Michael Singer

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Enterprise Java vendors may be in sync about advancements in the upcoming version of J2EE , but they sharply contrast in their future plans for the spec. As a business tool, J2EE has grown in use with vendors like Sun Microsystems, IBM and BEA who promote it in Java-friendly shops as […]

In its quest for the paperless office, Adobe Systems is gearing up for sweeping changes to its Acrobat and Reader platforms. The San Jose, Calif.-based Web publishing software giant announced the upcoming release of version 7.0 of its Professional and Standard software. The new offerings for making Portable Document Format (PDF) files and the corresponding […]

UPDATED: After more than a year of sneak peaks, nightly builds and beta tests, Sun Microsystems is set to formally announce the launch of its Solaris 10 operating system. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based network computer maker is scheduled to outline the features, benefits and near-immediate partner support of the next-generation OS during its Network Computing […]

UPDATED: PeopleSoft and its stockholders are gearing up for an old-fashioned proxy fight, analysts said Thursday. Oracle’s hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft is moving to the stockholders after Oracle’s latest (and apparently its last) offer of $24-per-share was shot down by PeopleSoft’s board of directors. The board said the price was too low. “At this […]

HP released a new comparison tool for its Adaptive Enterprise customers it says can help top-level executives assess their own businesses by peering into the minds of the competition. The Business Agility Indexes debuted today with a focus on four new vertical markets: financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and IT services. The new tool is being […]

UPDATED: Sun Microsystems has eked out its second major contract in Japan for its Java Desktop System (JDS), the company said Wednesday. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based network computer maker, which made its JDS Release 2 software available last month, said it will supply the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) in Japan with its alternative to Microsoft […]

eBay has acquired a popular online classifieds Web site in the Netherlands, the company said Wednesday. The San Jose, Calif.-based digital trading post said it has purchased Marktplaats.nl from Het Goed Beheer, a Dutch company that owns second-hand retail shops. The deal is valued at EUR 225 million in cash, or approximately USD$290 million. eBay […]

T-Mobile has struck a deal with six international wireless operators to simplify roaming and billing for travelers using Wi-Fi abroad, the company said Wednesday. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company said it will work with Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) companies like British Telecom, Telecom Italia, Maxis out of Malaysia, Japan’s NTT Com, Singapore-based StarHub, and Telstra from […]

Three major IT companies are adding their muscle to a new industry program designed to standardize working conditions for non-U.S. workers. Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems are the latest members of the recently announced Electronics Industry Code of Conduct (EICC). The original members, IBM , HP and Dell , recently joined with partners Celestica, Flextronics, […]

AMD is approaching the semiconductor industry from both sides of the spectrum. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm inked a deal Tuesday with Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing out of Singapore to augment its production of 64-bit chips. The partnership means that AMD will have two facilities now making its Opteron and Athlon64 processors. Under the contract, Chartered will […]

PALO ALTO, Calif. — HP is setting up a potentially disruptive system based on its utility technology, one that could force companies into bidding wars over IT resources. Researchers at the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company’s laboratory profiled a new software application called Tycoon. The framework sits above the application layer and augments HP’s Adaptive Enterprise […]

A technology group working on faster data transfer between devices announced a new specification targeted at improving high-performance computing systems. The HyperTransport Technology Consortium said today that it has approved HTX, the industry’s first HyperTransport technology expansion connector spec. The group said the new EATX motherboard/daughtercard guideline defines an interface and form factor specification for […]