Verizon Gets Fed Backing On Alltel Deal ·
The Justice Department signed off on a proposed merger between Verizon Wireless and Alltel, which will create the nation's largest wireless company. The approval is contingent on Verizon divesting itself of radio spectrum assets in 22 states. (Washington Post)
October 31, 2008
Information Technology
Analysts Take Grim View Of Motorola’s Plans ·
Motorola outlined plans to streamline costs through layoffs and reorganize the way it does business during an earnings call, but analysts say in so doing, Motorola may lose the scale it needs to compete with bigger rivals like Nokia. (BusinessWeek)
Virtualization Saves Insurer $2.2M ·
Nationwide says it has cut the number of servers it uses in half, amounting to $2.2 million in savings, thanks to the use of virtualization software from VMware, and can also delay data center expansion for an extra 3 years. (Computerworld)
Sprint Disconnects Cogent, May Slow Web ·
Cogent Communications, the worldwide broadband provider, claims Sprint severed the connection between their networks. Cogent alleges that Sprint is in “violation of a contractual obligation" to allow "peering." (GigaOM)
Federal Court Limits Patents ·
A federal appeals court ruled that pure software or business method patents that are neither tied to a specific machine nor change something into a different state cannot be patented, possibly invalidating a great number of existing patents. (Techdirt)
Google Extends Service Level Agreements ·
Google extended its Gmail service level agreement (SLA) to customers of Google Apps Premiere Editions in order to dispel doubts about the reliability of its cloud computing services, and posted reliability metrics for Gmail in a blog post. (InformationWeek)
Microsoft Slimming Future Windows ·
Microsoft will ship a slimmed-down Windows in the future, replacing much of the software previously included in its OS with Web-based services. Software chief Ray Ozzie says Windows will be used to optimize hardware performance rather than to add software. (InfoWorld)
Informatica Offering Salesforce.com Integration Service ·
Informatica will announce a Web-based integration service for synchronizing data between on-premise databases and applications hosted by Salesforce.com, and is designed to be easy enough for use by a tech-savvy employee or Salesforce administrator in a business division. (InformationWeek)
CTOs Still Shun The Cloud ·
Enterprise technology leaders remain leery about trusting the cloud with mission-critical applications and sensitive data, despite the major bets placed in this arena by the likes of Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle and other large companies. (InfoWorld)
Silicon Valley VCs Preach Frugality ·
Venture capitalists say they have learned from the dot-com rash of 2000-2001 and are counseling start-ups to behave prudently by doing things like putting off software purchases and using Web-based programs like Google Docs instead, and moving cash into Treasuries. (NYT, Scobleizer)
SAP Retrenching In Face Of Recession ·
SAP will focus on its traditional licensed software applications business, scale back the roll-out of its Business ByDesign SaaS ERP initiative, and transition its hosted computing business to business partners such as AT&T, Accenture, and British Telecom. (InformationWeek)
Oracle Acquires Policy Automation Software Vendor ·
Oracle plans to acquire Haley, which specializes in policy automation applications that allow government agencies to administer benefits according to rules set down by legislation. The applications are also used in heavily-regulated industries such as financial services. (InformationWeek)
Asus, Intel Crowd-Source PC Design ·
Asus and Intel launched WePC, a Web site where users can introduce design and technical specifications for new netbook and notebook models; the companies say their developers will monitor the site and incorporate useful ideas into their models. (Engadget)
Outsourcing Boosted By Recession ·
Demand for outsourcing is outstripping investment in hardware and software as customers focus on cost-cutting in the short term. Forty percent of 200 outsourcing service suppliers surveyed, including Accenture, Capgemini, IBM, Infosys, and Wipro, reported increased demand levels. (InfoWorld)
Hard Drive Maker LaCie Offers Online Backup ·
LaCie is offering potential customers unlimited online backup for one year with the purchase of any of the company's external storage devices. The company says online storage vendor Carbonite will provide the service. (Computerworld)
