Leadership vacuum for Microsoft biz apps

How do you do!

Microsoft plan is a two-edged sword
VNUNet.com - Jun 27, 2006
Microsoft plan is a two-edged sword Microsoft wants its tools to become the interface to other enterprise apps,but will this give the IT giant too much power over customers?Daniel Robinson,. Both Vista – the nextversion of Windows – and Office 2007 are being billed as the biggest releases intheir product categories for at least a decade... Most companies with Windowsdesktop systems will stick with their version of the operating system untiltheir next hardware refresh cycle, but what about Office?Microsoft has been putting a great deal of effort into new collaborationfeatures in Office 2007 to tempt wavering customers. Much of this concernsSharePoint Server 2007, a product that is part of Microsoft’s Office 2007“system”, but which isn’t actually included with any of the Office editions andmust be purchased separately. Microsoft has now unveiled plans to turn Office applications into thefront-end through which staff interact with enterprise applications such ascustomer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP)systems. In some ways this is an attractive proposition. Most companies alreadyrun Office applications, and staff are familiar with its user interface. Bycontrast, many enterprise applications can be difficult to operate. But before taking this route, firms should consider just how dependant theywill be on Microsoft technology.
http://www.vnunet.com/articles/print/2159161

Leadership vacuum for Microsoft biz apps
Register - Jun 30, 2006
Microsoft said in April MBS would become consistently profitable during 2007, yet - since entering business applications with its Great Plains acquisition in 2000 - Microsoft has not been entirely sure what to do with its ERP and CRM assets. Having set out to deliver Project Green, Microsoft is now apparently pushing MBS towards further integration with Office, turning the Office suite into a portal for data that is held in back office systems running Microsoft's business applications. For his part, Ayala - who was also vice president for sales, marketing and services - has been named senior vice president of the new emerging segments market development group, reporting to Microsoft COO Kevin Turner. ® Track this type of story as a.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/30/microsoft_business_applications_leadership/

SugarCRM to unveil commercial portal in July
InfoWorld - Jun 27, 2006
The license is part of Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative, a program for sharing source code with customers, partners and governments. February's announcement made waves in the open-source community, "bringing the anti-Microsoft followers out of the woodwork," Oram said, with SugarCRM accused of "being consumed by the dark side. " However, the company also saw the move welcomed by Microsoft users who were keen that SugarCRM software be offered under a Microsoft license, he added. Oram does see some mixed messages from Microsoft on open-source software, including some "unenlightened comments within Microsoft's ranks," as the software giant continues to figure out its stance on the technology.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/06/27/79669_HNsugarcrmportal_1.html

The full promise of VoIP edges nearer
InfoWorld - Jun 22, 2006
The real promise of VoIP, however, lies in the integration of voice directly with data applications. “When you move voice to IP it becomes an application,” says Bob Hafner, managing vice president at Gartner. “We’ve been spending the past 10 years integrating ERP, CRM, and other back-office applications with each other so that information flows through business processes relatively seamlessly. But there’s also the human component, which needs voice in addition to instant messaging and e-mail. ”Take this example. An employee working on a product order notices that the transaction requires approval from higher-ups. He or she clicks a button and the ERP application delivers a buddy list of all the people who have worked on this order, along with real-time presence information indicating their availability by phone and instant messaging... “We believe that by 2010, presence will be embedded in all applications. ”Voice communications are headed toward becoming part of an overall software architecture incorporating voice, Web conferencing, e-mail, and IM. Microsoft’s next version of Live Communications Server incorporates voice and Web conferencing. “The people we talk to are looking for a distributed software architecture that allows for intermingling of Web conferencing with instant messaging and call management rules,” says Zig Serafin, general manager of Microsoft unified communications.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/06/22/79158_26FEvoipstratnet_1.html

Microsoft Dives Into Voice Communications
PC World - Jun 26, 2006
The product road map calls for changes to product lines to better integrate voice features with Microsoft's business software. It includes several new capabilities and name changes: Office Communications Server 2007 replaces Live Communications Server and adds presence-based VoIP call management, Web, audio, and videoconferencing to IM features. Microsoft spelled out its plans to integrate e-mail, instant messaging, voice and video into a single platform that stretches across corporate applications and services. The software, hardware and Web conferencing service are part of a family of products around Office 2007, which is slated to ship in November to corporate clients. The company plans to have betas of all the software by the end of 2006. Microsoft made the announcements during a "Unified Communications Day" in San Francisco hosted by Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft's business division, Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president of Microsoft's unified communications group, and Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of the real-time collaboration product group at Microsoft. Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, a unified communications client for that server, will have a VoIP softphone and Web, audio, and video conferencing... Rather than replacing the corporate phone system or IP PBX, Microsoft is floating a unified communications architecture built on Active Directory and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The company is also moving ahead with efforts to build voice and other communications directly into mainstream applications such as Office, CRM, and supply chain, according to Gartner analyst Bern Elliot. "Microsoft has some failures behind it and recognizes that unified communications is a difficult area," Elliot said. "For now, they're not as much interested in replacing the IP PBX as they are in developing a new way to communicate. Exchange server will ship in late 2006 or early in 2007, according to Microsoft. The other pieces will be available in the second quarter of 2007.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/126249-1/article.html

Microsoft shuffles more executives
CNET News.com - Jun 28, 2006
Also, marketing for Microsoft's unified communications effort, which was. Microsoft said it is still searching for a replacement for MBS head Doug Burgum, who.
http://news.com.com/2100-1022-6089338.html

Red Hat Causes Confusion
Motley Fool - Jun 29, 2006
Softy still has only a rudimentary product in this space, but announced back in April that it would help Linux users use the Microsoft product, in an effort to keep a toehold in the market. Microsoft supporting Linux? I guess the times are changing. Open up to open source with further Foolishness:.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06062911.htm

Watch Your Back, Microsoft Office
BusinessWeek - Jun 28, 2006
) It's not going to make anyone give up on Microsoft Excel for financial models, big budgets, or fancy presentations, but two things about it were a pleasant surprise: First, it's a free product that includes most of Excel's basic computational abilities, including dozens of math, statistical, financial, and other functions. Second, despite being Web-based, it looks and feels like a desktop application and performs nearly as well. There are some serious limitations. It works only when you're online, and by default, Google spreadsheets are stored on Google servers.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060628_286363.htm?sub=techmaven

Sorting Out the Gates Legacy
BusinessWeek - Jun 22, 2006
He was a primary architect of the PC industry. Yet he'll be remembered as much for bare-knuckle tactics—and an antitrust judgment for anticompetitive behavior—than.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060622_627526.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_more+of+today's+top+stories

It is time for resellers to get to the Point
VNUNet.com - Jun 26, 2006
Today, bar coding seems to be a staple in even the smallest outlets. Applications such as CRM, credit checking, and inventory updating arecommonplace PoS features. And even joined-up integration with back-officesystems such as ERP and material requirement planning is not unusual. Moreover, these days there may even be scope for resellers to make some moneyout of PoS technology. Tony Revis, general manager at PoS hardware manufacturer, Extech Instruments,believes that the PoS market has evolved so far, and that the phrase “point ofsale” has become an anachronism. “Point of sale is an interesting term, but it should perhaps be changed topoint of service,” he said... Hence there is a need for line-busting andself check-out technologies that check customers out at the point of selectionor service, rather than having them pay at centrally located tills. ”There are also the emerging markets for integration and promotional PoStechnologies, and the market outlook is a sunny one. But what part does thechannel play in this?Jacqui Sasserath is product manager at Microsoft Retail Management System,which helps independent retailers track and integrate PoS business processeswith inventory and supplier management. She believes that retail is still verymuch an expanding channel market. “We have seen a number of new entrants in the reseller channel, as well as abroadening of portfolios among existing partners,” she said. “I see it as anarea of fantastic partner opportunity. The retail ERP space is looking like amuch more mature and productive environment for the customer.
http://www.vnunet.com/articles/print/2158972

Toshiba's Battle with Blu-ray
BusinessWeek - Jun 22, 2006
Competing players using the rival Blu-ray format favored by Sony (SNE), Samsung, and others are expected to hit the market soon with prices of $999 or more. “Toshiba wants to get a head start and build an early lead,” Crotty says. This kind of pricing strategy has been tried before, most notably by Microsoft (MSFT), which took a loss on its first Xbox gaming system and later the Xbox 360 (see BusinessWeek. “You don't usually see a manufacturer subsidizing a product like this except in the video game space,” Crotty says. A Toshiba spokesman reached in Boston had no immediate comment.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060622_113255.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_more+of+today's+top+stories

Suite Wars start to rumble
The Age - Jun 30, 2006
But finally the phoney war appears to be over. NetSuite’srecent product event in San Francisco was amusing, sharp in placesand took the fight to the rest of the market. The Suite Wars idea -Star Wars, Suite Wars, you see what they did there? - took potshots at SAP, Microsoft and Salesforce. com, most of which hit theirtargets. There was little or no mention of Oracle of course, which is abit of a flaw in the overall messaging, but inevitable given thefact that Larry Ellison is the majority shareholder inNetSuite. But back to the emerging industry sector itself. NetSuite’sannouncements were interesting in their own right... com made its first acquisition in the shape ofSendia, which takes mobile functionality into the AppExchangecommunity of ISV developed applications. It’s all starting to look like a grown up sector of themarket. Oracle has released another version of Siebel CRM On Demand- which adds further strength to my conviction that the way youspell Fusion is S-I-E-B-E-L. We’re still not clear here at MISTowers exactly what it is that Microsoft and SAP are planning inthe on-demand space, but at least they’ve learned to use thewords - even if every second sentence is "and then you can bring iton-premise". Talking of Ellison, his recent interview with the FinancialTimes was a salutary reminder that whatever good ideas there are inthe software industry, Larry thought of them first. Actuallythat’s slightly unfair, it was less a case that Larry wantedto claim he thought of SaaS first and more that he didn’t wantMarc Benioff getting the credit for it. Maybe next timeWell now there’s a surprise.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/management-focus/suite-wars-start-to-rumble/2007/01/15/1168709660333.html

Goodbye.

Office reaches to business apps

Nice meeting you!

CRM sector not done with mergers yet, says Gartner
CNET News.com - Jun 20, 2006
com and others, which "places pressure on software providers. "

It's a difficult market even for the most experienced, says Gartner, which points out that even "Oracle determined itself unable to cost-effectively develop a CRM solution likely to generate maintenance revenues as high as PeopleSoft and Siebel. "

But the winners in CRM, Gartner hints, could well not be. Despite two of the largest purchases in the software business, "Oracle has not finished purchasing CRM vendors," Gartner predicted.
http://news.com.com/CRM+sector+not+done+with+mergers+yet,+says+Gartner/2100-1011_3-6085868.html

Office reaches to business apps
VNUNet.com - Jun 19, 2006
The software giant outlined plans for what it calls “People-Ready” businesssystems at its Tech Ed 2006 conference for IT professionals in Boston. Thesesystems will be built around new capabilities coming in Office 2007 known asOffice Business Application (OBA) services, enabling developers and customers toextend Microsoft applications by building links to their existingline-of-business software... The software giant outlined plans for what it calls “People-Ready” businesssystems at its Tech Ed 2006 conference for IT professionals in Boston. Thesesystems will be built around new capabilities coming in Office 2007 known asOffice Business Application (OBA) services, enabling developers and customers toextend Microsoft applications by building links to their existingline-of-business software. Renaud Besnard, Office Business Applications product manager, said thatMicrosoft wants to see Office applications become a user-friendly front-end formajor enterprise applications. “There is typically a performance gap between back-end systems and the userinterface,” Besnard said.
http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/news/2158531/office-reaches-business-apps?vnu_lt=vnu_art_related_articles

More of the Same for Microsoft Stock?
BusinessWeek - Jun 17, 2006
Without a clear catalyst, the stock could remain stuck in its current range. The stock closed 3 cents higher, at $22.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jun2006/pi20060617_076912.htm

Open-source ERP vendor Compiere gets $6 million funding
InfoWorld - Jun 20, 2006
There are currently about 240 paying Compiere customers, along with more than 1 million downloads of the open-source software. Compiere plans to use the funds from venture capital investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA) to enhance its software to better serve its partners' needs, said Jorg Janke, founder and chief executive officer of Compiere. In particular, the company intends to expand its manufacturing and CRM capabilities. Previously, the Compiere software was more heavily weighted toward providing ERP functionality. Currently employing fewer than 10 people, Compiere looks to hire more staff and move from Portland, Oregon, to California's Bay Area, Janke said. The main reason for the move is to have access to a larger pool of skilled ERP developers, he added. Compiere is looking at real estate in Silicon Valley and hopes to relocate within a month... In the midmarket space, Compiere competes with Oracle in terms of the technology it acquired from J. Edwards and Microsoft with the software it gained through buying Great Plains Software and Navision, Janke said. Compiere's software runs on Linux, Windows, Macintosh and Unix and supports Oracle's database. Janke expects to add support for the open source Apache Derby database in July. Derby is based on the Cloudscape database that IBM made available to the open-source community last year. After Derby, Compiere next plans to support IBM's DB2 and later Microsoft's SQL Server, Janke said.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/06/20/79456_HNcompiere_1.html

Cash Cows For The Post-Gates Era - Forbes.com
Forbes - Jun 19, 2006
This should be no surprise: We have already seen the upheavals brought to other industries by the client-server software architecture. Why shouldn't it do the same to packaged software?Google's recent announcement of a collaborative spreadsheet application is a death knell for Microsoft Office in an opening round of a war that will see applications like spreadsheets, word processors and databases becoming free goods. This inevitable shift leaves Microsoft having to reinvent itself but still hold onto its monopoly position. That is surely an almost impossible task. Yet Microsoft does have MSN, truly a net Goliath; so if the company does try to transition to the client-server model, it has the infrastructure, audience and distribution channels available to attempt the revolution. But can it cannibalize its income at a pace to match its competition? And if it does, what would that do to its earnings? Apple Computer (nasdaq:... It is an established path to throw valuation metrics out of the window for new and exciting companies, but this is a risky game--one that most people lost in 2000. However, the Web 2. 0 client-server model does have some interesting established players on the scene. The strange thing is that many belong to pre-dot-com stalwarts.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/06/19/microsoft-google-apple-in_cc_0619soapbox_inl.html

The Vacancy Fit for a King
BusinessWeek - Jun 18, 2006
, can almost visualize the moment. "I think he looked in the mirror one day and said, 'You're fired,'" says Saffo. Hotly debated over the past few years is whether Microsoft is a mature company, with few growth prospects left. What's indisputable is that the software giant is on the decline in terms of power, if not profits, as numerous upstarts, led by Google (GOOG), have proven themselves more nimble and innovative in taking advantage of the Internet. And over the past six difficult years, it's been Gates who has had the role of technical architect for the company's many products. So Gates' decision to leave Microsoft does more than vacate his posts at the software company. It also serves as public notice that the position at the center of the tech industry that Gates and Microsoft have occupied for decades is up for grabs... The spotlight will be on a number of emerging players over the coming years, to see who will step forward and claim the crown. At the top of the list of candidates are an obvious few: Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Google; Linus Torvalds, who heads development of the Linux operating systems; Marc Benioff at Salesforce. com (CRM); and even Ray Ozzie, who is taking over Gates’ job as chief software architect at Microsoft and has been instrumental in prodding Microsoft to make some of its software available online (see BusinessWeek. "I'd put Google well in front of the others," says analyst Safa Rashtchy of Piper Jaffray.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology//content/jun2006/tc20060618_856513.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_today's+top+stories

Microsoft seeks greener pastures
Australian IT - Jun 20, 2006
NET model, functionality such as click-to-talk will help to encourage users to see this as a communications extension worthy of a fee-based pricing model," he says. Microsoft maintains a co-opetitive stance with other communications players, but some say its unified communications push will push it more into contention with these players. For example, Cisco Systems and Microsoft recently announced they would work together to help partners integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Cisco's VoIP platform, but both offerings perform similar tasks. "I don't see a concern with Microsoft and Cisco, as these companies are mutually exclusive," ZDSL. com VoIP consultant Peter Macaulay says. "Cisco provides hardware for VoIP, Microsoft provides server operating system software. "As long as Microsoft can convince Cisco to run its server software on the Microsoft platform, it will be a win-win, and hence the partnership.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19495163%5E24170%5E%5Enbv%5E24169,00.html

How to catch the bigger fish
VNUNet.com - Jun 19, 2006
“Given that staff in today’s organisations are more mobile than ever, and 38per cent of the workforce typically uses five or more communication devices,collaboration tools are ideal for meeting the needs of today’s workingenvironments by extending workspace beyond the office,” Jones says. Of course, the ability of convergence solutions to improve customer serviceis another major draw for large corporates. Jones adds that improving customer interaction through online communication,and intelligent call routing with CRM desktop integration, can also improvecustomer satisfaction. Roger Jones, convergence business development director at. This is because it allows them to centralise the keytechnologies and applications in their headquarters or a data centre beforedistributing voice and applications out to branches and remote workers over IP,or a mixture of IP and traditional time-division multiplexing connections... Manybusinesses are reluctant to rip out existing technologies to upgrade their ITinfrastructure. Instead, they prefer to have a gradual migration path, runningsystems in tandem before switching to the new technology. Unlike desktop applications where enterprises tend to be a ‘Microsoft shop’or ‘Linux house’, enterprises are less concerned about their core infrastructurecoming from a single vendor, according to Brewer. “[Large corporates] would rather have the best-of-breed systems, providingthat they use open standards and can integrate with the rest of the network,”she says. Many think it is the role of the channel to recommend compatible andcost-effective solutions so that instead of investing in a whole new system,companies can add new applications as they see fit. In this way, businesses willbe able to invest in the best technology available, Brewer claims. While the IP communications market is just reaching its tipping point, theindustry itself has been around for at least 10 years.
http://www.vnunet.com/crn/news/2174197/catch-bigger-fish

See you.

Dynamics NAV first MS business app on Vista

How are you?

Is it time for customers to relate to CRM?
VNUNet.com - Jun 9, 2006
Is it time for customers to relate to CRM? With the growth of companies such as Salesforce. com and Microsoft’s attemptsto drive sales of its own CRM solution, there is dizzying hype surrounding thesoftware. But is the industry finally ready to embrace it? Simon MeredithreportsSimon Meredith,.
http://www.vnunet.com/articles/print/2157950

Dynamics NAV first MS business app on Vista
ITworld.com - Jun 12, 2006
0 appears early in 2007, Microsoft expects to come out with Dynamics GP 10 ERP software, according to James Utzschneider, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics marketing. He and colleague Darren Laybourn, general manager, Microsoft Dynamics tools, spoke Monday at the vendor's Tech Ed user conference in Boston. Microsoft is hoping to boost usage of its ERP and CRM (customer relationship management) applications by making the software easier to use and integrating it more closely with its other products, notably its Office desktop application suite, its SQL Server database and its SharePoint Web portal as well as its Windows operating systems. The company is gradually moving out proprietary pieces of its applications and replacing them with common Microsoft functionality. For example, Dynamics AX 5. 0 due out next year, will rely on the vendor's Visual Studio development tools not the current MorphX tools. The upcoming release will also enable developers to use Microsoft's Visual C++ or Visual Basic programming languages, although Microsoft has no plans to discontinue support for the current X++ offering used at present in Dynamics AX.
http://www.itworld.com/App/670/060612dynamics/

SugarCRM comes of age
BusinessWeek - Jun 1, 2006
com and SugarCRM is how well they integrate with other applications. Roberts is trying to best Benioff in that area, as well. Three months ago, he announced a deal with Microsoft to tune his products to work well with Microsoft's. Now he's working on the same kind of deal with corporate software giant SAP. Roberts has been laboring in the CRM vineyards for 14 years--earlier at E. piphany, BroadVision, Baan, Aurum, and IBM. Maybe, this time, he got it right... Three months ago, he announced a deal with Microsoft to tune his products to work well with Microsoft's. Now he's working on the same kind of deal with corporate software giant SAP. Roberts has been laboring in the CRM vineyards for 14 years--earlier at E. piphany, BroadVision, Baan, Aurum, and IBM. Maybe, this time, he got it right.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2006/06/sugarcrm_comes.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_techbeat

Online CRM sales up - vnunet.com
VNUNet.com - Jun 1, 2006
Microsoft is also trying to stake its claim. ‘SAP’s entry into the on-demand CRM market shows that large enterprises areincreasingly demanding software-as-a-service CRM,’ said. But vendors will have to develop their online products further, she says.
http://www.vnunet.com/computing/analysis/2157276/online-crm-sales

Do not hurry to the hosted party
VNUNet.com - Jun 7, 2006
”That said, Exchange has its problems too. I was reminded of this recentlywhen I participated in a software evaluation for a small business. The companyuses Microsoft’s Small Business Server (SBS), which includes Exchange. It nowneeds more specialist customer relationship management (CRM) software within itsniche, and the ability to publish selected internal data to its web site. It was soon clear that integration was the key problem. The on-premisessoftware integrated badly with the web, while the hosted solutions integratedbadly with Exchange and Microsoft Office. The answer, according to one vendor,was to dump Exchange and do everything online.
http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/comment/2157691/hurry-hosted-party

Palm Barks Up the Right Treo
BusinessWeek - Jun 7, 2006
The operation of the 700p will be familiar to anyone who has used a Treo 600 or 650, since the programs and functions are essentially the same. The device comes with Documents To Go software that lets you view and edit Microsoft Office files. But in one small way, the 700p is actually a step back from the 650: The older model had all of the navigation keys clustered at the top of the keyboard. When Palm embraced Windows on the 700w, the Menu key annoyingly ended up at the bottom right of the keyboard, and Palm failed to rectify this with the 700p. The 700p gives Palm's software a new lease on life, though its long-term future remains clouded. Networking features, in particular, are primitive compared with what's available with Windows Mobile, and the next generation of products, which will be expected to switch freely between Wi-Fi and cell-type networks, may be a real challenge for Palm.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060607_305355.htm?sub=techmaven

BEA Systems Rides Software's New Rage
thestreet.com - Jun 14, 2006
PayPal gives away the Web applications and eBay charges a small fee, and both then charge on a per-use basis, he says. SOA and Web Services never would have arisen without the rise of standard programming tools and languages like Java, Ajax and XML. Although Microsoft (MSFT:Nasdaq) is seen as something of a laggard when it comes to supporting such industrywide standards, BEA's Gerraso says the software giant is one of the competing vendors he sees the most when his company goes after an SOA-related contract. But Microsoft, says Gartner's Plummer, "doesn't even use the term (SOA) at all. They run the risk of being stuck with the same old stereotype, a nonenterprise toy. " There's also some disagreement about Oracle's position as an SOA vendor. Some analysts say the company is too wedded to its own technology stack too succeed in this venue, while others say its enormous customer base and technological prowess give it a leg up.
http://www.thestreet.com/p/pf/tech/software/10291531.html

Keeping an Eye on the Snoops
BusinessWeek - Jun 5, 2006
The companies -- AT&T (T), BellSouth (BLS), and Verizon (VZ) -- all deny that they are illegally providing NSA with information. Now, the Administration is pushing for access to more Web-surfing records. On June 2, government officials met with representatives from Verizon, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), and others to persuade the companies to retain the records of people's Internet activities for as long as two years. The companies, which now hold onto that data for a few weeks or months, are continuing discussions with the Administration on the issue, says one source from a company involved. In the end, though, all the fuss is much ado about not very much -- at least for longtime watchers of NSA, an arm of the Pentagon created to dig up foreign intelligence. NSA's trespassing in U.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060605_901175.htm

DOJ, Net firms fail to agree on data retention | CNET News.com
CNET News.com - Jun 2, 2006
The participants in the two-hour meeting spoke to News. com afterward on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. (Participants included AOL, Comcast, Google, Microsoft, Verizon Communications and trade associations. )




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ISP snooping time line


In events that were first reported by CNET News. com, Bush administration officials have said Internet providers must keep track of what Americans are doing online. Here's the time line:.
http://news.com.com/DOJ,+Net+firms+fail+to+agree+on+data+retention/2100-1028_3-6079585.html

Wall Street Beat: Novell hits rough waters
InfoWorld - Jun 1, 2006
Investors so far are buying into Red Hat's strategy to offer tools and move up the software stack. It is offering software-testing tools and plans to sell Java application server vendor JBoss software with its planned acquisition of the company. Analysts and investors, meanwhile seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to Novell's plan, announced last month, to challenge Microsoft Corp. 's dominance on the corporate desktop with the Novell Open Workgroup Suite. There is, finally, a whole ecosystem of interesting startup and niche players in the open source software arena, many of which -- like Pentaho Corp. -- operate innovative business models that call for charging customers only for high-end versions of their products, or offer users pay-as-you-go options... Analysts and investors, meanwhile seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to Novell's plan, announced last month, to challenge Microsoft Corp. 's dominance on the corporate desktop with the Novell Open Workgroup Suite. There is, finally, a whole ecosystem of interesting startup and niche players in the open source software arena, many of which -- like Pentaho Corp. -- operate innovative business models that call for charging customers only for high-end versions of their products, or offer users pay-as-you-go options. If Novell's products don't start showing market-share gains soon, doubts about the company's future can only grow.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/06/01/78868_HNwsbnovell_1.html

Good luck!