Apple unveils Xsan 2

In the first major upgrade to its Storage Area Network (SAN) file system, Apple on Tuesday introduced Xsan 2, adding a new feature called MultiSAN and making it easier for first time users to get up and running.

“The feedback we’ve heard from customers is that a SAN is too difficult to setup, so one of the goals in this release was to make SAN simpler,” Eric Zelenka, senior product line manager server & storage software, told Macworld.

One of the ways Apple has accomplished this is with the SAN Setup Assistant, which is integrated into Mac OS X Leopard Server or as an application that can be run on its own. When first setting up Mac OS X Server, a fourth option automatically appears if you have a Fibre Channel card installed. The setup assistant will do all the heavy lifting for you, setting up everything including Open Directory permissions.

Xsan 2 also includes a new feature called MultiSAN for users who need to access multiple Xsan volumes from the same workstation or server. Zelenka pointed to examples like a newsroom with separate SAN volumes for production and broadcast.

“Tens of thousands of businesses, from small video post-production houses to large data centers and TV stations, use Xsan as their clustered SAN file system,” said Zelenka. “Now with Xsan 2, businesses can efficiently share and access their data faster and easier than ever before.”

In addition, Apple said that Leopard Server features such as iCal Server, Mail Server and Podcast Producer, can now integrate with Xsan 2 to support clustered file systems, improving performance and scalability and reducing the impact of a service outage from the loss of any one server.

Xsan 2 has also been qualified with third-party RAID storage hardware from Promise Technology in configurations tuned and optimized for Xsan.

Apple has qualified Xsan 2 with Xserve, Mac Pro and Apple Fibre Channel PCI-X cards. Xsan 2 requires that Mac OS X version 10.5 or Mac OS X Server version 10.5 software be installed and will support qualified Fibre Channel switches from vendors such as Brocade, QLogic and Cisco, and RAID storage hardware including Xserve RAID and Promise VTrak E-Class RAID subsystems.

Apple discontinues Xserve RAID

pple on Tuesday quietly discontinued its Xserve RAID enterprise storage product line. It disappeared from the online Apple Store shortly after the company introduced Xsan 2 this morning.

However, Apple struck a deal with Promise Technology to have its RAID systems qualified for use with Xsan 2, so users are not left out in the cold. Apple said the Promise product delivers on the features its customers have been asking for and it also delivers significantly greater performance.

“We decided to focus our efforts where we could add most value, with Xserve, Xsan and Leopard Server,” Apple spokesman Anuj Nayar, told Macworld.

Customers that already own an Xserve RAID will still be able to add Apple storage too. While the RAID system itself has been discontinued, the company will still sell modules for it.

“Xserve RAID is still available while supplies last and we will continue to sell the 500 and 750GB drive modules,” said Nayar. “For new RAID purchases we recommend the Promise VTrack E-Class subsystem.”

Each VTrak RAID 3U subsystem supports up to 16 integrated 3.5-inch SATA or SAS drives and an expansion chassis that can deliver another 16 SATA or SAS drives, for capacities up to 24TB per configuration. The system also comes with dual redundant active-active, failover/failback RAID controllers, 4Gb Fibre Channel connections to the host, RAID 5 and RAID 6 support, with global and dedicated hot spare hard drives.

According to Promise the VTrak E-Class RAID subsystem delivers outstanding performance for general server and video storage workloads, reaching up to 1400MB/s of sequential read performance and 617MB/s of sequential write performance in a RAID 5 configuration with redundant controllers. When configured with Apple’s Xsan 2 clustered file system and Final Cut Studio 2 video suite, the 32-drive Vtrak subsystem delivers up to 6 streams of 8-bit uncompressed high definition video, 22 streams of ProRes HQ compressed HD video and 26 streams of 8-bit uncompressed SD video.

Even with its exit from the enterprise storage market, Apple says it is committed to the overall market.

“Apple continues to deliver innovative hardware and software products for customers in our core professional markets,” said Nayar. “We announced Xsan 2 today, upgraded Xserve last month and have recently released a groundbreaking new version of OS X Server, packed with new features

Apple iPhone Bluetooth Keyboard with Pictures !

Purchase Apple iPhone bluetooth keyboard here !







You wanted it we got it. Finally some Apple iPhone blue tooth enable keyboard pictures featuring the MACally BTKEYMINI BT KEY MINI Keyboard for the Apple iPhone. This promises to be a big hit and AValive is taking pre-orders on this hot new bluetooth accessory for the Apple iphone

From Macworld.com

Many products you see at Macworld Expo look so much like other ones you’ve seen before, it’s tempting to pass them by. But doing so means you sometimes miss out on some very interesting stuff.

For example, BTKeyMini: As you might deduce from its name—or perhaps not—the BTKeyMini is a small, Bluetooth keyboard, designed to fold up and carry in your bag. Not terribly interesting, as I’ve seen many such keyboards in the past.

But if MacAlly’s representatives have been correctly informed, this keyboard is something special. According to the representative I spoke with, when the BTKeyMini arrives this March, it will work with the iPhone, meaning you’ll be able to use it to type in any iPhone application that would normally use an onscreen keyboard. Given that many, many people have tried to pair various Bluetooth keyboards with the iPhone, I was surprised by this claim, so I asked again to confirm. And then I asked a third time. MacAlly assured me I was understanding correctly.

New 3G Apple iphone Almost Here

From Forbes
BURLINGAME, CALIF. -

Apple outraged many of its fans last year when Chief Executive Steve Jobs dropped the price of the 8 gigabyte model of the phone by $200 just two months after putting the phone on sale in June. They were angered again last month when the company upgraded the software for the iPod Touch--and then demanded $20 for the upgrade from anyone who had already purchased the widescreen video player.

But if anyone complains when Apple introduces faster, better iPhones later this year, they'll have only themselves to blame. So, here's a bit of advice: if you haven't bought an iPhone yet, do yourself a favor and wait a little longer.

The signs are all there. While Apple's secretiveness is legendary, it can't keep its partners from discussing their own plans. In a move that must have rankled Jobs, AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson let it slip in November that AT&T and Apple would offer a version of the iPhone this year that works with AT&T's third-generation wireless network.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

That will be a big improvement. The EDGE network used by today's iPhones allows users to download data at average speeds of between 75 and 150 kilobits per second, according to AT&T. By contrast, those on AT&T's new HSDPA network can get data at more than a million bits per second--roughly 10 times as fast as today's EDGE networks.

While a high-speed wireless connection is a nice plus for users of typical mobile phones, it promises to do wonders for widescreen iPhones, which combine the ability to play movies and surf the Web with features found on more traditional mobile phones, like the ability to send text messages.

To be sure, a 3G iPhone likely won't pop up over the next several weeks. The Unofficial Apple Weblog reported this week that Apple is hiring a television production firm in preparation for a high-profile late February announcement. That event, however, will likely detail the widely anticipated release of a software developer's kit for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch.

But the wait can't drag on much longer. AT&T is building out its high-speed wireless network as quickly as it can, announcing Wednesday that it will expand its 3G wireless broadband service to more than 80 additional cities by the end of the year for a total of roughly 350 markets (See: "AT&T's Stealthy Plans"). Meanwhile, iPhone chip supplier Broadcom last year began cranking out samples of a power-sipping, 3G-friendly chip, the BCM21551, that could give the iPhone access to AT&T's new network without sucking the gadget's battery dry too quickly.

Finally, there are even a few smoke signals coming from Apple itself. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company quietly upgraded the storage on its highest-end iPhone to 16 GB for an extra $100 this week. That extra memory would give the phone the ability to handle fatter video downloads. And even Steve Jobs has shown his frustration with the slow pace at which some Web sites show up on the iPhone, muttering about the slow loading time of the nytimes.com during his last keynote.

And, as anyone who has ever worked at Apple can tell you, when Jobs gets frustrated, things get changed.

Navitar Expands Lens Design And Special Optics Rapid Prototype Capabilities With Purchase of Special Optics.

Rochester, New York – February 1, 2008 – Navitar, a global leader in the design, manufacturer and distribution of precision optics and opto-mechanical assemblies for the machine vision and digital projection industries announced today the acquisition of Special Optics, a privately owned manufacturer of optical assemblies for long range surveillance, laser scanning, laser projection, UV, visible, and infrared applications.

Headquartered in Wharton, New Jersey, and founded in 1965, Special Optics is a fully integrated provider of custom, precision optical and electro-optical solutions that span markets and applications from medical imaging, semiconductor metrology, digital projection, laser projection, laser scanning, digital radiology, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, missile tracking, and homeland security & defense.

According to Julian Goldstein and Jeremy Goldstein, co-presidents of Navitar, the acquisition of Special Optics provides the following key benefits:

• Special Optics rapid prototyping and lens design capabilities will increase Navitar’s product offerings and complement Navitar’s strong lens manufacturing capabilities and ability to bring those innovative designs into volume production.
• The combination of Navitar’s volume production expertise and Special Optics rapid design and prototype capabilities is expected to enable Navitar to increase its competitive advantage and technical offering to military contractors and commercial accounts seeking to outsource optics based assemblies.

David Manzi, President of Special Optics explains “the acquisition by Navitar provides us with an expanded range of capabilities to offer our customers. Now, when the rapid prototyping stage has been completed, Navitar’s world leading production facilities can easily accommodate volume production as programs grow. With the design and prototyping strengths of Special Optics combined with the financial strength and production capabilities of Navitar, we can now accommodate anything from custom optical assemblies used in long distance surveillance or unmanned aerial vehicles to over 1,000 units per year for precision lenses used in new biomedical applications.

About Navitar, Inc.
Navitar is the leading supplier of optics, opto-mechanical sub-assemblies and opto-electronic system solutions for the machine vision, microscopy, automation, assembly, imaging, testing, measuring, inspection, nanotechnology and digital projection industries. Navitar, Inc. has offices and subsidiaries in the U.S., Japan, Germany, China, Israel, and the United Kingdom. For more information about Navitar, Inc. and their vast offering of innovative products, call 1-877-387-5464

If you have any questions about this acquisition, please contact your Navitar Sales representative.

Avalive is proud to represent the Navitar product line for the last 10 years. To see the complete Navitar product line please click here