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| | | June 15, 2003
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Sunday, June 15, 2003 |
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The enterprise saga: a love triangle or just a circus?
Last week's news breaking and nerve straining corporate story, the J.D. Edwards-PeopleSoft-Oracle takeover trio, turned sour in the past days.
Deluged with skepticism from industry pundits and harsh reaction from both PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards executives, Oracle reasserted the seriousness of its offer, detailing its acquisition plans and requesting a meeting with PeopleSoft's board of directors. Numerous IT analysts blasted Oracle's bid as a sign of weakness, trying to disrupt its competitors' merger or gain ground against the indisputable market leader, German software maker SAP AG. Major PeopleSoft stockholders also derided the deal, dubbing it unacceptable at the proposed price.
Outraged by the hostile offer, J.D. Edwards filed multiple lawsuits against the database software giant, alleging illegal interference in its upcoming takeover, wrongful conduct and unfair business practices by Oracle and two of its key executives, CEO Lawrence Ellison and Vice President Charles Phillips. In the meantime, after a board meeting, PeopleSoft announced all board members unanimously rejected Oracle's bid, citing significant antitrust issues, resulting from a potential deal. PeopleSoft executives commented an Oracle acquisition will be unlikely to pass tight scrutiny from U.S. regulators and advised all shareholders to spurn the software maker's low offer of only $16 per share. In addition, PeopleSoft reaffirmed its commitment to proceed with the J.D. Edwards buyout and notified the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice of its intentions.
A day later, PeopleSoft followed its partner's line of defense and launched legal action in a California state court, seeking to block Oracle's bid for the company.
Seeming to support the strong financial capabilities of Larry Ellison's company, Oracle reported healthy fourth quarter results, with net income rising over 30 percent from a year ago to $858 million and revenues topping $2.83 billion.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 3 4 | CRN | eWeek | InfoWorld | InternetNews.com 1 2 | NewsFactor 1 2 | Reuters 1 2 3 4 5 | VNUNET.com 1 2 3 | The Washington Post 1 2 3 4 5 | ZDNet
Battle against junk mail to get a legal push?
U.S. legislators and law enforcement agencies are pushing for tough new measures to crack down on unsolicited commercial e-mail. At a hearing on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked Congress for additional authority to fight the growing menace. The FTC is seeking rights to scrutinize bulk mailers, to share sensitive intelligence with foreign agencies and to conduct secret investigations in cooperation with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
On Friday, a new anti-spam bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and the conservative Christian Coalition, was introduced on Capitol Hill. The Stop Pornography and Abusive Marketing (SPAM) Act would create a nationwide "Do Not Spam" registry, which will allow individuals on the list to sue spammers who send them e-mail and reclaim up to $1,000 per unsolicited message. The bill also makes it illegal to harvest e-mail addresses, a technique frequently used by spammers, and forces e-marketers to mark their advertisements with an "ADV" tag.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 3 | InternetNews.com | PC World | Reuters | The Washington Post
Microsoft steps into the virus fight
Microsoft made an unexpected move this week, announcing its intentions to acquire the intellectual property of Romanian security firm GeCAD Software SRL. The deal, which requires regulatory approval, will result in the discontinuation of GeCAD's successful RAV AntiVirus product line. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Microsoft noted it will use the company's technology to secure its Windows operating system and integrate virus protection in its products. An unspecified number of GeCAD employees are also expected to join the Redmond, Washington-based giant and help increase Windows's compatibility with third-part antivirus software.
GeCAD's sale was widely seen as a devastating blow to the Linux community. RAV AntiVirus has been known as one of the most successful antivirus protection suites available for Linux at an affordable price. According to various resellers, the bulk of the company's 10 million users are Linux clients. In Romania, however, the deal was termed a major recognition of the Eastern European nation's IT potential and an investment into its future.
More from: CNET News.com | InfoWorld | InternetNews.com | TechWeb | The Register
In Other News...
 Adobe Systems Inc. reported rising sales in the second quarter, ending May 30. The software maker's net income for the period rose 18 percent to $64.2 million, due to unexpectedly strong sales of its newly updated Acrobat product family and significantly increased interest in its publishing application, InDesign.
Microsoft announced it will officially cease developing Internet Explorer (IE) for Macintosh platforms, citing stern competition from Apple's Safari browser. All future releases, including one planned for June 16, will include security and performance enhancements only and no new features. A representative of the company's Macintosh Business Unit said Safari appears to be a better option for Macintosh users, but the decision to drop IE's further development is not tantamount to exiting the Mac market, reaffirming Microsoft's intention to continue shipping versions of its Office suite to Apple customers.
A 24-year-old Californian web designer pleaded guilty to defacing Al-Jazeera's web site. After reaching a settlement, John William Racine II was sentenced to three years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. In the early days of the U.S.-led war with Iraq, Mr. Racine tricked Network Solutions into giving him control over the Arabic news network's domain name, aljazeera.net. For several days, web and e-mail traffic was redirected to a site created by Mr. Racine, which featured an American flag and patriotic messages.
Staying on the legal front, Netscape Communications, subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, reached a settlement with the New York State Attorney General over privacy charges, regarding its SmartDownload application, shipped with the company's browsing package. According to the terms of the deal, Netscape, which does not admit nor deny guilt, will pay $100,000 in damages, delete all user data collected through the application and cease deceptive gathering of personal information. Netscape noted the alleged privacy issues have been resolved in all of its products, released since the fall of 2000.
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced the 7th Annual Webby Awards winners. The 20-minute-long ceremony, which for the first time took place on the Internet only, also featured the traditional five-word acceptance speeches. Winners included NASA (Education, Government + Law), Amazon.com (Commerce), eBay (Services), Google News (News), Flaming Lips (Music), MoveOn.org (Politics), Snapfish (Rising Star). In addition, in each category, alongside the academy's choices, the people's voice awards were announced, resulting from data acquired by online participants.
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