Corporate and legal

Globalfoundries has named former Cypress Semiconductor executive Jim Kupec to its top marketing position, as the newly established company begins to assemble its executive team.

Globalfoundries is the chip manufacturing company recently formed by a joint venture between Advanced Micro Devices and Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).

Kupec spent 15 years with Cypress Semiconductor, rising through a variety of engineering, operations, and management positions to the role of senior vice president, according to a statement from Globalfoundries.

After leaving Cypress, Kupec became president of United Microelectronics Co. (UMC) USA. Taiwan-based UMC is one of the largest contract chip manufacturers in … Read more

The Pentagon should thank NASA hacker Gary McKinnon for "exposing the fragility" of U.S. military systems, according to Terry Waite.

Waite, who was held hostage in Lebanon for four years after being kidnapped in 1987, said that McKinnon's motives were "harmless," according to an article by Jack Doyle, a Press Association legal affairs correspondent.

"Gary is clearly a very clever chap," said Waite. "He has that unique ability to find his way through the Internet jungle and enter the inner recesses of the Pentagon. Full marks for his ingenuity. Was Gary … Read more

In a move to tie their collaboration tighter, Microsoft and Lexmark on Tuesday announced that they have entered into a broad patent cross-licensing agreement.

Under the arrangement, Lexmark will license its patents for its printers and multifunction devices, as well as its other products, to Microsoft. And the Redmond, Wash., based company, in return, will offer access to a wide range of its software.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"We believe this agreement will improve the productivity of both our companies and result in enhanced product offerings and increased satisfaction for all our customers," Marty Canning, … Read more

Nokia, the world's largest maker of cell phones, said Tuesday it will cut 1,700 jobs as demand for its products continues to wane.

The job cuts will affect workers who work in its Devices and Markets units as well as in its Corporate Development Office and global support functions. The company said in a statement that it plans to scale its sales, marketing and technology business units to match the slowing demand for its products.

The company is based in Finland and about 700 workers there will likely lose their jobs, according to a report by Bloomberg News. … Read more

NEW YORK--At first glance Cisco Systems' latest announcement that it's entering the server market seems like another boring corporate IT announcement, but take a closer look. The company's long-term vision of a "virtualized" data center could eventually revolutionize how consumers will one day access new services via the Net.

First, let's look at what Cisco actually announced. On Monday, the company unveiled a new data center architecture it's calling Unified Computing. This new architecture includes new hardware from Cisco, namely blade servers, an interconnection "fabric," a chassis for the blade servers, Fabric … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is cutting salaries of EDS workers another 10 percent beyond what it first announced in February, ZDNet reported Friday.

Last month, the company announced salary cuts for all employees, ranging from 2.5 percent for nonexempt employees to 20 percent for the CEO, ZDNet said. HP also said it was making changes to employee benefits to save money.

According to a Friday memo obtained by ZDNet: "Unfortunately, we need to take additional action. Specifically, we have decided to make a temporary, additional reduction in base salary affecting EDS business unit employees in the United States and Puerto Rico.&… Read more

Apple got people talking this week on topics ranging from the merits (and demerits) of the tiny new buttonless iPod Shuffle to predictions about what it has in store for an upcoming iPhone 3.0 event.

Technology watchers--particularly those focused on trends in gadgetry--put on a collective smile Tuesday morning when Apple announced its latest version of the iPod Shuffle.

The grin wasn't necessarily out of excitement for the new Shuffle, which is smaller than a AA battery and also recites song titles, artists, and playlist names to help with navigation despite the lack of any screen on the … Read more

In these tough economic times, everyone is looking for a good deal.

And Sascha Segan at PC Magazine seems to have found a darn good bargain if you're looking for a cheap wireless plan that offers unlimited data and voice calling. The service, which costs only $70 a month with no monthly contract, is offered by a new mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, called Zer01 Mobile.

The company also offers unlimited international calling to 40 countries for an additional $10 a month.

Segan reports in his story posted on Thursday that the company is using a form of … Read more

When employees at Sony's operation in France didn't get severance packages they considered fair, they took matters into their own hands.

On Friday, union workers freed Serge Foucher, CEO of Sony France, and Roland Bentz, head of human resources, from the company's factory in southwest France where they had been held since Thursday afternoon, according to a report by the Associated Press. Employees were angry over the terms of their severance, and kept the two from leaving as a way of protest.

The union representing the employees freed the two executives on the condition that Sony management … Read more