Microsoft Has a Killer Q1, Intel Holds Steady Course
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The two powerhouses behind the Wintel duopoly, operation system, and application maker Microsoft and chip and chipset maker Intel, continue to do better than the class average in the IT market when it comes to bringing in sales and profits. Microsoft saw a big surge in revenue as companies opted into long-term services contracts in its first fiscal quarter ended September 30, and Intel is holding steady with modest revenue gains despite intense price pressure in its third quarter. READ MORE >

Intel Iron Makes Gains in a Bad Economy
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Every time the economy slows, the companies that sell the cheapest servers see a surge in sales while the stalwart established vendors see a decline in sales. These economic cycles have driven the acceptance of server platforms as much as technological advances--plug compatible mainframes in the late 1960s, minicomputers in the mid-1970s, Unix servers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And now, Wintel and Lintel iron in the early 2000s is getting a push from bad times. READ MORE >

Big Blue Rises Above the IT Market Downdraft
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Everybody is looking for a little good news these days, and IBM did its part by telling Wall Street analysts and investors last week that although 2002 was a tough year, the company would, as Sam Palmisano expected, do better than many of the other companies running in the IT pack and, more important, would return to double-digit profit growth in 2003. Yippee! And everybody started talking about how Big Blue is bucking the IT spending crunch. READ MORE >

But Wait, There's More. . .

AMD Gets Big Endorsement for Opteron from Uncle Sam with Red Storm Super. . . Court Says Intel's Itanium Chips Infringe Intergraph's Patents. . . Microsoft, Siebel Sign.NET Alliance. READ MORE >

Reader Feedback and Insights

We value your feedback and your insights into the OS/400 market. Feel free to drop us a letter to the editor and we will post them in a reader feedback column associated with this newsletter. READ MORE >