A new set of performance benchmark results have been released by the TPC (Transaction Processing Performance Council). The TPC-E rank Microsoft SQL Server 2008 number one for price/performance using Intel’s Dunnington x64 processor. SQL Server 2008 also came number one for performance with the new IBM System x3950 M2 server.

SQL Server 2008 was released last month (August 2008) and has been downloaded half a million times according to Microsoft Statistics. SQL Server is a key part of the Microsoft Application Platform (MAP) which allows customers create and use dynamic business applications. SQL Server primarily focuses on data warehousing, security and reporting and is very scalable.

For more information about SQL Server 2008 please consult the Microsoft website.

It is important to back up the data you store on your computer/network regularly. If your computer or a computer on your network was to get a virus you could potentially lose important work/information. There is also the possibility that your hardware may fail.

The best way to back up your system is to use software such as Cobain Backup, which allows you to backup all of your computers data including multimedia files, documents and user profiles. It is recommended you back up your data to an external storage medium such as an external hard drive or a web server. Cobain Backup is free and can also be used to automate the backup process meaning that you do not have to worry about your data being recoverable should the unfortunate happen.

EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition, the first completely free partition manager that runs on Windows Vista has been released. Partition Manager is software that allows you to manage hard disk partitions. The software allows you to create, resize, move, edit, hide/unhide and format partitions.

What is a hard disk partition?

A hard disk partition is a portion of a hard drive. When you create a partition it acts as if it is a separate hard disk drive in the operating system.

For example when you install Windows a partition is created, usually named “c:”

Why use a partition?

Partitions are commonly used to organise data. For example you could create a partition on your hard disk drive to store multimedia (such as music, photos and videos), another to store documents and another to hold your operating system. The advantage of this is that you know exactly where each type of data is stored. Additionally you can easily backup one partition without having to sort through all files to find what you want.

Where can I get EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition?

To download EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition please visit their website. Please note that this software is only free for users of Windows Vista 32-Bit.

The new Windows HPC Server 2008 from Microsoft was launched today. The high-performance computing (HPC) server was developed in partnership with Big Blue and uses IBM’s System X hardware.

HPC Server 2008 has been designed with efficiency in mind. Microsoft claims that HPC will reduce the administration and management of existing systems infrastructure and “harness the power of di1stributed computing” without overcomplicating the usability.

Around 100 large organisations tested Windows HPC Server 2008 during its development including Morgan Stanley and many other companies in the financial services sector. Microsoft specifically chose these companies as they require reliable real-time analysis of markets which requires high specification machines.

The release of HPC Server 2008 follows last week’s announcement that Microsoft is to develop a $25,000 ‘personal’ supercomputer in partnership with Cray. For more information on Windows HPC Server 2008 please consult the official website.

Microsoft has released version three of the MSN Toolbar. The MSN Toolbar is a useful plug-in for Internet Explorer that allows you to view the latest news from the MSNBC website and perform live search in your browser rather than having to visit the website. The toolbar also gives you access to other MSNBC web pages including Entertainment, Sports, Money and Shopping at the click of a button.

To find out more about the MSN Toolbar or to download it please visit the official website.