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Release: VDIworks VideoOverIP 1.0

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VDIworks yesterday announced the release of its new high-speed connection protocol for virtual desktops, VideoOverIP 1.0. This release drastically improves the user experience delivered in a hosted virtual desktop model, while also allowing customers full freedom to choose their preferred client and host hardware.

While a variety of connection remoting protocols exist in the industry today, many are unsuited for multimedia playback, others are tied to specific Thinclients or server hardware and yet others have technical limitations related to the kinds of video they can accelerate. VideoOverIP is designed to overcome these challenges and provide an enhanced set of features to both the IT manager and the end-user.

Version 1.0 of VideoOverIP includes the following features:

1)   Multi-monitor support
2)   High degree of configurability to deal with network conditions; configurable audio buffers, configurable compression levels, GDI and mirror driver modes etc.
3)   Universal codec independent acceleration; Flash®, MPEG, DivX and all other kinds of animation and video are accelerated without any need for codecs on the Thinclient
4)   KVM and Audio redirection
5)   Support for Hypervisors; Microsoft Hyper-V®, VMware Virtual Server and VMware ESX
6)   Standalone mode and full integration with VDIworks VDP Management Platform and Connection Broker
7)   Support for embedded SKUs of Windows® for deployment on Thinclients
8)   Support for 1:1 operation; Server, Blade PC and legacy PC remoting is also supported without the use of Hypervisors

VideoOverIP is available immediately and supports Windows XPe clients, Windows XP hosts, Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware Virtual Server and VMware ESX.

CodeWeavers Pushes Out CrossOver Mac / Linux 8.0

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CodeWeavers, developer of software products that transform Mac OS X and Linux into Windows-compatible operating systems, today announced the release of CrossOver Mac 8.0 and CrossOver Linux 8.0, both available for purchase immediately.

Both versions of CrossOver 8.0 will include support for Internet Explorer 7, Quicken 2009 and performance upgrades for Microsoft Office 2007, particularly Outlook.

Another major benefit of CrossOver 8.0 is that recent Wine Project developments have resulted in support for a myriad of new applications. “Wine is one of those technologies that improves in little ways all the time.”, said White. “Since we released our 7.0 version last year, a lot of those incremental improvements have helped many more unsupported applications just “magically” start working. We get comments from users all the time on software we’ve never heard of that ‘Hey, this application runs great now!’ More users will see that phenomena happening in 8.0 because Wine has improved so much in the past year or so.”

CrossOver Mac Standard is priced at $39.95, and is a download-only product. CrossOver Mac Pro is priced at $69.95, and can be delivered with an optional CD. CrossOver Linux Standard and Pro mirrors that pricing.

The Professional version comes with 12 months of support and upgrades (as opposed to 6 months for Standard), and also includes a complimentary copy of CrossOver Games, CodeWeavers Windows games compatibility product. All CrossOver products are significantly less expensive than the cost of a Windows license, allowing CodeWeavers users to economically and legally eliminate the need for Windows.

Phoenix Advances The HyperSpace Experience to Include Instant-on Access to Photoshop.com

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Phoenix Technologies today announced that customers will now have instant access to Photoshop.com, the popular Adobe online photo-editing and sharing destination, along with Adobe AIR, Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Reader, on the HyperSpace platform. Phoenix HyperSpace is an instant-on, always-connected, all-day computing environment for netbooks, smartbooks and laptops that simplifies and improves the mobile experience by enabling users to instantly launch applications that can run independently of Windows.

With HyperSpace, users can begin searching the Web, sending and receiving email, using other Web-based applications and working in important productivity applications within seconds of turning on their computer. With the addition of Photoshop.com to the HyperSpace computing environment, users can now access their photos at any time and organize, edit, store and share them in a more secure computing environment. HyperSpace also automatically connects your mobile computer to the best available network, while achieving new levels of uptime and security.

The HyperSpace platform provides a unique computing environment that PC designers, software developers and content providers can utilize to create always-available, instant-on applications that bring new convenience, connectivity, uptime and security to users. PC users will have access to a host of instant-on applications and content including multimedia applications, communications, Web 2.0 browsing, and more. Users will also enjoy the benefits of up to two hours of extra battery life on their HyperSpace-enabled laptops.

NaviSites Selects Mezeo Cloud Storage Platform

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Mezeo has announced that NaviSite has selected the Mezeo Cloud Storage Platform to power its cloud storage solutions.

Already in use by trusted service providers on three continents, Mezeo’s Cloud Storage Platform is building on its reputation by being easy to deploy, highly scalable and highly secure. Its well-designed APIs deliver platform extensibility while its unmatched accessibility includes an integrated Windows desktop, rich Web 2.0 browsers and iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile native client access.

The Mezeo Cloud Storage Platform enables trusted service providers like NaviSite to leverage their own storage infrastructure to quickly and cost-effectively enter the rapidly growing cloud storage services market under their own brand.

Liquidware Labs Introduces Stratusphere 4.2

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Liquidware Labs recently announced the availability of Stratusphere 4.2, a software solution delivering focused visibility into network, user, application, and desktop activity dramatically reducing the technical and financial risks associated with migrating to VDI.

Adding Stratusphere to your environment provides physical and virtual desktop visibility, much like Layer 7 deep packet inspection, without the overhead, cost and complexity – while being easily deployed as an open format virtual appliance. The solution is compatible with all leading VDI platforms including those from VMware, Citrix and Microsoft.

Stratusphere and Connector ID deliver network, user and, application visibility inside desktops, networks, and storage systems. Patented technology automatically inventories and tracks network connections, users, applications and devices, gathering critical metrics for assessment and diagnostics. Fingerprints placed into the header of each TCP/IP packet allow measurement of the network and application response times associated with each user and desktop for deep visibility, including RDP, ICA, PCoIP and other VDI streaming protocols. Within minutes Stratusphere’s patented process, combined with service level policies, delivers real-time visibility in a virtual desktop and datacenter environment and begins to deliver user experience focused metrics for physical machines, virtual machines and related infrastructure and endpoints.

The key features of Stratusphere include:

  • VDI and Physical Machine, Network, Infrastructure, and Application Assessments – move swiftly from proof of concept to production – while ensuring end user experience
  • User Tracking and Problem Solving – once virtualized identify users experiencing or contributing to unexplained systems slow down
  • Virtual Application Compatibility – assess application activity and profile application resource footprint
  • Support Physical Desktops and Servers – provides application and user visibility and detailed configuration information from the desktop to the SAN
  • ART/NRT Interdependency Maps – gain visibility into application response times (ART) and network response times (NRT), application network traffic, Resources Provisioned vs. Resources Consumed – visibility to fine tune your TCO and ROI
  • Proactive Trending and Capacity Planning – allowing projects to be successfully extended to scale
  • VDI FIT and VDI UX (User Experience) Ratings – identify which users should be considered for VDI and ensure a consistent and acceptable desktop SLA

Stratusphere is available now from a select group of virtualization partners and is priced at $49 per user. A desktop enterprise licensing agreement is available.

NetMotion Wireless Releases Mobility XE 8.51

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NetMotion Wireless, provider of mobile productivity and management software, today released version 8.51 of Mobility XE, the company’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) software. The new version now supports the use of character sets commonly used in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and most other European languages.

This enhancement means that IT administrators and end users can use their native language characters for specifying user names, passwords, resources, and rule sets. The new version of Mobility XE also provides support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and 2005 SP3.

NetMotion’s core client-server software, Mobility XE, enables mobile workers to maintain secure connections to applications as they move through wireless coverage gaps and across various networks. Used by more than 1,500 business and agencies, NetMotion Wireless’ software works across Windows(TM)-based laptops and mobile devices. Today’s international feature enhancement follows NetMotion’s recent expansion into Europe and formation of new European subsidiaries.

The updated Mobility XE now supports more than 30 languages.

NetMotion software also facilitates comprehensive reporting on the status of a mobile deployment with its new Mobile Analytics module. The Mobile Analytics module monitors the performance of all individual applications, devices and users within a mobile deployment with more than 20 pre-configured and fully customizable reports, enabling IT managers to measure the performance of a mobile deployment and proactively implement productivity changes, where necessary. The software allows network managers to set thresholds for problems with servers, individual users, or devices, and to receive notifications before critical problems develop, dramatically decreasing help desk calls.

Customers who upgrade to NetMotion Mobility XE 8.51 can now leverage the power of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or 2005 SP3 in conjunction with the new Analytics module to proactively manage their mobile deployment as a business asset.

Around the globe, more than 350,000 mobile workers use NetMotion’s Mobility XE to mitigate some of the most common challenges in mobile deployments today, including application stability as users move in and out of wireless coverage areas, and seamless roaming between Wi-Fi and wide-area cellular networks. In addition, the company provides advanced security and network management controls that extend corporate security policies to mobile devices, while also allowing customers to utilize their existing mobile investments to reliably deploy real-time applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) and streaming video.