16
January
2008
|
05:50 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch 1.16.07: Sun buys MySQL for $1b

Sun buys MySQL for $1 billion

[InfoWorld] "This is a move that helps Sun's strategy. It pits the LAMP stack, backed by Sun, against Microsoft .Net. It's a strong initiative," said Noel Yuhanna, database analyst for Forrester Research. The LAMP stack is a set of open source software that includes MySQL as the database -- Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP or other dynamic scripting language. The elements of the set work easily together and can be used to build ambitious Web applications.

Ellison closes deal for BEA: $7.8b

[TMCNet] “Oracle did indeed come through as the most appropriate buyer for BEA,” Celent analyst Bart Narter suggested. “This purchase enables the company to go head to head with other companies such as IBM and SAP in offering SOA infrastructures to the largest enterprises.”

AAPL stock gets hammered

[MarketWatch] "Investors were underwhelmed, possibly on unrealistic iPhone speculation and the lack of a killer product similar to the iPhone launch," Abramsky said. "But [it was] mostly general market pressure." Apple may have been caught in the sell-off Intel, which was down 12% in today's trading.

AT&T recalls batteries after explosions and fires

[Reuters] AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it will replace 17,000 batteries mostly used to back up power supply for its U-verse television network after two fires and two explosions in a little over a year. The company said no one was injured by the incidents and the replacement of the batteries housed in outdoor telecommunications equipment cabinets would not change its spending plans for 2008.

MSFT owns patent for system that takes action based on person's vital signs

[News.com] "This particular patent application, in general, describes an innovation aimed at improving activity-monitoring systems and uses the monitoring of user heart rate as an example of the kind of physical state that could be monitored to detect when users need assistance with their activities, and to offer assistance by putting them in touch with other users who may be able to help," from Horacio Gutierrez, VP of IP, said.

Monkey think, robot do

[InfoWeek] In what researchers tout as a first-of-its-kind experiment, monkeys' thoughts controlled the walking patterns of a robot in Japan. "They can walk in complete synchronization," said Dr. Miguel Nicolelis of Duke University. "The most stunning finding is that when we stopped the treadmill and the monkey ceased to move its legs, it was able to sustain the locomotion of the robot for a few minutes -- just by thinking -- using only the visual feedback of the robot in Japan."