Stories by Greg Meckbach

Shareholders sue 3Com directors over HP merger

3Com's board of directors is facing a lawsuit over the proposed acquisition by Hewlett Packard Development Company, but a financial analyst who studies Ethernet switching argued if approved, both vendors would benefit from the deal.

Canadian government could stop Nortel-Avaya deal

The Canadian government's industry minister announced last week it will only allow Avaya to buy Toronto-based Nortel Networks's enterprise business if Avaya can prove the $US915 million deal is beneficial to Canada.

Deadline closes for Nortel enterprise sale

Avaya may be competing against other suitors in its efforts to acquire the enterprise assets of Nortel Networks, published reports indicate.

EMC addresses SAN configuration problems

EMC Corp. on Tuesday announced Storage Configuration Advisor (SCA), a hardware-software combination designed to alert IT managers to configuration errors in storage-area networks (SANs).

Cisco adds power management to switches

Cisco Systems Inc. has announced software for its switches designed to turn off Internet Protocol phones and wireless access points after normal working hours. Dubbed EnergyWise, the software will eventually be used in building control systems to automatically turn off lights, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

Gartner tempers hype around cloud computing

Companies may be expecting too much from cloud computing, but other technologies such as video conferencing are starting to live up to their promises, according to a study released Monday.

Open Text acquires Spicer's viewer software

Open Text has bought document viewing technology from Spicer and plans to incorporate the products into its enterprise content management software line.

When Skype doesn't quite cut it

A small Canada-based multimedia vendor is using unified communications to help its developers collaborate and its customer service reps provide around-the-clock support.

Companies to spend billions on social networking:

The market for social networking software nearly tripled last year, and an IDC analyst says when implemented properly, these tools can improve internal communication.

How healthy is your service-oriented-architecture?

IBM has announced services designed to help IT managers figure out whether their service-oriented architecture is working, a social network for IT workers and academics interested in service-oriented architecture (SOA) plus widgets for non-technical users who want to fine-tune their Web applications.

Smile: You're now responsible for cameras

Some IT professionals are on a steep learning curve as they take on responsibility for video surveillance, according to a market research firm.

MasterCard's robust data centre: priceless

If a severe tornado touches down in the US, west of St. Louis, you might have trouble using your MasterCard.