Vonage settles Sprint's patent claim ... SAP to buy Business Objects for $6.78B ... VMware to release SMB virtualization kits

IN THE NEWS

SAP to buy Business Objects for $6.78 billion
SAP AG has agreed to buy Business Objects SA for about €4.8 billion ($6.78 billion), a surprise move that breaks with SAP's traditional strategy of avoiding large company acquisitions.

SAP and Business Objects explain strategy shifts
Executives from Business Objects SA and SAP AG each tried to explain Monday why their companies have parted with long-time strategies by agreeing to merge.

Vonage settles Sprint's patent claim
VOIP provider Vonage Holdings Corp. has settled a patent dispute with Sprint Nextel Corp. by agreeing to pay Sprint about $80 million, the two companies announced Monday.

VMware to release SMB virtualization kits by year end
VMware Inc. said Monday it will release three software packages by the end of the year to help small and medium-size businesses take on virtualization projects.

Yahoo holds Open Hack Day in India
Yahoo Inc. held Open Hack Day October 5 and 6 in Bangalore, India, in a bid to build an ecosystem of external developers familiar with the company's technologies.

MSNBC acquires participatory news site Newsvine
MSNBC Interactive News LLC has acquired Newsvine Inc., operator of a Web site that encourages users to link to their favorite news of the day, submit comments, and write their own stories.

Merchants say eBay ad programs drive buyers away
EBay Inc. has significantly boosted its advertising revenue since last year, but some sellers worry that the company's efforts in this area are driving potential buyers away from the online marketplace.


WINDOWS TIP

I appreciate hearing from readers with cool tips. Here are three recent submissions. Please note that I haven't had a chance to test any of these tools, so they are presented "as is".
-- By Mitch Tulloch

Annotating web content with JumpKnowledge

Pushing out Group Policy changes across a domain

Web filter blocks unwanted sites


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George Takei gets to space ... in asteroid form
Star Trek's Mr. Sulu was very pleased to find that an asteroid -- 7307 Takei -- was named after him. "I am now a heavenly body," the ever-quotable actor said. "It came out of the clear, blue sky -- just like an asteroid."

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