News

MySQL diaspora

It’s been 13 months since Sun Microsystems announced its  plan for a $1 billion buyout of MySQL and almost a year to the date since the deal closed. Now, the MySQL executive diaspora is on. Monty Widenius, one of the tech geniuses behind the open source oriented database left last week. Former MySQL CEO and front man Marten Mickos soon followed. (David Axmark, Widenius’ co-founder, had already hit the trail last October.) Continued »

SharePoint as Borg (and the rise of Microsoft Management Reporter)

With Microsoft moving the scorecarding and analytics of PerformancePoint server into SharePoint it sure seems that SharePoint is the go-to repository for all the capabilities that Microsoft doesn’t really know what else to do with. Remember Microsoft Content Management Server? That got sucked into SharePoint too. This strategy could turn out for good or ill depending on your view of swiss army knife product packaging.

Something called Microsoft Management Reporter, may be the exception to prove the rule. I’m assuming this is the same Management Reporter that is now part and parcel of the soon-to-be defunct PerformancePoint, but stay tuned. Microsoft is looking to make that the successor reporting tool for Microsoft Dynamics partners and their customers, replacing the venerable FrX, Forecaster and Enterprise Reporting products that many customers use with their Dynamics ERP applications.

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Suit says former VMware CEO broke securities law

A law firm with a history of suing public companies has set its sights on former VMware CEO Diane Greene.

Holzer Holzer & Fistel, an Atlanta firm, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Greene and CFO Mark Peek. The suit says the two execs broke the law because they didn’t tell shareholders that VMware was facing increased competition, taking a longer time to close deals and signing more customers to short-term contracts. The firm put out a press release last week seeking a lead plaintiff for the suit.

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Nortel’s choice

Once the dust from Nortel’s bankruptcy filing settles, the company is going to face some tough decisions: What excess will it shed and which customer base will it cater to? Continued »

Google reseller program on the way?

A Google reseller program seems to be in the works, according to this video posted Friday on YouTube.

The 14-second video features Dave Girouard, Google Enterprise president, and 10 Google employees standing behind him. Girouard says, “On behalf of the Google Apps reseller team, I want to say thank you for taking the time to learn about this exciting new program.”

The employees then yell, “Go Apps resellers!”

Google Apps Education Edition, which offers email, word processing, instant messaging and other programs for college students and faculty, is already gaining some traction in the channel. But there’s also concern that Google’s focus on Web-based applications could take away on-premise sales opportunities for solutions providers. Maybe this “Google Apps reseller team” will help address those issues.

UPDATE (7:04 p.m. Eastern): The owner of the video has removed it from YouTube. 

Tod Nielsen tapped as VMware COO

VMware snagged Tod Nielsen,  former CEO of Borland, as its new COO.

For a 43 year old, Tod’s been around the block more than a few times. Some remember him as the sacrificial lamb Microsoft sent out to deal with–and try to woo–the notoriously cranky dBase, FoxPro and Paradox database fans when Microsoft decided to enter the PC database fray. Say one thing for Tod, he kept a smile on his face in some pretty tough situations.

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Steve Jobs discloses hormonal imbalance

In a remarkable missive, Apple this morning issued a statement on the health of its CEO Steve Jobs. The statement reiterates the board’s support for the executive and a separate letter from Jobs said his marked weight loss over the past year is due to a hormone imbalance.

Jobs said he wrote the letter to dispel rumors coming out of his decision not to keynote the annual Macworld Expo tomorrow. That “set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed,” he wrote.

Jobs said he was spending the season with his family instead of prepping the big speech.

“I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow,” he wrote.

Nortel for sale … maybe

Nortel is mulling over bids worth nearly $1 billion for its Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) unit.

Nortel placed the MEN unit — one of the healthiest divisions in the company — on the block in September to slash costs and earn some cash, but now the company is taking its time deciding on a bidder, The Globe and Mail of Canada reported this week. Continued »

Whose cloud is it anyway?

Raise your hand if you’ve heard enough about the proverbial cloud yet.

Understood. The hypefest has been enormous. And the payoff? Not there yet. Continued »

And the Oscar goes to… not this one

In my first blog post about the “life” of avatars, I joked about avatar deaths being the riveting subject of the next Law and Order episode.  I really meant it as a joke.  Hollywood execs must’ve seen their opportunity, however, because Gore Verbinski (of Pirates of the Caribbean fame) has secured the rights to the story of a Second Life nut who “cheats” on his wife, much like the scandal in the UK.

Dubbed Sadville: The Movie!, the sure-to-be-yawnfest chronicles the life of a 53-year old diabetic chain-smoker who’s addicted to living life through his Second Life avatar, a buff entrepreneur who apparently womanizes.  So far, I’m picturing 90 minutes of raw footage of a balding, overweight man with nicotine stains on his left fingers and Cheetos stains on his right fingers.  I can only hope Gore Verbinski plans to add some actual plot to this storyline. 

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