8 February 2006 Technology News

• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:47

  Vignette names new CEO
  
  Vignette has named Michael A. Aviles as its new CEO, effective immediately, the company announced Tuesday. Aviles formerly served as CEO of Austin, Texas-based Activant Solutions, a software and IT services provider. He'll also serve as president of Vignette.
  
  Aviles replaces Thomas Hogan, who left the content management company last month to oversee Hewlett-Packards' Technology Solutions Group.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:55

  [url=http://news.com.com/Sun+releases+Sparc+specs+to+lure+Linux/2100-7344_3-6039110.html]Sun releases Sparc specs to lure Linux
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--Sun Microsystems fulfilled a pledge Tuesday to release UltraSparc chip details in an effort to make it easier to bring Linux and versions of BSD Unix to its systems.
  
  In addition, Sun President Jonathan Schwartz announced that the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company will use the General Public License (GPL) to govern the release of the chip design itself.
  
  "Open source is not just about software. Freedom is not just about software. It's going to come to hardware, and we're going to drive that," Schwartz said in a speech at the Open Source Business Conference here.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 11:57

  Gentoo Linux founder quits Microsoft
  
  Daniel Robbins, the founder and former chief architect of the Gentoo Linux project, has quit his job at Microsoft after only eight months, the software giant has confirmed.
  
  Last May, Robbins made the unusual switch from being a well-known member of the free software community to becoming a paid employee of Microsoft, which is one of free and open-source software's biggest critics. He worked under Bill Hilf, who runs Microsoft's Linux and Open Source Software Lab, and had an "educational" role within the company.
  
  Robbins told ZDNet UK in an e-mail Monday that he decided to leave because he was not able to use all his technical skills in his role.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 12:12

  Oracle snags open-source database company
  
  Oracle said on Tuesday that it acquired open-source database company Sleepycat Software for an undisclosed sum.
  
  The database giant said Sleepycat's open-source Berkeley DB database will complement Oracle's existing line of closed-source databases for embedding within applications. The products differ from Oracle's flagship enterprise database software used for general business systems.
  
  The purchase of Sleepycat, which has been rumored for weeks, gives Oracle another open-source product to accompany its proprietary database offerings. At an investor conference last week, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison reiterated the company's strategy to generate revenue from a combination of open-source and proprietary software.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 12:53

  Analyst firm offers rosy view of Itanium
  
  The Itanium processor has had a rocky debut in the more than 11 years since Intel and Hewlett-Packard first announced the chip alliance, but a major analyst firm says things are looking up.
  
  Itanium market awareness is high, not only among the HP server customers who would be expected to know of the processor but also among others, according to a February report from IDC based on a survey of 501 computer system managers at U.S. companies with at least 200 employees.
  
  "Given the colorful history of product development and the slower-than-expected ramp of Itanium server sales, we had frankly expected that awareness of the platform would be spotty and that customer consideration and intent of purchase would be very low. In fact, we found just the opposite," IDC said. "The current market perceptions of Itanium-based servers are quite positive."
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 13:27

  IBM chip architect guns for gigahertz
  
  The gigahertz race is back on, and IBM's Brad McCredie is lacing up his shoes.
  
  Chipmakers have found it harder to kick up a processor's clock speed while actually getting more useful work out of a chip and avoiding inordinate electricity consumption. As a result, Intel, Sun Microsystems and Advanced Micro Devices have begun emphasizing other features--for example, squeezing multiple processing engines, called cores, onto a single slice of silicon or executing many instruction sequences, called threads, simultaneously.
  
  But IBM announced last week at the International Solid State Circuits Convention that its forthcoming Power6 processor will run at least at 4GHz--the same speed Intel tried and failed to reach with Pentium in 2004.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 13:34

  Microsoft to launch Office Live beta
  
  Microsoft plans on Wednesday to kick off the test version of Office Live, the company's collection of Web hosting and business applications for small companies.
  
  The company is targeting businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Although nearly nine in 10 such businesses have Web access, only about half have their own Web site, Microsoft says.
  
  "That's a lot of small businesses without a Web site," said Dean Nicolls, senior product manager for Microsoft's information worker services group. In one sign of the demand, Nicolls said, more than 100,000 businesses have signed up for the test. All of those companies are being included in the test of Office Live, while additional companies can sign up on Microsoft's site.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 13:38

  Microsoft and SugarCRM partner on open source
  
  Microsoft and open-source enterprise applications vendor SugarCRM unveiled a technical collaboration Tuesday under which Sugar CRM will release its next customer relationship management suite under the Microsoft Community License.
  
  The agreement is designed to bolster the interoperability between Microsoft Windows Server products and SugarCRM open-source software. The cooperation highlights the pragmatic spirit that has infused some in the open-source movement to move beyond the culture of fervent philosophical objection to proprietary software makers like Microsoft.
  
  "Over 35 percent of our customers run Microsoft Windows Server," said SugarCRM CEO John Roberts, noting a number of his customers have been asking the open-source company to develop a closer relationship with Microsoft.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 13:52

  Microsoft issues patch for WMF vulnerability
  
  Microsoft released seven security bulletins as part of its monthly update on Tuesday, including a "critical" patch for a Windows Meta File vulnerability in Internet Explorer.
  
  The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker also rated another patch for a vulnerability in Windows Media Player 7.1 as "critical." The five other bulletins were rated "important."
  
  The update for Internet Explorer follows a security advisory the company issued last week after the WMF flaw was discovered. The flaw exists only in IE 5.01 with Service Pack 4 on Windows 2000 and IE 5.5 with Service Pack 2 on Windows ME, Microsoft said in the security advisory.
  
  Exploiting the vulnerability means that someone could seize control of an affected system. Microsoft also recommended last week that users upgrade to IE6 with Service Pack 1.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 14:02

  McNealy to tech firms: Clean up your security act
  
  SAN JOSE, Calif.--The digital divide won't get any smaller until technology companies clean up their security act, according to Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy.
  
  Not surprisingly, he offered up a remedy that involved some of Sun's pet initiatives.
  
  Sun, which primarily sells servers that power the Internet, is aiming to arm the globe with computers that, in part, reduce the digital divide that separates roughly three out of four people in the world from accessing the Internet.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 06, 14:08

  Alleged NASA hacker faces extradition hearing
  
  The British man charged with hacking into a series of computers belonging to the U.S. government began the next stage in his fight against extradition to the United States.
  
  Gary McKinnon is facing extradition on charges of hacking and causing damage to U.S. defense sites. If found guilty, he could face 60 years in prison.
  
  When the U.S. request for extradition was first made, McKinnon admitted that the prospect of facing court in the U.S. "terrified him." Beginning Tuesday he faces a hearing scheduled to last three days to see if he will remain a free man.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:18

  SAP: Open-source rivals won't make the cut
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--A wave of consolidation is sweeping the information technology industry, and many open-source business applications will be left behind when customers pare down their suppliers, an SAP executive predicted Wednesday.
  
  SAP sells proprietary enterprise resource planning software used to track corporate finances and manage relationships with customers, but the German company faces competition from OpenMFG, SugarCRM, Compiere and others.
  
  But those rivals are too immature to make it, said Peter Graf, SAP's executive vice president of marketing, during a speech at the Open Source Business Conference here. When major changes occur--as is happening today with customers retooling computer systems to adapt to the Internet--customers want to bet on known quantities, he said.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:19

  Oracle tried to buy open-source MySQL
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--Oracle tried to acquire open-source database maker MySQL, an indication of the profound changes the software giant is willing to make as it adapts to the increasingly significant collaborative programming philosophy.
  
  Though it is increasingly diversified, Oracle's primary business is selling its own proprietary database software. MySQL, in contrast, is a leader among several companies trying to commercialize rival open-source products.
  
  MySQL Chief Executive Marten Mickos confirmed the acquisition attempt in an interview at the Open Source Business Conference here but wouldn't provide details such as when the approach was made or how much money Oracle offered.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:20

  Opteron price cuts pave way for new dual-core chips
  
  Advanced Micro Devices cut prices on several Opteron processors this week as the company prepares to introduce new memory technology and a new socket for its server chips.
  
  Multiple chips within the Opteron 200 series and Opteron 800 series processors now cost far less than they did last week, said Jane Kovacs, an AMD spokeswoman. The 200-series processors are designed for servers with two processors, while the 800-series chips are designed for four-way servers.
  
  Prices of the most powerful chips in each class, the dual-core Opteron 280 and Opteron 880, fell 34 percent and 43 percent, respectively. The 280 now costs $851, down from $1,299, and the 880 now costs $1,514, down from $2,649. The prices are only a guide that reflect orders in quantities of 1,000 units, since server vendors often negotiate their own pricing, which can differ from published prices. Enthusiasts pay a different price for processors sold at retail stores.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:21

  HP revenue up despite fall in services revenue
  
  Hewlett-Packard's first-quarter revenue and earnings per share came in ahead of expecations, but revenue from its services business fell slightly.
  
  Total revenue for the quarter, which ended Jan. 31, was $22.7 billion, up 6 percent from $21.5 billion in revenue during last year's first quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected the company to record $22.5 billion in revenue.
  
  Earnings per share, excluding a one-time expense from the amortization of purchased assets, were 48 cents, ahead of Thomson's expectations of 44 cents. Net income was $1.2 billion, or 42 cents, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:23

  PCs for the poor: Which design will win?
  
  It's easy to list the benefits of bringing inexpensive computers to the billions of people who live in rural villages and urban centers in the developing world.
  
  Village computers allow kids to take classes in areas where schools have closed and let adults learn pricing strategies for their agricultural products. A van rigged with a satellite connection and printers produces inexpensive books for kids in Uganda.
  
  In some countries, like Egypt, a growing technology base holds the promise of a rising middle class, and eventual political stability.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:28

  Embedded Linux company woos Red Hatter
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--Specifix, a company that customizes Linux for embedded computing devices, has hired its new chief operating officer from Red Hat, Specifix said Wednesday.
  
  James Prasad joined the San Jose, Calif.-based company after serving as general manager of Red Hat's European operations and the executive in charge of the company's partnership with embedded software specialist Wind River. Specifix announced the move in conjunction with the Open Source Business Conference here.
  
  While at Red Hat, Prasad worked with Specifix co-founder Kim Knuttila--and before that both worked for a company called Cygnus Solutions that Red Hat acquired in 1999. Cygnus worked on the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), an open-source programming tool used to create countless software packages.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:29

  Microsoft licenses video patents
  
  Microsoft said Wednesday that it has licensed several interactive video patents from Austin, Texas-based Monkeymedia. The software maker said the "Seamless Expansion" family of patents covers means for artistically putting advertising or other additional content into Internet Protocol video streams.
  
  "Licensing technology is an essential part of maintaining a healthy cycle of innovation in the IT industry and is a practice employed by most all high-tech companies. Microsoft respects intellectual property rights, and by so doing, is able to stand behind its products and customers," Microsoft managing director Ken Lustig said in a statement. Monkeymedia was launched in 1994 by Janna Buckmaster Bear and Eric Gould Bear, who used to work at Microsoft.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:31

  Apple updates Tiger to fix iMac video problem
  
  Apple Computer has released an update to the Mac operating system that it hopes will alleviate the video problems that consumers had experienced with the first Intel-based Macs.
  
  On Tuesday, Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.5, an update to Mac OS X Tiger. Although the update offers a number of fixes for both Power PC and Intel-based Macs, the most noteworthy update is a fix Apple says solves a pesky video problem with its Front Row remote-controlled media software.
  
  In the release notes for the update, Apple says the update "eliminates some potential video redraw issues when using Front Row on Intel-based Macs."
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:32

  Microsoft attacks EU over antitrust process
  
  Microsoft launched an attack on the European Commission on Wednesday, accusing it of disregarding evidence and denying due process.
  
  In a response filed to the European Commission on Wednesday afternoon, the software giant explained why it believes that it has complied with the 2004 antitrust ruling.
  
  In the filing, Microsoft claims that the EC had not reviewed the most recent documentation submitted by Microsoft, when the commission warned in December that Microsoft faced penalties for not providing "complete and accurate" specifications for the server interoperability information.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:32

  Desktop Java beta gallops off
  
  Sun Microsystems said on Wednesday that the beta software for Java Platform Standard Edition 6.0, code-named Mustang, is available. The completed software, which was originally due circa midyear, will be available in the fall, Sun said. The Java Standard Edition, which is developed primarily by Sun, is software programmers use to write desktop applications.
  
  With the Mustang release, Sun has sought to make it easier to use scripting languages such as PHP or Ruby to write portions of Java applications, said Bill Curci, product marketing manager for Java Platform Standard Edition. The update will also improve the diagnostics capabilities to spot bugs. Last year, Sun modified the license around Java to allow developers to see the source code more easily. Sun also changed its development practices so that outsiders can see and contribute to Java development.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:35

  Oracle to sell off Siebel unit OnTarget
  
  Enterprise software giant Oracle on Tuesday said it would divest the OnTarget business unit it acquired with the purchase of Siebel Systems, saying it was not core to its strategy.
  
  When Siebel purchased OnTarget in 1999, it said it would combine OnTarget's suite of training programs and professional services for sales and marketing with Siebel customer relationship management, or CRM, applications. Oracle said it already has received expressions of interest and expects to complete a sell-off this spring.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:36

  China touts recent piracy crackdown
  
  China, often criticized by the West for doing little to tackle widespread music and film piracy from the Internet, on Wednesday touted a four-month campaign it said resulted in 76 Web sites being closed.
  
  Ofiicials said that since September, 172 cases had been investigated--including 14 prompted by requests from overseas companies--and 76 had been shut down.
  
  "Internet copyright infringement activities have been increasingly rampant," Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, told a news conference.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:40

  Congressman wants retailer ID'd in data breach
  
  The top Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday said he would consider legislation to require credit card companies to name the party responsible for consumer data breaches.
  
  In nearly identical letters to the chief executives of Visa USA and MasterCard International, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said a company responsible for security systems that are breached should be the one to notify customers, or should be identified publicly as the party responsible for the breach.
  
  "If this can not be done legally at present, I feel strongly enough on this point to make legislative changes to make this a requirement," Frank wrote to the executives.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 06, 11:43

  Consumer distrust could lash e-commerce
  
  SAN JOSE, Calif.--Symantec and VeriSign executives on Wednesday urged business leaders to protect the digital economy, warning that if online commerce doesn't become more trustworthy, consumers might fall back on old-fashioned purchasing methods.
  
  "We can't go back to the old way of doing business; that's why creating confidence in the digital world is everybody's job," Symantec Chief Executive Officer John Thompson said during a keynote address at the annual RSA Conference here. "Unless each and every one of us, enterprises and consumers, can prove to the other that we are trusted partners, the risks associated with online transactions will become unacceptable."
  
  Digital interactions touch almost everything consumers do, Thompson pointed out. "Even when we think we're unplugged, we're not," he said. Online transactions affect businesses as well, helping them cut costs, among other advantages. Businesses are thus heavily relying on the efficiencies of digital technologies and looking to employ them further in the future.