Bang For The Buck on Power7 Gen 2 Servers
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

When the second generation Power7 servers were launched back on October 12, IBM said that it wanted to bring faster peripherals and doubled-up main memory to the Gen 2 machines, but it also wanted to keep the prices for the machines on the entry Power 710, 720, 730, and 740 machines the same as it was for the Gen 1 machines in terms of processor cards, processor core activations, and software. The new Power 770 and Power 780 Gen 2 machines also were supposed to be in the same pricing brackets. READ MORE >

Palmisano Hands The IBM Reins To Rometty
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The drama is over, and Ginni Rometty, who has spent the past three decades at IBM, is going to be the next president and chief executive officer at the company. Rometty, who is 54, beat out her colleagues Mike Daniels, who is 56 and who runs Global Services, and Steve Mills, who is 60 and who runs Systems and Software Group, for the job. Sam Palmisano, who has held the president position since 2000, the CEO job since 2002, and the chairman job since 2003, will remain chairman of the board at the request of Rometty and the board. READ MORE >

IBM To Unchain RPG Open Access?
by Dan Burger

It's unconfirmed, but I have to give IBM credit for correcting its course and making the best use of RPG Open Access anyway. Last week, the company let a few people know (the press was not included) that it was no longer going to charge for Rational Open Access: RPG Edition. It's expected this will significantly boost the visibility and use of this product and the products of third-party vendors that have incorporated ROA. It's a smart move. READ MORE >

European Slowdown Puts The Profit Squeeze On Avnet
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The uncertainty in the European economies and the after effects of some acquisitions in the region pushed down profits for master IT distributor Avnet in the first quarter of its fiscal 2012, which ended in September. That's the bad news, which is not bad relative to the political and economic uncertainty we're all facing. The good news is that the IT side of Avnet still showed very impressive year-on-year growth in a quarter that is not generally the strongest one for the company. READ MORE >