Briefs: August 15, 2005

INTEL TO SHIFT TO NEXT-GEN PROCESSOR ARCHITECTURE
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Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini is slated to outline the next-generation processor architectureas well as take the wraps off an updated technology road map that focuses on energy efficiency and broadbandat the Intel Developer Forum, which kicks off on Aug. 23 in San Francisco. Also at the event, Intel for the first time will detail plans for its new Digital Health unit, which will be led by General Manager Louis Burns.

Chips based on the new architecture are expected to emerge in the second half of next year. Plans call for the new platform to be based in part on Intel's Pentium M processor, which was designed to deliver performance and power savings in notebooks. The Pentium M's top clock speed is lower than that of the Pentium 4, which tops out at 3.8GHz. And like the top-of-the-line Pentium 4, the next-gen processors are expected to house multiple computing engines on a single chip and include security features and manageability functions.

SUSE Channel Veteran Heinrich Exits Novell Petra Heinrich, who spearheaded Suse's much-respected channel program, has left Novell, the company confirmed last week.

"This is a very big loss. [Heinrich] was a big channel activist and very channel-driven," said one longtime Suse solution provider in the United States. "The question is, where is Novell going as it relates to Suse Linux and its partners? Novell says it is very partner-driven, but how do you lose one of your top channel advocates if you're partner-driven?"

Heinrich, who was overseeing Suse's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) channel operations, couldn't be reached for comment, but industry sources said she's in talks with OpenXchange, formerly Netline.

A Novell spokesman said although the company appreciates Heinrich's efforts, it has a deep bench of channel-savvy talent in-house. Johan Rosius, who heads Novell's EMEA sales alliance organization, will take on Heinrich's duties, he said.

Since acquiring Suse and its Linux franchise two years ago, Novell has refocused the company on Linux. But the software vendor has lost key Suse staff. In May, for example, Novell lost Richard Seibt, who was CEO of Suse before the acquisition and then became president of Novell's EMEA subsidiary.

HP, GATEWAY TUSSLE OVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Hewlett-Packard and Gateway exchanged shots last week in the latest round of an ongoing battle over PC-related intellectual property.

The International Trade Commission said Gateway infringed on HP's intellectual property by importing PCs that violated two HP patents related to the use of parallel ports for printing. The ITC also dropped HP's complaints that Gateway violated patents related to the setting of processor speed and booting PCs from a CD-ROM. Three other counts were dropped earlier by HP.

And the PC rivals' intellectual-property fight doesn't stop there. An HP spokesperson said the company is appealing the ITC's dismissal of its complaints against Gateway over the processor speed and CD-ROM booting issues. HP also filed a new complaint on July 6, alleging that Gateway violated other HP patents, many related to portable PCs. Meanwhile, Gateway has a complaint before the ITC that accuses HP of violating Gateway's intellectual property related to Media Center PCs.

DELL SEES 2Q PROFIT RISE, BUT SALES COME UP A BIT LIGHT
Dell last week reported a 28 percent earnings gain for its second quarter, driven by increased shipments during a period of tough price competition among rivals.

Quarterly revenue was light, however, and the PC giant forecast third-quarter sales below Wall Street expectations.

Dell's second-quarter profit rose to $1.02 billion, or 41 cents per share, from $799 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier. The results included a 3-cent tax benefit. Revenue climbed 15 percent year over year to $13.4 billion.

Wall Street had projected earnings of 38 cents per share and sales of $13.7 billion. Dell CEO Kevin Rollins said in a statement that although the company met its earnings guidance for the period, its average selling prices were "down more than we would have liked."

In the quarter, Dell said it shipped a record 9.1 million systems, including 2.7 million mobile products. Revenue for software and peripherals, which includes printers and displays, exceeded $2 billion.

The company forecast third-quarter earnings of 39 cents to 41 cents per share on revenue of $14.1 billion to $14.5 billion. Wall Street projects a profit of 41 cents per share on sales of $14.6 billion for Dell's third quarter.