Power vs. Nehalem: Time to Double Up and Double Down
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The first TPC-C online transaction processing benchmark tests are in for the new two-socket 'Nehalem EP' Xeon 5500 processors from Intel, and as I suggested would be the case in last week's coverage of that chip announcement, IBM had better get its fingers out of its ears and get to work goosing the two-socket and four-socket servers with some Power6+ chips, or be prepared to cut prices on the i 6.1 software stack to compete against Windows on these Nehalem machines. READ MORE >

The IBM-Sun Saga Continues--Or Rather, Doesn't
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Well, so much for that idea. About a day after I wrote about the impending acquisition of Unix server maker Sun Microsystems by IBM for last week's issue, the deal came apart. And why? Apparently--and we all have to say apparently out here because no one has said anything officially--because the two parties could not agree on money or the firmness of their commitments. READ MORE >

Clone Memory Maker Dataram Buys Rival MMB
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

While the IT press focuses on all the big merger and acquisition deals that are going on as the economy moves along at its sluggish pace, there are plenty of smaller deals going on as companies realize they are too small to go it alone and they meet up with other companies that want to acquire them for one reason or another. So it is with clone memory maker Dataram's acquisition last week of rival Micro Memory Bank, both of which are located in my neck of the woods. READ MORE >

Lawson Ekes Out Profit in Q3, Partners to Peddle in Quebec
by Alex Woodie

Currency fluctuations and a downturn in IT spending, particularly among manufacturing customers, combined to drive third quarter revenues down 18 percent to $174 million for Lawson Software, but cost cutting enabled the company to post a profit anyway. The St. Paul, Minnesota, ERP software vendor also announced a deal with a French Canadian reseller, Commsoft Technologies, to sell Lawson's M3 suite, which is primarily implemented on i-based Power Systems machines. READ MORE >