sun

MySQL co-founder Michael "Monty" Widenius is leading a chorus of voices expressing growing apprehension over the proposed Oracle-Sun merger.

In a statement posted on his blog on Monday, Widenius said the European Commission is "absolutely right to be concerned" about the $7.4 billion takeover of Sun by Oracle, and he urged Oracle to sell MySQL to clear up any antitrust issues.

Although the deal received the thumbs-up from the U.S. Department of Justice in August, the Commission opened a probe in early September, citing fear that Oracle's ownership of MySQL could pose a … Read more

Sun Microsystems plans to cut as many as 3,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its global workforce, during the next year as it prepares for Oracle's takeover of the company.

The cuts, revealed on Tuesday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, represent the second major round of layoffs in a year for the server maker. Sun announced restructuring plans last November to cut up to 6,000 jobs this year, or 18 percent of its global workforce.

Those cuts were disclosed before Oracle announced its $7.4 billion bid for Sun in … Read more

They said it couldn't be done, but we managed to fit an entire Family in our 12 foot by 12 foot studio; and besides, The 404 Podcast has never been that great at following orders. Today's episode welcomes Vanessa, Joe, Sebastian, James, Christina, and Brent from the band Family of the Year, who submit themselves to a chat about their new EP Where's the Sun, new music marketing 2.0, Bogie Ogretrons, which band member has the longest legs, and what it's like to share a shower with six other people in a tiny RV touring across the country.

The band also brought a couple guitars and a shaker for a good old-fashioned in-studio performance! They play two songs on today's show, including "No Good for Nothing" (download live recording) and a track called "Stupid Land" (download live recording) off their forthcoming LP. You can also preview all of their songs on their MySpace, but if you like what you hear you can support by the band by downloading the tracks (sliding scale donation) or by purchasing a physical album that features custom artwork. Being the mixed-media artists that they are, Family of the Year is also currently offering custom-made postcards that they'll send you from the road! From the band's description of their humble RV, it sounds like every little bit helps!

The band is also impressively tech-savvy and offers several ways for fans to interact with them; in addition to their mailing list on the Web site and MySpace page, you can also follow them on Twitter or fan them on Facebook. They're currently in town promoting the new EP and playing a series of shows for the CMJ Music Festival, so be sure to go and show your support!

Federal prosecutors have charged a prominent hedge-fund manager and five others with securities fraud resulting from insider trading involving some of the tech industry's best-known companies, including Intel, Google, and IBM.

Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group was arrested Friday in New York according to various reports and charged with 13 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy following a FBI investigation into Galleon Group's trading patterns. Also charged in the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, were co-conspirators Rajiv Goel of Intel and Anil Kumar of McKinsey, which provided consulting services … Read more

Dr. Regener Sun-Moon-Calendar provides an all-inclusive view at what's happening on your calendar and in the sky above. Simple and easy to use, this is a great tool for anyone interested in the sun and moon.

We were initially disappointed this program had no Help file, but were immediately put at ease since the program's interface is laid out in a logical, navigable, and professional manner. All the major components were laid out in a way that even astronomical novices like us could understand. The actual calendar was a small part of the program, while a chart showing … Read more

Former MySQL leader Mårten Mickos on Thursday urged European Union regulators to approve Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems and its MySQL database group, arguing that further waiting undermines the very competitiveness the EU is trying to protect.

In a letter to Neelie Kroes, the European Commission's commissioner for competition, Mickos said the regulators were correct to question whether Oracle buying Sun and its open-source database software would harm the market. But Mickos, who ran MySQL from 2001 until 2009, believes that the Oracle acquisition won't hurt competition--and that holding the acquisition up will:

"Every … Read more

MB Chinese Zodiac and Star Signs Software offers up a fast and easy astrological reading. With its simple layout and results that anyone can understand, this is a great way to know more about oneself.

The program's layout left us wanting more, since it is primarily text based and its Help file explained how the program functioned and not how to use it. Fortunately, navigation was so simple, we felt immediately comfortable even though we've never done more than read a fortune cookie. This was because of the basic information needed to begin. With our name and birthday … Read more

If recent research is any indication, Amazon.com and Google are winning the cloud game.

Evans Data on Tuesday released a report (registration required) on how developers perceive cloud service providers related to cloud services offerings, including their completeness and the companies' ability to execute on the vision.

Janel Garvin, the founder of Evans Data and the author of the report, provides excellent insight into the current state of the market and how quickly things could change, if certain large vendors (notably AT&T and Microsoft) got their acts together more quickly.

Given their robust services, it isn't surprising that Amazon and Google top the list. And although IBM, VMware, and Microsoft trail, each offers important components of cloud infrastructure. … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has scooped up a key Sun Microsystems executive, capitalizing on Sun's uncertain future due to a European Commission probe into the company's planned takeover by Oracle.

HP said on Wednesday that it has appointed Randy Seidl as the senior vice president for the company's Enterprise Storage, Servers, and Networking unit. The company hired Seidl directly from Sun, where he was senior vice president of North American Regional Global Sales and Services.

In his new job, Seidl will report to Dave Donatelli, executive vice president of Enterprise Servers and Networking at HP. Donatelli himself is relatively new … Read more