State attorneys general pressing the antitrust case against Microsoft may ask a judge to order the company to offer a cheaper, stripped-down version of its Windows operating system, a source familiar with the case said on this week.
Requiring an "unbundled" version of Windows is one of several ideas the nine states (California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, West Virginia and Utah) still suing Microsoft are eying.
The draft remedy also would strike down a long list of loopholes in the current settlement deal, take steps to give computer makers more freedom to feature rival software on their machines, and do more to ensure that Microsoft discloses key source code in Windows to other software makers, the source said.
The draft also contains a provision that would require Microsoft to include Sun Java programming language in its new Windows XP operating system (dropped because of legal problems) and ensure that its Office software is compatible with other software platforms, the source said.
News source: Reuters
Requiring an "unbundled" version of Windows is one of several ideas the nine states (California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, West Virginia and Utah) still suing Microsoft are eying.
The draft remedy also would strike down a long list of loopholes in the current settlement deal, take steps to give computer makers more freedom to feature rival software on their machines, and do more to ensure that Microsoft discloses key source code in Windows to other software makers, the source said.
The draft also contains a provision that would require Microsoft to include Sun Java programming language in its new Windows XP operating system (dropped because of legal problems) and ensure that its Office software is compatible with other software platforms, the source said.
News source: Reuters
Sun has completed about 75 percent of the layoffs it announced in early October and plans to have about 40,000 employees by the end of the quarter, down from 43,000. As a result of the job cuts and facility reductions, Sun expects to take a $500 million charge, Lehman said.
To help spur sales, Sun has been working to push its 900MHz UltraSparc III processors across its entire hardware line and announced that the Sun Fire 280R entry-level server will now have the speedier chips. Sun's newest high-end and midrange servers already have the 900MHz chips.
The Sun Fire 280R is shipping immediately with two 900MHz chips, at a starting price of $22,995 with 2GB of memory and two 36GB internal disks. A similar product with 750MHz UltraSparc IIIs starts at $17,995, according to information on Sun's Web site.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Sun also said it plans to introduce some new storage technology in January that will come out of tools it acquired through its purchase of HighGround Systems.in April. Sun has previously said the new offerings would involve virtual storage management and next-generation file system technology.
News source: Info World - Sun says sales improving, speeds up entry-level server
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