VMware Workstation 6.5.2 Build 156735 Final

Discover the true power and flexibility of your desktop or laptop computer with VMware Workstation. Reduce hardware costs by 50% or more by running multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single physical PC. Automate and streamline tasks to save time and improve productivity. Join the millions worldwide who use Workstation to:
Host legacy applications and overcome OS migration issues.
Configure & test new software or patches in an isolated environment for easierapplication migration and updates
Take your desktop with you for secure mobile computing
Use Multiple Operating Systems Concurrently on the Same PC
VMware Workstation makes it simple to create and run multiple virtual machines on your desktop or laptop computer. You can convert an existing physical PC into a VMware virtual machine, or create a new virtual machine from scratch. Each virtual machine represents a complete PC, including the processor, memory, network connections and peripheral ports.
VMware Workstation lets you use your virtual machines to run Windows, Linux and a host of other operating systems side-by-side on the same computer. You can switch between operating systems instantly with a click of a mouse, share files between virtual machines with drag-and-drop functionality and access all the peripheral devices you rely on every day.
Take Snapshots & Videos of your Virtual Machines
With Workstation, you can take a “snapshot” that preserves the state of a virtual machine so you can return to it at any time. Snapshots are useful when you need to revert your virtual machine to a prior, stable system state. Workstation displays thumbnails of all your snapshots on a single screen, making it easy for you to track and revert to a previously saved snapshot.
You can even use Workstation 6.5 to record and play video files that capture all changes to a virtual machine over a period of time. This function is exclusive to VMware Workstation and is incredibly useful for software debugging, Help Desk forensics, sales demonstrations and training.
Run an Entire Multi-tier System on a Single Host Computer
Run multi-tier enterprise applications on a single piece of hardware by managing network-connected virtual machines with the Teams feature of Workstation 6.5. Teams let you create virtual network environments that include client, server and database virtual machines.
With Workstation Teams, you can turn an entire multi-tier environment on and off with a single click of the mouse button. Workstation displays live thumbnails of all connected virtual machines, enabling you to easily identify and switch between the virtual machines associated with a team.
Clone your Virtual Machines to Accelerate Deployment
Installing operating systems and applications can be time consuming. With clones, you can make many copies of a virtual machine from a single installation and configuration process. This capability makes it fast and simple to distribute standardized computing environments to employees and students, or to create a baseline configuration for testing.
Take Your Virtual Machines With You
Workstation 6.5 includes the ability to create and deploy secure virtual machines (called ACEs). Mobility is one of the primary benefits of this feature, as it enables
Key New Features in Workstation 6.5:
Integrated desktop experience with “Unity”
Powerful Record and Replay technology that makes software development easier
Support for Windows Server 2008
Link state propagation networking
Simplified ACE authoring capabilities
More new features at a glance
Features in Depth
Broadest Host & Guest Operating System Support
Runs on both Windows and Linux host operating systems and supports most desktop and server editions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris x86, Netware, and FreeBSD as guest operating systems
Supports both 32-bit and 64-bit host and guest operating systems
Supports two-way Virtual SMP™ – Assign one or two processors to virtual machines
Experimental support for VMI 3.0 enabled paravirtualized Linux kernels
Best-in-class Virtual Machine Architecture
Fully configurable – each virtual machine has configurable memory size, disks and I/O devices and support for CD, DVD, floppy and USB 2.0 devices
Specify up to 8GB of RAM per virtual machine
64-bit sound driver for high-fidelity audio and video
Easily switch between virtual machines and suspend/resume them
Easily copy and share virtual machines by creating full and linked clones
Convert physical into virtual machines and import virtual machine formats from Microsoft, Symantec, Storage­Craft, and Acronis.
Advanced Network Support
Powerful virtual networking options include Bridged, NAT, host-only and custom virtual network settings
Built-in DHCP server, and up to 10 virtual switches, enable connection of virtual machines to each other, to the host machine and to public networks
Specify network bandwidth and packet loss rate between virtual machines in a team
Edit virtual network configurations for Linux hosts through the Virtual Network Editor
Customize the preferences for physical network adapters with ‘substring matching’ for the adapter name for both NAT and auto-bridged networking
Richest Desktop Experience
Access applications within virtual machines as if they were part of the host operating system desktop with “Unity” view
Support for DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 2 3D graphics
Configure a virtual machine to span multiple monitors, or multiple virtual machines to each display on separate monitors.
Create shared folders and drag-and-drop, and copy-paste data between guest and host OSes
Connect high-speed USB 2.0 devices, including webcams and iPods
Resize the guest’s screen resolution automatically to fit the size of a window or full screen, or run virtual machines in the background without using the Workstation user interface
Map a virtual disk to a drive letter on Windows host
Capture all screen activity in a running virtual machine with movie record and playback feature
Powerful Development and Test Features
Record entire VM execution and replay it with instruction-exact precision. Use the graphical interface to browse, add markers to, and edit VM recording
Diagnose non-deterministic bugs with the integrated Record/Replay technology in the Integrated Virtual Debugger for Visual Studio. Debug your applications running in virtual machines in “record” mode and replay prior executions of the VM in “reverse continue” mode.
Debug applications in the guest OS, attach to a running process, and revert to a snapshot after the debug session has ended with Visual Studio and Eclipse integration
Capture and easily manage point-in-time copies of running virtual machines and “undo” changes with multiple snapshot feature
Manage connected virtual machines and simulate multi-tier configurations with teams feature
Enable remote users to connect to virtual machines from VNC clients with built-in VNC support
Invoke any virtual machine command from scripts to automate repetitive tasks with VIX Automation API
Security and Mobility
Experimental support for shared smart card authentication, enabling virtual machines to access secure, corporate information that requires smart card access
Seamless networking by optionally replicating the physical network connection state with link state propagation
Package and deploy virtual machines with VMware ACE authoring capability, enabling encryption, network access and password control on portable media devices
Includes VMware Player 2.5

Portable FastStone Image Viewer 3.8

Portable FastStone Image Viewer is the portable version of the famous FastStone Image Viewer.
FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments.
Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touch the four edges of the screen.
Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more. Portable FastStone Image Viewer supports all major graphic formats (BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, animated GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA) and popular digital camera RAW formats (CRW, CR2, NEF, PEF, RAF, MRW, ORF, SRF and DNG).

 

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VirtualLab Data Recovery

VirtualLab Data Recovery Software is like six data recovery programs in one! While other programs just recover deleted files or camera cards, VirtualLab recovers everything from deleted files, corrupted or formatted drives, CD & DVD-ROM Disks, RAID, flash drives, thumb drives, camera cards, USB/Firewire drives, Outlook & Thunderbird E-mail and even Mac Volumes. VirtualLab will even make a sector-by-sector disk image of a failing hard drive so a recovery can be performed safely. Supports many file systems in one application including FAT 12/16/32, NTFS, NTFS5 (VISTA), NSF, Mac HFS/HFS+, Ext2FS.

Version 5.5.17 improves RAID and other data recovery routines and account management.

avast! 4 Home Edition 4.8.1335 free download

avast! 4 Home Edition is a free and complete ICSA certified antivirus, with Checkmark certified anti-spyware, and cutting edge GMER anti-rootkit software for non-commercial home use.
avast! continues to achieve Virus Bulletin VB100% awards, with an uninterrupted record of wins for over two years, which not all competitors can claim.
avast! Home Edition includes the following components:
On Demand Scanner - with Skinnable Simple Interface - just select what you want to scan, in which way, and press the Play button.
On-Access Scanner - with special providers to protect:
most available E-mail clients,
Instant Messaging - ICQ, Miranda etc.,
Network traffic - Intrusion Setection,
P2P protection for Kazza, BitTorrent etc.,
Web shield - monitors and filter all HTTPtraffic,
NNTP Scanner - scans all Usenet Newsgroup traffic
and of course all operations on PC files.
avast! can scan inside the huge number of different packers including ZIP, ARJ, RAR etc. even Outlook Express .dbx files.
Boot-Time Scanner - scans disks in the same way and in the same time as Windows CHKDSK does (on NT/2000/XP only).
Screen Saver Scanner - scans PC during your coffee breaks.
Virus Chest - safe, isolated folder to store infected, suspicious and even some system files - to restore them.
True incremental updates mean that, unlike some other antivirus solutions, automatic updates are small and therefore quick to download - and most updates never require a system restart: so just set the program to automatically keep you up-to-date, and the it just works.
avast! 4 Home is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japaneese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish... altogether around 30 languages - check http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html to download avast! in your language.
You will download a 60 days fully functional demo. You can obtain a FREE license key by E-mail after the registration at http://www.avast.com/eng/home-registration.php.

Requirements: Minimum of 32MB (64MB to 128MB pref) of RAM and 486 class processor with 50MB free hard drive space

What's new in this version: anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, new strong-self protection features added, plus: new scanner progress, Aavmker4.sys vulnerability fixed, improved boot time scanner, malicious URL blocker

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Microsoft Plays Hardball With Windows 7 Versions

When Windows Vista proved too big to fit early netbooks, Microsoft resurrected XP at a lower price to satisfy that market. Microsoft would only sell XP to an OEM if the system was sufficiently underpowered that it couldn't run Vista. Microsoft has already said that all versions of the slimmer Windows 7 should run on netbooks, so what will happen with Windows 7?

Microsoft has been mum on details, but there have been some worrisome rumors that the company might come out with a "Windows 7 Starter for Small Notebook PC" and limit its use to netbooks. (Given that they did it with XP, it's not a stretch to think they'll try it with Windows 7.) Let's go back to the charges leveled against Microsoft by the Department of Justice in the 1990s. In that document, you'll see this claim:

66. Furthermore, Microsoft expends a significant portion of its monopoly power, which could otherwise be spent maximizing price, on imposing burdensome restrictions on its customers [OEMs] — and in inducing them to behave in ways — that augment and prolong that monopoly power.

One of the outcomes of Microsoft's consent decree was that OEM pricing was based on volume; OEMs that have the same sales volumes pay the same price. It was intended to prevent Microsoft from playing favorites -- rewarding or punishing OEMs for other related actions that pleased Microsoft. In this case, Microsoft would be pleased if competing operating systems didn't take over on netbooks. Before Microsoft brought back XP, Linux had a huge market share on netbooks. If Windows 7 is to maintain a hold on the netbook market, Microsoft has to offer OEMs a price that won't kill their budgets.

Microsoft has every right to do crazy things with feature sets in order to segment the market and produce a Windows 7 version they can sell at a low cost. The three-running-application limit in Windows 7 Starter is one such crazy thing. Microsoft crosses the line by attempting to contractually limit OEMs on the hardware that Starter can use. That shouldn't be Microsoft's decision. If Starter is good enough for netbooks then it should be available to OEMs for whatever hardware that can run Windows 7. If Microsoft fears Starter will hurt the reputation of Windows 7, they shouldn't offer it.

Naturally it would be good for Microsoft if they could charge different prices depending on the final cost of the product. That would be too obviously predatory, though, so a hardware-limited Starter is a "subtle" solution they hope will pass anti-monopolistic muster. The use of netbook hardware requirements to set prices and limit the use of Starter sure looks like it's just a diversion for the real issue, which is the threat of other operating systems gaining a foothold on netbooks. Besides all the Linux competitors, arch-enemy Google may be getting Dell to deliver an Android-based netbook, which must have Microsoft concerned.

Microsoft wants to maintain its market-share lead on netbooks without sacrificing profit margins on full-sized PCs. But OEMs should be able to buy any Windows 7 OS for the same volume-defined price and use it on any hardware with no restrictions. Allowing Microsoft to adjust pricing and limit distribution based on target hardware is a page from their old mid-1990s monopoly playbook, this time intended to muscle out OS competitors. If Microsoft does try such a ploy, it should be stopped.

Computer Virus Strikes FBI, U.S. Marshals: Report

In one of his many memorable skits, my favorite comedian, the late George Carlin, lists “Things you don’t want to hear,” and this gem is among them:

“Well, Jim, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t live another 50 to 60 years. However, you will be bleeding constantly from both eyes.”

If you’re a federal law enforcement officials who is charged with protecting the kind of ultra-confidential information that increasingly travels through computer networks, I imagine the equivalent of that bad news for Jim goes something like this:

“A mysterious computer virus has infected your networks and forced both the FBI and U.S. Marshals to shut down.”

Yet that’s pretty much what happened this week, according to Devlin Barrett of the Associated Press.

Officials at the U.S. Marshals reportedly confirmed that they disconnected from Justice Department computers after the virus hit, and the FBI conceded that the agency also was having a problem.

Here’s what FBI spokesman Mike Kortan told Barrett: “We too are evaluating a network issue on our external, unclassified network that’s affecting several government agencies.”

What those agencies are he would not say, according to Barrett.

Yet the incident points to a disturbing phenomenon that deserves some thought. It is the business world, not the U.S. government, that leads the industry when it comes to developing new technology to cut costs, boost communications and increase efficiency, and it’s the private sector that often is ahead of the curve when it comes to detecting cybercriminals’ activity.

Consider: At about 76 percent of all phishing attacks, software represents the largest doorway that cybercriminals such as hackers use to enter computer users’ systems and steal confidential information. And one Cupertino, California-based security, storage and systems management solutions provider – Symantec Corp. – recently reported that it’s seeing malicious code grow at a record pace.

In recent weeks, more and more home and small office computers have seen their networks compromised by Internet security attacks that gain traction through the devices that many of us use to make our home-surfing lives more portable: routers. (To try and preempt the attacks, one Fountain Valley, California-based company recently launched a new system that prevents malicious software by detecting whether responses are generated by humans or computers.)

According to Stephen Trilling, vice president of Symantec’s (News - Alert) security technology and response group, the company is seeing attackers shift away from mass distribution of a few threats to micro-distribution of millions of distinct threats.

“Cybercriminals are profiting from creating and distributing customized threats that steal confidential information, particularly bank account credentials and credit card data,” Trilling said. “While the above ground economy suffers, the underground economy has remained consistently steady.”

That recalls some of what TMCnet heard recently from the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear. Officials at Cisco Systems Inc. say that cyber-criminals’ attacks are becoming more targeted and sophisticated.

This latest problem apparently started yesterday morning, for both the Marshals and the FBI. No data was compromised, officials said.

The type of virus that caused the shut-down and its origin are not clear, they said.

“In Thursday’s incident, the Marshals Service shut down its Internet access and some e-mail while staff worked on the problem,” Barrett reports. “The FBI made similar moves to protect its system.”

McAfee Internet Security 2009

At first glance, McAfee Internet Security 2009 appears not much different from last year's offering, a truth that masks some improvements in programming under the hood. In our tests, we found McAfee Internet Security 2009 to be as fast as the much improved Norton Internet Security 2009. What McAfee adds to the competitive landscape is faster malicious software detection. With Active Protection, they're neither talking about hourly signature file updates nor five minute updates like rival Symantec; at McAfee they're talking about instant updates. In terms of features, we found that McAfee has the most tools of any suite we reviewed. In addition to antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware, and a personal firewall, McAfee provides a backup-and-restore feature and several handy utilities. We still have minor issues with McAfee's technical support, although it has improved over last year. For a full protection suite, we were impressed with McAfee Internet Security 2009.

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Intel Announces Streamlined Linux for Netbooks

n an effort to counter the growing dominance of Microsoft's Windows OS in netbooks, Intel on Tuesday announced a beta version of a Linux OS it has developed for low-cost laptops and mobile devices.

The chip company on Tuesday announced a beta of Moblin 2.0, a stripped-down distribution of Linux optimized for smaller screens on netbooks and mobile Internet devices (MIDs). Intel has fine-tuned Moblin for netbooks based on Atom chips with a simple user interface and improved power-saving features.

Most netbooks today ship with Intel's Atom chip but run the Windows XP operating system, which Microsoft ships for low-cost laptops. But Intel wants to ensure that every "ounce" of technology -- including Moblin -- put into Atom is optimized for size and power consumption, said Doug Fisher, vice president and general manager of the software and services group at Intel, during a conference call on Tuesday.

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Klingon Anti-virus Available for Download

They walk the warrior's path and they devour horrible-looking bowlfuls of red worms, but hey, Klingons need malware protection too.

To help Worf and his compatriots in their trek for PC security, anti-virus maker Sophos has translated one of their tools into Klingon. Yes, really. It's now available as a free download from http://www.sophos.com/klingon-anti-virus/.

Sophos' Graham Cluely says the app is a working, translated version of Sophos' Threat Detection Test, which is not the full Sophos antivirus product, but can run an on-demand virus scan alongside your existing antivirus protection. The app (both the translated and English versions) isn't meant to replace AV, but to instead provide an additional scan to see if your current program has missed anything.

In an explanatory post, the company says it was actually asked by a (hot-blooded and prone to violence?) potential customer whether the software could be translated, and that it got help from a member of the Klingon Language Institute named naHQun in creating the translation.

List of Anti-Virus Software Compatible with Windows 7

Within a few hours of Windows 7 being released my inbox started filling up with readers asking what Anti-Virus software they should install in Windows 7. Since this seems like such an important topic, I decided to make a list of packages that work.

If this is your first time here, you should check out our review of the Windows 7 Beta.

Note: as a general rule, software that works on Windows Vista should work just fine on Windows 7, with the exception of software that installs low-level system components like an Anti-Virus, firewalls, or similar. These packages often are designed to only run on specific versions of Windows.

Windows AntiVirus Detection

When you first install Windows 7, you'll get a popup balloon message telling you that you need to find an antivirus program online… notice the wrench on the balloons that will let you turn them off easily.

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A New Online Company Help Entrepreneurs Start and Grow a Small Business From Home - The Current Economy Opens its Online Doors

Today companies are facing consumer belt tightening and dwindling advertising budgets. This means they need to get more out of every marketing dollar by ensuring that every promotion they run hits the target. This is when online entrepreneurs are needed to help companies through an affiliate partnership get their products out there.

Stamford, CT (PRWEB) May 7, 2009 -- Herbules Products announces the launch of a new business to the masses that brings financial freedom to those who are willing to learn. Home based Cash Biz is a new and exciting online business that gets started with an amazing training program. HBCB is a valuable lifelong resource to help achieve freedom, peace of mind and prosperity, states President & CEO Herb Boyd Jr. Inventor of the Hat Stand Mr. Boyd is also recognized for his work in being the Founder and CEO of GETV (Gospel Entertainment Television.) GETV is an online and television Christian network focused on providing top quality Gospel programming and other services. GETV also has a Christian video sharing site that broadcasts pastors as well as gospel artists and musicians to the world.

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World gets to put Windows 7 software to the test .

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -A nearly-final version of Windows 7 made its world debut on Tuesday, giving people a chance to tell Microsoft what they love or hate about the new-generation operating system.

Microsoft is making a Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) available as the global software giant puts finishing touches on an operating system that it hopes will escape criticism heaped on its predecessor Vista.

"It appears that they are on target," said analyst Michael Cherry of private firm Directions on Microsoft, which specializes in tracking the US software giant.

"I think we need to be cautious though. Windows 7 is still in development. While Microsoft is certainly moving on to the next logical milestone, this is still a test version of the operating system."

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Outlook for Small Cap Software Stocks Discussed in Wall Street Transcript Corporate Software Report

67 WALL STREET, New York--May 5, 2009 The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Corporate Software issue, a report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 41-page feature contains industry commentary through in-depth interviews with 6 analysts. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics include: Adoption of data services, Emerging markets, Reallocation of resources, Location services, Advertising, Social networking, R&D spending, More pricing pressure, Penetration rates, The business model, International exposure, M&A activities, IT budgets, Stock picks, Stocks to avoid.

Contents: Outlook for Telecom Software: Scott P. Sutherland, Wedbush Morgan Securities; Business & Professional Services: Kevin D. McVeigh, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp.; Outlook for Infrastructure Software: Richard Sherman, MKM Partners LLC; Infrastructure Software: Walter Pritchard, Cowen & Co., LLC; IT Outsourcing & Consulting Companies: Karl Keirstead, Kaufman Bros., LP; Small & Mid-Cap Software Stocks: Mark W. Schappel, The Benchmark Company, LLC. Companies mentioned include: Smith Micro (SMSI); Syniverse (SVR); TeleCommunication Systems (TSYS); NeuStar (NSR); VeriSign (VRSN); Vodafone (VOD); AT&T (T); Nokia (NOK); Google (GOOG); Microsoft (MSFT); Iron Mountain (IRM); Convergys (CVG); TeleTech Holdings (TTEC); Sykes (SYKE); F5 Networks (FFIV); Blue Coat Systems (BCSI); CA (CA); Data Domain (DDUP); Adobe Systems (ADBE); VMware (VMW); Citrix (CTXS); McAfee (MFE); Check Point (CHKP); Accenture (ACN); AsiaInfo (ASIA); salesforce.com (CRM); Oracle (ORCL); Infosys (INFY); Amdocs (DOX); ANSYS (ANSS); Wind River (WIND); GSE Systems (GVP); Aspen Technology (AZPN); Open Text (OTEX); Guidance Software (GUID).

In the following brief excerpt from the 41-page report, Mark W. Schappel, The Benchmark Company, LLC discusses the outlook for the sector and for investors.

TWST: Mark, where are you focusing your attention in the software area?

Mr. Schappel: I typically focus on small and mid-cap software stocks. There are a few themes that I'm looking at during the current downturn that impact the entire software sector, especially the small/mid-cap names I follow. First, I look for software vendors that sell small to mid-sized deals. These deals are typically characterized by a measurable ROI story over a fixed time period. Mid-sized deals often carry lower risk than larger deals. I look for vendors that are well diversified by industries and geographies covered.

I also look for companies that are less reliant on corporate IT spending and corporate IT budgets. It's no secret that customers are reluctant to spend and IT budgets have been pulled back. So I look for software vendors that are not tied to IT budgets or customer unit shipments. For example, some software companies are funded through customer R&D budgets, like Ansys (ANSS). Another is Wind River (WIND), a company followed by my partner Brent Williams. Also, to a lesser extent, there's MSC.Software (MSCS). All of these vendors' products are largely funded from customer R&D budgets, not IT budgets. R&D budgets are holding up a little bit better during the downturn than IT budgets, and this bodes well for those software vendors.

Another theme that I think is appropriate during the economic downturn is software vendors exposed to strong secular stories not tied to IT. For example, GSE Systems (GVP), a micro-cap or small cap company, is exposed to the coming buildout in the nuclear power industry, so IT budgets can fall for many years and that won't impact GSE Systems. They're exposed to the number of nuclear power plants built worldwide during the next 20 years. Another company in that category is Aspen Technology (AZPN). Aspen is tied more or less to capital spending in the process industries, such as oil and gas, refining, chemicals, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Another secular theme is regulatory compliance. Regulatory compliance spending is less exposed to the macro downturn, although it's not completely immune. Software companies exposed to this area include e-mail archiving vendor Open Text (OTEX) or e-discovery vendors such as Guidance Software (GUID) and to a lesser extent, EPIQ Systems (EPIQ). E-discovery software is used in corporate litigation when a lawsuit is filed against your company. During the discovery process, electronic information is subject to the discovery process as well as documents sitting in your filing cabinets. Companies like Guidance Software have technologies that help gather the relevant electronic information and put it into a case file.

TWST: I guess that's becoming more prevalent in this kind of environment.

Mr. Schappel: It is becoming very prevalent, which bodes well for Guidance and EPIQ Systems. Another company in that space is UK-based Autonomy (AUTNF). They trade on the London Stock Exchange. E-discovery and e-mail archiving fall under the broader umbrella of regulatory and compliance software.

As much as I look for positive software developments, there are also areas that I'm staying away from. One of those areas is application software that vendors such as SAP (SAP) and Oracle (ORCL) provide. This includes everything from the backoffice ERP applications, like finance, accounting and inventory systems, to supply chain management and human resource applications.

TWST: And you're suggesting to stay away from them at this point.

Mr. Schappel: I'm cautious on the application space because applications typically require a large upfront purchase. Million dollar plus deals are common, if not the norm, especially with larger companies. These large capital purchases are being heavily scrutinized during the downturn. Secondly, you need an army of consultants to help install the software and you also have to take people out of your business, which can be disruptive to an organization. In addition to these costs that are easy targets for executives to cut in a downturn, the payback is not always evident in the short term. It is sometimes six to 12 months after an Enterprise Research Planning (or ERP) deployment to say, "Okay, this is what our savings were and this is what the payback on our investment was." For many companies, the payback is several years out. So I'm avoiding companies tied to big application projects.

I think IT budgets are locked down for these big heavy projects, at least for the remainder of the year. I think customers are unlikely to embark on any new application initiatives until 2010 at the earliest when the next budgeting cycle begins. I think customer IT organizations are more willing to initiate bite-size projects in this environment, such as Internet infrastructure projects or e-commerce systems. These systems are less expensive, less disruptive, and you can often measure their benefits much easier. That's much different from large application projects that are known for their high total installed costs. Additionally, I think the application vendors are also exposed to some emerging and disruptive technologies, particularly on-demand or Software as a Service applications. I think SaaS applications are chipping away at the margin of the conventional application vendors like SAP, Oracle and Lawson (LWSN).

The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 41-page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online

The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations.

Conficker worm strikes ANZ Bank

"We have detected a known virus affecting some internal desktop services on the ANZ network," a spokesperson for the bank told ZDNet.com.au today, saying that the virus had been contained and there hadn't been any disruption to its business or implications for information security.

The spokesperson did not specify which virus had infected the bank's desktops, but ZDNet.com.au believes it is a variation of the Conficker worm.

Microsoft and Symantec are understood to have been asked to advise on the situation, which was said to have affected no customer facing machines, but Symantec declined to comment and Microsoft had not responded at the time of publication.

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Sun deal poses challenges for Oracle

Oracle Corp., which announced plans last month to acquire Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion, should benefit from the merger but will face significant marketing challenges in communicating the combined brand, industry analysts say.
In announcing the deal April 20, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison emphasized the strength of the end-to-end solution that Oracle will now be able to offer its customers as a result of the acquisition.
“Oracle will be the only company that can engineer an integrated system—applications to disk—where all the pieces fit and work together so customers do not have to do it themselves,” he said. “Our customers benefit as their systems integration costs go down while system performance, reliability and security go up.”
Under the terms of the deal, software company Oracle is acquiring the entire Sun portfolio, which includes hardware, software and services.
Most notably in the software category, Oracle will pick up Sun's Java open source software development platform, its Solaris operating system and MySQL, its open source database software. It will also own Sun's hardware business, which comprises servers, storage devices, desktop workstations and peripherals.
“The first big thing is the cachet, or lack of cachet, that Oracle has had in open source,” said Ray Wong, VP-principal analyst at Forrester Research. “They now have the crown jewels of open source with Java and MySQL.”
Another big advantage of the merger, Wong said, is the end-to-end solution Oracle will be able to deliver. “It used to be just application and database software,” he said. “Now they are trying to make the case that they can deliver hardware, software, middleware and database software all in one-stop shopping, which will help their customers reduce costs.”
Wong added: “The challenge is to figure out the perception of Oracle being in the hardware business. What does it mean, and can they successfully convince people to buy the whole stack from them?”
He noted that Oracle has already been successful in managing and marketing other acquisitions. For example, in 2005 it acquired CRM software company Siebel Systems, and last year it bought enterprise software company BEA Systems.
Jean Bozman, VP-research for IDC's enterprise platforms group, said one of the greatest assets Oracle will get is Sun's installed base of customers and the service contracts and upsell opportunities that go along with that.
“They have at least 1.6 million servers [installed worldwide] and also storage and service contracts,” she said, noting that about 40% of Sun's revenue now comes from services. “From a holistic view, they have a large installed base, the opportunity for new offerings and things like upselling.”
For example, Bozman said that although MySQL is a database product, it does not necessarily compete with Oracle database products. “Oracle has always been about cross platforms and running on as many platforms as possible,” she said. “It may be that the MySQL offering, which is widely used, could bring additional business for other Oracle products.”
Bozman said one of the biggest challenges for Oracle will be integrating Sun into its operations and ensuring that it runs a profitable business.
Bozman also noted that because of the downturn, spending on big IT projects is being cut or deferred but, as conditions improve, IT investment should pick up. That will benefit Oracle in the long run.
Other industry experts, however, were not as bullish on the deal.
Jim Gregory, CEO of brand strategy firm CoreBrand, noted that Sun had a brand score of only 16 on a scale from 1 to 100 in CoreBrand's 2008 Brand Power report, while Oracle had a brand score of 30. “In terms of what they are buying, it is not a heavyweight brand,” Gregory said.
“It seems like it made a lot more sense for IBM [Corp.] to make the acquisition. That seemed like a much better fit,” he said, noting that IBM had a brand score of 76.
In April, IBM made a bid to buy Sun for an estimated $7 billion but was outbid by Oracle, according to people familiar with the talks.
Gregory said one of the immediate challenges for Oracle is to communicate its strategy for the acquisition and what it means to its customers.
“What they will need to do is tell a story very quickly,” he said. “Otherwise, Oracle's image might be hurt. They have to communicate clearly why they made this acquisition, why it fits as a company and what they intend to do with it. They have a short window of opportunity.”