DRAM price crashes through US$2

HIGHLIGHTS

News: DRAM price crashes through US$2
News: Siemens expands OpenScape line
News: JAVAONE: Sun: The bulk of Java is open sourced
Related Reading: Finally, Sun preps open source Java release?
News: IBM and Amazon.com settle all patent litigation
News: BlackBerrys cozy up to office phone systems
Related Reading: RIM to offer plug-in for Visual Studio
News: TOKYO EDGE: May's coolest gadgets
News: Samsung launches Q1 Ultra ultramobile
News: PostrgeSQL creator on the art of open source
News: Ubuntu plans mobile Linux version
Go Figure: Web 2.0 attracts many, but more gladly do without
ITWhirled: Sony sparks outrage with decapitated goat


NEWS UPDATES

DRAM price crashes through US$2
Users looking to add more DRAM (dynamic RAM) to their PCs are likely to continue to see bargains throughout May and June, as prices of the memory chips continue to crash.


Siemens expands OpenScape line
As unified communications moves from the bleeding edge to the mainstream, Siemens Communications Inc. is set to expand its OpenScape platform into a line of three products, including a less expensive one with a focused set of features.


JAVAONE: Sun: The bulk of Java is open sourced
Sun Microsystems Inc. announced Tuesday it has finished the process of making the bulk of its core Java technology available as open-source software under the GNU general public license version 2 (GPLv2). The vendor made the announcement at its JavaOne conference in San Francisco.

Related Reading: Finally, Sun preps open source Java release?
Some twelve months have passed since Sun Microsystems promised to open source the venerable Java programming language, but the industry is yet to see the code, which should now be available within a few weeks.


IBM and Amazon.com settle all patent litigation
Amazon.com Inc. has paid IBM Corp. an undisclosed amount of money to settle all outstanding patent lawsuits between the two companies. They have also agreed a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement, giving Amazon access to IBM's patents on Web technology, the vendors said.


BlackBerrys cozy up to office phone systems
Research In Motion Ltd. this week tightened up the links between enterprise phone systems and its BlackBerry handsets, demonstrating software that makes it easier for employees and IT administrators to keep the work force connected.

Related Reading: RIM to offer plug-in for Visual Studio
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) will let developers create applications for BlackBerry phones using Microsoft Corp.'s .Net programming environment, continuing its efforts to broaden the capabilities of the devices.


TOKYO EDGE: May's coolest gadgets
May begins each year in Japan with Golden Week. A week-long holiday for most people thanks to four public holidays, three of which are bunched together. It's a great chance to relax or get out of the city and the first big holiday of the year after the new year break. For many companies the weeks before and after the holidays also mark the start of the build-up to the summer sales season.


Samsung launches Q1 Ultra ultramobile
Ultramobile PCs have often been criticized as falling into a gap between laptops and smartphones, but Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. hopes to change that perception with a reduced price and upgraded performance for its Q1 Ultra.


PostrgeSQL creator on the art of open source
Bruce Momjian may not be the most famous free software figure, but as a founder and lead architect of the PostgreSQL relational database management system, he is an ardent believer in the correctness and beauty of open source development.


Ubuntu plans mobile Linux version
Ubuntu Linux developers plan to extend its open-source software development to handheld Internet-enabled devices.


GO FIGURE
23%
The share of American adults that regularly use advanced mobile technologies and Web 2.0 sites, according to The Pew Internet & American Life Project report. But nearly half of those surveyed have little interest in either. SOURCE: IDG News Service


ITWHIRLED

Sony sparks outrage with decapitated goat
Sure, your video game may feature nudity and gore, but it doesn't help those who argue that video games are harmless fantasies if you advertise it with actual nudity and gore -- like naked models and a real decapitated goat, for instance. Sony perpetrated this massively ill-conceived plan at an event in Athens last month, as reported in Britian's Daily Mail. "Anyway, the game is really good," a Swedish gamer noted on the newspaper's Web site.