IBM Creates New Power, SMB Server Divisions
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

For the past decade and a half, IBM's two midrange server lines--formerly the AS/400 proprietary server line and the RS/6000 Unix server line but now known as the System i and the System p, respectively--have been on a course to merge. First, they started supporting similar APIs, then similar Power processors, then the exact same hardware, including Power processors, memory, disks, and other peripherals. Then, they started supporting each others' respective i5/OS and AIX operating systems. It would be logical to assume that eventually the System i and System p brands would eventually fall by the wayside and there would be just one Power server line. READ MORE >

IBM Turns In Its Best Second Quarter in Six Years
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

IT industry bellwether IBM had a tough first quarter in 2007, with its business in the United States slowing down. But in the second quarter, Big Blue's U.S. unit rebounded as much as IBM said it might earlier this year, while overseas markets continued to grow as the U.S. dollar continued to be weak. The upshot is that IBM has turned in its best second quarter in revenue and profit growth since 2001, when the bloom was just coming off the dot-com rose. READ MORE >

Intel Certifies Solaris on Its Carrier-Grade Servers
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Chip maker Intel has for many years also been a supplier of so-called white-box servers that other vendors take in on a OEM basis or that large customers deploying thousands of servers can buy directly from the company and install with the assistance of Intel's vast partner network. So it is with Intel's carrier-grade server products, which are based on its own processors and chipsets. The latest machines in this product line have just been certified to run Sun Microsystems' Solaris Unix variant. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: To Avatar and Avatar Not
by Hesh Wiener

In the Hindu tradition, an avatar is the physical manifestation of a god; the principal avatars are incarnations of Vishnu, but there are others, too. Similar concepts exist in other religions, even ones that are not dharmic. In computing, an avatar is an animated sprite or icon that represents a real or invented player in a virtual amusement such as Second Life. In finance, an avatar is what IBM set up in Holland to obtain favorable tax treatment for a $12.5 billion stock repurchase, provoking the IRS to ban future incarnations of that particular caper. READ MORE >