Enterprise software

Oracle to pay $1.7B for network service provider Acme Packet

Oracle said today that it has agreed to buy Acme Packet for $1.7 billion.

Acme Packet sells voice and data products and services used across IP networks. Its customers range from telecommunications providers to large enterprises and include 90 of the world's top 100 communications firms, according to Oracle.

The addition of Acme is expected to help Oracle customers ramp up the move to all-IP networks. Together with Acme, Oracle will be able to offer a range of products and technologies that can support large companies as they deploy their IP networks.

All-IP networks are increasingly being rolled … Read more

Dell XPS 13 ultrabook with high-res display due next week

Dell will start selling a high-resolution version of the XPS 13 ultrabook next week, the PC maker told CNET today, addressing an issue that dogs more than a few Windows 8 laptops.

The display will be upgraded to a resolution of 1,920x1,080 from the current 1,366x768 format. That roughly doubles the pixel density to just over 2 million from just a bit more than a million.

Other improvements include widening the viewing angle to 178 degrees from 80 degrees on the current 1,366x768 display, upping the brightness to 350 nits from 300 nits, and increasing the color gamut to 72 percent from 45 percent, a Dell representative said. … Read more

Microsoft Q2: By the numbers

Microsoft has issued its first earnings scorecard since the introduction of the Windows 8 operating system and of Surface, its first branded tablet computer. The company's fiscal second-quarter report also opens the latest window -- no pun intended -- onto the pace of decline of PC shipments as more people switch over to smartphones and tablets.

Here are some of the highlights by the numbers:

Revenue: $21.5 billion Net income: $6.38 billion Windows: $5.88 billion, up 24 percent year-over year. (That number includes revenue deferrals tied to an earlier upgrade offer as well as presales. On … Read more

IBM crowned patent king for 20th year in a row

IBM has always been known for raking in more U.S. patents than any other company, but this year signals a landmark: not only is it IBM's 20th consecutive year of earning more patents than any other company, it also made a single-year record with 6,478 issued patents, according to the annual tally published today by IFI Claims Patent Services.

"We are proud of this new benchmark in technological and scientific creativity, which grows out of IBM's century-long commitment to research and development," IBM chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty said in a statement. "Most … Read more

Cisco adds 'cloud DVR' to video offering for cable companies

Cisco Systems is adding new capabilities to its video software platform for TV service providers. The new functionality, unveiled at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show Monday, will allow cable operators and other TV service providers to offer digital video recording from the cloud.

The new cloud-based DVR feature is part of Cisco's updated Videoscape Unity platform. The new software suite and service, which Cisco sells to cable operators and other TV service providers, aims to enable new functionality for paid TV customers. The idea is to allow viewers to access video content on more devices from … Read more

Oracle turns in a mixed bag in 2nd-quarter results

Oracle today reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, revenue that was lighter than estimates, and hardware system product sales that fell 23 percent from a year ago.

In other words, Oracle's quarter was a mixed bag (preview).

Oracle reported second-quarter earnings of $2.6 billion, or 53 cents a share, on revenue of $9.1 billion, up 3 percent from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were 64 cents a share.

Wall Street was expecting Oracle to report second-quarter earnings of 61 cents a share on revenue of $9.02 billion.

New license and cloud revenue was up 17 percent in the … Read more

Microsoft Office on iPad: More hints emerge

Microsoft officials have stopped bothering to deny that there will be some kind of Office support on the iPad. But the Softies still aren't sharing when this support will arrive or in what form.

Reports that Microsoft was developing Office for iPad began circulating, courtesy of The Daily, earlier this year. Reporters at The Daily claimed a Microsoft representative demonstrated privately to them Word, Excel, and PowerPoint running on the iPad. Microsoft officials, at that time, tried to throw cold water on The Daily's claims.

In subsequent appearances, Microsoft officials danced around questions as to when and whether … Read more

Windows 8 touch PC demand strong

Demand for Windows 8 touch-screen PCs is strong, according to two analysts who spoke with CNET.

"Touch machines are actually selling above expectations," said Bob O'Donnell, a program vice president at IDC.

And that means supply shortages. "Some vendors are actually facing shortages because touch panels are in limited supply. Vendors are saying they can't get as many touch-based machines as they would like to meet the demand that they're seeing."

Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, echoed O'Donnell's comments. "We've talked to a number of PC makers … Read more

Surface sales may exceed 1M in Q4, says researcher

Microsoft's Surface RT tablet is expected to see sales of more than a million units in the fourth quarter, IHS iSuppli told CNET today.

"We see estimated sales of 1.3 million" in the quarter, Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, said in a phone interview today. The fourth quarter still has a few weeks left.

"I would be surprised to see it much above that," she added as a qualifier.

The Surface RT version of Microsoft's tablet first went on sale October 26, well into the fourth quarter, so sales of over … Read more