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The article features the major and leading computer companies worldwide. These include AT&T, Cisco Systems, Google, Intel and Microsoft. AT&T is a company that continues to offer things that people want and continues to grow its third-generation footprint including High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA). Cisco System is widely recognized as one of the biggest enterprise networking company because it is recognized as one network equipment maker. Google is a leading search vendor and hopes to become a primary provider of broadband Internet Access. Discussed are the details of other companies' profile.

The article introduces the dual-core Low Voltage Xeon that makes one of its earliest appearances in Rackable Systems' C1000-L01 server, developed by Intel Corp. The new power-saving chip will provide organizations with exceptional performance per watt per dollar in a tiny 1.75-inch half-depth chassis. Intel's dual-core Low Voltage Xeon processor is based on the Core Duo Yonah mobile processor. The 32-bit-only processor consumes about 31 watts of power and is considered to be Intel's attempt to curb advances made by competitor Advanced Micro Devices with its Opteron processors.

The article focuses on the efforts of researchers on the development of a technology or technique that would help computers save extra energy. It is undeniable that the current trend in computing today is the system-level power management, which involves the cooling fans, circuits, and voltage regulators. Intel Corp. has already initiated a two-faceted response towards energy saving. The first one is the development of a new generation of processors and the second involves reengineering of the computer architecture.

The article reports that the move of Dell Inc. to stay only with the integrated circuits from Intel Corp. has set Dell apart from its competitors. Dell executives stated that there are no plans to introduce servers or microcomputers running on the processors made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Dell president and chief executive officer Kevin Rollins claimed that the move would not make a business sense, implying that selling both product lines would be confusing to Dell's sales team and customers.

This article focuses on the future plans of Intel Corp. The chip maker outlined plans to phase out processors that feature speed in exchange for those that offer greater efficiency. That push will appear in the architecture of the next generation of processors to maximize the performance they deliver per watt of electricity consumed. Power efficiency, which has been key in notebook design, is becoming a larger priority in desktop and server designs. The architecture, with new circuitry, will begin arriving in the second half of next year with processors code-named Merom, Conroe and Woodcrest, for notebooks, desktops and servers, respectively. It will feature such capabilities as multiple cores, virtualization and greater power management that will enable better efficiency. The chips will lower the power consumption of their respective platforms up to 30 watts. The architecture will be based largely on Intel's Pentium M, which is already designed for energy efficiency.

This article reports that by announcing plans to maintain its current per-processor server software licensing, Microsoft Corp. has pleased customers and, in the process, put serious pressure on competing software developers to do the same. There had been concern among some customers that Microsoft would adopt a per-core licensing plan that based fees on the number of cores running within a single processor, effectively doubling or quadrupling the fees. Kristin Hollins, an Oracle Corp. spokesperson, in Redwood Shores, California said that their license policy has not changed in this regard, they charge per CPU. If an eight-way box has 32 CPUs, customers pay for 32 CPUs. Both Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. have plans to deliver dualcore processors for server hardware, and both vendors' road maps include plans for multicore chips. As the chip development moves apace, customers such as James Holt, director of server development at Townsend Analytics Ltd., a financial services software developer in Chicago, are shunning Oracle's approach.

The article focuses on the expansion of Power based eServer systems by International Busiess Machines Corp. (IBM) and Intel Corp. IBM this week will unveil the first system in its new eServer OpenPower line of high-performance computers. The eServer 720 is an entry-level four-way that can run Linux operating systems from Red Hat Inc. and Novell Inc. SuSE unit. In the first half of next year, IBM will roll out a two-way OpenPower system. The company is targeting the 720, which will be available later this month for 4,999 dollar in either rack or tower configurations, at customers considering moving off Sun Microsystems Inc.'s or Hewlett-Packard Co.'s RISC architectures and those migrating off Windows. The Open Power line joins existing pSeries and iSeries systems in supporting the Power5, which offers such features as sub-CPU partitioning. The pSeries and iSeries systems also run Linux. Despite the drum beating around the new features planned for the chip, Abhi Talwalkar, vice president of Intel's Enterprise Platforms Group, acknowledged publicly that Itanium sales have not been living up to aggressive internal expectations.

IBM Corp. and Intel Corp. are each readying new blade server offerings with more complete management features in an effort to bolster the idea that blades are more than just thin, rack-mounted boxes. IBM early next year will enhance its Director management software with new features that enable users to automatically launch a virtual session in one of the blades in an IBM BladeCenter server. The as-yet-unnamed upgrade will feature four of Intel Corp.'s next-generation Xeon MP chips, code-named Foster, said Jeff Benck, vice president and business-line executive for IBM's eServer BladeCenter Systems Group, at an IBM press briefing last week. In addition, IBM this Fall will release a BladeCenter offering that the Armonk, New York, company is calling a Web server in a box. Meanwhile, Intel is introducing the blade server with a new family of products powered by its Xeon chips.

With sales of the Itanium processor of Intel Corp. on the rise, the chip maker and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) together are looking to entice more enterprises to 64-bit computing with new systems and a glimpse at the Itanium road map. At the Intel Developer Forum this week in San Jose, California, HP will demonstrate two midrange Itanium-based servers. At the same time, Intel Corp. executives will disclose more details about the future road map of the 3-year-old chip. The disclosure will come a week after the company began expanding the Itanium's range, rolling out two low-power, low-cost chips aimed at the low-end server and workstation space. HP this fall will fill out its server line with new eight or 16-way midrange servers based on Itanium 2 processors, company officials said. For its part, Intel Corp. will outline plans for its 64-bit processors, including Tanglewood, an Itanium chip that would feature multiple cores on a single piece of silicon.

Reports the decision of Intel Corp. to abandon its plan to produce Infiniband hardware in U.S. Efforts of computer companies to release high-speed input-output technology; Move of IBM, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc. to continue its project; Use of input-output technology to eliminate data transfer bottlenecks.

Report the offer of Intel Corp. to personal computer manufacturers to abandon AMD products in the United States. Elimination of AMD processors in Gateway Inc. product lines; Reliance of Gateway Inc. to Intel Corp.; Competition between AMD and Intel Corp.

Features hyperthreading, a technology that could have computer seeing double by Intel Corp. Functions of hyperthreading; Usability of hyperthreading; Appearance of the technology on Xeon Processor. INSET: Intel scales developer thinking.

Focuses on the business operations of Intel Corp. in the United States. Details on the Developers Forum organized by the company; Problems faced by Intel; Sales performance of the chip products; Failure of Intel to execute crosses marketing, manufacturing and other operational areas; Efforts of the company to expand in the communications market.

Presents news briefs on the computer industry in the United States as of February 12, 2001. Deal signed by AmericanGreetings.com with Egreetings Network; Private information exchange to be created by the Internet Software Consortium; Details on the service launched by Cathay Pacific Airways; Purpose of Intel Corp. in closing its iCat subsidiary.

Reports on Intel Corp.'s desire to become a leader not only of the computer industry but of the networking. Intel Chief Executive Officer Craig Barrett's call for networking, communications and wireless developers to work with the company to develop standards for all things connected to the Internet; Expansion plans of Intel.

The article offers news briefs relating to the strategies of different computer companies to boost their sales as of February 19, 2014. American multinational semiconductor chip maker Intel launched its Xeon E7 v2 server chips on February 18, 2014 to ensure a strong rebound for 2014. American multinational corporation Cisco Systems and Internet consumer-to-consumer corporation eBay are having talks about how the eBay site can use data analytics to improve the site and increase revenues.

The article reports on the performance of Intel-powered Tianhe-2 supercomputer of China, which ranks at the top of the bi-annual Top500 list of the world's fastest supercomputer, for a speed of 33.86 petaflops per second. It highlights the trends demonstrated by the Top500 list, such as the dominance of semiconductor chip maker Intel Corp. and the increasing performance of supercomputers in general. Information about the Top500 list is given.

The article reports on the initiative of several computer companies to refresh all or part of their x86 server offerings based on Nehalem processors or Xeon 550 series from Intel Corp. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) launched 11 new sixth-generation ProLiant platforms powered by the Xeon 5500 series. The M710 blade server from Dell Computer Corp. provides Energy Smart technologies to reduce power consumption. International Business Machines Corp. has provided twice the compute performance.

The article reflects on the issues concerning the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project in 2008. According to the author, chief technology officer Mary Lou Jepsen has announced that she is stepping down to start a new company. Meanwhile, the organization has also faced a suit filed by a Nigerian company over a claimed patent violation. Furthermore, Intel Corp. is promoting its Classmate PC system, which is a rival to the OLPC's XO laptop, even the company is part of the OLPC. In connection, the author also mentions about the features of the XO laptops.

The article reflects on the conflict between Intel Corp. and AMD Corp. on which company has the best quad-core processor. The author explains that the problem is not clear that the choice of one quad-core chip versus another will really have a significant performance impact on a network. He argues that the factors affecting how a server performs in a network could make one server work, regardless of claims. He suggests that the single most precious resource in many data centers is real estate.

The article reports that Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has reassured the information technology (IT) industry that it can deliver both of its 65-nanometer (nm) and 45-nm processors on time. According to the company, its manufacturing facilities can keep pace with its larger competitor Intel Corp. During a meeting on May 21, 2006, AMD accounted that it is on its schedule to release the two processors and will also produce a 45-nm chips in 2008. Meanwhile, the author believes that Intel has an advantage in terms of manufacturing since it has more facilities than AMD.

The article reports on the launching of laptop computers in the U.S. powered by Intel Corp.'s Centrino Pro and Duo platforms. On May 9, 2007, the company introduced mobile offerings which is followed by an announcement made by original equipment manufacturers of laptop computers. It is stated that several vendors will include most of the features contained in Intel's vPro technology available for enterprise-class laptop computers. Intel officials asserted that 200 companies are already using the technology which has security features built into hardware to monitor desktop personal computers. Among them are Hewlett-Packard Co., Fujitsu Ltd. and Dell Computer Corp.

The article presents various updates on computer companies in the U.S. One judge was said to have given Intel Corp. an extension to explain why they lost thousands of internal e-mails considered significant by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. as an evidence of its anti-trust suit against Intel. SCO Group Inc. is questioning about the identity of secretive blogger Pamela Jones, on her Groklaw.com and accused the International Business Machines (IBM)Corp. lawyers of just creating Jones. Hewlett-Packard Co. is planning to lift out SAP AG to help its representative compete with IBM on the software front.

The article features the Altiris Manageability Toolkit 6.0 for Intel vPro Technology. Intel's vPro technology allows management software such as Altiris to provide serverlike control over desktop systems. The Altiris Manageability Toolkit 6.0 provides device discovery, hardware and software inventory, out of band power management, remote diagnostics and repair, BIOS access and even network filtering using a virtualized appliance. Intel announced its vPro technology in April 2006 and unveiled the business desktop chip platform in September 2007.

The article presents news briefs regarding the computer industry. March 24, 2007 has been designated as Shutdown Day 2007, which is a worldwide experiment to determine whether people can function without their computers. Former Nortel executives Frank Dunn, Douglas Beatty, Michael Gollogly and MaryAnne Pahapill are facing accounting fraud charges. Intel's Centrino Pro microprocessor might be released by early May 2007.

The article reports on the updates concerning the two-year old case of Intel Corp. against rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) in the U.S. AMD alleged that Intel engaged in anti-competitive practices to maintain monopolistic position in the market due to the failure of its internal electronic mail (e-mail) archiving system. Judge Joseph Farnan gave Intel 30 days to recover the lost about 1,000 lost e-mails when it was to keep as well as file a detailed report on how will it be recovered. Intel admitted that it has difficulty in controlling its corporate e-mails in which the lost e-mails are relevant to AMD's lawsuit.

The article focuses on the partnership agreement between Sun Microsystems Inc. and Intel Corp. For Sun, the agreement of partnership is a way of expanding its growing server business and puts it on an equal footing with competitors like Dell Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., which offer Intel powered devices. For Intel, it is another major OEM to sell. Sun president and chief executive officer Jonathan Schwartz said that his company would produce x86 xenon-based servers and workstations later in 2007. Intel announced that it would support Sun Solaris operating system and would encourage software makers to support Solaris on xenon platforms. Intel chief executive officer Paul Otellini said that the agreement gives Intel a bigger presence in the enterprise server space.

The article reports on the new product offering of Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), which consists of three desktop models for its HP Compaq Business PC product line. The two models offers the Core 2 Duo chip of Intel Corp., while the other one is supported by the new Athlon 64 X2 processors of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. HP has increased its focus on security and manageability and two major concerns for senior-level information technology managers. The HP Openview Configuration Management Agent is preinstalled to track and update software.

The article introduces the Core 2 Duo processor, known as Merom, by Intel Corp. It reports that PC manufacturers are focusing on Merom for their laptops that offer the latest step in the multistaged introduction of Intel's highly touted Core 2 Duo chip family with a performance increase of 20 percent versus its predecessor, the Core Duo, with holding power consumption to nearly the same level. It explains that the switch from Core Duo to Core 2 Duo processors in current notebooks only involves a system software upgrade and PC manufacturers are expected to use the chip to upgrade many systems.

The article reports on Intel Corp.'s planning of promoting its different range of microprocessors. Intel, which has suffered processor inventory and pricing affliction that reduced its profit as well as revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2006-2007, is planning to promote its three processor brands. Following the arrival of its Core 2, or "Conroe" processor line on July 27, 2006, Intel will promote with the best approach to PC buyers using its Celeron, Pentium and Core 2 chips.

The article comments on the poor business performance of Intel in the computer industry. The company is badly hurt by the entry of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in the market, as what has been evidently manifested by its worst performing stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Meanwhile, some analysts however gave positive outlook on Intel, saying that with CEO Paul Otellini, the company can get improvement against AMD.

The article focuses on the plan of Intel Corp. to use software to improve computer security. The company is currently contemplating a standard method for adding virtual virtual applications, purpose-built software applications running on top of their own miniature operating systems inside virtualized partitions, to personal computers. The technology could improve security, greater manageability, and improvements in applications such as voice over Internet Protocol, and developers can custom applications that live within virtual partition.

The article focuses on the initiative of Intel to expand its market to Linux users. The microprocessor-manufacturing company sees its 64-bit Itanium chip as a key growth driver for architecture and are looking at ways to enhance chip and the systems that run on it to make them more attractive to Linux users. Recent enhancements to Linux kernel for Itanium includes memory error recovery, central processing unit hot plugging, and patches from Intel and Hewlett Packard related to Montecito support; upcoming support for Xen, and work with Red Hat and Novell to ensure that their support the latest Itanium features.

The article challenges Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., and Dell Computer Corp. to manage their business effectively by catering the needs of their clients and strengthen their position in amidst the tight market competition. Microsoft recently admitted that it will invest an extra 2 million dollars to fight against Google. Likewise, Intel will be having a large revamp in response to the inroads made by Advanced Micro Devices. Unfortunately, Dell is the situation where they are spending more but gaining low returns because their market has eroded. The author stresses that for these giant companies to recover, they should focus on their expertise, adhere to customers' agendas, and align with the customers' needs.

The article presents a roundup of news related to the computer industry, which were reported in the previous issues. Google has teamed up with business software suppliers Oracle, Cognos, and Salesforce.com to advance its enterprise search features through a user interface called OneBox. Intel Corp. has reported poor financial performance for the first-quarter of 2006, and plans to cut spending and speed up the launch its processors, which are based on Core Microarchitecture. IBM Corp. vice president for Linux and open source Scott Handy says the company will continue to partner with Red Hat and Novell.

The article reports on the effort of Intel Corp. to create a new chip architecture, a replacement for the circuitry that underpins its entire x86 product line, that would both increase performance and cut power consumption in the U.S. According to Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner, the new architecture will allow chips such as Intel’s dual-core Woodcrest server processor, to offer a 35 percent reduction in power consumption with an 80 percent bump in performance over the current Xeon DP processor. The author also discusses the factors contributing to processor performance as well as for power consumption.

The article offers the latest updates in the computer industry. Intel Corp. had once planned to launch its own online music store and even thought of selling devices such as the Intel Pocket Concert MP2 player, a year before Apple's ITunes was introduced. There is a rumor that Novell Inc. plans to change the name of its Novell Linux Desktop to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

The article explores the application and functions of server virtualization technology. Server virtualization is the concept of being able to run multiple operating systems and applications on a single physical system through the use of virtual machines. Having the capability of reducing the number of new machines, virtualization addresses the growing concern of power consumption and heat generation in the data center. During the Intel Corp. Developer Forum, Intel unveiled plans to extend its virtualization technology beyond the system level. On the other hand, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel's rival, announced the extensive availability of technology specifications for the upcoming input-output virtualization during a virtualization conference hosted by IDC.

The article focuses on Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (HP's) upcoming Itanium-based blade server as the latest step toward what the original equipment manufacturer views as the next wave in blade computing, where more and more data center components are offered in a bladed fashion. It runs on Intel Corp.'s Itanium 2 processor and supports the HP-UX 11.i operating system. The two-way system will broaden HP's BladeSystem offerings, which currently run on Xeon chips from Intel and Opteron processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. It also grows operating system support, which now includes Microsoft Corp.'s Windows and Linux. HP officials see the evolution of bladed computing in three steps. The first step was the introduction. The second step, currently under way, is the form factor going mainstream, and the third step will be including most components in a flexible and integrated blade platform. HP's new system will first run on the single-core "Madison" Itanium 2 chip with speeds of up to 1.6 gigahertz and 3 megabyte of cache, but the company plans to adopt the dual-core "Montecito" when Intel releases it in the middle of 2006.

This article reports that Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Intel Corp. continue making moves to increase the performance of their processors while controlling the amount of power they consume. Tweaks in the 90-nanometer production process are enabling AMD to bump up the frequency to 2.4GHz while keeping the power consumption stable, an important move for data center administrators looking to balance the use of smaller and more powerful servers with the thermal and power issues that can arise. Steve Johnson, senior analyst for the mathematics department at Texas A&M University, said having more powerful processors that do not increase power consumption is important for people like him, who run clusters of systems. Johnson will be bringing on another midsize to large cluster within the next 18 months and plans to stick with Opteron-based systems, given their price/performance advantages over Intel systems. For its part, Intel plans to reduce the power consumption of its chips right at the factory.

This article reports that supporters of the Itanium architecture are looking to crank up backing for the Intel Corp. platform just as competing systems makers launch initiatives in the enterprise space. That RISC space is a key target for Itanium systems makers, and members of the new Itanium Solutions Alliance, which will be launched this week, say they will be able to accelerate adoption of the platform through a number of initiatives scheduled to begin in November. Alliance members include Intel; OEMs such as Unisys Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Silicon Graphics Inc.; and software vendors such as Microsoft Corp., SAP AG and Red Hat Inc. The companies also have launched 19 solutions centers globally that will give developers access to Itanium experts, tools and compilers. In addition, by the end of the year, the alliance will launch a catalog listing all the applications, solutions and hardware available for Itanium. The architecture has a checkered past and in recent years has been hamstrung by the rise of Opteron and the strength of Intel's Xeon chips.

This article reports that chip maker Intel Corp. through its investment arm, Intel Capital, has joined the list of investors in Virtual Iron, whose technology is designed to enable data-center-level virtualization. Intel and Virtual Iron have also entered into a collaboration agreement in which Virtual Iron products will work with Intel's upcoming chip-level virtualization technology. Virtual Iron's VFe creates a virtualized environment in which server, storage and network resources can be viewed as a single pool. Intel plans to incorporate virtualization into future generations of its processors, starting next year. The move is part of Intel's plans for improving the performance of its processors through embedded technologies rather than by simply cranking up speed.

This article presents information on various developments in the computer industry in the U.S. Monad, Microsoft Corp.'s proposed scriptable shell language, was added to the list of features being dropped from the product. There is a buzz among Macintosh computer users that Apple Computer Inc. has filed an application to trademark the name "Mactel." Since Apple has publicly proclaimed Intel Corp. as its Mac daddy for chips, what it plans to do with the Mactel name is open to speculation. Some iPod aficionados are miffed over speculation at www.itunesperipod.com. The Web site wonders what folks fill their iPods with, pointing out that Apple's sales of more than 2.9 million iPods and estimated 60 million iTunes means the average iPod would contain only about 21 songs purchased from the iTunes store. Oracle Corp. boss Larry Ellison has proposed a $115 million donation to the world's richest university.

The article reports on the launch of the latest upgraded desktop models, the ThinkCenter M52 and A52, by Lenovo Group Ltd. The models will include Intel Corp.'s new dual-core Pentium D chip and 945G chip set which Lenovo had purchased earlier. Dilip Bhatia, program director of Lenovo's worldwide ThinkCenter brand, said that the new ThinkCentres would be available in mid-June 2005. Intel officials predict the role of this technology in the future development of desktops. Other PC makers like Hewlett-Packard Co. of Palo Alto, California and Dell Inc. of Round Rock, Texas are also embracing this new technology.

The article presents several news related to the computer industry. Paul Otellini replaces Craig Barrett as chief executive officer of Intel Corp. The move was made official during a shareholders meeting. Intel stumbled several times in the previous year. Among the problems were delays in its "Dothan" Pentium M mobile chip and the cancellation of its"Tejas" entium 4 chip. Palmone has announced that Ed Colligan will permanently assume the role of chief executive officer. Colligan joined PalmOne's predecessor, Palm Computing, in 1993 as vice president of marketing and was part of the team that helped launch the original PalmPilot device. PalmOne's new LifeDrive Mobile Manager is a bit like a mobile suitcase. The LifeDrive is the first PDA on the U.S. market with a 4GB hard drive and is also PalmOne's first mobile device with built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b and Bluetooth 1.1 support, so users can transfer and share digital content. The LifeDrive allows wireless e-mail access from IMAP, POP or Exchange electronic-mail accounts.

This article focuses on various developments in the computer industry in the U.S. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and SCO Inc. may become the tech-industry analogy for detente. Given SCO's $5 billion lawsuit against Big Blue over Unix, one would assume any business relationship between the companies had ceased. SCO CEO Darl McBride recently brandished a list of hardware certifications for SCO's operating systems, on which IBM had the most, 28 in all. According to Darl, SCO has been working together with IBM on its upcoming OpenServer product, and IBM continues to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from supporting and shipping SCO Unix products. Danese Cooper, known as Sun Microsystems Inc.'s open-source diva, has left the company for Intel Corp. Cooper led Sun's Open Source Programs Office for six years and was involved in all Sun's open-source endeavors.

The article presents information about a rumor with regard to software firms Microsoft Corp. and Intel Inc. The relationship between Intel and Microsoft has been on shaky ground since it was announced that the former will use Opteron-based servers from software firm Hewlett-Packard Co. in all its Microsoft Technology Centers in North America, Europe and Asia. The news particularly riled Intel execs because the vendor could have accommodated Microsoft with its new Xeon chips with the same 64-bit capability as the Opteron. Intel executives complained to Microsoft, reportedly taking their case to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Microsoft veteran David Weise has parted ways with the company. Weise is lauded as having been essential to the success of Windows 3.0. He, along with Nathan Myhrvold, was a founder of Dynamical Systems Research, which Microsoft bought in 1986. From there, Weise helped Microsoft think outside the OS/2 box and run Windows apps in protected mode. He then broke through DOS' 640KB memory limit and ran multiple DOS apps in virtual x86 machines, thus abetting Redmond's world domination. Weise will return to his roots in molecular biology.

This article reports that business enterprises should think of good security as an affirmative business practice, not just a cost to be minimized. The Sarbanes- Oxley Act has given impetus to this idea, but IT builders are still walking around the elephantine Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), trying to decide if its legs are pillars of new strength for their infrastructure or if its tail is a rope that will hang them with application incompatibilities and attendant help desk workloads. If anyone thought that SP2 reflected a new commitment to security as fundamental to software's fitness for use, the year-end confirmation that Windows 2000 won't get its own version of the SP2 repair job should make the reality clear. But if short-term change has been less than what was hoped, longer-term changes have been greater than anyone would likely have predicted. Dominant vendors, such as Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp., are the ones whose missteps matter to the greatest number of people. The importance of these vendors, though, is itself a testament that they've done much more right than wrong in the process of creating a commodity computing platform.

The article reports that a group of vendors led by Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., Sun Microsystems Computer Corp., and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. late last week published a specification for using Web services to manage a range of IT infrastructure elements. The Web Services-Management specification is intended to help IT reduce the cost and complexity of managing hardware ranging from chips and handheld devices to data center servers. The specification is designed to exploit Web services as a common communications mechanism to conduct a variety of management tasks.

The article focuses on the advancements in the field of information technology related to the latest offerings from Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. In an effort to get its next-generation operating system, "Longhorn" in shape for shipping, Microsoft has started tossing out some key features, most notably WinFS. The file system is one of those big thoughts in data storage and retrieval that would have made Longhorn a strong contender for inclusion in corporate data networks drowning in structured and unstructured data. The "AvaIon" user interface and the "Indigo" middleware infrastructure appear to be the two remaining intact legs. Microsoft has identified open-source software as a revenue threat in a recent United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing and has pinned much of its anti-Linux campaign on arguments that Linux is actually more costly to deploy than Windows and that the fragmented nature of Linux development precludes a comprehensive systemwide approach to corporate technology choices.