Viacom slaps Google with $1 billion YouTube lawsuit ... Microsoft, IBM add community support

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Viacom slaps Google with $1 billion YouTube lawsuit
News: Acer is on the lookout for M&A targets
News: IDC: Q4 storage revenue drops at Dell, HP
News: Microsoft to offer 'MySpace' for apps users
Storage Tip: Not your father's backup/restore software
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: South Korea explores robot ethics


NEWS UPDATES

Viacom slaps Google with $1 billion YouTube lawsuit
Viacom Inc. has sued Google Inc., alleging copyright infringement from video-sharing site YouTube and seeking $1 billion in damages.

Acer is on the lookout for M&A targets
Acer Inc., the world's fourth largest PC vendor, plans to make a meaningful acquisition this year and is already looking at candidates, the company said Tuesday.

IDC: Q4 storage revenue drops at Dell, HP
Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. reported declines in storage hardware revenue in the fourth quarter of 2006, running contrary to a growth trend for the storage industry.

Microsoft to offer 'MySpace' for apps users
Microsoft Corp. introduced the first in a planned series of online communities for users of its Dynamics applications to provide forums where peers can exchange best practices. Centered around specific industries or job titles, the first community is aimed at finance professionals such as corporate controllers, finance managers and accountants.

SEC charges ex-Nortel executives
U.S. and Canadian stock regulators filed fraud charges on Monday against several former executives of Nortel Networks Corp., accusing them of twisting accounting practices to make it seem that the company was meeting Wall Street expectations.

Philips starts selling off stake in TSMC
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV sold just over 887 million shares of stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) Monday for NT$57.66 billion ($1.75 billion), part of a sale intended to finalize Philips' exit from the semiconductor industry.

IBM enhances software development program
IBM Corp. is enhancing its software developer's support program by creating a software code exchange.

VC firm, ex-Microsoft execs back Internet OS company
A venture capital firm has given a $10 million boost to a Swedish company that could soon be in the competitive crosshairs of Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp.


STORAGE TIP

Not your father's backup/restore software
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

If you are looking at traditional backup/restore with the extra-added appeal of disk, contact the vendors in your market space with whom you are familiar (and those could be through your current storage hardware vendor). If you are interested in overall recovery management or a new technology, such as continuous data protection, you can contact companies that focus in those spaces. If, on the other hand, you are looking at a storage hardware solution, then you will know that the vendor that you are choosing also has a backup/restore story and probably one that involves disk-based backup as well. In any event, you are likely to find at least one -- and probably more than one -- company that will meet your needs.

Subscribe to Storage Strategies - Tips for effective storage management, technology updates and best practices.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft, IBM add community support ... Nortel ex-executives charged ... Xcerion gains backing

More podcasts


ITWHIRLED

South Korea explores robot ethics
South Korea, always on the cutting edge of technology, foresees a robot in every home by 2020. Getting a head start, the government is putting together a "robot ethics charter" to help keep people mentally and emotionally healthy in their dealings with the humanoid machines, and to stave off the inevitable robot revolt and takeover.

Subscribe to the ITwhirled alert - weird tech news direct to your inbox.