computer servers news stories on Newser

Web Service May Die for Hundreds of Thousands

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:44:06 CDT

The FBI says it's time for Windows users to make sure their computers aren't infected by an unusual virus. As it stands, hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide are infected and will be unable to surf the Web after July 9, the AP reports. It all started when an Estonian...

Facebook Expands ... on Edge of Arctic Circle

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:53:37 CDT

Facebook's quest for world domination is taking it to the edge of the Arctic Circle. The company today confirmed that it plans to open a new server farm in Lulea, Sweden—its first outside the US. The city, located just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle, is a chilly...

Amazon Server Screw-Up Takes Down Dozens of Sites

Kevin Spak — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:46:05 CDT

Dozens of sites across the Internet went dark yesterday, thanks to a major Amazon.com server crash that has now stretched beyond 24 hours and is still causing trouble for some. Amazon's own storefront is fine, but the company also rents out server space to lots of other major sites,...

Facebook to Reveal One of Its Secrets

Matt Cantor — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:01:07 CDT

Facebook is ready to share one of its secrets: The company will unveil the details of its server design—something most big tech firms keep under wraps—in an effort to improve server technology and efficiency throughout the industry. The firm will publish the technical details of the building design,...

Web Users Worldwide Help Iranians Thwart Censors

Rob Quinn — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:38:43 CDT

Iranians are using every trick in the book to get information past the country's tight censorship of the Internet and to the outside world—and the outside world is doing its best to help, CNET reports. Sympathizers have set up a huge number of proxy servers to help disseminate information...

IBM to Nab Rival Sun for $7B

Matt Cantor — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:11:57 CDT

IBM looks set to buy rival Sun Microsystems in a $7 billion deal that would make IBM king of the lucrative Unix server market, the New York Times reports. The $9.50-per-share agreement, already approved by IBM’s board, insiders say, could be announced today—though next week is more probable....

Intel Unveils High-Speed Chip

Harry Kimball — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:46:53 CDT

Intel has rolled out a new chip for servers that will more than double the effectiveness of systems but consume no extra power, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Xeon 5500 excels at “virtualization,” allowing multiple operating systems and applications to run on one server—which Intel hopes will attract...

Apple Server Meltdown Foils Launch of iPhone 3G

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:56:29 CDT

The launch of Apple's hotly anticipated iPhone 3G turned into an IT meltdown today, as customers were unable to get their new phones working. A global problem with Apple's iTunes servers prevented the phones from being activated in-store, as planned. Employees implored buyers to perform the last step on their...

Web Crashes Take Bigger Toll, Fuel Bigger Outrages

Kevin Spak — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:59:02 CDT

A crashing website once was no big deal, but now it can cost a company millions and send customers into fits of rage. In a sign of the times, one San Francisco web engineer has started downforeveryoneorjustme.com, allowing visitors to see whether a site is down or if it's...