ShadowRAM: January 19, 2004

But CES also provided an additional feature for show-goers that the old Comdex never had: a two-mile line at airport security checkpoints on Sunday. It took tens of thousands of CES attendees up to three hours to get to their gates, and thousands missed their flights.

Intel rolled out a number of new initiatives and technologies during CES, including an entertainment PC prototype, enhanced audio technology and a new processor offering,liquid crystal on silicon,that will be used to beef up LCD TVs and HDTVs. Now we hear that, as a result of the R&D that went into rolling out those technologies, the company has found a way to greatly enhance sound performance in audio- and videoconferencing devices.

We were scratching our heads last week over press reaction to word of SAP's effort, code-named Project Vienna, to rewrite its applications for a services-oriented world. Newspapers scrambled to write essentially the same story, to wit: SAP is rewriting its software, and that's all anyone knows. We aren't surprised to learn of SAP's efforts. What would have been a surprise is if the company were doing nothing. These days, every application vendor is undertaking a massive effort to prepare for the dawning age of composite applications.

Talk about your birthday pranks gone wild. Over at Amazon.com last week, Jeff Bezos celebrated his 40th. Other Amazonians celebrated by rigging the company's search engine to call up a photo of Bezos dressed as Austin Powers when anyone typed in the phrase, "Old Fart." By midweek, though, after news of the prank spread like wildfire, the search term was unplugged.

Forget Dell. When it comes to driving down PC prices, Systemax, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based system builder, runs away with the crown. Last week, the company shipped an $899 Centrino-based notebook. Earlier, Systemax built $299 desktops for an AOL promotion that gave the system,plus a Lexmark printer,to customers who signed up for a year of online service.

When Oracle CEO Larry Ellison got hitched over the holidays, Apple chief Steve Jobs wasn't just a guest,he was reportedly also the wedding photographer. OK, Ellison is one of the richest men in the world, and he's cutting corners on his wedding? If anyone knows who did duty as DJ that day, please drop us a dime.

Ellison also raised eyebrows by handing over his chairman title at Oracle last week to Jeff Henley. Ostensibly, this is a move toward good corporate governance. Small problem: Henley remains CFO and, as such, reports to the CEO, who still happens to be Ellison. This is like the three-card monte of corporate reorgs.