Power vs. Nehalem: Scalability Is So 1995, Cash is So 2009
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The entry and midrange server racket has a new processor in town, and its name is Nehalem, and it comes from Intel. And despite the poor global economy and despite the nay-sayers who think that people don't think about processors and their features any more, the Nehalem chip is going to get traction this year and it is most certainly going to shake up the entry and midrange spaces where the Power Systems i platform plays. READ MORE >

IBM Poised to Buy Sun, Rumors Say
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Well, Big Blue and Big Mouth seem to be getting closer to closing a deal that will see IBM acquire its archrival in servers and systems software and its partner in Java, Sun Microsystems. Perhaps more than any other acquisition in the history of the computer business, this one, should the talks stop and the deal unravel, marks a dramatic change in the IT landscape. And I don't necessarily mean a good one. READ MORE >

IT Spending Forecasts Slashed by Gartner, Forrester
by Alex Woodie

IT analyst groups Gartner and Forrester Research last week released pessimistic reports predicting a decline of 3 to 4 percent in IT spending, both here and abroad, for 2009. Spending on servers and other pieces of hardware will be clobbered with a 15 percent decline, according to Gartner, which says the spending slowdown is exceeding the IT spending repercussions of dot-com bubble burst back in 2001. READ MORE >

As I See It: Built-In Disasters
by Victor Rozek

A $200 million Airbus A340-600 commercial jet sits on the tarmac at the airport in Toulouse, France. The jet is new and has yet to ferry a single passenger. It has been towed to what is called the 'run-up area,' where its Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies crew is performing an engine test. Having set the air brakes, the pilot instructs the flight computer to slowly increase power to all four engines. With the engines fully engaged and screaming under full lift-off power, a cockpit horn begins blaring, warning of impending takeoff. Annoyed, one of the crew pulls the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm. READ MORE >