Former HP chief Mark Hurd joins Oracle
Mark Hurd, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, has joined Oracle as a 'co-president' Oracle has hired former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Mark Hurd to help lead the database software maker in a pivotal moment in Oracle's 33-year history. Oracle and HP are longtime partners, but Hurd's appointment as co-president of Oracle underscores the growing fissure between the Silicon Valley heavyweights and stems from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's belief that his friend Hurd was railroaded out of a job at HP. Oracle already had two presidents. One of them – Charles Phillips, a former Marine and investment banker who was with Oracle for seven years – is resigning to make room for Hurd. The other, Safra Catz, Oracle's former chief financial officer, is staying. Ellison said that Phillips wanted to leave in December, but that Ellison asked him to stay through the integration of Sun Microsystems. Phillips was in the news earlier this year when pictures of him snuggling with his former mistress appeared on billboards around the US. Ellison said Oracle will miss Phillips' talent and leadership but that he respects Phillips' decision to leave.
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Former HP chief Mark Hurd joins Oracle
Former HP chief Mark Hurd joins Oracle
Mark Hurd, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, has joined Oracle as a 'co-president' Oracle has hired former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Mark Hurd to help lead the database software maker in a pivotal moment in Oracle's 33-year history. Oracle and HP are longtime partners, but Hurd's appointment as co-president of Oracle underscores the growing fissure between the Silicon Valley heavyweights and stems from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's belief that his friend Hurd was railroaded out of a job at HP. Oracle already had two presidents. One of them – Charles Phillips, a former Marine and investment banker who was with Oracle for seven years – is resigning to make room for Hurd. The other, Safra Catz, Oracle's former chief financial officer, is staying. Ellison said that Phillips wanted to leave in December, but that Ellison asked him to stay through the integration of Sun Microsystems. Phillips was in the news earlier this year when pictures of him snuggling with his former mistress appeared on billboards around the US. Ellison said Oracle will miss Phillips' talent and leadership but that he respects Phillips' decision to leave. Oracle said in a statement that Hurd will also serve as a member of the board of directors. He will report to Ellison. Ellison praised Hurd's tenure at HP and said no other executive had more relevant experience. "Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he'll do even better at Oracle," he said.
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Former HP chief Mark Hurd joins Oracle
Samsung Galaxy Tab: What the analysts say
Samsung's new tablet computer signals an understanding that it takes more than hardware to be successful, say analysts Samsung's new Android-powered tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab, has been well-received by industry analysts – even though full pricing details have still not been released. The Tab, launched at the IFA show in Berlin, is expected to herald a charge against the early success of the Apple iPad. Consumers should benefit, with a price war predicted to kick off in 2011. Here's some of the early reaction. Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight Apple has legitimised the tablet category with its iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab sees the tier-one brand go head-to-head with Steve Jobs' creation. Samsung is betting big on the tablet category with this device. It's the first major manufacturer to unveil a device targeting this segment but we expect a flurry of further announcement from an array of other players. The Galaxy Tab signals Samsung's understanding that it takes more than hardware to be successful
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Samsung Galaxy Tab: What the analysts say
Samsung Galaxy Tab revealed at IFA
Samsung enters mobile computer market with 7in Galaxy Tab, launched at IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin Samsung made its eagerly awaited new entry into the mobile computing market today with the launch of the Galaxy Tab, and hinted that further versions will be unveiled next year. The 7in Android-based tablet computer with built-in phone capabilities is expected to challenge the Apple iPad. However, with pricing details still not available today, it is not clear quite how the Tab will compare with other products. Weighing in at just 380g, the Galaxy Tab is being pitched as a single portable device that can be used to browse the internet, make video calls, watch television or listen to music. "This is not just another tablet. We call it a Smart Media device," Thomas Richter, Samsung's head of product portfolio, told a packed press conference at the at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. Samsung executives said that the company will probably launch several more Tab models next year, possibly with different screen sizes, to target different audiences. "Based on our research, customers have different needs ... next year you might see very different tablets coming out of our company," hinted DJ Lee, a senior Samsung executive. The Galaxy Tab has a 1024x600 TFT colour screen, which can flip between portrait and landscape view dependng how the user holds it. It will be sold with 16GB or 32GB of memory, expandable with another 32GB. It has two built-in cameras for and will be shipped with several applications from Google pre-installed, including Maps and Places. The Tab also supports a wide range of connectivity methods, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and HSUPA. and includes a GPS chip. It will also run HTML5 and Adobe Flash.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab revealed at IFA
HP to cut 9,000 jobs
Computer and services business to spend $1bn over three years to consolidate operations in automated data centres Hewlett-Packard, the computer and services business, is to cut 9,000 jobs while spending $1bn over the next three years to consolidate its operations in automated data centres as it completes its corporate digestion of the services company EDS, which it acquired for $14bn in August 2008. But the company will hire an extra 6,000 staff as it invests in the new data centres and expands global operations, it said in a statement . The move is expected to lead to gross savings of $1bn annually once completed, it said. The shift is part of an ongoing effort to reduce the headcount at the company, which has increasingly focused on services as a path to profit as older parts of the business, such as its PC and printer division, have seen profits remain stagnant . The fastest growth in profits in the past two years has come from its services side. But it has not abandoned the computer side of the business: in May it announced the purchase of Palm, the smartphone maker, for $1.2bn after winning a brief five-way bidding war. It plans to introduce tablet computers running Palm's WebOS software later this year.
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HP to cut 9,000 jobs
Video: Apple launches the iPad
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs shows off the much-hyped iPad, which he hopes will come to define a new category of wireless device
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Video: Apple launches the iPad
Whoops! Publishing boss leaks Apple tablet details
Terry McGraw likely to anger Steve Jobs by revealing previously unknown facts about the Apple tablet on live TV Apple is notorious for the levels of secrecy it keeps around new products - and never more so than with the impending launch of its tablet computer , which has seen the company clamp down and let only a select few pieces of information leak out. Why? Because Steve Jobs is (in his words) "a big bang guy" : building anticipation and appetite is part of the marketing game.
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Whoops! Publishing boss leaks Apple tablet details
Apple looks for iSlate mobile partner
iPhone creator believed to be in talks with UK phone networks over subsidies for the much-anticipated tablet computer Apple is understood to have approached several UK mobile phone networks, including Orange, about selling its forthcoming tablet computer to British customers. The device, rumoured to be called the iSlate, has created a buzz among mobile phone operators not seen since Apple pitted several networks against each other in the race for the exclusive British rights to sell the iPhone in 2007. That deal was clinched by O2 at the last minute when it barged aside Orange and Vodafone. The Californian technology company is expected to unveil the iSlate at an event in San Francisco on 27 January and it is likely to be on sale in the US in March. British gadget fans will have to wait until much later in the spring, according to UK sources, but the price of the device could be reduced if Apple can persuade a mobile phone company to subsidise it. Rumours abound about the iSlate but it is expected to have a 10-inch touchscreen, no keyboard and allow users to surf the web, watch TV shows and read digitised magazines and newspapers. While it is expected to have short-range wi-fi access to connect to the web, it will also have the ability to connect to mobile phone networks, meaning users will have to sign up to a mobile broadband package to get the most out of the iSlate. Already several UK mobile phone companies subsidise the cost of laptops to persuade customers to sign up for long-term mobile broadband contracts. Anyone signing up to a two-year mobile broadband deal with T-Mobile at £40 a month, for instance, gets a free Sony Vaio laptop worth £499. Apple is looking for mobile partners willing to bundle a mobile broadband contract with the iSlate. The UK's mobile phone networks, meanwhile, also have deals that allow their mobile broadband customers easy access to thousands of public wi-fi hotspots across the country. Any such tie-up with an operator, however, is unlikely to make the iSlate free because the basic price of the device in the UK is expected to be only slightly less than Apple's cheapest MacBook laptop, which costs £816
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Apple looks for iSlate mobile partner
Microsoft results better than expected
• Profits down 18% year-on-year but figures are up on previous quarter • Launch of Windows 7 expected to boost sales in run-up to Christmas Microsoft gave shareholders a boost today after beating Wall Street estimates, despite posting another fall in profits and revenues. The company announced that profit for the three months ending 30 September was down by 18% to $3.6bn (£2.2bn) on the same period last year, while demand for the company's software and services had also fallen. Sales over the last quarter were valued at $12.9bn – a drop of 14% from more than $15bn this time in 2008. The decline marks the second successive quarter in which Microsoft has experienced a year-on-year reduction in revenues – a situation that was entirely alien to the company until six months ago, after 34 years of continuous, steady growth. However, the figures are up on the previous quarter, and came in significantly higher than Wall Street predictions, which had been pessimistic, given the difficulties in the PC market. The computer industry, like many others, has been hit by a fall in sales as consumers rein in spending during the recession. In addition, experts suggested that many customers were holding off new purchases ahead of the launch of Windows 7, which took place yesterday. That launch is expected to give the company a significant boost in the coming quarter, and investors are hoping that it is a sign that the worst of the recession is now over, with consumer and business demand likely to grow again in the run-up to Christmas. Kevin Turner, the company's chief operating officer, said that the release of Windows 7 – and business products such as a new server – was "exciting" and was helping the company to bounce back from a tough period. "We are pleased by the early positive response we are receiving for these products," he said. Indeed, the success of Windows 7 is crucial to Microsoft's overall health, with sales of the company's flagship operating system making up more than half of its profits. Sales of Windows software had dropped by $1.6bn compared with the same period last year, as customers prepared to move to the new system. Executives also said that they had continued to tighten up some areas of spending, less than a year after making Microsoft's first mass layoffs in an attempt to curb spiralling costs. Some areas of the business continued to soak up cash, however: the company's online division, which is responsible for products such as Bing – the relaunched search engine that executives hopes can finally begin to take on Google – saw its losses widen over the last three months, from $312m in 2008 to $480m this year. Despite this, senior figures remain positive that they can turn the situation around after signing a deal with Yahoo that would see the two companies link up in order to challenge Google's supremacy in the search market. The better-than-expected results left Microsoft shares up by 8% in pre-market trading. Microsoft Windows 7 Technology sector Google Bing Computing Search engines Bobbie Johnson guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Microsoft results better than expected
Windows 7: who needs it?
As Microsoft launches Windows 7, we ask key industry figures how many users will be persuaded to upgrade – and whether the move will drive sales of new PCs Windows 7 set to break retail records Truckloads of new PCs are being launched on Thursday, heralding the consumer availability of Microsoft Windows 7 – the latest version of the operating system that runs more than 90% of the world's PCs. Microsoft could certainly do with a boost, having just suffered its first-ever decline in annual sales. However, Microsoft is just one of many suppliers to a huge PC industry that shipped 300m units last year, but has seen sales slump in a recession. The chance to flog some new kit is not one to be missed. Windows 7's main attraction for users is its stylish, user-friendly interface, but it is more power-efficient than Vista, giving mobile machines better battery life. It includes new features such as DX11 graphics, HomeGroup for simpler home networking, and support for the industry standard DNLA (Digital Living Network Alliance) system, for compatibility with other consumer electronics products. Also, its multi-touch capabilities should encourage manufacturers to create new all-in-ones, netbooks and tablet PCs. Driving upgrades For Microsoft, Windows 7 has two key tasks: to eliminate XP on netbooks, where it brings in far less than XP on a standard PC; and to persuade more enterprises, which generate so much of its revenue, to upgrade from XP. On netbooks, XP was sold at a low price (around $15-$20) for "ultra low cost PCs" with limited specifications, mainly in response to the threat of Linux; Vista was too bulky to run on the low-spec machines. Microsoft doesn't divulge the prices it charges PC makers, but Windows 7 Starter could easily cost twice as much. Driving XP out of the corporate market will take much longer. According to a recent Forrester survey of more than 600 companies in the US and Europe, 79% are using XP, 9% Vista and 6% are still using Windows 2000. However, 12 months from now, 51% of them said they expected Windows 7 to be most frequently installed on new PCs, against 10% for Vista and only 34% for XP. The report by Forrester analyst Ben Gray says "two-thirds of firms already expect to migrate to Windows 7 eventually." The PC industry is hoping that Windows 7 will replace Vista, launched in January 2007, and Windows XP, which originally dates back to September 2001 (but was significantly upgraded with XP SP2 in September 2004), because no one wants the extra cost of supporting three different versions of Windows. Al Gillen, an analyst with research company IDC , believes that: "Windows 7 will become the default install very quickly after launch, so we can expect a pretty quick switchover there. In terms of consumer acceptance, the only real choices are to buy or not buy: it's not like consumers have a range of operating system choices from Microsoft." However, he reckons XP will still be available on netbooks for a while, and Howard Dulany, Lenovo's software marketing manager for Windows 7, expects to offer XP on netbooks until the second quarter of next year. The mood in the trade this week ranged from optimistic to enthusiastic. Asked if Windows 7 would give the PC market a lift, Dulany told me: "Yes, actually, we think it will. It's a very strong offering.
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Windows 7: who needs it?