Most you the news postings that you will see on News Whistler will be Pro-Microsoft, you will not find many news about Sun, Oracle, or AOL. But there is exception to the rule, anytime crap happens to any of these companies you can be sure that you can read all about it on News Whistler and have few good laughs.
Server giant Sun Microsystems, adjusting to the dire high-tech economy, began to tell hundreds of employees Tuesday they'll be losing their jobs if they can't find new ones in the company. Sun positioned the action as a "redeployment," not a layoff, but the redeployment and attrition will result in 300 job cuts by the end of the year, the company said in a document seen by CNET News.com. Employees will lose their jobs if they can't find a new job at Sun within 60, 90 or 120 days, depending on their job type.
Microsoft is now determined to prevent AOL from buying AT&T Broadband from AT&T , according to a report in The Financial Times. Never mind that AOL has never said publicly it wants to buy AT&T Broadband. The mere suggestion that AOL may want to do such a deal is enough to send up red flags in conference rooms in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft's opposition to AOL's desires is just the latest gambit in a growing love-hate relationship between the two companies.
Microsoft doesn't want AT&T Broadband for itself. Still, it doesn't want AOL to have it, either, and may be willing to finance rival bidders for AT&T's cable assets. These assets are in play because AT&T wants to spin them off and because Comcast has made a $58 billion bid for the unit.
Today, Microsoft Corp. hosted a Windows® XP event in which more than 20 key industry leaders showcased their hardware and software solutions for digital photography on the Microsoft® Windows XP platform. These companies demonstrated everything from digital cameras to photo-processing services, all designed to provide consumers with the ability to easily manage their digital photography using Windows XP.
"This is a great opportunity for Microsoft and leading companies in the industry to work together to deliver end-to-end digital photography experiences for consumers," said Chris Jones, vice president of the Windows Division at Microsoft. "By linking the power of the PC with the best solutions in the digital photo arena, Windows XP lets consumers share their pictures with friends and family as easily as they can take them."
Microsoft announced Monday evening that a new Radio Tuner for Windows Media Player for Windows XP has gone live, giving users of Windows XP an attractive and compelling new way to work with Internet Radio. Microsoft says that the new Radio Tuner provides quicker and easier access to thousands of radio stations, and a choice of over 30 genres, including new college radio and public radio genres. It is designed to help listeners find and enjoy stations more quickly.
C|Net Videos about New Intel Mobile Chip and Windows XP
Video #1 - Microsoft product manager Tom Laemmel says XP will be better for mobile users than Windows 95.
Video #2 - Intel shows off new mobile-class Pentium IIIs and says the 0.13-micron technology is moving into all its processors.
In one corner, the world's top software company with a $31 billion cash horde and a lock on 90 percent of personal computers. In the other corner, an Internet and media titan with a 30 million-strong base of Web subscribers and a deep library of music, movie and news. That's the tale of the tape for what is shaping up as the heavyweight business brawl of the year - Microsoft Corp. vs. AOL Time Warner Inc. The stakes are big-time: both sides hope to dominate the next wave of Internet services that will tie instant messaging, music, e-commerce and other features into a seamless offering. The two companies have already taken the first shots at each other and analysts say the fight is only just starting.
"I predict that we are going to see all-out war for several years before we see cooler heads prevail,'' said David Smith, an analyst with Gartner Group, a technology consultancy.
A group of government and private security experts took the unusual step Monday of publicly urging businesses worldwide to guard themselves against the Code Red worm, set to reactivate Tuesday with possibly dire consequences for the Internet. Representatives from Microsoft, federal security agencies and various trade groups held a globally televised press conference to urge businesses to install a Microsoft software patch that prevents Code Red from infecting servers running Microsoft's server software.
More on Code Red
Intel introduced a new line of mobile processors Monday that will clear the way for notebooks to deliver more bang for their buck. As expected, Intel launched its new mobile Pentium III-M processor at speeds of 866MHz, 933MHz, 1GHz, 1.06GHz and 1.13GHz. The main change in the Pentium III-M, code-named Tualatin, is that the chips will be manufactured on a 0.13-micron process, which allows smaller circuits to be printed on the chip. Current Pentium III chips are built on a 0.18-micron process. Smaller circuits mean more processing power and less power consumption.
Dell Computer Corp. and Gateway Inc. are reportedly the latest PC makers in talks with AOL Time Warner's Internet unit as part of the media giant's bid for a place on Microsoft's Windows XP desktop. Gateway told industry sources late Friday that the San Diego, California-based computer company is negotiating with America Online to make AOL the primary Internet service provider (ISP) on computers equipped with the new operating system, expected in October.
I thought better of DELL than to socializes with aol. Bad DELL, bad.
The Washington Post stressed the degree to which "an entire ecosystem of computer-part makers, software integrators and even small-town computer professionals" are counting on Windows XP to pull them out of the doldrums, according to a Prudential Securities analyst. Ariana Eunjung Cha explored the conundrum facing federal regulators who are grappling with remedies for Microsoft's monopolistic behaviors in the face of its "love-hate, codependent relationship" with suppliers.