Stories by Nancy Weil

CA Extends Its Offer for Sterling

Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) has extended its offer to acquire Sterling Software Inc. until midnight EST, Monday, March 27 because the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested additional information and documents as part of its regulatory review of the proposed deal.

U.K., Dutch Prime Ministers Hear E-Commerce Reform Ideas

European Union member states should develop a cohesive approach to ease the way for e-commerce, removing obstacles for businesses and encouraging use of the Internet through reform measures, according to suggestions made today during a discussion in preparation for the European Council summit in Lisbon next week. U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok heard from various Internet "dot-com" business executives during the 45-minute meeting at Downing Street, which was broadcast over the Web.

i2, Aspect to Merge in Largest Software Deal

A new claim to the largest software merger in history was made today -- this time in the hot business-to-business (B2B) market -- with the announcement that i2 Technologies Inc. is buying Aspect Development Inc. in a US$9.3 billion stock swap.

Vendors Form Embedded Linux Consortium

Representatives from some 30 vendors have formed the Embedded Linux Consortium, known as ELC, to promote Linux-based embedded applications, the group announced today.

Study Finds ICANN Vote Plan Full of Problems

A plan to allow anyone worldwide with an e-mail address to vote for members of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) runs counter to the democratic process, could be subject to fraud or "capture" by special interests and is generally fraught with problems, according to a three-month study of the proposal.

Who Owns the Internet?

That no one owns the Internet is taken as a truism. But the infrastructure on which the global network runs is owned by a handful of powerful corporations that can, and often do, use their control over the Internet backbone to their advantage in business negotiations. The influence these companies exert, some industry insiders fear, is strangling smaller companies and reducing customer choice.

Lucent spin-off aims at corporate nets

Lucent Technologies is spinning off its PBX, Systimax structured cabling and data business based on LANs (local area networks) to shareholders, creating a separate company aimed at the corporate networking market, executives said yesterday at a press conference.

Cisco to Acquire Scottish Atlantech

Cisco Systems Inc. is acquiring privately held Atlantech Technologies, which makes software aimed at helping configure and monitor network hardware, in a stock deal valued at about US$180 million.

UPDATE: Lucent Spin-Off Aims at Corporate Nets

Lucent Technologies Inc. is spinning off its PBX, Systimax structured cabling and data business based on LANs (local area networks) to shareholders, creating a separate company aimed at the corporate networking market, executives said today at a press conference.

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