First Release Candidate Of Samba 4 Out

The first release candidate (RC 1) for Samba 4 is now available. The developers have included a directory service that is compatible with Microsoft's Active Directory in the version 4 of the free Windows services server. Samba 4 is not stable for production use. However, it`s out for testing. The RC 1 comes after eight beta releases but there are not much changes.

Among the new features highlighted in the H report, “The file server component that is based Samba 3 now also negotiates the SMB3 dialect; however, the Samba developers have not implemented all of the optional features that can be used in negotiations. "Leases", an improved type of oplock, are not included, but RC1 does provide a first implementation of durable handles. Samba 4 acquired printing capabilities in the most recent beta.”
One of the latest things in the RC1 is it uses the internal DNS server by default, implemented by Kai Blin. Interested Samba users can familiarise themselves with Samba 4 by checking the 'how to' documentation.
Samba 4 RC 1 source code is available for download from the project's servers. The source code for Samba is licensed under the GPLv3.

India May Have The Fastest Supercomputer By 2017

We often hear developed countries creating revolutionary technologies but if reports are to be believed, India may house the fastest supercomputer by 2017. Reportedly, the Indian government is aiming to build a supercomputer that would be 61 times faster than the one that exists currently.

Telecom and IT minister, Kapil Sibal shared the charted roadmap with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The document talks about ways to build petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers. The entire project will cost the Indian government an estimated Rs 4,700 crore. We recently reported that India’s top supercomputer ranks 58th globally in terms of its computing speed.
And if this supercomputer actually becomes reality, then it will be faster than Sequoia by IBM, which is the fastest supercomputer in the world at present. It is said to have a computing speed of 16.32 petaflops. Which means it has the same computing power as combined with over 7.8 lakhs high-end laptops together.
Petaflop is used to measure the processing speed of a computer, which is expressed as a thousand trillion floating point operations per second. Exaflop is one quintillion computer operations per second. Simply put, one exaflop is thousand times faster than one petaflop, Tech 2 reports.
A government official told media, “In his (Sibal's) letter, he has said that C-DAC has developed a proposal with a roadmap to develop a petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers in the country with an outlay of Rs 4,700 crore."

DataWind To Discontinue UbiSlate 7+ Tablet

he company behind Aakash and UbiSlate, DataWind that previously surprised the consumer electronics market with its low-cost tablets has another revelation to make. However, this time the company is taking a step back. DataWind is reportedly planning to discontinue its low cost tablet, UbiSlate7+.

The company has cited the fluctuating rupee-dollar value as the chief reason. According to a company official, the firm is looking forward to end the UbiSlate 7+ tablet as it is bringing losses to the firm. The tablet priced at Rs 2,999 had set the Indian market on fire with its pricing.
Earlier this year in April, DataWind announced the launch of its low cost Android-tablet- UbiSlate7+ which infused severe hype among tablet enthusiasts. As an outcome, DataWind's website was flooded with pre-orders. However, this remains to be a clueless mystery as to why a majority of the pre-orders are still not met and the majority of the customers are left with nothing but anguish and frustration with them.
But all this does seem to dither the company's focus in the Indian tablet market as it has launched four new tablets last week. The new tablets are priced below Rs 5,000.
On the other hand, the large customer group that pre-ordered the UbiSlate 7+ and are anticipating their dream tablet for many months might have to think of some another choice now.

Windows Server 2012 Powers the Cloud OS

Today in a global online launch event Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft Server and Tools Business, announced the general availability of Windows Server 2012. In his keynote speech, Nadella described how Windows Server 2012 is a cornerstone of the Cloud OS, which provides one consistent platform across private, hosted and public clouds.

“The operating system has always been the heartbeat of IT and is now undergoing a renaissance in the new world of continuous cloud services, connected devices and big data,” Nadella said. “Microsoft’s unique legacy in the most widely used operating systems, applications and cloud services positions us to deliver the Cloud OS, based on Windows Server and Windows Azure, helping customers achieve a datacenter without boundaries.”

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Enabling the Modern Datacenter

Microsoft built Windows Server 2012 from the cloud up, applying its experience operating global datacenters that rely on hundreds of thousands of servers to deliver more than 200 cloud services. Windows Server 2012 expands the definition of a server operating system, with significant new advancements in virtualization, storage, networking and automation. Hundreds of new features can help customers achieve a transformational leap in the speed, scale and power of their datacenters and applications. In combination with Windows Azure and System Center, Windows Server 2012 empowers customers to manage and deliver applications and services across private, hosted and public clouds.

Customers Find Success With Windows Server 2012

Customers can use their existing skills and investments in systems management, application development, database, identity and virtualization to take advantage of Windows Server 2012 and realize the promise of cloud computing. Many enterprise customers are already seeing tremendous value in early deployments. A survey of 70 early adopter customers from across the globe revealed that they expect, on average, 52 percent reduction in downtime, 41 percent reduction in workload deployment time, and 15 hours of productivity time saved per year, per employee. 91 percent of the companies surveyed expect a reduction in server administration labor, and 88 percent expect reduction in network administration labor.*

Menzies Aviation, an airline passenger and cargo handling company that employs more than 17,000 people, is using Windows Server 2012 to provide identity access management and information access policies to its employees as it rapidly incorporates newly acquired businesses.

“We are very impressed by Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft’s overall solution to help us manage our systems and applications across our private cloud environments as they scale with our business,” said Martin Gallington, senior vice president of IT at Menzies Aviation. “This is a dramatic leap forward, matched by a simple, cost-effective pricing model.”

Equifax is a global information solutions provider that organizes and assimilates data on more than 500 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide. It now counts on Windows Server 2012 for improved reliability and uptime of its information services to clients.

“Windows Server 2012 revolutionizes how we can operate our datacenter, allowing us to better meet our commitments,” said Bryan Garcia, chief technology officer at Equifax. “The new high availably technologies help us deliver ‘always-on’ applications, and we’re betting on Hyper-V as a critical component of our private cloud strategy. We are gaining tremendous efficiencies, which translate into more time to innovate for company growth.”

More information about Windows Server 2012 and the Cloud OS is available here. Read Satya Nadella’s post on The Official Microsoft Blog here. The conversation on Twitter can be followed at #WinServer.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* “Windows Server 2012 Rapid Deployment Program: TCO Study Whitepaper,” Microsoft Corp., June 2012

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