Stories by Eric Lai

Oracle releases BerkeleyDB 4.5 database

Oracle Wednesday released Version 4.5 of BerkeleyDB, the embedable database it acquired in February through the purchase of SleepyCat Software.

MySQL drops support for BerkeleyDB

Open-source database maker MySQL AB has quietly dropped support for BerkeleyDB, the embedable database Oracle acquired in February.

Sun CIO touts ERP consolidation, flex workers

Bob Worrall was promoted from vice president of IT to CIO of Sun Microsystems six weeks ago, filling a vacancy that arose when Bill Vass was named president and chief operating officer of Sun Microsystems Federal. Worrall, 45, has come a long way since his first major IT management position at Worlds of Wonder, the San Francisco Bay area toy company that created the popular Teddy Ruxpin animatronic teddy bear in the mid-1980s. He talked with Eric Lai this week about Sun's massive three-year ERP consolidation plans, as well as how Sun has prepared for the coming flu season.

Google testing Sun's OpenSolaris, sources say

Google is experimenting with the open-source version of Sun Microsystems's Solaris operating system as a possible long-term prelude to replacing its massive global network of Linux servers, according to sources.

Casino places winning bet on Marathon apps

In a city built on winning the tourist dollar, Las Vegas casino operator Station Casinos has taken an opposite but equally lucrative route that depends heavily on its use of technology.

Red Hat releases its first open-source app stack

Red Hat has unveiled its first integrated open-source application stack based around the JBoss application server it acquired this summer.

JP Morgan CIO Austin Adams to retire

Austin Adams, who gained attention in 2004 for canceling a mammoth outsourcing contract with IBM, is retiring as CIO of New York City-based JP Morgan Chase Adams will step down at the beginning of October.

Commerce Bank undergoes a branch makeover

If there was a bank reality TV show called "Branch Makeover," the US-based Commerce Bank should have been on it. Until last year, most of the tellers at the St. Louis bank's 340 Midwestern branches operated as if the personal computer age had never happened.

Survey: Interest in server virtualization overstated

Server virtualization may be enterprise computing's latest technology, but a recent survey of corporate IT buyers shows that near-term adoption may not match the hype.

'The Office' visits Microsoft's office

A pair of faux Microsoft corporate training videos that star the makers of the British cult hit comedy series The Office and tweak founder Bill Gates and Microsoft corporate culture have become some of the most popular non-adult-oriented videos on rival Google's video search engine.

LINUXWORLD SF - Upstarts step up on systems management

For Cliff Bell, chief technology officer at software vendor Phoenix Technologies, installing systems management software from GroundWork Open Source two years ago has helped him save face, money and even some sleep.

LINUXWORLD SF - SUSE Linux ThinkPads target chip designers

Lenovo will immediately begin selling and supporting a high-end model of its ThinkPad laptop with Novell's latest desktop version of SUSE Linux installed, the two companies announced Tuesday. The new laptop is aimed at electronics engineers and chip designers.