Sun Microsystems is upgrading its lower-end UltraSparc-based servers–but the new systems will arrive with a chip family introduced in 2003 instead of the faster successors the company had planned. The UltraSparc IIIi+ processor, code-named Serrano, was to be the major new feature that distinguishes three as-yet unannounced servers–the Sun Fire V215, V245 and V445–from their current UltraSparc IIIi-powered equivalents, the V210, V240 and V440. Instead, those new systems will arrive with the UltraSparc IIIi "Jalapeno" processor, which first arrived in 2003.

In the wake of widely publicized security compromises at AOL and AT&T, a study released Aug. 28 by privacy management research company Ponemon Institute finds that only 37 percent of IT professionals believe their company is effective at detecting data breaches. Citing a lack of resources and high product costs as barriers to preventing data leakage, respondents were uncertain about their company’s ability to discover breaches of confidential information. Only 43 percent believed that their company would detect a large breach (involving more than 10,000 customer records) more than 80 percent of the time. 17 percent of respondents felt their company would correctly detect a small data breach (involving less than 100 customer records) more than 80 percent of the time.

Intel aims to change the corporate desktop landscape with its vPro platform. The business desktop chip platform, which incorporates Intel’s recently introduced Core 2 Duo processor and a new supporting chip set that includes its Advanced Management Technology, will be unveiled on Sept. 7 and is expected to be used in PCs from some brand-name PC makers almost immediately, sources familiar with Intel’s plans said. Intel says vPro, made public for the first time in April, will bolster security for desktop PCs and make them easier to manage remotely, two things it says will aid corporate IT managers and ultimately help companies save on PC management costs.

RadioShack announced plans to reduce its workforce by roughly 400 to 450 positions, and those plans came to fruition on Tuesday. However, the firm’s usage of email to deliver the news is garnering a media storm of criticism. About 400 RadioShack staffers employed at its Forth Worth, Texas headquarters were emailed an electronic pink slip Tuesday morning, alerting them of their immediate dismissal.

Lenovo Group has snagged a fifth Dell executive in two weeks to help run its business in Asia. On Thursday Lenovo appointed Gerry Smith, 43, as senior vice president of its global supply chain, effective immediately. Smith was previously vice president in charge of Dell’s Singapore design center and its displays unit. He replaces Liu Jun, who ran Lenovo’s supply chain group for the past year and is taking a year’s sabbatical, the company said.

Dell will open a second call center in the Philippines early next year to provide additional tech support for its U.S. customers. The center is expected to take its first calls in February 2007, Dell announced on Thursday. It follows the opening of another call center in the country earlier this year. Dell announced in March that it would increase the staff at that call center from 700 to 1,400 employees. The staffing level for the new center has not yet been set, it said.

In the future of the process of building software, the ability to do more with less could become the norm, some developers say. ##"The future of programming is less,"## said David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of the Ruby on Rails Web application framework and a developer at 37signals in Chicago. "Less configuration, less committees, less proprietary infrastructure. The rise of open source is causing this. Along with this transformation, we’ll see the open-source, dynamic languages start displacing their enterprisey counterparts." Hansson’s Ruby on Rails is considered a lightweight alternative to the Java Enterprise Edition.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt is joining Apple Computer’s board of directors, the computer maker said on Tuesday, creating a close tie between two of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies. The addition of Schmidt to the board of Cupertino, CA-based Apple brings the total number of board members to eight, including Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and CEO, and Al Gore, former vice president of the United States. Schmidt was elected at a board meeting held on Tuesday, an Apple representative said. Schmidt also sits on the board of directors of Mountain View, CA-based Google and Princeton University’s board of trustees.

AOL has received bids of "well over" 600 million euros ($766 million) for the Internet access business in Germany, an AOL source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday. The source’s comments contradict a report from German newswire dpa-AFX, which reported–citing unnamed sources–that bids had come in at 400 million euros to 450 million euros, well below an earlier target of 600 million euros. AOL, the online division of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc., retooled its strategy recently and now has decided to give most of its Web services away for free to boost online advertising sales.

Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems are announcing an expanded partnership in which HP’s Technical Services group will implement enterprise-class wireless installations based on Cisco’s new 3750G wireless controllers and Unified Wireless Network Software 4.0. Applications supported by the new partnership include IT asset tracking, presence-based applications, voice, and intrusion detection and prevention.