Dell to invest $1 billion to boost data storage products
Dell plans to invest $1 billion over the fiscal year 2012 to bolster its data storage products to business customers, with the money going toward the research of technology like cloud computing and virtualization, along with the development on new data centers.
Dell announced the investment at a company sponsored event in Beijing on Thursday. Read more...
IT workers would take a 10 percent pay cut to telecommute
Do you want spend less to hire top IT talent? Leave them at home. At least, that's the conclusion of a recently released Dice.com poll, which asked technology professionals the question, "With gas prices soaring, would you accept slightly less pay to telecommute full time?" Thirty-five percent of 937 respondents answered, "Yes, I'd cut my salary by 10 percent or less." Another 9 percent said they were already telecommuting. The study also found that on average, technology professionals were willing to forgo $7,800 just for the privilege of working at home. Read more...
Feds prep for e-gov shutdown
If the federal government is shut down by a budget impasse Friday night at midnight, the IRS will continue to accept tax returns filed electronically and it will still process refunds, but paper-based returns won't be processed.
Other U.S. government Web sites that offer electronic services unrelated to national security and the protection of life and property likely won't be updated -- and it's possible that some could go offline. Read more...
Happy 20th Birthday, Linux: The Celebrations Begin
The Linux Foundation on Wednesday kicked off what will be several months of celebrations in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Linux operating system with a range of festivities and events as well as key news announcements from three of its working groups.
A new 20th Anniversary Website marks the occasion with a summary of the various initiatives planned for the upcoming months, including a new training scholarship and contests. Read more...
Others Drawn Into Oracle, Rimini Street Legal Fray
Three other providers of third-party software maintenance have been drawn into the legal battle between Oracle and Rimini Street, a Las Vegas company that provides support for Oracle applications, according to a document filed late last month in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
Rimini Street CEO Seth Ravin was a co-founder of TomorrowNow, the former SAP subsidiary at the heart of Oracle's corporate theft suit against SAP, which ultimately resulted in a US$1.3 billion jury award against SAP last year. Oracle sued SAP in 2007, alleging TomorrowNow workers illegally downloaded Oracle software and support materials. SAP accepted liability for TomorrowNow's actions but considers the award's size to be unfair Read more...
Moody’s cuts Nokia on weak market position
Moody's cut its credit rating on Nokia, citing the Finnish mobile phone company's weakening market position and uncertainty over its transition to Microsoft's Windows Phone software.
Moody's said on Thursday that it was lowering its rating on Nokia's senior debt to A3 from a previous A2. The agency also cut the company's short-term debt ratings to Prime-2 from Prime-1, and said the outlook on the ratings was negative. Read more...
Linux Development to Get High Availability Push
The Linux Foundation has formed a new working group to speed development within the Linux ecosystem that would make the operating system kernel more suitable for building high-availability (HA) systems, the Foundation announced Wednesday.
The High Availability Working Group will define a software stack for running Linux in clustered, mission-critical environments. It will also prioritize development work that still needs to be done, based on feedback from developers, vendors and customers. Read more...
Microsoft Advises Against Homebrew Update WP7 Tool
Microsoft is advising people not to use an unauthorized tool for downloading two software updates to Windows Phone 7 devices.
Earlier this week developer Chris Walsh released a tool that let WP7 users download two updates that Microsoft has struggled to push out.
The move follows a monthlong ordeal during which Microsoft has faced numerous problems trying to deliver the updates to WP7 phones. Three of five models in the U.S. eligible to get the updates have yet to receive either.
Walsh appears to have pulled the updater on Wednesday, the same day that Microsoft began warning people not to use it. Read more...