Agency mum about system failure

Nearly two weeks after a major state agency's computer system failed, there is no official word on the cause, states LJWorld.

This week the Kansas Department of Health and Environment continued restoring systems from the crash that started on August 5 and ultimately affected 150 servers with 24.7 TB of data.

Department secretary Roderick Bremby held a news conference asking for patience from the public saying no data had been compromised or lost.

A Swedish political party dedicated to copyright reform and privacy rights says it has agreed to host several new servers for the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, CNN reports.

The Pirate Party says it agreed to host the servers during a visit last weekend by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"The contribution of WikiLeaks is tremendously important to the entire world," Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge says.

Microsoft says the preview of its next generation Windows Small Business Server (SBS) codenamed Aurora, is available for download, notes ITChannelPlanet.

Aurora is aimed at SMEs with fewer than 25 users that either lack a network or use peer-to-peer networking, offering on-premise functionality and cloud services, the company says.

“For these businesses, Windows SBS codename Aurora provides a cost-effective and easy-to-use way to simplify computing infrastructure,” says Kevin Kean, general manager, Windows home and SBS.