Bang for the Buck: Raising the System iQ
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Direct competition, at least as far as customers are concerned, is a beautiful thing. It can make vendors react quickly and decisively, and in ways that they had not anticipated with their technology and marketing. Because one vendor figures out some trick, its competitors have to figure out how to counter or copy that trick. A good example is IBM's invention of the dual-core processor, and another example is the advent of the quad-core processor. IBM has used the first in the iSeries line, but for some reason, it has neglected adding the second to the i5 line. This needs to change. READ MORE >

The Server Market Struggles for Growth in Q2, Says IDC
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The second quarter is never a particularly good one for the server business, and according to the latest statistics from IDC, server makers are having a hard time making up their revenues in volume. In the second quarter of 2006, worldwide server revenues across all types of servers rose by only six-tenths of a percent to $12.3 billion, and server volumes decelerated to a mere 8.3 percent growth, with just over 1.8 million units shipped. This is the third straight quarter of single-digit server shipment growth, and the eighth quarter of slowing shipments. READ MORE >

COMMON Preview: A Few Little Changes, and Some Big Ones in Store
by Mary Lou Roberts

As is expected and desired, each COMMON conference brings with it some changes, which are designed, of course, to attract and meet the needs of COMMON members, draw more independent software vendors into the Expo, and build the momentum of the COMMON organization itself. This fall's conference, which will be held in Miami Beach, Florida, from September 17 through 21, is no exception. READ MORE >

As I See It: Corporate Tithing
by Victor Rozek

In 1973, Wilt Chamberlain published the first of two autobiographies, titled Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door. It was a masterful title, seeking to normalize three things that were rare in the early 1970s--being simultaneously tall, black, and wealthy. But "normal" is a relative concept and, like a small number of athletic phenoms of his generation, Wilt was one of those "average" guys who skewed all the averages. READ MORE >