Oracle Completes Acquisition of BEA Systems

Officially a done deal

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) announced today that it had received approval of the European Commission and subsequently completed its acquisition of BEA Systems, Inc.

"The addition of BEA will accelerate innovation by bringing together two companies with a common vision of a modern service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure," said Oracle President Charles Phillips. "Together, Oracle and BEA will provide a series of complementary and well-engineered middleware products, allowing customers to more easily build, deploy, and manage applications in a secure environment."

Oracle Completes Acquisition of BEA Systems

XML Aficionado: New BIG "minor" release of Altova tools

More OOXML support in Altova's product line; see the full post for more updates on its 2008r2 releases

Extended Open XML (OOXML) Support: XMLSpy was the first XML Editor to directly support Open XML in April 2007 and today we are introducing more Open XML support in these products:

• MapForce 2008r2 now directly supports SpreadsheetML and allows the user to place any Excel 2007 document inside a mapping project to directly transform data from EDI, XML, databases, web services, and legacy text files to Excel 2007 and vice-versa. This new support for Open XML and Excel 2007 is, of course, also available in the automatic code-generation capabilities of MapForce, allowing developers to generate application code for recurring data transformation scenarios in Java, C# and C++.
• StyleVision 2008r2 now directly supports Open XML output in Word 2007 (WordprocessingML) to allow the user to generate multiple rich output formats from one single stylesheet design. StyleVision supports the generation of stylesheets via an easy-to-use drag&drop interface from XML documents as well as from databases and is the ultimate report designer that can produce output in HTML, PDF, RTF, and Open XML from one visual design. In addition, it allows developers the creation of Authentic forms from the same design to facilitate XML-based data entry across an organization with no deployment cost.
• DiffDog 2008r2 now supports detailed XML differencing between Open XML documents, including the ability to directly edit and merge changes across those files. In addition, the directory comparison feature now also supports ZIP file types so that directories and ZIP archives can be compared as well.

XML Aficionado: New BIG "minor" release of Altova tools

Why Steve Ballmer Will Keep Chasing Yahoo - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

See the full post for more analysis

So in the next few days, I expect he’ll announce a full-on proxy fight. If he does say he’s walking away, I suspect it will simply be a ploy to bargain over price on the bet that Yahoo or its shareholders will come running into his embrace later.

Then three years from now, after Microsoft has spent all its cash, diverted its resources and perhaps gotten distracted from its other businesses, there may be a moment where Mr. Ballmer has to really confront the limits of the company. Or, just maybe, we will see Microsoft prove that it still has the technical chops and marketing acumen to come from behind and wine something fair and square.

How could Steve Ballmer not want to choose the chance of victory over the certain admission of defeat?

Why Steve Ballmer Will Keep Chasing Yahoo - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

FT.com / Companies / IT - SAP delays software rollout

Oops...

Business software maker SAP delayed by 12-18 months the rollout of new software on which its growth plans depend and reported a weak first quarter as American software sales fell, hitting its shares.

SAP said on Wednesday it would now take longer to generate $1bn in revenue from 10,000 Business ByDesign customers, which it had aimed to achieve by 2010, as it was still fine-tuning the product and would reduce investments this year.

FT.com / Companies / IT - SAP delays software rollout

Report: AT&T to sell 3G iPhone at $200 discount | One More Thing - CNET News.com

Hmm -- I'll consider this speculation, for now, but I'd be tempted at $199...

AT&T plans to sell the 3G iPhone for $199 when it arrives in AT&T's stores in June, according to a report, in a sign that Apple may have given up on locked iPhones.

Fortune is reporting that you'll be able to buy a $199 iPhone in AT&T's stores, and only in AT&T's stores, when the new model arrives around the one-year anniversary of the iPhone launch. The report says Apple will sell 8GB and 16GB versions of the new iPhone for $399 and $499 in its own retail stores.

This report, based on the word of a single anonymous source, raises no less than 28 zillion questions. My first thought is that if this is true, the only way Apple would go along with its partner's intention to dramatically undercut its pricing would be if Apple plans to sell unlocked iPhones in Apple stores.

Report: AT&T to sell 3G iPhone at $200 discount | One More Thing - CNET News.com

Norm Walsh Leaves Sun? And Just Like That, *POOF*, - O'Reilly XML Blog

Hmm...

… I’m wondering how in the hell some obscure “XQuery Content” company stole Norm Walsh away from Sun. Y’all know who Norm Walsh is, right?

Anyone care to provide some insight? Is Mark Logic really *that* good?

From what I've seen over the last couple years, BTW, yeah, Mark Logic really is *that* good.

Also on the job change front, from CNet: Photoshop guru leaves Adobe for Microsoft

Norm Walsh Leaves Sun? And Just Like That, *POOF*, - O'Reilly XML Blog

Microsoft | Microsoft device helps police pluck evidence from cyberscene of crime | Seattle Times Newspaper

See the full article for more context-setting

Microsoft has developed a small plug-in device that investigators can use to quickly extract forensic data from computers that may have been used in crimes.

The COFEE, which stands for Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, is a USB "thumb drive" that was quietly distributed to a handful of law-enforcement agencies last June. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith described its use to the 350 law-enforcement experts attending a company conference Monday.

The device contains 150 commands that can dramatically cut the time it takes to gather digital evidence, which is becoming more important in real-world crime, as well as cybercrime. It can decrypt passwords and analyze a computer's Internet activity, as well as data stored in the computer.

Microsoft | Microsoft device helps police pluck evidence from cyberscene of crime | Seattle Times Newspaper

Silicon Alley Insider creates start-up valuation index | Outside the Lines - CNET News.com

Sign of the times...

How much is Facebook, Wikipedia, or Twitter worth? Silicon Alley Insider is attempting to crack the mysterious code on the valuations of the major Web start-ups with its SAI 25 Live! It tracks the valuation of the private companies and shows changes in those valuations in real-time (updated every 20 minutes on the site).

Silicon Alley Insider creates start-up valuation index | Outside the Lines - CNET News.com

For Gamers, the Craving Won’t Quit - New York Times

A weird reality check

During the next two weeks, some five million couch jockeys are expected to plunk down $60 to buy Grand Theft Auto IV, a violent and episodic game that hits stores Tuesday.

The release is expected to be one of the biggest video game debuts ever, extending a franchise that has already sold 70 million copies since its arrival in 1997.

[...]

Avid fans of the Grand Theft Auto games acknowledge that buying the new Grand Theft Auto — and spending hours descending into a free-for-all of crime and punishment set in an animated facsimile of New York City — can require some financial sacrifice. But for many, the purchase of the game is justified by its entertainment value. Finishing the game can take more than 40 hours, turning a $60 investment (tax not included) into entertainment that costs less than 70 cents an hour (food and bathroom breaks not included).

For Gamers, the Craving Won’t Quit - New York Times

EU Clears Oracle's Purchase of Software Co BEA Systems - WSJ.com

Game over...

The European Commission on Tuesday cleared Oracle Corp.'s (ORCL) $8.5-billion purchase of software company BEA Systems Inc. (BEAS).

The commission said the deal wouldn't create antitrust problems, since Oracle and BEA don't compete head-to-head. The combined companies will continue to face strong competition in the market for so-called middleware software products.

Article - WSJ.com

Golden Years of Television Find New Life on the Web - New York Times

Sign of the times...

The online shows also create new payment opportunities for the writers, producers and actors of TV’s golden years. Royalties for Internet streaming were a pivotal issue in the writers’ strike that halted television production last winter. The Hollywood studios agreed to pay writers a 2 percent cut of the receipts for ad-supported streaming of all shows produced after 1977.

But online streaming isn’t making anyone rich, at least not yet. As Mitchell Hurwitz, the co-creator of “Arrested Development,” put it, the online popularity of his former program is “enormously rewarding in every way except for financially.”

Golden Years of Television Find New Life on the Web - New York Times

Interview with Vint Cerf - Quotes on the Internet, Google, and Spam - Esquire

In case anyone still doubted this...

Al Gore had seen what happened with the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956, which his father introduced as a military bill. It was very powerful. Housing went up, suburban boom happened, everybody became mobile. Al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective colleagues. His initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the Internet. So he really does deserve credit.

See the full article for more Cerf insights

(Via Dave Farber)

Interview with Vint Cerf - Quotes on the Internet, Google, and Spam - Esquire

Ex-CEO Fiorina Seems Comfortable Following McCain's Lead - WSJ.com

When the going gets weird...

Ms. Fiorina's name appears on the ever-growing short list for vice president. While the campaign has kept mum, Sen. McCain frequently tells voters he will incorporate private-sector leaders in his inner circle.

"These people have done so much for America," he said this month in a speech in Washington, referring to Ms. Fiorina, as well as Mr. Chambers and Ms. Whitman. "I'm going to ask them to serve."

Ex-CEO Fiorina Seems Comfortable Following McCain's Lead - WSJ.com

BlackBerry’s Quest: Fend Off the iPhone - New York Times

A timely reality check

STEVE JOBS, Apple’s chief executive and field general, has Napoleonic dreams of global conquest for his 10-month-old wonder gadget, the iPhone. So it may be fitting that he’s encountering his most serious resistance in a city called Waterloo.

That is where, 70 miles west of Toronto in Ontario, 19 nondescript, low-rise office buildings comprise the headquarters of Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry.

BlackBerry’s Quest: Fend Off the iPhone - New York Times

Société Générale’s Rogue Trader Finds a New Job - New York Times

Yeah, that figures...

Jérôme Kerviel, the Société Générale trader who used his knowledge of the French bank’s electronic risk controls to conceal billions in unauthorized bets, has a new job — at a computer consulting firm.

Mr. Kerviel, who was given a provisional release from prison on March 18, started work last week as a trainee at Lemaire Consultants & Associates, which specializes in computer security and system development, a spokesman for the former trader, Christophe Reille, confirmed on Friday.

Société Générale’s Rogue Trader Finds a New Job - New York Times

Computer security | Pain in the aaS | Economist.com

See the full article for more details

IT WAS bound to happen. One after another, pieces of software have been moving online in a trend towards “software as a service” (SaaS). You can now manage your e-mail, write documents and edit spreadsheets using online services that run inside a web browser. This month Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, an accounting program, said more Americans filled out their tax returns this year using the online version of its product than the traditional one in a box. But now the trend has reached the darker corners of the software universe. Computer-security firms say criminals have adopted the new model too, and are offering “crimeware as a service” (CaaS).

Computer security | Pain in the aaS | Economist.com

Informal Style of Electronic Messages Is Showing Up in Schoolwork, Study Finds - New York Times

oh gr8...

As e-mail messages, text messages and social network postings become nearly ubiquitous in the lives of teenagers, the informality of electronic communications is seeping into their schoolwork, a new study says.

Nearly two-thirds of 700 students surveyed said their e-communication style sometimes bled into school assignments, according to the study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, in partnership with the College Board’s National Commission on Writing. About half said they sometimes omitted proper punctuation and capitalization in schoolwork. A quarter said they had used emoticons like smiley faces. About a third said they had used text shortcuts like “LOL” for “laugh out loud.”

[...]

More than half of the teenagers surveyed had a profile on a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace, 27 percent had an online journal or blog and 11 percent had a personal Web site. Generally, girls dominated the teenage blogosphere and social networks.

See the full article for more details/stats

Informal Style of Electronic Messages Is Showing Up in Schoolwork, Study Finds - New York Times

Amazon.com: Inside Steve's Brain: Leander Kahney: Books

I read this book while on vacation this week.  It's a quick read and a timely reality check on how Apple does its thing.

It’s hard to believe that one man revolutionized computers in the 1970s and ’80s (with the Apple II and the Mac), animated movies in the 1990s (with Pixar), and digital music in the 2000s (with the iPod and iTunes). No wonder some people worship him like a god. On the other hand, stories of his epic tantrums and general bad behavior are legendary.
Inside Steve’s Brain cuts through the cult of personality that surrounds Jobs to unearth the secrets to his unbelievable results. It reveals the real Steve Jobs—not his heart or his famous temper, but his mind. So what’s really inside Steve’s brain? According to Leander Kahney, who has covered Jobs since the early 1990s, it’s a fascinating bundle of contradictions.

Amazon.com: Inside Steve's Brain: Leander Kahney: Books

Apple Earnings: Mac Soars, iPod and iPhone Stall

Wow -- Apple's sales for the quarter were more than half of Microsoft's

Apple on Wednesday announced financial results for its fiscal second quarter, the first calendar quarter of 2008. The company posted earnings of $1.05 billion on revenues of $7.51 billion, both up sharply from the same quarter a year ago. Apple credits continued strong sales of Macintosh computers and high retail store traffic for the surge. Meanwhile, iPod sales were flat, while iPhone sales were far lower than most expectations.

Apple Earnings: Mac Soars, iPod and iPhone Stall

Microsoft Shows Gains, but Also Weaknesses - New York Times

See the full article for more details

The quarterly results underline once again how much the main engines of the company’s performance are its desktop PC products, Windows and Office. Those two big, lucrative businesses are healthy and growing.

The two product groups reported total sales of $8.77 billion, accounting for 61 percent of revenue, and operating profits of $6.24 billion, or 86 percent of profits from the business units.

The division making server software that runs data centers has become another large and profitable business for Microsoft. It generated revenue of $3.26 billion and operating profits of $1.09 billion.

Microsoft Shows Gains, but Also Weaknesses - New York Times

Full Text of Ray Ozzie Mesh Memo - ReadWriteWeb

FYI full text can be found on this page 

As we wrote last night, the new Live Mesh service that just launched as an invite only "technology preview" is Microsoft's attempt to tie all of our data together. Live Mesh synchronizes data across multiple devices (currently just Windows computers, but theoretically it will extend to mobile and other devices in the future) as well as to a web desktop that exists in the cloud. It can sync data across devices used by a single users, as well as create shared spaces for multiple users. Accompanying the launch of Live Mesh is a new memo from Microsoft Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie. The full text of the memo appears to be out on the Web now, so we can reveal it for you...

Full Text of Ray Ozzie Mesh Memo - ReadWriteWeb

Microsoft Reveals a Web-Based Software System - New York Times

Hmm...

The introduction of Live Mesh is a significant strategic shift for Microsoft, whose operating system helped popularize personal computers. Bill Gates, the company’s co-founder, chairman and chief architect, said in an interview on CNN a year ago, “We’re making the PC the place where it all comes together.”

However, a strategy document circulated to company employees on Tuesday that was written by Ray Ozzie, one of the Microsoft’s two chief technology officers, countered that view.

See the full article for more details.

p.s. I've been on vacation this week but will be back to my usual routine by the weekend.

Microsoft Reveals a Web-Based Software System - New York Times

Oracle to expand SAP lawsuit, may target execs

Hardball...

Oracle Corp. plans to expand its lawsuit against SAP AG to include charges that its TomorrowNow subsidiary stole software applications from Oracle, and that it did so with the knowledge of SAP executives, according to court papers filed Thursday.

Oracle said it plans to file a second amended complaint against SAP and TomorrowNow that will reveal "a pattern of unlawful conduct that is different from, and even more serious than," the conduct described in its initial complaint.

Oracle to expand SAP lawsuit, may target execs

Amazon.com CEO promotes Kindle reader in shareholder letter - Boston.com

Interesting times

In the letter, filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bezos trumpeted the Kindle's advantage as a "purpose-built reading device," as opposed to smart phones and laptops, which he said encourage "information snacking" and short attention spans.

"We hope Kindle and its successors may gradually and incrementally move us over years into a world with longer spans of attention," he wrote.

Bezos also wrote that Amazon's vision for the Kindle is that it will make "every book ever printed in any language all available in less than 60 seconds."

Amazon.com CEO promotes Kindle reader in shareholder letter - Boston.com

Business & Technology | Google shares surge after stellar quarterly results | Seattle Times Newspaper

Impressive numbers...

Google's stock soared 20 percent Friday, restoring $28 billion in shareholder wealth as Wall Street renewed its love affair with the Internet search leader after weeks of worry about an online advertising slowdown.

Driven by stellar first-quarter results that surprised industry analysts, Google shares surged $89.87 to finish at $539.41. It marked the biggest one-day gain since Google's initial public stock offering in August 2004, leaving the shares at their highest closing price since January.

Business & Technology | Google shares surge after stellar quarterly results | Seattle Times Newspaper

Researcher: Wii and iPhone browsers could allow phishing | Defense in Depth - computer security, hacking, crime, viruses - CNET News.com

Hmm...

In a paper (PDF) presented at the Usability, Psyschology, and Security Conference 2008 in San Francisco, researchers from the University of California at Davis warned that browsers within popular electronic gadgets often eliminate important security features available on desktop browsers.

Researcher: Wii and iPhone browsers could allow phishing | Defense in Depth - computer security, hacking, crime, viruses - CNET News.com

PayPal Plans to Block Safari and Old Browsers - New York Times

Think different...

PayPal, eBay Inc.'s payment service and the frequent target of fraudsters, plans to block browsers that don't include anti-phishing features from accessing its site.

Under PayPal's plan, Apple Inc.'s Safari would be banned completely, while only older versions of its rivals Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox would be barred.

[...]

PayPal's mentioned that before: in February, Barrett said users should steer clear of Apple's browser because it wasn't up to snuff. "Apple, unfortunately, is lagging behind what they need to do to protect their customers," Barrett said then. "Safari has got nothing in terms of security support, only SSL, that's it."

PayPal Plans to Block Safari and Old Browsers - New York Times

U.S. video game sales rise 57 percent in May | Technology | Reuters

For the quarter: 720K Wii, 262K Xbox 360, 257K PS3

U.S. sales of video game hardware and software rose 57 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed on Thursday, evidence that the industry has so far been immune to wider economic woes.

Sales of gaming hardware, software and accessories hit $1.7 billion in March, led by Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console, which posted its biggest non-holiday month ever, according to market research firm NPD.

U.S. video game sales rise 57 percent in May | Technology | Reuters

Amazon Gains Share of Shrinking Paid Music Market - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

See the full article for some scary statistics for the music industry

If you pan back and look at how people are getting their music these days you see that the companies fighting for the people who pay for music are battling over an ever-smaller piece of the pie.

NPD’s annual survey of Internet users, which is some 80 percent of the population these days, found that 10 percent of the music they acquired last year came from paid downloads. That is a big increase from 7 percent in 2006. But since the number of physical CDs they bought plummeted, the overall share of music they paid for fell to 42 percent from 48 percent.

Amazon Gains Share of Shrinking Paid Music Market - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Microsoft | Microsoft confirms purchase of Farecast travel site | Seattle Times Newspaper

Hmm...

Microsoft bought Seattle-based airfare prediction and travel site Farecast earlier this month for around $115 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

A Microsoft spokeswoman would not comment on the terms of the deal, but did confirm the purchase, which closed April 9.

"Farecast has been a partner of ours on MSN Travel and we look forward to working closely with the Farecast team to incorporate and apply its technology in new and interesting ways," Whitney Burk, a spokeswoman with Microsoft's Online Services business, said in a statement.

[...]

The broad, data-mining technology underpinning Farecast has several potential applications that benefit consumers, Etzioni said. He declined to discuss Farecast's specific plans, but pointed to other examples, such as Clearflow, a new feature of Microsoft's Live Maps to help drivers dodge traffic jams, and the real-estate forecasting site Zillow.

Microsoft | Microsoft confirms purchase of Farecast travel site | Seattle Times Newspaper

Microsoft | Ballmer points out Microsoft soft spots | Seattle Times Newspaper

Interesting times

"We have some customers, a lot of customers using Vista. A lot of customers," Ballmer said. "And we have a lot customers that are choosing to stay with Windows XP and as long as those are both important options, we will be sensitive and we will listen and we will hear that.

He added, "I know we're going to continue to get feedback from people about how long XP should be available. We've got some opinions on that. We've expressed our views, but certainly to this crowd ... I'm always interested in hearing from you on these and other issues."

Microsoft | Ballmer points out Microsoft soft spots | Seattle Times Newspaper

FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Ebay considers sale of Skype subsidiary

Perhaps long overdue

“What we’re testing this year are the synergies,” Mr Donahoe told the Financial Times this week after Ebay reported its latest earnings. “If the synergies are strong, we’ll keep it in our portfolio. If not, we’ll reassess it.” That could lead to the disposal of the business, he indicated.

While the acquisition of Skype has widely come to be seen as a blunder for Ebay, the phone service itself has continued to grow fast, adding another 33m registered users in the first three months of this year to reach 309m. Although most use it for free internet phone calls, the addition of extra paid services helped Skype to increase its revenues to $126m in the first three months of this year, up 61 per cent from the year before.

FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Ebay considers sale of Skype subsidiary

Google Defies the Economy and Reports a Profit Surge - New York Times

Impressive numbers, in any case

Some analysts noted that Google’s growth did slow from the previous quarter and said the results did not completely dispel concerns about the health of Google’s business in the United States.

“The international piece was solid,” said Ross Sandler, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. “That is where most of the upside came from. Despite the comments that they are seeing no impact from the economy whatsoever, I think the growth rate in the U.S. deserves more attention.”

Google Defies the Economy and Reports a Profit Surge - New York Times

IBM considering giving Microsoft the boot? | The Open Road - The Business and Politics of Open Source by Matt Asay - CNET Blogs

Maybe they should also move their server apps to Sun Solaris boxes.

IBM Research is running a pilot program to gauge the interest in and feasibility of moving its employees from PCs to Macs. So far, the response appears to be an enthusiastic, "Yes, please! Is this PC recyclable, or should I just dump it out back?"

IBM considering giving Microsoft the boot? | The Open Road - The Business and Politics of Open Source by Matt Asay - CNET Blogs

MySQL reserves features for paying customers; open-source community up in arms [ComputerWorld]

A timely reality check for open source DBMSs

Open-source darling MySQL is facing a new uprising within its customer base over plans disclosed this week to reserve some key upcoming features, and their source code, for paying users of its namesake database.

Officials at Sun Microsystems Inc., which acquired MySQL in February, confirmed that new online backup capabilities now under development will be offered only to MySQL Enterprise customers — not to the much larger number of users of the free MySQL Community edition.

MySQL reserves features for paying customers; open-source community up in arms

Pattern Finder: Stark Reminder: Gmail Is Still in Beta

A timely Guy Creese reality check

Oops. A little more than a week after I mused that enterprises should start investigating the Gmail portion of Google Apps as a Microsoft Exchange replacement, Google proved me wrong. David Berlind noted in a Tech Radar blog post that the Gmail IMAP interface took a vacation yesterday, meaning that he couldn't access his e-mail via Microsoft Outlook. Even the Ajax features within the standard interface for Gmail weren't home.

See the full post for more details

Pattern Finder: Stark Reminder: Gmail Is Still in Beta

WikiXMLDB: Querying Wikipedia with XQuery

Interesting times...

With all the benefits that Wikipedia promises, it is not easy to use it off-the-shelf in applications. While Wikipedia is available for download in an XML format, individual articles are formatted in a proprietary wiki format. So the most interesting uses of Wikipedia in applications are still locked behind the access troubles.

Here is where WikiXMLDB comes to the rescue. We have parsed the entire English Wikipedia content into XML representation (its total size is about 21GB), loaded it into Sedna and provided a query interface to it. Now you can dissect individual articles, rip out abstracts, sections, links, infoboxes and other components. Or you can combine pieces of existing documents into new XML documents and convert them to web pages with XSLT for example. And you can do it all using the standard W3C XQuery Language. So finally you can start enriching your content with data from Wikipedia and unlock its power for your applications.

WikiXMLDB demo is deployed on Amazon EC2 and runs on the virtual computer with restricted resources. To achieve better performance and do unlimited customization, you can run WikiXMLDB on your computer.

WikiXMLDB: Querying Wikipedia with XQuery

Yahoo closer to Google ad outsourcing deal: report | Technology | Reuters

Looks like the ultimate poison pill...

The possible partnership with Google would be part of an a bid by Yahoo to forge a three-way deal where Yahoo would merge with Time Warner Inc AOL in return for Time Warner taking a stake in Yahoo, sources had told Reuters last week.

... but probably not (from later in the article):

The Journal also reported a tie-up with Google would not necessarily derail an eventual deal to merge with Microsoft. Yahoo could simply pull out of the Google deal if Microsoft bought it, sources told the paper.

Yahoo closer to Google ad outsourcing deal: report | Technology | Reuters

Extra Cost to Buy Yahoo: Retention Pay - New York Times

An interesting tidbit

When the chief executive of Microsoft, Steven A. Ballmer, offered to buy Tellme, Mr. McCue asked if his company would be forced to switch the operating system used in its data center, Sun’s Solaris, to Microsoft’s Windows.

“No, no, we’ve learned our lesson,” Mr. Ballmer replied, according to Mr. McCue.

Extra Cost to Buy Yahoo: Retention Pay - New York Times

Red Hat Abandons PC Plan - WSJ.com

Demand and supply...

Red Hat Inc., the world's largest maker of Linux software, said it had abandoned plans to develop software that would compete directly with Microsoft Corp. for the consumer-desktop-computer market.

[...]

The statement said the desktop market "suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative ... building a sustainable business around the Linux desktop is tough." Red Hat said it would continue to develop a version of the software for personal computers whose users are supported by computer resellers.

Red Hat Abandons PC Plan - WSJ.com

Awareness integrates with Facebook

More Facebook integration -- check the full post for details and a customer example

Today (actually, it was yesterday but it feels like today) we announced a cool new integration with Facebook  that delvers additional value for our customers.
The integration is delivered via the Awareness Facebook Application Framework.  That allows us to create white-labeled Facebook applications for our customers that let the users of their Web 2.0 communities interact with their communities from right inside Facebook.