Spencer F. Katt

Read this weeks Spencer column.

El Gato was amused to see that Microsoft may be having as much trouble stopping internal memos from leaking to the press as it is providing a secure operating system. The latest memo that found its way to the Kittys litter box is a scorcher from Brian Valentine, a vice president of Microsofts Windows division, […]

Stretching back in his easy chair in front of the fire, pen and pad in hand, brandy on the table, Spencer spent a few thoughtful moments reflecting on the turbulent year that was. Luckily for his editors, though, he soon found himself chuckling over some of the sillier moments and jotting them down. For example, […]

A tabby tattler told the tawny titan that a deal may be brewing between e-marketplace maven Commerce One and SeeBeyond, an e-business integration company. Apparently, the companies are supposed to announce a partnership in which Commerce One will embed SeeBeyonds EAI capabilities into its software. Whether the deal also involves Commerce One and SAPs MarketSet […]

In a quiet moment last week, the puss found himself pondering energy trader Enrons Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing. “Certainly this action hits home for the poor Houston Astros,” mused the Mouser. Enron is only two seasons into a 30-year, $100 million deal to keep its name plastered on the National League ballclubs stadium. “Maybe […]

I wonder how Uncle Heathcliffe would look in a Purple Sugar Daddy lid,” mused the Mouser, who was doing all of this years holiday shopping online at PimpHats.com. The fly Furball wondered about the state of e-biz in general as he completed his order. It seemed like only yesterday young punks were telling His Hirsuteness […]

Checking his e-mail for gossip, El Gato found only new kinds of money-laundering schemes from faux doctors and widows supposedly seeking financial help from locales such as Nigeria, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone. Disgusted, Spencer shoved his whole peach cobbler dessert into his mouth and pushed aside the remains of his Swanson Hungry Man Turkey […]

Goodbye, booth babes; hello, bomb-sniffing dogs,” mumbled the Mouser. “This isnt your fathers Fall Comdex.” Alas, attendance for Comdex in Las Vegas was way down. Thus the hellish cab lines were gone. But the Kitty noticed that an ample fleet of cabs was present. According to the disgruntled cabbies the Furball rode with, no one […]

While SAP chairman Hasso Plattner was busy rebutting reports that SAP would drop .Net support in favor of Java, El Gato was hearing rumblings that the relationship between SAP and Microsoft may not be as happy as it once was. A Tabby tipster claims one reason Redmonds most important business partner over the last decade […]

Microsofts scheduling of its professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles and the launch of Windows XP in New York during the same week apparently raised quite a stir among its PR and product teams. According to a friend of the Furball, Microsoft execs were less than pleased about the arrangement, knowing that the press, developers […]

While leery venture capitalists have kept their hands in their pockets during this slowing economy, Uncle Sam has not. El Gato has heard that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known for developing defense technology, is one of the few with the money and interest to invest in startups—-specifically existing commercial research facilities that are […]

Despite USinternetworkings recent announcement of $100 million in funding from Bain Capital, a tipster in the know claims the company, one of the original pure-play application service providers (and one of the few original ones still in business), may be for sale. Besides noting the companys recent layoffs, the tattler also presented a clue about […]