Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker ... Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker
News: Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue before merger
News: Sony details battery problems, replacement program
News: Google readies custom search engine service
Storage Tip: Application classification is not data classification
Opinion: Vista vacuum blowback
ITwhirled: 10 Unneccessary - but cool - gadgets


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker
Microsoft Corp. released the final version of its Windows Defender antispyware tool on Tuesday, while security rivals squabbled about whether the company has given them sufficient access to Windows Vista to build competing products.

Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue before merger
Telecommunications equipment manufacturers Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. both reported increased revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30. This will be the last time the companies report their financial results separately: In April, they announced their intention to merge, and now expect to complete the deal by the end of the year.

Sony details battery problems, replacement program
Sony Corp. has provided greater detail about a battery manufacturing problem that is expected to see the replacement of up to 9.6 million laptop computer battery packs.

Google readies custom search engine service
Google Inc. is launching a new service designed to let Web site publishers build their own search engines using Google's massive index of page links.

Dell talks up being green, upcoming quad cores
Taking a line out of server rival Sun Microsystems Inc.'s play book, Michael Dell recommitted his company to doing its best to save the planet by producing more energy-efficient products. Dell also mentioned his company's next move with long-time chip supplier Intel Corp. Within the next few weeks, Dell will start rolling out computers using Intel's "Clovertown" Xeon quad-core chip, he said, with models including PowerEdge 1950 server, Precision 690 workstation and Dell's XPS gaming machines.

French operator follows Apple on mobile music pricing
French mobile phone operator Société Française du Radiotéléphone SA (SFR) will cut the price of its music downloads in half next month, matching that of Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Store. It's no coincidence that the new price matches that of Apple's iTunes Store in Europe, said SFR spokeswoman Caroline Mir. Apple's "is the reference price today," she said.

BenQ posts huge Q3 loss on BenQ Mobile write-down
BenQ Corp. posted its fourth straight quarterly loss in the three months ending Sept. 30, and expects further losses as it writes down debt after pulling funding from its German mobile phone unit.

Microsoft agrees to Arkansas settlement
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to offer US$37.8 million in vouchers for free software and hardware to Arkansas residents as part of a settlement of an outstanding class action suit against the company.

Oracle lays out 11g in broad brushstrokes
In his keynote at Oracle's OpenWorld conference in San Francisco Monday, Chuck Rozwat, an Oracle executive vice president who heads up Oracle's database business spoke in general terms about the next major release of the company's database, Oracle 11g.


STORAGE TIP

Application classification is not data classification
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

Classify your data by application if you wish, but do not think that you have done data classification as well. You must separate data into different classes in order to obtain the benefits of information lifecycle management, such as tiering storage. You may not get all the benefits right away, but you have to start somewhere.


OPINION

Vista vacuum blowback
By James Gaskin

My Vista Budget Vacuum column got Slashdotted, so 500 plus message replies alternate between calling me an idiot and a genius. Unfortunately, the Slashdot headline made it sound like the cost estimates were for just Vista. My point is that Vista is the engine pulling a long train of other products and services some vice presidents will demand. Those are the ones that cost money.


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
The 10 best unreleased horror movies ... Unneccessary - but cool - gadgets ... Dot-com flops ... Portable grills ... Firefox Web 2.0 add-ons