Stories by Laura Rohde

Oracle announces availability of BI upgrade

Oracle on Monday released its stand-alone Business Intelligence 10g product, which offers tools for queries, reporting and analysis, data integration and management, and application development.

Marks & Spencer expands RFID trial, includes lingerie

U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) will extend its ongoing trial of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for the management of its clothing stock from nine of its stores to 53 in the second quarter of next year.

EU offers privacy guidelines for RFID

The European Union (E.U.) has expressed concern that the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology by businesses and governments could violate human dignity as well as data protection rights and has published guidelines for businesses and agencies intending to use the technology.

Study: CIOs cooperate better and expect to spend more

Business executives and IT departments are increasingly finding ways to put their differences aside when it comes to addressing the information technology needs of a company, according to a survey of chief information officers (CIOs) and business managers.

Airbus preps A380 aeroplanes for mobile phone use

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus plans to include in its new Superjumbo A380 planes an optional voice and data system that can allow passengers to use their mobile devices in flight, the company announced Tuesday.

RealNetworks makes mobile licensing flexible

RealNetworks has changed its mobile licensing model to provide more flexibility to handset manufacturers and allow software components like RealAudio and RealVideo to be licensed separately, it announced Wednesday.

MasterCard offers SMS to detect credit card fraud

If you've ever had a credit card purchase mysteriously rejected only to discover later that the bank thought you were a fraudulent user, you may appreciate an effort by MasterCard International to use SMS (short message service) to streamline the process of clearing up card-usage questions.

IBM extends consulting unit with Equitant buy

Continuing its effort to build its business consulting unit, IBM will acquire Equitant, a provider of business transformation outsourcing services, the companies announced Wednesday.

IBM to buy Corio for US$182 million

IBM will acquire Corio, a provider of software-management services and software for businesses, in a cash deal worth US$182 million, IBM announced Tuesday.

HP may farm out Fiorina's job duties, says report

Hewlett-Packard's board of directors is considering a plan that would redistribute some of the day-to-day responsibilities of its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carly Fiorina to other HP executives, due in part to the board's displeasure with the company's uneven performance, according to a report published Monday.

UK government floats guidelines for UWB services

The government agency that regulates the U.K. telecommunications industry is examining licensing proposals for UWB (ultrawideband) technology but indicated on Thursday that it is leaning towards freeing UWB from licence restrictions.

Business Objects wins MicroStrategy patent suit appeal

Business Objects will have its day in court after all. A U.S. Federal appeals court ruled late last week that a trial be held to determine if MicroStrategy infringed a Business Objects patent on a relational database access system.

Nortel reports loss in Q3, sees pickup in Q4

Amid continuing problems with the release of its financial statements, Nortel Networks reported a loss for this year's third quarter, coupled with a drop in sales from the second quarter, but added that it expects improvements in fourth-quarter revenue.

Oracle says PeopleSoft merger ready to roll by January

It may be one of the software industry's largest acquisitions to date, but Oracle expects to work out its merger plans with PeopleSoft by the end of the year and will "hit the ground running in January," according to Oracle President Charles Phillips.

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