Oracle Corp has ended a high-profile computer-building partnership with Hewlett-Packard Co as Oracle prepares to acquire Sun Microsystems Inc, a rival of HP.
Sun, the world's No. 4 server maker, and Oracle have jointly developed a second-generation version of a specialized database computer, dubbed Exadata. Oracle and HP launched the first version a year ago.
Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison unveiled the new machine on Tuesday, almost a year after he announced his company's entry into the hardware business with help from HP. At the time, he said that HP would be a key ally in that effort.
But the dynamics of that relationship have changed since April, when Oracle agreed to buy Sun for more than $7 billion. Hewlett-Packard and Sun are fierce rivals in the markets for server computers and storage equipment.
The new Exadata computer is the first of what Ellison has said will be many products that wed Sun's hardware with Oracle's software.
An Oracle spokeswoman said Oracle would continue to sell the Exadata computers, built in partnership with HP, until existing inventory is sold out, if customers request that model.
Officials at Hewlett-Packard could not be reached for comment.
When Ellison unveiled the HP partnership a year ago, he told customers that the product could not have been developed without that company's assistance.
On Tuesday he bragged that Sun's technology made the database computer far superior to hardware from rivals including Teradata Corp and Netezza Corp.
"Everything is bigger about Exadata, Version 2. Everything is faster about Exadata, Version 2," he said during a presentation to customers that was broadcast over the Internet.
Oracle does not break out sales of the Exadata machine. But during the company's most recent earnings call, Ellison said that it was one of the most successful products he had launched since he founded the company more than 30 years ago.
Agencies
Showing posts with label Sun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sun. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sun-Oracle deal gets OK from US Justice Dept
Business software maker Oracle Corp said it has received the Justice Department's approval to move forward with its $7.4 billion acquisition of former dot-com-era star Sun Microsystems Inc.
The deal still needs to get the go-ahead from the European Commission.
Clearance by the Justice Department had been held up over questions about the licensing of Java, a programming language that Sun invented that now runs on more than 7 billion electronic devices around the world, including cell phones and personal computers.
Sun's shareholders approved the deal in July. Another potential antitrust question could surround Sun's MySQL database, an open-source product. Some worry Oracle could make MySQL a lower priority as it tries to boost sales of its market-leading database software.
Sun's performance had been shaky for nearly a decade before Oracle outbid IBM Corp. for the Santa Clara, California-based company in April. IBM is one of Oracle's biggest database software rivals, and is a major Sun rival in computer servers.
The Sun acquisition will give Oracle more control over the development of Java, a key technology used in its products, and also thrust the Redwood Shores, California-based company into hardware, a new area for Oracle.
The Justice Department's approval was expected. Oracle's stock rose 17 cents to $22.11 in after-hours trading, having finished the regular trading session up 16 cents to close at $21.94.
Agencies
The deal still needs to get the go-ahead from the European Commission.
Clearance by the Justice Department had been held up over questions about the licensing of Java, a programming language that Sun invented that now runs on more than 7 billion electronic devices around the world, including cell phones and personal computers.
Sun's shareholders approved the deal in July. Another potential antitrust question could surround Sun's MySQL database, an open-source product. Some worry Oracle could make MySQL a lower priority as it tries to boost sales of its market-leading database software.
Sun's performance had been shaky for nearly a decade before Oracle outbid IBM Corp. for the Santa Clara, California-based company in April. IBM is one of Oracle's biggest database software rivals, and is a major Sun rival in computer servers.
The Sun acquisition will give Oracle more control over the development of Java, a key technology used in its products, and also thrust the Redwood Shores, California-based company into hardware, a new area for Oracle.
The Justice Department's approval was expected. Oracle's stock rose 17 cents to $22.11 in after-hours trading, having finished the regular trading session up 16 cents to close at $21.94.
Agencies
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Has IBM pulled out of $7b offer for Sun Microsystems?
IBM withdrew its $7 billion bid for Sun Microsystems on Sunday, a day after Sun’s board balked at a reduced offer, according to three people close to the talks.
The deal’s collapse after weeks of negotiations raises questions about Sun’s next step, since the IBM offer was far above the value of the Silicon Valley company’s shares when news of the IBM offer first surfaced last month. Sun, an innovative pioneer in computer workstations, servers and Internetera software, has struggled in recent years and spent months trying to secure a suitor. With IBM and others shying away from a deal, a bruised Sun could be forced to continue pursuing a solo business model whose prospects have been questioned by many analysts.
After the legal review, IBM shaved its offer on Saturday from $9.55 a share, the proposal on the table late last week, to $9.40 a share, said one person familiar with the talks. The offer was presented to Sun’s board on Saturday, and the board balked. The Sun board did not reject the offer outright, but wanted certain guarantees that the IBM side considered “onerous,” according to that person. Sun then said it would no longer abide by its exclusive negotiating agreement with IBM, a second person familiar with the discussions said. On Sunday, IBM’s board decided to withdraw the offer.
The breakdown in the talks, said the second person close to the negotiations, came over the shifting balance of price and conditions for the deal.
For example, IBM scrutinized the “change of control” contracts with Sun executives, senior engineers and managers. IBM felt that the payments to senior employees were higher and extended more broadly across the company than it had anticipated. IBM pointed to the change of control contracts as one reason it was reducing its offer price.
The breakup of the deal, analysts say, is a blow to Sun’s prospects. “For IBM, given its size, this was never a transformational deal,” said A M Sacconaghi, an analyst for the investment research firm Sanford C Bernstein.
“But in Sun’s case, it’s an extremely material event.” “This leaves Sun in a tough situation,” Sacconaghi added. “Sun was on a path to selling itself, and this will inevitably raise questions in customers’ minds, no matter what Sun says, about its commitment to a go-it-alone strategy.”
Sun was most concerned about securing tighter provisions to restrict IBM’s ability to walk away from the deal.
Whether the IBM decision amounts to a negotiating tactic to get agreement on the final sticking points is unclear. Though the offer is off the table for now, the two sides could resume bargaining if Sun’s share price drops from its $8.49 close on Friday and major investors pressure the company to come to an agreement. “There’s lots of testosterone going back and forth,” said a third person familiar with the discussions. All three people who discussed the deal would speak only on condition of anonymity because details of the merger talks are confidential.
Agencies
The deal’s collapse after weeks of negotiations raises questions about Sun’s next step, since the IBM offer was far above the value of the Silicon Valley company’s shares when news of the IBM offer first surfaced last month. Sun, an innovative pioneer in computer workstations, servers and Internetera software, has struggled in recent years and spent months trying to secure a suitor. With IBM and others shying away from a deal, a bruised Sun could be forced to continue pursuing a solo business model whose prospects have been questioned by many analysts.
After the legal review, IBM shaved its offer on Saturday from $9.55 a share, the proposal on the table late last week, to $9.40 a share, said one person familiar with the talks. The offer was presented to Sun’s board on Saturday, and the board balked. The Sun board did not reject the offer outright, but wanted certain guarantees that the IBM side considered “onerous,” according to that person. Sun then said it would no longer abide by its exclusive negotiating agreement with IBM, a second person familiar with the discussions said. On Sunday, IBM’s board decided to withdraw the offer.
The breakdown in the talks, said the second person close to the negotiations, came over the shifting balance of price and conditions for the deal.
For example, IBM scrutinized the “change of control” contracts with Sun executives, senior engineers and managers. IBM felt that the payments to senior employees were higher and extended more broadly across the company than it had anticipated. IBM pointed to the change of control contracts as one reason it was reducing its offer price.
The breakup of the deal, analysts say, is a blow to Sun’s prospects. “For IBM, given its size, this was never a transformational deal,” said A M Sacconaghi, an analyst for the investment research firm Sanford C Bernstein.
“But in Sun’s case, it’s an extremely material event.” “This leaves Sun in a tough situation,” Sacconaghi added. “Sun was on a path to selling itself, and this will inevitably raise questions in customers’ minds, no matter what Sun says, about its commitment to a go-it-alone strategy.”
Sun was most concerned about securing tighter provisions to restrict IBM’s ability to walk away from the deal.
Whether the IBM decision amounts to a negotiating tactic to get agreement on the final sticking points is unclear. Though the offer is off the table for now, the two sides could resume bargaining if Sun’s share price drops from its $8.49 close on Friday and major investors pressure the company to come to an agreement. “There’s lots of testosterone going back and forth,” said a third person familiar with the discussions. All three people who discussed the deal would speak only on condition of anonymity because details of the merger talks are confidential.
Agencies
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Intel assures employees: No more job cuts
Intel Corp said job cuts it made three years ago should help it ride out the economic slowdown, indicating that Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini won’t have to eliminate a significant number of workers.
“While we haven’t made specific projections on the size of the workforce, the restructuring we did in 2006 has put us in a good position to weather the current economic environment,” Intel spokesman Tom Beermann said today in an e-mailed statement.
Intel, the world’s top chipmaker, slashed jobs in 2006 and 2007 after losing market share to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Those cuts helped set it apart from other technology companies, which are shedding workers now. Applied Materials Inc, National Semiconductor Corp and Sun Microsystems -- all based near Intel in Santa Clara, California -- have announced cutbacks.
“They are sufficiently profitable that even in a lousy economy they can hold on to people and sustain their new-market initiatives,” said David Wu, a San Francisco-based analyst for Global Crown Capital LLC. He has a neutral rating on the shares, which he doesn’t own. “The rich can afford to do things the poor cannot.”
Earlier this week, Intel said fourth-quarter sales dropped 23 percent, more than it projected, as the global recession stifled demand for personal computers. The company plans to give its full earnings report on Jan. 15.
Intel’s headcount
Intel had 83,500 employees at the end of the third quarter, down about 20,000 from its peak in 2006. When Otellini made those cuts, he said the company was too large for its revenue opportunities. That reduction helped profit rebound 38 percent in 2007, after a 42 percent decline in 2006.
The company will report a profit of $999.5 million for last quarter, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. That would be the first quarterly net income below $1 billion since 2003.
Intel fell 40 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $14.15 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares lost 45 percent of their value last year.
Job cuts might have hindered Intel’s efforts to expand into new areas, Wu said. The company announced an agreement this week to get its chips into television equipment from Toshiba Corp and Samsung Electronics Co.
“They are pretty committed to going into new markets, and they don’t want to have to say, ‘Oops, a recession. Everything stop,’” Wu said. “That wastes a lot of money.”
Agencies
“While we haven’t made specific projections on the size of the workforce, the restructuring we did in 2006 has put us in a good position to weather the current economic environment,” Intel spokesman Tom Beermann said today in an e-mailed statement.
Intel, the world’s top chipmaker, slashed jobs in 2006 and 2007 after losing market share to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Those cuts helped set it apart from other technology companies, which are shedding workers now. Applied Materials Inc, National Semiconductor Corp and Sun Microsystems -- all based near Intel in Santa Clara, California -- have announced cutbacks.
“They are sufficiently profitable that even in a lousy economy they can hold on to people and sustain their new-market initiatives,” said David Wu, a San Francisco-based analyst for Global Crown Capital LLC. He has a neutral rating on the shares, which he doesn’t own. “The rich can afford to do things the poor cannot.”
Earlier this week, Intel said fourth-quarter sales dropped 23 percent, more than it projected, as the global recession stifled demand for personal computers. The company plans to give its full earnings report on Jan. 15.
Intel’s headcount
Intel had 83,500 employees at the end of the third quarter, down about 20,000 from its peak in 2006. When Otellini made those cuts, he said the company was too large for its revenue opportunities. That reduction helped profit rebound 38 percent in 2007, after a 42 percent decline in 2006.
The company will report a profit of $999.5 million for last quarter, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. That would be the first quarterly net income below $1 billion since 2003.
Intel fell 40 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $14.15 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares lost 45 percent of their value last year.
Job cuts might have hindered Intel’s efforts to expand into new areas, Wu said. The company announced an agreement this week to get its chips into television equipment from Toshiba Corp and Samsung Electronics Co.
“They are pretty committed to going into new markets, and they don’t want to have to say, ‘Oops, a recession. Everything stop,’” Wu said. “That wastes a lot of money.”
Agencies
Monday, December 8, 2008
IBM, Harvard want your PC for solar power study
Scientists at Harvard University and IBM are hoping to harness the power of a million idle computers to develop a new, cheaper form of solar power that could revolutionize the green energy world.
Researchers have launched the project using IBM's World Community Grid, which taps into volunteers' computers across the globe to run calculations on a myriad of compounds - potentially shortening a project that could take 22 years to just two years.
Harvard scientists are hoping the project will allow it to discover a combination of organic materials that can be used to manufacture plastic solar cells that are cheaper and more flexible than the silicon-based ones typically used to turn sunlight into electricity.
The technology could be used to coat windows, make backpacks or line blankets to produce electricity from the sun's rays. Technology to make the plastic cells already exists, but they are not yet efficient enough to be rolled out in commercial products.
"It is not now cost efficient, although the materials are cheap because it's plastic," said Alan Aspuru-Guzik, a chemistry researcher at Harvard University. The most efficient silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells convert about 20 percent of the sunlight that strikes them into electricity.
For now, the organic cells can turn only about 5 percent of the sunlight into power - half the level needed to make the low-cost cells a viable energy source. The researchers plan to publish results of the work once they have discovered a possible combination of compounds.
IBM developed its World Community Grid to advance research of humanitarian projects, such as fighting cancer, dengue fever and AIDS. The grid connects computers in homes or offices via the Internet with program on each machine to run calculations that feed back to the database.
"It's a way for people that have computers to do some good for the world," said IBM engineer Joe Jasinski. With more than a million volunteers currently linked to the World Community Grid, IBM said it had created a network with a massive calculating capability that would rank it among the top 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world.
Members of the grid download software to their personal computers that run the calculations as a screensaver program on the machine when it is turned on but not in use. IBM includes security software to protect the participants' computers. Such virtual networks are also in place to crunch data for other projects, such as SETI's effort to sift through radio telescope signals for signs of extraterrestrial life in the universe.
Source: Reuters
Researchers have launched the project using IBM's World Community Grid, which taps into volunteers' computers across the globe to run calculations on a myriad of compounds - potentially shortening a project that could take 22 years to just two years.
Harvard scientists are hoping the project will allow it to discover a combination of organic materials that can be used to manufacture plastic solar cells that are cheaper and more flexible than the silicon-based ones typically used to turn sunlight into electricity.
The technology could be used to coat windows, make backpacks or line blankets to produce electricity from the sun's rays. Technology to make the plastic cells already exists, but they are not yet efficient enough to be rolled out in commercial products.
"It is not now cost efficient, although the materials are cheap because it's plastic," said Alan Aspuru-Guzik, a chemistry researcher at Harvard University. The most efficient silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells convert about 20 percent of the sunlight that strikes them into electricity.
For now, the organic cells can turn only about 5 percent of the sunlight into power - half the level needed to make the low-cost cells a viable energy source. The researchers plan to publish results of the work once they have discovered a possible combination of compounds.
IBM developed its World Community Grid to advance research of humanitarian projects, such as fighting cancer, dengue fever and AIDS. The grid connects computers in homes or offices via the Internet with program on each machine to run calculations that feed back to the database.
"It's a way for people that have computers to do some good for the world," said IBM engineer Joe Jasinski. With more than a million volunteers currently linked to the World Community Grid, IBM said it had created a network with a massive calculating capability that would rank it among the top 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world.
Members of the grid download software to their personal computers that run the calculations as a screensaver program on the machine when it is turned on but not in use. IBM includes security software to protect the participants' computers. Such virtual networks are also in place to crunch data for other projects, such as SETI's effort to sift through radio telescope signals for signs of extraterrestrial life in the universe.
Source: Reuters
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
After Moon, ISRO plans mission to Sun
After the Chandrayaan-I moon odyssey, it's 'Mission Sun' for the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Scientists at ISRO are in the advanced stage of designing a spacecraft, named 'Aditya', to study the outermost region of the Sun called corona.
"That's a mini satellite. In fact, the design is just getting completed," ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told PTI.
Chandrayaan
"During solar maxim...which is happening...we would like to see the type of emissions which are taking place in the Sun and how it interacts with the ionosphere and atmosphere and so on," he said.
According to Dr Jayati Datta, deputy programme director, Space Science Office, ISRO, Aditya is the first space basedSolar Coronagraph intended to study corona.
'Aditya' would be the first attempt by the Indian scientific community to unravel the mysteries associated with coronal heating, coronal mass ejections and the associated space weather processes and study of these would provide important information on the solar activity conditions, she said.
We will have total map of the moon, says ISRO
"A basic understanding of the physical processes and continuous monitoring would help in taking necessary steps towards protecting ISRO's satellites either by switching them off or putting them on a stand-by mode as warranted by the background conditions," Datta aaid.
The temperature of the solar corona goes beyond a million degrees. From the Earth, corona can be seen only during total solar eclipses, mainly due to the bright solar disc and the scattering of the sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere. One has to go beyond the atmosphere to be able to mask the bright solar disc and study the corona.
Chandrayaan may reveal moon mysteries
The space borne coronagraph 'Aditya' in would study the Coronal Mass Ejection and consequently the crucial physical parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc, Datta said.
"Completely new information on the velocity fields and their variability in the inner corona, having an important bearing on the unsolved problem of heating of the Corona, would be obtained," she explained.
Activities towards 'Aditya Mission' have been initiated with the involvement of scientists from ISRO centres and prime national research institutes in the country.
PM sees first pictures from Chandrayaan
ISRO is planning to launch 'Aditya Mission' during the next high solar activity period. However, the exact date/time is not yet confirmed. "Aditya' is an indigenous/Indian mission. So far, there is no plan of putting any foreign payload on board Aditya mission," Datta said, adding that the United States, the European Space Agency and Japan [Images] have flown missions to study Sun and solar corona/activities.
The sun, which is highly turbulent and dynamic, sends out large chunks of charged particles and emits highly energetic electromagnetic radiation in all directions.
These radiations, on reaching Earth, cause severe near-Earth-space disturbances called Geomagnetic storms, which affect communication links, disturb power lines in high altitudes, cause aurora in polar regions and affect satellite systems directly and also indirectly through changes brought about in the near Earth atmosphere.
Scientists at ISRO are in the advanced stage of designing a spacecraft, named 'Aditya', to study the outermost region of the Sun called corona.
"That's a mini satellite. In fact, the design is just getting completed," ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told PTI.
Chandrayaan
"During solar maxim...which is happening...we would like to see the type of emissions which are taking place in the Sun and how it interacts with the ionosphere and atmosphere and so on," he said.
According to Dr Jayati Datta, deputy programme director, Space Science Office, ISRO, Aditya is the first space basedSolar Coronagraph intended to study corona.
'Aditya' would be the first attempt by the Indian scientific community to unravel the mysteries associated with coronal heating, coronal mass ejections and the associated space weather processes and study of these would provide important information on the solar activity conditions, she said.
We will have total map of the moon, says ISRO
"A basic understanding of the physical processes and continuous monitoring would help in taking necessary steps towards protecting ISRO's satellites either by switching them off or putting them on a stand-by mode as warranted by the background conditions," Datta aaid.
The temperature of the solar corona goes beyond a million degrees. From the Earth, corona can be seen only during total solar eclipses, mainly due to the bright solar disc and the scattering of the sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere. One has to go beyond the atmosphere to be able to mask the bright solar disc and study the corona.
Chandrayaan may reveal moon mysteries
The space borne coronagraph 'Aditya' in would study the Coronal Mass Ejection and consequently the crucial physical parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc, Datta said.
"Completely new information on the velocity fields and their variability in the inner corona, having an important bearing on the unsolved problem of heating of the Corona, would be obtained," she explained.
Activities towards 'Aditya Mission' have been initiated with the involvement of scientists from ISRO centres and prime national research institutes in the country.
PM sees first pictures from Chandrayaan
ISRO is planning to launch 'Aditya Mission' during the next high solar activity period. However, the exact date/time is not yet confirmed. "Aditya' is an indigenous/Indian mission. So far, there is no plan of putting any foreign payload on board Aditya mission," Datta said, adding that the United States, the European Space Agency and Japan [Images] have flown missions to study Sun and solar corona/activities.
The sun, which is highly turbulent and dynamic, sends out large chunks of charged particles and emits highly energetic electromagnetic radiation in all directions.
These radiations, on reaching Earth, cause severe near-Earth-space disturbances called Geomagnetic storms, which affect communication links, disturb power lines in high altitudes, cause aurora in polar regions and affect satellite systems directly and also indirectly through changes brought about in the near Earth atmosphere.
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