IDF Server Wrap Up: Intel to Keep the Pressure on AMD
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Chip maker Intel has finished up its fall Intel Developer Forum technical conference in San Francisco, and the company last week made it pretty clear that it is going to keep tweaking and improving its server processors and platforms at the aggressive pace that has allowed it to blunt the competitive attack from Advanced Micro Devices. AMD's quad-core 'Barcelona' Opteron chips using a 65 nanometer process are just starting to ship in systems, and Intel is already gearing up improved dual-core and quad-core chips based on the 'Penryn' core and a new 45 nanometer process. READ MORE >

Mandriva Readies Linux 2008 Editions for October
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Commercial Linux distributor Mandriva is getting set to put its next Linux releases out after six months of development and testing. With the upcoming Mandriva Linux 2008, the company will not only roll in new features for the Linux kernel and the various open source programs that ride on top of it to make up a Linux system, but it will also cut back on the number of editions it has from four to three, simplifying its product line a bit. READ MORE >

SAP Plants Its Flag in Mid-Market Territory with SaaS Apps
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Application software giant SAP certainly is not the first company to bring hosted applications to market on a subscription basis to the midrange market, but the German company's top executives made it clear at the launch in New York last week of the forthcoming 'A1S' product line, officially called Business ByDesign, that SAP intended to dominate the mid-market much as it currently does for applications aimed at the largest enterprises in the world. The stakes are high, and SAP took great pains to explain why it has moved slowly and deliberately as it chases the mid-market with a software as a service (SaaS) approach. READ MORE >

Opsware Adds Storage, Process Management with System 7 Tools
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Just as Hewlett-Packard was dotting the Is and crossing the Ts of its $1.6 billion acquisition of system management tool maker Opsware to bolster its HP Software division, Opsware is this week hosting its Opsworld user conference in San Diego and previewing the capabilities it will provide in the forthcoming Opsware System 7 tools. With this release, the Opsware tools will add storage and process management to existing server and network management modules, allowing its tools to span the entire data center for the first time. READ MORE >