Technology News: Hardware

Ballmer Gives Shareholders - and Dell - Cause for Optimism
November 20, 2009

The early indicators that Windows 7 is doing well seem to be piling up. CEO Steve Ballmer gave that perception a boost at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Thursday, announcing that Microsoft "has already sold twice as many units of Windows 7 than any other operating system ever launched in a comparable time." Do the early numbers indicate that Windows 7 may be strong enough to cheer the shareholders of other companies -- namely, battered computer OEMs like Dell?

Would Palm Buy Scuttle Nokia's Symbian Strategy?
November 16, 2009

Palm had its hands full over the weekend. The company's Sunday launch of its new US$99 Pixi smartphone had to compete with fresh rumors begun Friday that the company was a possible target of a takeover by Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia. Those rumors sent Palm stock soaring by 8 percent on Friday, although Monday's trading was back within normal ranges.

HP Raises Stakes in Networking Game With 3Com Play
November 12, 2009

HP's $2.7 billion takeover of 3Com is a shot at networking leader Cisco Systems -- and a sign of how old relationships are being frayed by a flurry of maneuvers by technology heavyweights. HP said Wednesday it has agreed to pay $7.90 per share for 3Com, a 39 percent premium to 3Com's closing stock price before the deal was announced.

IBM, Canonical Put Windows 7 in Their Crosshairs
October 21, 2009

IBM and Canonical have launched a Microsoft-free desktop software suite for U.S. companies, claiming the package will offer substantial cost reductions compared to a Windows 7 migration. Though the IBM Client for Smart Work package was initially designed for emerging markets, it sparked widespread calls for a similar offering in the United States.

Acer Topples Dell to Claim No. 2 PC Vendor Slot
October 15, 2009

As global PC shipments rose 2.3 percent year over year in the third quarter, Taiwanese PC manufacturer Acer took the No. 2 spot in PC sales worldwide, according to market research firm IDC. That pushed Dell into third place; market leader HP, however, maintains its commanding lead. HP accounted for 20.2 percent of PC shipments worldwide in the third quarter, with almost 15.8 million units.

Oracle's Ellison Challenges IBM to Server Duel
October 15, 2009

Larry Ellison ratcheted up his rhetoric against IBM on Wednesday, challenging Oracle's longtime partner and rival to "make our day" in a battle over business software performance. Ellison, Oracle's billionaire CEO, shook up the technology world in April by outbidding IBM and snatching up struggling server and software maker Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion.

Wall Street Cheers Intel's Q3 Results, Q4 Forecast
October 14, 2009

Intel has been asserting for months that the personal computer business is rebounding from its deepest slump in nearly a decade. Its stock surged Wednesday on signs that things are picking up faster than expected, despite a few lingering trouble spots. Intel reported after the market closed Tuesday that its profit and sales both dipped 8 percent from July through September as spending by corporations remained weak.

IBM's Mainframe Policies Draw DoJ Scrutiny
October 09, 2009

The Justice Department is looking into allegations that IBM has abused its dominant position in the market for mainframe computers, the data-crunching heavy lifters of the computing world that IBM introduced in the 1960s, which are now used to process some of the most sensitive data in banking, government and healthcare.

Stylish, High-Performance PCs Suggest a Sea Change for Dell
October 06, 2009

To fully understand what Dell has accomplished with the Latitude Z and its other new business client offerings, it helps to remember where the company's PC solutions began. For years, Dell emphasized substance and notably aggressive pricing over style, delivering products with solid features and conventional design elements at costs designed to appeal to its core business customers.

Cisco to Expand Its Video-Conference Room With $3B Tandberg Buy
October 01, 2009

Cisco Systems has made a huge play in the video-conferencing industry, acquiring one of the world's largest makers of such equipment for close to $3 billion. Cisco is acquiring Tandberg for about $26.37 a share in cash -- an 11 percent premium over Tandberg's closing price on the Oslo exchange. The proposal was recommended unanimously by Tandberg's board of directors.

Ellison: Oracle Hearts MySQL
September 23, 2009

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison can be a wellspring of newsworthy comments. Little wonder, then, that for close to an hour on Tuesday, IT journalists were rapt as he ruminated on the subjects of the day in an interview with Sun Microsystems' Ed Zander at the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley.

The iPhone's Five-Year Plan
September 23, 2009

Demand in companies of all sizes will see the iPhone taking 35 percent of the business market, according to a prediction from Forrester Research. This will be fueled by increased demand for smartphones worldwide. Meanwhile, Apple will continue to innovate and stay ahead of the market, Barclays Capital Research said.

Dell Surges as PC Demand Picks Up
August 28, 2009

Dell's second-quarter results reinforce what other tech heavyweights have shown recently about the health of the personal computer industry: It's still wounded by the recession, but it is staggering back to its feet, thanks to consumers, bargain prices and little "netbook" laptops for surfing the Internet.

Bad News for PC Sector Cushioned by Glimmer of Hope
July 15, 2009

Worldwide PC shipments will fall on a year-over-year basis for the first time in nearly a decade, but all signs still point to a late-year tech sector recovery, according to research firm iSuppli. Shipments will fall 4 percent from 2008 sales, to 287.3 million units, the firm predicted. This is the latest -- and perhaps the most optimistic -- of several research reports out lately.

Dell Drums Up Virtualization-in-a-Box
June 18, 2009

Less than three months after announcing a slew of products and services to propel its thrust into the data center market, Dell on Wednesday released several out-of-the-box virtualization solutions targeting both enterprises and SMBs. These are aimed at simplifying virtualization and helping customers cut their costs.

IBM Offers Platform for Diving Into the Cloud
June 15, 2009

IBM had added a new service-and-hardware offering to its cloud computing repertoire. The bundle targets users seeking a single jumping-off point for deployment of a cloud environment focused on a discrete task, such as a test bed for application development. IBM CloudBurst is a set of preintegrated hardware, storage, virtualization and networking tools with built-in service management.