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IT Weekly Roundup, July 22

From the business wires this week: performance-improving solutions for SQL Server and Windows Server environments, a tool for managing remote users and a program for customizing your Windows desktop.

Quickshift announced the availability of two new software products the company touted will improve the performance of Microsoft SQL Server and Windows Server environments by more than 100 percent. Quickshift for Microsoft SQL Server and Quickshift for Microsoft Windows Server are said to be able to deliver improvements because they tackle inefficiencies at the operating system level to improve data and transaction flow, especially for those business applications that rely on databases. Pricing for Quickshift for Windows Server and Quickshift for MS SQL starts at $999 with volume discounts for quantity purchases. http://www.quickshift.com

Advanced Systems Concepts Inc. (ASCI) announced the release of ActiveBatch Web Server Version 5, an Internet client/server component to ASCI's ActiveBatch job scheduling and management system. ActiveBatch Web Server Version 5 provides access to all the major components of the ActiveBatch feature set via Internet Explorer, Netscape or Firefox Web browsers, enabling administrators to address their real-time batch processing requirements wherever they have Internet access. http://www.advsyscon.com

Digital Labs LLC released the latest version of its Windows Remote Desktop over SSH tool, WiSSH. WiSSH 2.0 features more options for network administrators to manage remote users. The use of improved policies in the Corporate Edition help simplify and control how users are able to access internal network resources from anywhere on the Internet. Other improvements on the Standard Edition include a private key generator and improved session logging. WiSSH allows access through the Gateway SSH server to a variety of Windows OS environments and services. WiSSH Standard Edition lists for $89.95. WiSSH Corporate Edition is priced at a 10-user license of $799. Volume discounts are available for both editions. http://www.wissh.com

Stardock DesktopX 3.1
[Click on image for larger view.]
Customize your Windows desktop with all kinds of widgets with Stardock's DesktopX 3.1.

Stardock released updated versions of its Windows desktop customization program with DesktopX 3.1 and DesktopX 3.1 Pro. Besides the dozen widgets DesktopX 3.1 comes with – like a stock monitor, RSS reader and currency converter – the Pro version features “gadgets,” which are standalone programs that have all the benefits of widgets: easy to create, low memory and resource requirements. http://www.stardock.com

Appligent released PDF Foundry, a server-based application that provides enterprises with a solution for creating .PDF documents from PostScript and TIFF data streams. In addition to creating new documents, the program can correct malformed .PDFs and add encryption and document information to existing .PDF files. PDF Foundry also includes an easy-to-use, Windows-based administration utility that generates XML files that configure the application and set the output parameters. http://www.appligent.com

Level 8 Systems Inc. announced the addition of Ensuredmail Small Business Email Encryption Server 2.8 to its Ensuredmail product suite. This secure e-mail solution for small businesses allows users to send encrypted e-mail with attachments while allowing recipients to receive and return encrypted e-mail along with attachments using their normal e-mail provider. The e-mail server can be integrated with Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. http://www.level8.com

IBackup announced the launch of its ILite Web site to offer online storage, sharing and streaming features for PocketPC, Blackberry and Palm devices. A highlighted feature of the site’s services is the ability to stream .MP3 sound files and share them with others. http://www.ibackup.com

On July 26, Microsoft will begin deploying Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 to Windows Server 2003 systems that have the Automatic Updates option activated. Ahead of this date, Winternals Software announced that its Winternals Recovery Manager, a centralized enterprise-level recovery solution, provides a reliable option for returning multiple systems to a prior healthy state in situations when SP1 causes undesired changes to critical system files and settings. The program—which was one of Readers' Choice pics in Redmond magazine's 2005 Best of the Best—does this by scheduling system snapshots, or “Recovery Points,” for computers throughout the network from a single console. http://www.winternals.com

About the Author

Dan Hong is the associate Web editor of MCPmag.com, CertCities.com, TCPmag.com, Redmondmag.com and RCPmag.com.

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