vendor’s cloud-based Hadoop service. Any release of Microsoft SQL Server is crucial, as it is the world’s top database management system (DBMS) when it comes to unit sales. However the 2014 update is especially important because it introduces an In-Memory OLTP (online transaction processing) option that promises breakthroughs in performance. “In-memory transaction processing hastens an already very fast experience by delivering speed improvement of as much as 30x,” wrote Quentin Clark, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Data Platform Group, in a blog announcing the discharge. [Want more in... Read More »

Provider of mortgage documents and digital signatures says banks and mortgage lenders will follow its move to public cloud. Deadly Downtime: The Worst Network Outages Of 2013 (Click image for larger view and for slideshow.) eLynx supplies software-as-a-service to 500 banking and mortgage retailers. They depend upon its online document delivery and digital signature collection process for 250,000 mortgage transactions every month. It can’t provide the voluminous final closing documents, which still require buyers’ inked signatures on paper. Rather, eLynx’s SaaS is utilized by mortgage lenders and related organizations to electronically deliver about 1 million real estate appraisals, mortgage lender disclosure statements, and other documents leading as much as closing every month. eLynx’s SaaS offers verifiable digital signature capture and document delivery. The legal requirements are stringent; eLynx’s survival depends upon its Expedite platform reliably providing document delivery and signature capture services. Explaining that signatures were lost because of systems outages won’t cut it with its customers. To avoid this type of possibility, it’s built... Read More »

Giant TVs, laser-equipped cars, wearable computers — it ought to be the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. Which products will dazzle? The Consumer Electronics Show kicks off next week in Las Vegas, that means somewhere locally of 150,000 people will flock to the desert, desirous to learn where the tech industry will  place its bets for the imminent year. “Bets” is an acceptable term — and never simply because of the venue. A few of the technologies recently hyped at CES haven’t paid off. Not one of the exhibitors gambling on 3D televisions were rewarded yet, for instance. But CES can also be a launchpad for a lot of of today’s most compelling trends. Smartphones with bendable or curved displays could become the norm before long — and Samsung prophesied as much finally year’s CES, when it demonstrated its flexible glass technology. 3D printing, smart cars, connected fitness devices, and wearable technology were other CES 2013 trends that seem poised to interrupt out in 2014. CES... Read More »

Could open-source hardware shake up the datacenter the way in which Linux disrupted software? From Facebook to Fidelity, a number of big companies say this idea works. Facebook, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, and other leading IT users think the open-source movement is able to shake up the hardware industry the style Linux did in software. In the past, only the very biggest companies — the likes of Amazon, Google, and, yes, Facebook — could afford to customise servers, storage, and networking systems to their precise needs. Instead, most companies have filled their datacenters with off-the-shelf, mass-produced hardware from the likes of Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Dell, Cisco, and Oracle. But an open-source initiative called the Open Compute Project is attempting to upend this hardware production process in two ways simultaneously. First, Facebook and other companies are sharing their hardware designs through OCP. Such sharing could put leading-edge designs within the hands of many more user companies. Second, shared hardware specs let IT organizations mix’n’match parts from different suppliers,... Read More »

Microsoft’s Surface 2 is now equipped for LTE connections — but still must compete with iPad Air. Mobile World Congress: 5 Hot Gadgets (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Microsoft on Monday announced a version of its ARM-based Surface 2 tablet equipped for 4G LTE connectivity. The brand new device is otherwise a twin of the WiFi-only model, and may be available March 18 for $679. The LTE-equipped Surface 2 comes with 64 GB of storage. It will become offered unlocked but is meant to be used within the US with AT&T’s LTE network. AT&T should not offer any subsidized Surface options, and it’ll be the customer’s responsibility to enroll in a compatible plan. The device also supports GSM micro-SIM cards but will work only on specific bands: 1, 2, and 5 for 3G, and four, 7, and 17 for 4G LTE. [Is Microsoft’s Surface 2 the best tablet for you? Read Microsoft Surface 2: Hands-On Review.] At only two pounds, the skin 2... Read More »