txpanhandlefilm.com

Yost went on to say that IBM has an active business of migrating customers from Sun’s SPARC architecture to x86-based servers. “I have a number of clients that are looking to go to Solaris on x86 or Linux on x86,” he said. “That’s very much something that we’re actively doing.”

An IBM server vice president discussed IBM’s strategy to tap into Sun Microsystems’ customer base, in the wake of reports that IBM is in talks to buy the Santa Clara, Calif.-based server supplier.

“Sun has a terrific installed base,” Alex Yost, vice president IBM BladeCenter, said in a phone interview earlier this week in response to a question about Sun as a competitor.

Yost added that there are some IBM customers that require Sun’s SPARC architecture. “We also have some clients in very specialized environments that require native Solaris on SPARC,” he said. For these clients, IBM has partnered with Themis to offer SPARC blade server on IBM BladeCenter, Yost said.

IBM is rumored to be working toward a merger with Sun mostly due to the strength of Sun’s server business. SPARC is Sun’s chip architecture, while Solaris is Sun’s operating system that runs on both SPARC chips and x86 processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

Part of the challenge of absorbing Sun would be to integrate Sun’s products with IBM’s. On its Web site, Themis describes its T2BC Blade Server as enabling Solaris applications “to run natively, on an UltraSPARC T2 chip…within an IBM BladeCenter.” The Themis product description continues: “The T2 Blade Server can share the same chassis with server blades that utilize other processor architectures and operating systems.”

Now, Microsoft is far from alone in this vision. I’ve heard similar talk over the years from Hewlett-Packard, Veritas (now Symantec), IBM and others.

It should be an interesting battle between Microsoft and VMware.

That Microsoft has its sights set on the virtualization market dominated today by VMware is nothing new. However, the announcements Microsoft made on Monday show that the company is putting a tremendous amount of resources toward moving from vision to reality, analyst say.

That ideal, though, will take some time.

“VMware has a first mover advantage and a head start,” Gillett said. “But Microsoft’s model-based approach to it is a more appealing ideal.”

“We believe VMware has a broader product portfolio and it will take some time for Microsoft to match the breadth, probably until 2010,” Gillett said.

But clearly a fire has been lit under Microsoft, which was comparatively late to the virtualization game, despite its 2003 purchase of Connectix.

Microsoft’s approach of having a data center that can respond dynamically to business needs, while still years off, is compelling, said Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett. Virtualization is a key component that can take the Dynamic Systems Initiative of a few years ago and make it approach reality.

The moves come as virtualization is entering the mainstream on the server side and a looming presence on the desktop. Forrester said a recent survey showed half of businesses using server virtualization currently, with two-thirds planning to by next year. On the desktop, things are more nascent, with just over a quarter of businesses saying they either are using PC virtualization or will do so in the next 12 months.

Customers pay a “minimal” up-front fee and then lock into an electricity rate that is lower than the retail utility rate. The arrangement makes most sense in places where there are high electricity rates and relatively good incentives, like California.

The San Francisco-based start-up is one of handful of new companies looking to make solar panels an easier purchase for consumers through financing.

Rather than buy the panels, SunRun customers buy the electricity the panels generate. This model, called a power purchase agreement (PPA), is commonly used in large corporate renewable energy installations.

Although buyers will generally recoup the initial outlay in lower electricity bills in about 15 years, the high cost has restricted solar electricity to a niche audience, say solar industry executives.

SunRun owns the panels and provides maintenance. The company benefits from solar rebate incentives, which help finance the contracts.

Experts forecast the cost of electricity from home solar panels will be the same as retail electricity rates–called grid parity–in many places in the U.S. within three to five years.

Meanwhile, as these solar financing options take hold, the cost of solar panels is dropping regularly.

Solar electric panels have a hefty up-front cost–between $20,000 and $35,000– depending on the size, before rebates.

SunRun, a company that offers solar-electricity financing, announced Tuesday that it has raised $12 million from Foundation Capital.

European antitrust regulators on Tuesday approved Google’s $3.1 billion merger with DoubleClick, paving the way for a blockbuster deal in Internet search and publisher-based advertising tools.

With the Commission’s decision in place, Google announced on Tuesday that it has formally closed its merger with DoubleClick.

Updated on March 11 at 8:52 a.m.

The market investigation also found that the merged entity would not have the incentive to close off access for competitors in the ad-serving market, mainly because such strategies would be unlikely to be profitable.

The Commission found that the merged entity would not have the ability to engage in strategies aimed at marginalizing Google’s competitors, mainly because of the presence of credible ad-serving alternatives, to which customers (publishers/advertisers/ad networks) can switch–in particular, vertically integrated companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL.

The organization also cited concerns that the merger would aid Microsoft in its goal to acquire Yahoo. That deal is largely being driven by Microsoft’s desire to bolster its online-advertising capabilities.

Approval by the European Commission, which came without conditions, had largely been expected to occur this week. The Commission’s announcement comes three weeks before its April 2 deadline, in which it had to determine whether to nix the deal.

The Commission also analyzed the potential effects of nonhorizontal relationships between Google and DoubleClick, following concerns raised by third parties in the course of the market investigation.

The Commission’s in-depth market investigation found that Google and DoubleClick were not exerting major competitive constraints on each other’s activities and could, therefore, not be considered as competitors at the moment.

“Instead of ensuring competition, (the Commission) and the FTC have literally paved the way for the emergence of a global digital duopoly over online advertising,” the Center for Digital Democracy stated.

Last December, the Federal Trade Commission gave the online-advertising megamerger its blessing.

The decision by the FTC had come after the European Commission determined in November that it would take a deeper look into the proposed merger. Some antitrust experts at the time noted that Google could face a difficult time in Europe, given differences in the way federal and European regulators evaluate mergers.

Even if DoubleClick could become an effective competitor in online intermediation services, it is likely that other competitors would continue to exert sufficient competitive pressure after the merger. The Commission therefore concluded that the elimination of DoubleClick as a potential competitor would not have an adverse impact on competition in the online intermediation advertising services market.

According to the Commission’s announcement, the deal was approved based on several factors:

U.S. regulators noted that Google and DoubleClick are not direct competitors and that the markets within online advertising evolve quickly. As a result, the FTC did not find evidence that competitive harm would arise from the merger.

These relationships concern DoubleClick’s market position in ad serving, where Google, by controlling DoubleClick’s tools, could allegedly raise the cost of ad serving for rival intermediaries, and Google’s market position in search advertising and/or online ad intermediation services, where Google could allegedly have required purchasers of search ad space or intermediation to also purchase DoubleClick’s tools.

Google’s rivals such as Microsoft, as well as privacy groups, were hoping that the Commission, as well as U.S. antitrust regulators, would kill the Google-DoubleClick deal. But the Commission’s passage clears the acquisition’s last large regulatory hurdle.

Opponents of the merger weigh in
“U.S. and European policymakers must reform the antitrust process to reflect the realities of the digital-market era, where competition, data collection, and content creation are seamlessly intertwined,” the Center for Digital Democracy, which had presented its opposition to the FTC and the Commission, said in a statement Tuesday. “In today’s digital marketplace, the company that controls the most data about consumers, and has the global reach to connect to them, raises both anticompetitive and privacy concerns. An antiquated and piecemeal antitrust approach fails to protect citizens, consumers, and competition.”

“We are thrilled that our acquisition of DoubleClick has closed,” Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said in a statement. “With DoubleClick, Google now has the leading display ad platform, which will enable us to rapidly bring to market advances in technology and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the effectiveness, measurability, and performance of digital media for publishers, advertisers, and agencies.”

Still unresolved is a patent suit brought by Visto against BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. Visto alleges that RIM violated four of its patents. That case is scheduled to go to trial in July.

In 2006, Visto prevailed in a patent infringement suit brought against Seven Networks. The company ultimately was awarded about $7.7 million in damages.

Microsoft and Visto, which provides mobile e-mail services, said Monday that they have settled a long-running patent dispute.

The companies did not disclose details of the settlement; Visto had alleged that Microsoft violated its mobile e-mail patents. In a press release, Visto said it has entered into a licensing deal with Microsoft that involves “cash and non-cash consideration.”

The case was slated to go to trial on March 10.

(Credit:
CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)

The following product is available:

On Sale Now: $240.97 - $399.99
View the latest prices for Sony MDR-NC500D Digital Noise Canceling Headphones

Sony is certainly no stranger to the headphone market. The company’s portable line may very well be the most popular aftermarket earphones. It has quite an array of full-size “cans” as well as a decent selection of noise-canceling models. The latest high-end set to hit virtual retail shelves combines the two. The MDR-NC500D Digital Noise Canceling Headphones offer solid sound, high-quality construction, plentiful features, and a luxury price tag ($400) to match. These ‘phones aren’t without their flaws, but they’re still a great option for frequent fliers who have cash to spare and a distaste for low-end rumble. For more info, read the review or click the pic for the photos.

Update 10:01 a.m.: Now, Miyamoto is talking about the various features of Wii Music, which will include over 50 instruments, such as the piano, violin, percussion, and so forth.

But one nice element of this is that it features a system that will teach people how to play instruments, so, he said, players should be able to learn to play the drums in a matter of a few weeks.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime shows off ‘Wii Sports Resort,’ which will be available next Spring.

Another cool feature is one that will record video of players’ performances. This should be fun for families, given that they will be able to play music in the privacy of their living rooms and then show off videos of their best performances.

At the famous Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Nintendo is getting ready for its E3 press conference. Among the images it is showing on the screen while everyone waits is this one, which demonstrates the widespread appeal of the Wii, including to senior citizens, not your normal gamers.

(Credit:
Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)

But there was no huge piece of news, and nothing, I think, that will be the talk of E3 all week.

Stay tuned to this live blog for regular updates as the press conference evolves.

Update 9:47 a.m.: Fils-Aime is now talking about how Nintendo will be releasing a new sports game, Wii Sports Resort that is geared for the new Wii Motion Plus controller, which the company announced yesterday.

And this morning, it’s Nintendo’s turn to keep us in anticipation. And in a couple of hours it will be Sony.

Here at E3, the video game industry’s official Big Time Conference, there’s a lot of sitting around, filling seats while executives get ready to come out on stage and tell us what lies ahead for their companies.

Update 9:32 a.m.: Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is on stage now talking about the success of the Wii. He says Nintendo expects that when video game research firm NPD releases its June sales numbers on Thursday that the Wii will move into first place as the best-selling next-generation console in North America, surpassing the
Xbox 360.

Legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto playing ‘Wii Music,’ a game that could be a huge hit for Nintendo.

This game is much like Wii Sports in that it is designed to allow anyone to play musical instruments with the Wii remote.

Update 10:10 a.m.: Fils-Aime has wrapped up the press conference. The highlights were clearly Wii Music and Wii Sports Resort, both interesting and cool games that will likely sell many, many copies as well as drive sales of the Wii itself.

Fils-Aime said that Wii Sports Resort will be available next Spring.

(Credit:
Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)

(Credit:
Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)

For now, there are hundreds, if not a thousand or more, sitting in the Kodak Theater in Hollywood for the Nintendo press conference. No one really knows what the
Wii maker is going to announce, but there are those who think that whatever it will be could become the talk of E3.

On the other hand, with the Wii doing as well as it has been, maybe Nintendo didn’t need that as much as, say, Sony does.

Update 9:22 a.m.: A video is running showing Animal Crossing: City Folk, a new version of Nintendo’s hit game that will run on the Wii and feature WiiSpeak, a speaker system allowing multiple players to communicate live while they play.

Animal Crossing: City Folk will also feature some Sims-like abilities: Letting players create their own worlds in a sort of pervasive-type system. The game will feature live auctions where players can buy or sell items, and write letters to other players, attaching pictures, that can be sent to mobile devices or other computers.

Update 9:43 a.m.: Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, just said that this fall, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will debut exclusively on Nintendo DS. The game will be set in a modern day Liberty City, with a custom game engine and new character.

Update 9:55 a.m.: Now, legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto is up on stage showing off the new Wii Music, which will come out this fall.

LOS ANGELES–And so we wait. Some more.

Fils-Aime also said that the Wii has the fastest-selling set of game titles in console history. And that the success of its software titles is only growing.

Benioff also shares what he learned working alongside Oracle founder Larry Ellison during his 13 years at the company. In addition, he outlines the origins of Salesforce.com, which he started in 1999, and offers some insight into his aggressive marketing strategies and recipe for business success.

In the interview, Benioff discusses his early work developing games for the TRS 80, Apple II, and Commodore 64, and his turn as a summer intern at Apple in 1984, coding in assembly language for the Macintosh.

See also:

More Super Techies interviews
Marc Benioff taunts the awakened dinosaurs
Benioff takes stock of software shifts

In this Super Techies interview, I talk with Marc Benioff about his career in the software industry. Benioff is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Salesforce.com, which has led the business software-as-a-service revolution with its CRM-based platform. Salesforce.com is expecting to reach the $1 billion revenue threshold in its 2009 fiscal year, ending January 31, 2009.

Note: viewing the chart in IE6 won’t work.

The most interesting takeaways from the graph? Opera’s gotten the most versioning love for its age, and all of the browsers share a fairly similar updating schedule at various parts of each year.

[Found on Digg]

Meyer notes that he created the graph after getting fed up with Wikipedia’s vertical charts. The result is a chart that will likely require you to do the dreaded horizontal scroll–that is unless you’ve got your hands on one of those NEC wide-screen displays.

(Credit:
Eric Meyer / CNET Networks)

Here’s an evening treat for your eyes. CSS guru Eric Meyer has put together a spiffy-looking timeline chronicling the lives (and versions) of five popular Web browsers. Internet Explorer makes it on there twice as Meyer has opted to split up the versions between 6 and the (soon to be mandatory) Version 7. the PC and now defunct
Mac version, which Microsoft capped in 2003.

MacNN is reporting that the city’s Department of Education has instructed Dell Managed Services, which is apparently the DOE’s IT partner, to stop all iMac shipments until Apple fixes a Wi-Fi connectivity issue. The exact nature of the issue wasn’t explained in MacNN’s report, which cited an e-mail from Apple to school faculty apologizing for the problems.

It’s unclear how long this problem has been going on, but AppleInsider reported that some shipments have been on hold for almost two months, which was right around the time Apple shipped the 10.5.2 release of
Leopard. A News.com reader directed us to several discussions on Apple’s user forums regarding Leopard Wi-Fi problems that go back as far as November.

AppleInsider also believes that Apple is getting set to fix the Wi-Fi flaw in the next release of Mac OS X Leopard, which will be 10.5.3. That’s expected sometime in the next few weeks, although signs have appeared that the update will be here sooner rather than later, as Apple also works to correct a QuickTime flaw with that release.

An Apple spokesman said the company is looking into the issue. If you have been running into any kind of Wi-Fi connectivity problems with your Leopard machine, let us know.

MacBook shipments are on hold to Big Apple schools until the other Apple fixes a Wi-Fi problem.

The New York City school system has refused to accept any more iMac shipments until Apple fixes a Wi-Fi flaw, according to a report.

(Credit:
Apple)