Jay Livens

I am a technology enthusiast with an interest in all things tech-related. By day, I work in marketing for SEPATON a data protection and deduplication vendor and by night I tinker with technology. I am interested in many topics including data backup/recovery, data storage, PDAs, sports, digital photography and social media. When not blogging here, you can also find me blogging on at Aboutrestore.com or on Twitter. You can also contact me directly. Comments are not moderated on this blog and alternative perspectives are welcome.

Latest from Jay Livens

Why Recovery Matters: Two Case Studies

I started this blog over two years ago to focus on the criticality of data protection and specifically data recovery.  While technology continues to evolve, the importance of these two elements remains consistent.  Every company must have a recovery strategy to protect against data loss or corruption.  Some people may be inclined to de-emphasize backup ...

HP acquires 3Par: Now what?

Last week, I blogged about the 3Par bidding war and how I thought that HP would prevail.  Yesterday, Dell refused to match HP’s latest offer and so unless something crazy happens, HP is now the proud owner of 3Par for the rock bottom price of $2.4B!  The price is more than double Dell’s initial bid ...

Why HP will prevail over Dell in the 3Par bidding war

The Twittersphere and storage industry are abuzz with the ongoing bidding for 3Par.  HP and Dell are aggressively pursuing the company and have a vested interest in 3Par technology. I believe that HP is more motivated to acquire 3Par and will prevail. Both Dell and HP believe that a 3Par acquisition will generate additional business ...

The “Googizon” Perspective: The Principals of Network Neutrality are Eroding at the Top

One of the biggest surprises this week was the net neutrality announcement from Google and Verizon (Googizon).  The New York Times covers the announcement here and the situation raises significant concerns about future control and innovation on the Internet. Net neutrality relates to freedom of accessing data on the Internet and it suggests that all ...

Challenges Inherent to Data Growth

One of the biggest challenges with data protection is managing growth.  Some of the common factors that drive increasing capacity requirements include: Intrinsic growth – Growth inherent in the environment as users create new data. New applications – Companies implement new applications to meet changing business requirements.  These solutions could replace existing technologies or could ...

The Lessons of Dell’s Ocarina Acquisition

This week, Dell acquired Ocarina, a provider of primary storage deduplication.  The acquisition provides technology that they can integrate with existing storage platforms such as EqualLogic.  However, Dell also sells deduplication technology from EMC/Data Domain, CommVault and Symantec.  Dave West at CommVaultsuggests that these technologies are complementary, and I agree. However, the announcement raises a ...

What Does the Kin Cancellation Mean for the Upcoming Windows Mobile Phone 7?

This week Microsoft announced that they were discontinuing their Kin product line.  The Kin phones are their new social-oriented devices that were developed by their Danger subsidiary who also designed the Sidekick family for T-Mobile.  (On a side note, the Sidekick was discontinued this week too.  Coincidence?)  The Kin was the first all new phone ...

Time to Throw Out the Broken Twitter Toy?

I am an avid Twitter user and enjoy the interactions the service creates.  It is amazing how you can build relationships through 140 character discussions.  In many respects, Twitter has become an integral part of my daily schedule, and I view Twitter as another medium for communication like phones, email or texting.  However, the recent ...

Amazon Cuts the Price of a Kindle. Is it Enough?

Amazon recently reduced the price of the its Kindle eBook reader to $189 from $259.  This is a substantial discount, but does it matter?  Personally, I am not convinced about the benefits of the Kindle or equivalent eBook readers.  Here is why: DRM I am frustrated with the strict Digital Rights Management (DRM) inherent in ...

WordPress 3.0 is Here: My Four Favorite Features

I have been an active user of WordPress for two years and just recently converted this site to the system.  WordPress is a fantastic blogging engine, but there are some areas that need improvement.  Version 3.0 is a major release and is currently in beta.  It will provide many meaningful enhancements; here are four that ...