IBM warms to desktop Linux

IBM is expected to endorse the idea of Linux on desktop computers at a conference today, reports CNet.

Big Blue has heavily promoted the open source operating system for use on servers, but Sam Docknevich of IBM`s Global Services group plans to discuss how Linux`s popularity has now spilled over into the desktop market, according to the agenda for the Desktop Linux Conference in Boston.

Nokia, the world`s top mobile handset maker, is considering a takeover of UK firm Psion, reports Reuters. This, the site says, is a bid to dominate the multibillion-dollar cellphone software market and fend off Microsoft.

Nokia and Psion are already partners in Symbian, which makes software used in mobile phones. Nokia currently owns 32% of Symbian and Psion has 31%.

Led by a surge in the amount of data being analysed in data warehouses, the world`s largest databases double and triple in size, according to a survey to be released tomorrow, reports eWeek.

For the first time in five years of surveys by database consulting company Winter, the largest decision-support database surpassed the biggest transaction-processing database. This demonstrates the increasing importance of data analysis for enterprises, the site reports.

The largest decision-support database in this year`s survey is from France Telecom and handles 29.2TB of data, triple the size of the top database in that category in Winter`s last survey in 2001.

Verizon Communications, which runs its transaction processing database on the Microsoft SQL Server database software on Windows, reached sixth place in size for all environments at 5.3TB. It was the top transaction-processing database on the Windows platform.

Microsoft will today release one of the first add-on packages for the new version of Office, reports CNet: a collection of software and services aimed at helping sales professionals create better proposals.

The package, available as a free download for Office 2003 customers enrolled in Microsoft`s Software Assurance licensing programme, is part of the Office Solution Accelerator Programme that the company announced shortly before the release of the new Office System.

Hewlett-Packard is merging several management tools into a single product code-named Nimbus - a move that could boost its utility computing effort, reports CNet.

Nimbus will present a unified way for administrators to control systems that run Windows, Linux or HP-UX, according to HP. The software, due to arrive by the end of 2003, includes components taken from both HP and Compaq Computer, which HP acquired in 2002.

Managing multiple operating systems is important for HP, because its Itanium servers can simultaneously run Windows, Linux and HP-UX, which means that the company doesn`t have to design as many different types of computers.