software

IBM ready to "kick Oracle's teeth in"

Ever wonder what the sales guys at BigCos like IBM are thinking about? Seems that IBM has assembled "what it calls a Viper 500 program with IBM's account teams to replace Oracle in more than 600 accounts."

I do enjoy a slap-fight amongst software vendors... "I am actively hiring people to go kick their teeth in," said Mike Borman, IBM vice president, worldwide sales for the IBM Software Group in a wide ranging 90 minute interview earlier this week before the hostile Oracle bid for BEA.

Despite it sounding a little bit silly, this is … Read more

IBM to acquire NovusCG

IBM is looking to pack more stuff in its Storage and Data Services unit, announcing Wednesday plans to acquire NovusCG.

Under the deal, NovusCG will be integrated into Big Blue's Storage and Data Services unit, in a move to provide customers with enhanced access to business information and stronger compliance with regulatory requirements. NovusCG's technology is designed to analyze and assess data, as customers seek to increase their storage amid a rapid rise in their digital information.

The NovusCG buyout will follow Big Blue's acquisition of Softek Storage Solutions earlier this year. Softek, which focuses on data … Read more

Oracle to buy Interlace Systems

While it cools its heels waiting for a response from BEA Systems, Oracle is moving forward with other acquisitions.

The database and enterprise applications software maker announced Wednesday it plans to snap up Interlace Systems, which develops operational planning software. The deal aims to bolster Oracle's Enterprise Performance Management System by integrating Interlace's software that's designed to help companies re-evaluate scenarios across various functions, change operational assumptions and evaluate the effect on their business.

The deal is expected to close next month, which is in contrast to Oracle's efforts to acquire BEA.

Oracle on Tuesday announced … Read more

GestureTek bestows Wiimote powers on cell phones. Just maybe not your phone.

GestureTek Mobile has bestowed the powers of movement-based navigation, popularized by the Nintendo Wii, upon cell phones. The one crucial difference: no Wii tennis elbow.

Since the technology in GestureTek Mobile's EyeMobile Engine is purely optic rather than hardware-based--unlike the accelerometer that tells iPhone when to jump into landscape mode--wrist motion is powerful and specific.

Here's an example from the demo: just click the soft key to zoom in on the map, and tilt the phone back and forth to zoom in and out. Do it again holding the scroll button to activate the motion detection, and tilt … Read more

Mozilla's 2006 revenue: $66.8 million

Mozilla, the group behind the open-source Firefox Web browser, disclosed its 2006 revenue Monday night: $66,840,850.

That's a 26 percent bump up from the $52.9 million that Mozilla garnered in 2005. And with 2006 expenses slicing off only $19.8 million, Mozilla has a tidy sum left at its disposal, even if it's no Microsoft.

"The highlight is that Mozilla remains financially healthy: we're able to hire more people, build more products, help other projects, and bring more possibilities for participation in the Internet to millions of people," foundation Chairman Mitchell Baker said in a blog posting. … Read more

Citrix completes XenSource virtualization buy

Citrix completed its $500 million acquisition of XenSource, the primary sponsor of the open-source Xen virtualization software, the company said Monday at its iForum conference in Las Vegas.

XenSource will become the core of the company's new virtualization and management division, and XenSource Chief Executive Peter Levine will report directly to Citrix CEO Mark Templeton. Xen co-founder Ian Pratt will continue to lead the Xen project and now is a Citrix employee, the company said.

Xen, like competing virtualization packages from companies including VMware, SWsoft, Qumranet and Microsoft, lets a single computer run multiple operating systems simultaneously. The idea … Read more

Waking up dead with proprietary software

I've been hearing more and more that proprietary companies are fighting back against open-source companies by giving away their software. "We can compete with free!" they chortle as they discount their license fees to zero, occasionally winning deals (with customers who don't yet fully understand that open source is far more than price tag).

But with every deal they win on these terms, they lose. Their cost structure can't support giving away million-dollar deals that cost (literally, at times) a million dollars to close. Talking with a friend at Oracle, he tells me they expend upwards of 18 months and 100 or so people working on their million-dollar deals.

In other words, they spend money like crazy so that they can win the deal and hold onto that maintenance revenue.… Read more

Bluepulse mobile social network now smartphone-ready

Today bluepulse, a free mobile social network, announced a platform shift that will give smartphone users access to the free service for the first time. Bluepulse is now Webware.

Until now, the strictly-mobile social network installed on JAD and JAR downloads to Java and Symbian cell phones, but wouldn't run on smartphones like Pocket PCs or Palm Treos. Migrating to a wholly Web-based app opens the door for smartphone users to take advantage of the service's instant messaging and social discovery mash-up.

In addition to making the switch to Web, bluepulse also adds an all-in-one message in-box and … Read more

Digby: Impulse shopping app for BlackBerry

Digby has partnered with well-known retailers like Barnes & Noble and Fossil to create a downloadable shopping app that lets you purchase goods from your (RIM 4.1 or above) BlackBerry smartphone.

Digby has done a good job minimizing typing and fast-tracking purchases with select retail partners. Simply scroll through the brand list, clicking deeper within the stripped-down interface to see items and special deals. You can set the alert function to nag you to buy a gift before an important occasion. You'll have to do much of that buying on faith, though--there's no built-in functionality to preview an item or research product ratings for items, at least none that I perused.

When the purchase is nigh, enter your locally-stored password and Digby will do the rest, passing the transaction along to the vendor to process. Credit card information is password protected and stored, encrypted, on the device.… Read more