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From: spencer_katt@ziffdavis.com
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2005 12:01 AM
To: eWEEK readers
Subject: Lotus power shortage? Suns of Bechtolsheim; Siebels CRM OnDemand 2.0; Bill-bored
“The lights are off at Lotus,” cackled the Kitty, “but everyone is still home.”
El Gato was referring to a recent buzz among bloggers who noted that the lights have disappeared from the lighthouse on the Lotus Knowledge Base icon. An IBM exec posted a response on vowe.net explaining that the Knowledge Base team just wanted a more “professional and cleaner looking icon” and that “there is no hidden meaning.”
As Spence sauntered toward the neon light of his local tavern, a crony called on the KattPhone to tell him to be on the lookout for new hardware offspring from the marriage of Sun and server technology company Kealia. Sun acquired Kealia, which was co-founded by Andy Bechtolsheim, also a co-founder of Sun, last February. The startup specialized in server designs using Advanced Micro Devices Opteron processor. The crony said that a source deep inside Sun had told him that forthcoming x86 hardware will be “Andy Bechtolsheims design—four-way, more-way, Opteron systems that are smaller, use far less power and are much more efficient.”
Bidding his buddy adieu, the Kitty entered the pub and met an old pal. As Spence ordered an English Dark Harbor Lighthouse Ale, the pal said it looks like theres a sales reorganization coming up at Computer Associates. It could be the work of the new CEO, John Swainson, from IBM, who has kept a very low profile so far. The pal reiterated the rumor that Swainson is so quiet because he has a noncompete contract with IBM. The Puss pal also heard that F5 Networks is sniffing around WAN optimization companies looking for an acquisition. One name thats been bandied about is Peribit Networks. The Mouser told the pal he was amused when Siebel announced Version 6 of its Siebel CRM OnDemand hosted service recently. This was the first upgrade the company has announced since the service was launched in October 2003. Explaining the fuzzy math, a company spokesperson said versions 2 through 5 had been too “insignificant” functionalitywise to announce.
Back home, Spence got a call from a Redwood City, Calif., resident who said there is a billboard on Highway 101 that states: “Larry, go to http://ellison.intralinks.com if you want to get Bill along with Craig, Marc, Henning & everybody else.” The company, IntraLinks, touts itself as an invaluable info provider that can assist companies as they look to acquire other businesses. The “Get Bill” in the billboard resembles the logo for the movie “Kill Bill.” “Moronic,” the Mouser muttered. “What dim bulb would address a mass-marketing campaign to a single person?”
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