Applications

VoIP provider Skype announced on Monday the beta version of its business-user-oriented Skype for SIP, which will run on enterprise PBX systems. SIP is a signaling protocol that lets users set up and tear down multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls over the Internet. It can a...

Computing giant IBM could be close to buying struggling server maker Sun Microsystems for $7 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Though Sun is best known for making high-end servers, the crown jewel of the company's technology portfolio is its software, especially the widespread Inte...

Rivals Sun Microsystems and HP have inked a new multiyear agreement that enables HP to sell and support Sun's Solaris operating system on HP ProLiant server and blade system computers. The new deal's intent is to increase demand for Solaris on both HP ProLiant servers and server blades in new market...

CEO Steve Ballmer told Wall Street analysts on Tuesday that Microsoft has no intention of making any more job cuts despite the recession's effects on the technology industry. The Street did not respond to the news favorably. Microsoft stock hit an 11-year low. Ballmer also talked about the impending...

Google and Mozilla have formalized their support for the European Union's current antitrust proceedings against Microsoft by acquiring third-party status in the proceedings. They join several other firms that have also entered the fray. The EU is investigating whether Microsoft is violating its anti...

Just a month after saying it had no intention of opening a chain of retail stores, Microsoft has announced plans to do just that. The software giant announced Thursday that it has hired Wal-Mart veteran David Porter to lead the retail effort. Porter will report directly to Kevin Turner, Microsoft's ...

When large businesses need to change fast, the IT systems need to do more than keep up with change -- they need to manage, define and secure it. IT repositories are now effectively orchestrating multiple enterprise systems of record that must quickly operate together as result of massive mergers and...

Microsoft startled Wall Street -- as well as the tech community -- with earnings that point to at least two quarters of declining profit and revenue, as well as plans to slash its workforce by 5,000. The rapidly declining economy, of course, is at the root of Microsoft's financial situation, which e...

A competitor of computing giant IBM has accused Big Blue of violating antitrust laws in the European Union. In a complaint to the European Commission, mainframe computer maker T3 Technologies has accused IBM of using its dominance of the mainframe market to shut out competitors. T3 claims that IBM k...

The European Union is taking aim at Microsoft again, with its antitrust regulatory arm alleging on Friday that the U.S.-based software giant is breaking European anticompetitive rules by tying Internet Explorer to Windows. Such a link harms competition, undermines product innovation and reduces cons...

Spend wisely and be bold, or stay home and keep cover. In 2009, these are the choices IT professionals at banks and financial institutions will face. While the current economic turmoil has many running for cover, hiding your head in the sand will not protect your company from these tough times. As 2...

Microsoft is making Windows 7 available as a public beta on an unlimited basis following a surge in demand that crashed the site after it first posted the code. Microsoft had originally planned to roll out the Windows 7 public beta on a limited basis; initially, it was to have become available to th...

Microsoft is giving PC makers -- essentially, companies that make build-to-suit computers -- an additional four months to buy the Windows XP operating system. Redmond had originally designated Jan. 21, 2009, as the cutoff for shipping the OS. Now, these manufacturers can take delivery up to May 30.

In yet another sign of weakening in the technology sector, enterprise software giant Oracle announced a decline in profits on Thursday. The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based company reported $1.29 billion in earnings during the fiscal quarter ended Nov. 31, down 1 percent from $1.3 billion in earnings du...

Sun Microsystems' biggest institutional investor -- Southeastern Asset Management -- plans to add two new members to the struggling server maker's board of directors. Southeastern owns 22 percent of Sun's common stock. Founded in 1975, Southeastern has $34 billion in total assets under management.