The Silicon Valley triangle: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft    
May 3, 2008
Source: Google

The Wall Street Journal, which appears to be a conduit for the negotiations, has a story, "Microsoft, Yahoo Talks Intensify In Push to Reach a Friendly Deal," and another one, "Yahoo-Google Pact May Be Close." It doesn't seem that a Yahoo-Google mating on advertising would lead to a friendly Microsoft-Yahoo discussion this weekend. It's an interesting game of chicken, with many issues, such as regulatory approval, up in the air for any permutation of a deal with the triangle. 

It's clear that Yahoo and Google are trying to check Microsoft by hooking up, but it would only be strategic for Yahoo if Microsoft ends up paying a higher price, meaning it has to motivate Steve Ballmer into coming up with more cash. 

Of course, Ballmer has other options. He could take the hostile takeover route, or walk away for now and perhaps come back later if Yahoo goes into freefall, even with Google filling its coffers.

Whatever the outcome, it doesn't alter the reality that Microsoft senior management strongly believes that it has to do something dramatic to compete with Google. The fact that Google has inserted itself into the process has to be galling to Microsoft, which could lead to the hostile route. 

The IBM-Google connection 
May 3 , 2008 
SOURCE: TNN

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt gave a speech and chatted with IBM's CEO Sam Palmisano onstage Thursday at IBM's Business Partner Leadership Conference here. The two talked up their relationship, which primarily involves a joint research project. 
In October, Google and IBM announced a cloud computing initiative, based on Google's expertise in distributed, parallel computing and IBM's industrial enterprise management technologies, for public use 
by universities.

IBM is taking some of the learnings from the project and plans to operate a cloud that will allow partners to house their Web-based applications and sell them to customers, Palmisano said. "It is the 
first time we have taken something from the consumer arena and applied it to the enterprise," he said. 

Google CEO Eric Schmidt joins hands with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano.

Schmidt said that over time there won't be much differentiation between consumer and enterprise architectures. The major difference is that enterprise customers will pay for software and services, with 
required security and other features, and consumers won't. 

Schmidt gave IBM lots of credit for pioneering many of the technologies that underlie today's computing architectures. He noted that IBM, which has about 87 years on Google, has figured out that the underlying platform is a server and Web services. 

"Cloud computing is the story of our lifetime," Schmidt said. "Eventually all devices will be on the network." Both IBM and Google, and a host of competitors, have the same idea, which was actually first promoted by Sun with its "the network is the computer" slogan. Google figured out how to monetize the fruits of the pages its massively parallel servers manage.

IBM wants to provide the infrastructure and support services to the planet, and Google wants to provide the world's information, and some applications, on its platform. "The two companies are great and 
have lots of innovation in their gene pool," Palmisano said. "There isn't a lot of overlap in the strategies." Both are committed to open standards and an open Internet, and they are both going in the same direction, he added.

Google's YouTube captures 10 hours of video every 60 seconds, and IBM might like that business if it could figure out how to make money at it. But eventually, IBM, Microsoft, Sun, Google, and other big players will look more similar in their technical architectures and business models. 

Google and IBM have more in common than a shared view of the world and an academic research project. It turns out that Google outsources its accounting to IBM and that Schmidt considers IBM's sales organization important to Google's enterprise software efforts.

As more companies look for Web-based tools, mashups, and standard applications, such as word processors, Google stands to benefit. "IBM is one of the key planks of our strategy--otherwise we couldn't reach enterprise customers," Schmidt said.

While IBM isn't selling directly for Google in the enterprise, IBM's software division and business partners are integrating Google applications and widgets into custom software solutions based on IBM's development framework. The "business context" is the secret of the Google and IBM collaboration, Schmidt said. Embedding Google Gadgets in business applications, that can work on any device, is a 
common theme for both Google and IBM. 

Currently, Salesforce.com is selling Google Apps as an integrated part of its platform. It's not far-fetched to think that Google would seek out IBM's help with its business partners to spread the Google word in 
the enterprise.

Infosys may be forced to change name in France    
May 3, 2008 
SOURCE: AGENCIES

Indian IT giant Infosys may have to change its name in France, as a court there has found its use of this name infringing the trademark as well as business and corporate identities of another firm 'Infosys France'. 

While noting that it may be forced to operate under some other trade name in France, Nasdaq-listed Infosys Technologies said in a regulatory filing here that it has sought a stay on the court ruling and is planning to appeal against it. 

The Bangalore-headquartered company, which is present across a host of countries, said a civil court in Bobigny, France, ruled on April 15, that its use of the name "Infosys" constituted infringement of the trademark, corporate name and trade name "Infosys France" in that country. 

The ruling added that the Indian IT major could not use the same name in France as a trademark, corporate name, trade name and domain name "with immediate effect." 

According to Infosys Technologies' regulatory filing, it has two sales and marketing offices in France. 

"Infosys France" is a technology and consulting firm- based in France and is part of an integrated management consulting services provider "Groupe Infodis." 

"Although we have appealed against the ruling and have sought a stay on the decision of the civil court, failure to obtain a stay..., or an adverse final ruling, may force us to operate under a different trade name and could adversely affect our operations in France," Indian firm said. 

Infosys added that the ruling in France, or a similar ruling in any jurisdiction where it operates, "could disrupt our ongoing business, distract our management and employees, and affect our future business."