Microsoft Unveils New System Center Tools, Stirs the Alphabet Soup
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft this week detailed some of the additions and changes that will be made to its suite of systems management tools. First, the company announced that the old Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) and Systems Management Server (SMS) names will fall by the wayside when the next iterations of these members of the System Center product set ship next year. Microsoft also announced a new service desk offering, and committed to delivering the MONAD scripting language as the free Windows PowerShell. READ MORE >

Intel Secures the PC with vPro Dual-Core Design
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

No matter what, you have to hand it to the top brass in the IT industry for one thing: always accentuating the positive. Here chip giant Intel stands in the middle of this storm: PC sales in decline, a new Core chip architecture on the way but not yet here, the future "Longhorn" Windows Vista desktop operating system delayed and Linux not yet a credible growth engine on the desktop, and rival AMD not just nipping at its heels, but firmly lock-jawed on its calf muscles like a pit bull. READ MORE >

Judges Hear Microsoft's Appeal on Antitrust Rulings
by Alex Woodie

After months of legal wrangling and tongue wagging, Microsoft is getting its time in court this week, as a panel of judges hears Microsoft's appeal of the European Commission's (EC) decision on the software giant's anti-competitive practices for PCs and servers. The first two days focused on Windows Media Player bundling issues, while server issues are expected to be heard starting today. READ MORE >

HP Brags about Integrity Sales in Asia/Pacific
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

In the server racket, you go where the growth is, you play to your strengths, and if your competition is falling behind in any way, you rub it in. Hewlett-Packard has taken more than its share of in-rubbing since its merger with Compaq five years ago, but with the ProLiant X64 business humming along and its Itanium-based Integrity server line growing, it is now HP's turn to rub it in a little. READ MORE >