Michael Hickins

Microsoft  has until April 23 to respond to the European Competition Commission accusations that it is abusing its monopoly power. But instead of waiting till then, the company decided to publicize in advance the main points of its side of the story. Responding to accusations by the commission that it is abusing its monopoly position […]

IBM  has launched a 3-D area called Codestation on Second Life intended to serve as a virtual forum for developers to share ideas, develop code and interact with one another to design new applications and improve upon existing ones. In one example of how IBM is using this environment, the company is inviting developers to […]

Microsoft  is one step closer in its bid to having its Office Open XML (OOXML) format anointed by the International Standards Organization (ISO). ISO informed Ecma International, the Geneva-based standards body sponsoring OOXML, that it kicked off the voting period on Monday for the so-called fast-track approval process. OOXML will be recognized as a standard […]

Qualcomm  announced that it has filed suit against handset maker Nokia  yesterday, as the two companies continue to spar over their respective intellectual property rights. The most recent lawsuits, filed in the Eastern District of Texas and the Western District of Wisconsin respectively, allege that certain Nokia phones infringe on Qualcomm patents. Qualcomm’s complaint filed […]

Microsoft  filed nine lawsuits and issued more than 50 cease-and-desist letters today against international smugglers accused of diverting discounted copies of its software into the United States. Microsoft said it learned about the scheme from tipsters who alerted the company using its anti-piracy hotline. According to the complaints, which were filed in federal courts in […]

Xerox  said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire office technology dealer Global Imaging Systems  for $29 per share in cash. The deal, worth approximately $1.5 billion, is expected to close in May. Global Imaging focuses on the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) sector through 21 regional companies in the U.S. that sell and […]

Microsoft  will issue a security update on Tuesday to protect customers from a new criminal attack on their computers, according to a company spokesperson. A security expert said the attacks originate in China and have focused on obtaining the credentials of online role-playing gamers. The new virus, originally reported last week, exploits a vulnerability in […]

Oracle  today introduced a new manufacturing execution system (MES) to help customers lower operating costs and improve their overall agility. The application, which integrates Oracle’s process manufacturing suite with standard operating procedures and shop floor execution, extends Oracle’s reach into enterprise systems, and positions it to compete with IBM , HP , BMC  and CA […]

Postini today said it plans to provide security, administration and archiving services for Gmail, Google’s  on-demand e-mail service. With some 50,000 customers and over 12 million individual users, Postini is already considered the leading vendor of on-demand e-mail archiving and administration services. Winning Google’s hand further differentiates Postini from Message Labs, MX Logic and other […]

Information retrieval application vendor Teragram has launched MyGADS.com, a new service that allows consumers to publish information that can be shared and retrieved using their cell phones. Announced this week at the CTIA show in Orlando, Fla., the service allows users to create what the company is calling a GAD, a Web page containing text, […]

SAP  announced today that its supervisory board has accepted the resignation of chief software architect Shai Agassi, who said he is leaving in order to devote himself to environmental issues. Agassi’s resignation is effective April 1, but he will continue to serve as an outside consultant and keep an office in Palo Alto, Calif., next […]

NEW YORK — Accenture  demonstrated how technologies currently available on the market can be stitched together to improve the quality of health care while driving down costs. Peter Glaser, an executive with Accenture’s technology labs, showed how commonly used biometric devices like blood-pressure cuffs, heart-rate monitors, and weight scales can gather patient information and send […]