Skywalker Speaks

Writing about my passions. Analysis of latest technology and business news.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Consolidation in the mobile networks


Nokia and Siemens agreed upon a multi-billion dollar merger of their mobile network equipment businesses two weeks ago. This event follows the Alcatel-Lucent merger few weeks back and signifies the merger trend in the telecoms industry. This move helps Nokia gain market share in this segment and attempt to rival Ericsson.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Bill Gates stepping down in 2008



Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates has made his announcement to step down from the company's daily operations in 2008. He would be focussing time and energy to his charity organisation 'Bill & Melinda Foundation' which benifits education, healthcare and poor children. He would play a much reduced role in Microsoft as its Chairman and has prepared for transition of Ray Ozzie towards CSA. The company which he co-founded with Paul Allen thirty years back, has achieved unparalleled success in the computer industry and positioned him as the richest man in the world worth tens of billions of dollars. In the company's early days, Bill was known to interview every single candidate for the job and review every line of code before software releases

His decision comes at a very critical period for Microsoft, where its facing severe competition in the Internet domain from rivals Apple and Google. New leadership at the helm would provide an opportunity for fresh ideas in the company. The time period for the transition is also well planned as it calms investors concerns.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Google's own spreadsheet


Google is moving into Microsoft's territory of the Office productivity suite. The first move in this venture is Google Spreadsheets, currently being developed and beta tested in the domain of Google Labs. Its a basic web based application for storing and saving information online. The GUI is simple, easy to use and even allows you to import content from Excel and other files. Whats interesting about it is that it allows you to collaborate with others on the Internet to view and edit its contents. Being a lightweight web software, it is not powerpacked in terms of features and capabilities. Upcoming Google web software might grab a share of Microsoft customers, in particular the home users.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

The Sun's going down

Sun Microsystems decided to slash approximately 5000 jobs last week as a part of its effort to improve profitability and increase competitivenes. The decision was made under pressure from shareholders, to prevent the company from being sold over. This move happened just 5 weeks after appointment of Jonathan Schwartz as CEO, taking over from the founder Scott McNealy.

For analysts, it is simply a question for calculating the right numbers. Look at the statistics below:

  • Approximate number of jobs to be eliminated: 4,000 to 5,000
  • Estimated cost: $340 to $500 million
  • Percentage of the workforce to be trimmed: 11 to 13 percent
  • Expected annual savings: $480 to $590 million