From the InfoWorld Test Center: When a technical review of WAN optimization and acceleration products begins like this I really have no choice but to cut and paste it in here, verbatim: “I sometimes wonder why there aren’t any movies made about IT superheroes. Sure, there’s always Superman and Batman, but what about WANman — the IT superhero that accelerates high-latency traffic and saves the company from additional Internet bandwidth costs?” Keith Schultz proposes. The wares at hand are Riverbed’s Steelhead and Steelhead Mobile, both of which, Schultz writes, “in my tests proved very adept at making WAN circuits appear cleaner and faster than they really were.” Read the full review. It’s not the products themselves that are lunchbox-worthy here but, “in continuing to improve on an already capable product … Riverbed has once again bolstered the utility belt for WAN-weary IT superheroes.” Gripe Line: Getting to the heart of the warranty question — to buy or not to buy? — Ed Foster asks “does the fact that an extended warranty may turn out well in a particular case mean that you should always get one?” Extended debate over the extended warranty. An electronics salesman and three repairman share insider’s stories, some in favor, others against. Those and some reader’s experiences add up to Foster’s conclusion that, “All in all, I think I still hold to the opinion that, unless you know how to see into the future, extended warranties are just not a good bet.” What’s your take? Talkback via the comments function below, or at the story I linked to above. Sustainable IT: With both AMD and Intel making bold claims about the energy efficiency of their processors, one independent consulting firm took the responsibility upon itself to investigate. In its testing, Neal Nelson adn Associates found that Intel’s Xeon cranks out a higher throughput rate, while AMD consumes less energy. AMD Opteron out greens Intel’s Xeon. “The power consumption at idle is particularly significant since studies have shown that many servers are powered on, but idle, 80 percent of the time,” Nelson explains. Related news: Intel ‘energy-efficient’ claim debunked. Save Windows XP: Sign the petition. Technology Industry