Briefs: September 13, 2004

ORACLE GUNS FOR MICROSOFT
application server

Oracle 10g Application Server, Standard Edition One is a combination of application server, Web server and portal software. The product is priced at $4,995 per CPU for up to two processors, or $149 per user with a minimum of five users, through Oracle's Named User Plus licensing program.

Thomas Kurian, senior vice president of application servers, said the release is aimed squarely against Microsoft Small Business Server. IBM and other Java software vendors have been making a serious play for the SMB segment. So far, there is little evidence these vendors are succeeding. However, one Oracle solution provider said midmarket customers have been more receptive to Oracle's application server in the past six months.

ERICSSON RETHINKS BLUETOOTH DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
Bluetooth inventor Ericsson is abandoning design and development of new Bluetooth products for the semiconductor industry. It will, however, continue to offer the technology through its Ericsson Mobile Platforms subsidiary.

The company is reorganizing its Bluetooth operations, a move that calls for dismantling its licensing outfit, Ericsson Technology Licensing. The company is forming a dedicated Bluetooth unit to support its semiconductor manufacturer customers.

Ericsson also said it will continue to support the technology as a member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

Industry observers say Ericsson's move does not signify Bluetooth's death. It does indicate that Bluetooth--a standard for short-range radio technology enabling point-to-point communication between devices--is taking a backseat to wireless network technology such as Wi-Fi.

In a statement, Bluetooth SIG--which includes members IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola and Nokia--said other members of the Bluetooth community are continuing development. In June, Bluetooth SIG said more than 150 million Bluetooth-enabled units had shipped to date, and that worldwide shipments of products with the technology now exceed 2 million units per week.

CANON TOUTS SUB-$1,000 COLOR MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE
Canon last week rolled out a wide range of imaging products for the small-business and SOHO markets, including what it called the world's first sub-$1,000, copier-based color laser multifunction device.

The Color ImageClass MF8170c offers color laser printing and copying, color scanning and faxing in a single device. It prints and copies at up to 16 ppm for black and white and 4 ppm for color.

The $999 MF8170c includes a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, a 250-sheet paper feeder and built-in networking and USB 2.0.

While there are several sub-$1,000 color laser printers on the market, the MF8170c is the first to integrate color copy and scan functions as well, according to a Current Analysis research report.

BORLAND ADDS TO CONSULTING, SERVICES DEPTH
Application life-cycle management tools vendor Borland plans to beef up its consultancy and services business through relationships with two new strategic solution providers.

At its BorCon event in San Jose, Calif., Borland will unveil alliances with Syntel, a consultancy and development outsourcing firm, and Scandent Solutions, a consultancy and services firm, said Chris Barbin, senior vice president of worldwide services. Syntel will help Borland take services and products into vertical markets, while Scandent will help the vendor deliver education and consultancy services in the United States, as well as set up a competency center for partners and customers to be trained on Borland products, he said.

Borland also will launch Borland Accelerate and Borland University, Barbin said. Borland Accelerate helps speed up software development projects through a set of best practices, tools, checklists, utilities and other reusable assets. Borland University, targeted for release in the first quarter of 2005, is a relaunch of Borland's educational services course catalog, certification tracks and testing infrastructure.

RED HAT, UNISYS JOIN FORCES
After announcing its first Linux-based server at LinuxWorld last month, Unisys last week said it has joined the Red Hat partner community.

Unisys and Red Hat plan to offer an integrated Linux solution to enterprise customers across Unisys' full line of servers that will be supported by Unisys service personnel. The partnership also entails joint marketing, customer support, the development of open-source road maps and dedicated engineering personnel, Red Hat said.

Meanwhile, Red Hat last week announced a security update for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 that supports buffer overruns with features such as Exec-Shield and Position Independent Executable (PIE) and expands support for No Execute (NX) technology in 64-bit extended processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.