Oracle banks on UltraSparc

Oracle's entry into the hardware business is unlikely to change the overall alignment of server suppliers, but it will revitalise Sun Microsystem's UltraSparc through at least two more generations, says InformationWeek.

And it will put the still-young notion of software appliances in a new limelight, observers said after Oracle's briefing on how it will integrate Sun.

Oracle is now in the appliance business, optimising software and hardware to get them to new peaks of performance and reliability. It is proposing to make a high-end business out of integrated application stacks built on UltraSparc hardware.

Cisco Systems will add voice-over-WiFi capabilities to its existing iPhone app by April, part of a continuing effort to expand its unified communications technology into the mobile space, reports Computerworld.

The current iPhone Cisco Mobile app requires users to have a Cisco Unified Mobility Advantage server installed at a business. The server is usually administered by a company's IT department.

Cisco Mobile already gives iPhone users quick access to many of the standard Cisco IP features, such as visual voicemail and Mobile Connect, software that can route calls from a work number through a company's phone switching network and then out to an iPhone. The iPhone client software is free.

Google is expected to allow third-party applications vendors access to the Google Apps framework and develop software for the technology, according to PC Mag.

The applications could be made available in a software store, similar to the existing Android Market and Apple App Store, the site reports.

The apps would run on top of Google Docs, made up of Gmail; Google Docs word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications; and Google Sites publishing software. The store could go live at the end of March.