CIO —
1. Microsoft Plays Catch-Up on Services, PC World, 11/3.
Microsoft made its usual hoopla over a new strategy this week, with Bill Gates characterizing Live Software as a revolution in how to view applications. But when you strip away the hype, Microsoft’s latest take on software as a service is more about catching up with other players in the market like Google and Yahoo.
2. Oracle Readies Free Database, PC World, 11/1.
If you can’t beat them, join them. Recognizing the inroads open-source players like MySQL are making into the low end of the database market, Oracle is readying a free version of its database, 10g Express, to run on 32-bit Windows and Linux operating system. Microsoft is about to release a low-end free database SQL Server Express.
3. What’s Wrong with Dell?, InfoWorld, 11/1.
Missing a quarterly revenue target once could perhaps be counted a blip, but twice in row? Clearly all’s not well with Dell with both its U.S. consumer business and its entire U.K. operations performing below par. Additionally, the company plans to take a $450 million charge to lay off staff, write down excess inventory and replace faulty capacitors in its OptiPlex desktops. The full gory picture will appear next week when Dell releases its third-quarter financials.
4. Mercury CEO, CFO Resign in Accounting Probe Wake, InfoWorld, 11/2.
It shouldn’t happen anymore, should it? But here we go again, another accounting scandal, this time at software vendor Mercury Interactive. A special committee of Mercury board members discovered that over a 10-year period the company incorrectly reported the date of at least 49 stock-option grants to the personal benefit of Mercury’s CEO, CFO and general counsel. The trio of executives has each resigned. Mercury will now have to restate several years of financial filings. Analysts believe the company is likely to be acquired.
5. Microsoft Moves to Add VoIP to Office, Computerworld, 11/3.
Microsoft is planning to add voice-over-Internet protocol to its Office suite of applications thanks to the acquisition of Swiss software firm media-streams.com. Over the course of this year, Microsoft has been moving to more fully embrace VoIP through a combination of deals with the likes of AT&T and Qwest as well as the August purchase of Teleo, a developer of services and technology to facilitate Internet telephony.
6. Group Suggests a ’Denationalization’ of ICANN, InfoWorld, 11/3.
The main focus of the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society due to kick off Nov. 16 in Tunis will center on who should control the Internet. A group of international academics this week circulated a policy-concept paper suggesting how to share out oversight of the Net between the governments of the world instead of the current situation where the United States has sole political oversight through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). U.S. companies and government officials oppose the suggestion claiming an international Net governing body would both slow innovation and limit online choices.
