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Oracle gets Sun for $7.4 billion, MySQL for $0

Back in the early days of computing, there was no such thing as a "software vendor." Companies like IBM sold hardware/software integrated solutions and, really, software was developed simply to sell the value of the hardware.

With Monday's announcement that Oracle is acquiring Sun for $7.4 billion, however, Oracle is signaling its own "iPod moment," seeking to compete with Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and others in integrated hardware/software systems.

It's a bold move, and not for the faint of heart. But then, no one would ever accuse Oracle of being faint-hearted.

"I … Read more

Rumor: AccuWeather, Mercedes partner
on next-generation navigation system

AccuWeather may be teaming up with Mercedes to develop a next-generation navigation system, according to a source within the Pennsylvania-based weather forecasting company.

More than delivering just weather temperatures and forecasts, the partnership will integrate real-time weather information into the navigation system to inform drivers of potentially dangerous driving weather.

When a driver programs a route, the navigation system will use weather overlays provided by AccuWeather to predict encounters with rain, snow, or extreme conditions. The information should help drivers be more prepared for bad weather and improve safety.

Goodbye to traditional Intel graphics?

A new report says the longstanding integrated graphics chip market will disappear--a market that Intel currently dominates.

In a report entitled "Integrated graphics chip market to disappear by 2012," Tiburon, Calif.-based Jon Peddie Research forecasts the end of the market for "the popular integrated graphics processor chipset...after 15 years of stellar growth."

Many low-end and mainstream consumer and business laptops sold over the last five years use Intel graphics built into the chipset, a low-performance but cheaper alternative to discrete graphics chips from Nvidia and ATI. That's made Intel, ironically enough, the market … Read more

Mind share shift from CPU to GPU, Intel to Nvidia?

As Intel took its case against Nvidia to court, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang could not resist making the oft-repeated assertion that the GPU is in, and CPU is out--a thinly veiled reference to the graphics chip maker's credo that PC processor mind share is shifting from Intel to Nvidia.

Here is the statement that Huang inserted into the Thursday Nvidia release about the Intel court filing. "At the heart of this issue is that the CPU has run its course, and the soul of the PC is shifting quickly to the GPU. This is clearly an attempt to … Read more

SAP's Apotheker takes on shoddy consultants, certifications

In an animated--and sometimes tense--conversation with bloggers, SAP co-CEO Leo Apotheker said the software giant would step over a systems integrator if it would save an IT project.

That comment, which was in response to multiple questions about the triangle between consultants, SAP, and customers, illustrates how the enterprise application vendor is trying to end the days where it's a whipping boy for failed implementations.

"I don't give a s**t if it's Accenture or IBM. I care about the customer. I find it shocking people are walking around talking to customers and have no experience … Read more

Daily Tidbits: 'Obama Girl' partners with Stickam for inauguration

Amber Ettinger, better known as "Obama Girl," has teamed up with Stickam for coverage of the presidential inauguration. Live coverage will be streamed live Monday at 8 p.m. EST from InauguralFest, and viewers will be able to see what she is doing all day at the inauguration starting at 10 a.m. EST Tuesday.

Integrated Media Measurement, an online research firm, found (PDF) that women between the ages of 15 and 48 tend to watch a television show and surf the Web an average of 17.5 minutes per day, while men do the same for just … Read more

Open-source integration: No vendors required

Over the Christmas break, I've watched one of the basic powers of open source in action. Two employees from my Alfresco team did something that is largely impossible in the proprietary world:

They wrote integrations to third-party open-source software, the Apache Hadoop and Drupal projects. No contracts changed hands. No NDAs. Just code.

Open source, of course, is a great way to get one's code in the hands of would-be customers, and then sell them support or other add-on services or software. But it's also a fantastic way to collaborate with would-be partners. Not a single lawyer … Read more

Self-powering sensors to transmit data

Correction on Wednesday at 11:27 a.m. PST: A press release on which this story was partially based misidentified which NASA mission the technology will be used for. This post was updated with correct information. The energy-harvesting sensors are part of research for forthcoming Mars Scout Missions.

Engineers at Kansas State University have developed a radio with sensors and microprocessors that can transmit data and is self-sufficient when it comes to power.

The device, called by the engineers an "energy-harvesting radio," is essentially a wireless sensor with microprocessor and radio that can transfer a flash of data … Read more

Intel graphics discontent justified?

Discontent with Intel graphics goes back a few years. But the unsealing of 3-year-old e-mail exchanges between Intel and Microsoft reveals something about the present, too.

First some background. Intel makes integrated graphics silicon--that is, graphics functionality that is built into its chipsets. Performance is not the name of the game for Intel. Delivering power-efficient, adequate graphics that can handle everyday tasks and do basic gaming is the goal. Anything beyond this is left to the high-octane discrete chips from ATI and Nvidia.

"We've always been consistent that high-end gamers should use discrete graphics," said Intel spokesman … Read more

WPA wireless encryption cracked

Researchers have found a method of cracking a key encryption feature used in securing wireless systems that doesn't require trying a large number of possibilities. Details will be discussed at the sixth annual PacSec conference in Tokyo next week.

According to PCWorld, researchers Erik Tews and Martin Beck have found a way to crack the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) key, used by Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Moreover, they can do so in about 15 minutes. The crack apparently only works for data aimed at a Wi-Fi adapter; they have not cracked the encryption keys used to secure data … Read more