Enterprise Technology News

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Telephone and computer software company Avaya Inc. said Friday that Canada's minister of industry approved its acquisition of the enterprise solutions unit of Nortel Networks Corp. Full Story »

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Shares plunged in Finisar Corp. on Friday after the networking-components maker reported lower-than-expected profit margins and fell short of expectations for the second quarter. Full Story »

Usage of the open-source MySQL database is set to decline if Oracle succeeds in buying the software's owner, Sun Microsystems, according to new data released by analyst firm The 451 Group on Friday. Full Story »

Twitter has built a mobile site from scratch for its social networking and microblogging service, acknowledging that the current one, while reliable, has an unimpressive user interface and a modest feature set. Full Story »

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Friendster, one of the world's earliest social networking sites, will be sold to an Asian buyer by the end of December for at least $100 million, a source familiar with the matter said. Full Story »

NEW YORK (AFP) - US networking giant Cisco said it plans to go ahead with its 3.4-billion-dollar takeover of Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg. Full Story »

WALTHAM, Mass. - Novell Inc., which sells computer-networking software and technology services, posted a larger quarterly loss Thursday, hurt by lower revenue and hefty charges to write down the value of certain assets. Full Story »

SAP's attempt to convince users that its Enterprise Support service provides enough value to justify a higher price tag may drag on well into 2010. Full Story »

LONDON (Reuters) - MySpace expanded its presence in the entertainment market on Thursday with the British launch of its music service, as the social networking site seeks to reinvent itself after being eclipsed by rival Facebook. Full Story »

It may not be Betamax versus VHS, but a war between two technology giants is heating up. On Wednesday, Facebook Connect added Yahoo's sites to its social-networking alliance. The Yahoo announcement, which goes into effect in the first half of next year, was made shortly before Google said its rival social platform, Friend Connect, now supports Twitter credentials. Full Story »

NEW YORK (AFP) - A US groom who loves social networking as much as his bride pulled out a cell phone during their wedding to 'tweet' and update his Facebook page. Full Story »

In an unusual move, Google announced Google Public DNS on Thursday, a new means by which users can utilize the Google DNS servers to access the Internet. Full Story »

NEW YORK - The biggest reason to do volunteer work for a charitable organization is because you support the cause, but there are plenty of other reasons — including professional networking. Full Story »

The introduction of the FlipShare TV by Cisco Systems shows the networking giant's strategic foray into the consumer space is moving ahead in a systematic fashion. The FlipShare is a companion piece to Flip Video camcorders, which were introduced by Pure Video in 2007 and came to Cisco in the acquisition of Pure in May. Full Story »

On Wednesday, Intel researchers demonstrated an experimental, 48-core processor that rethinks how laptops, PCs and servers are designed. Described as a single-chip cloud computer, the futuristic chip offers 10 to 20 times the processing power of today's most advanced Intel processors. Full Story »

Want to accept credit cards at your next garage sale? A new iPhone application will soon make that easier. Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey has unveiled his latest project, the Square magnetic reader, which plugs into a vendor's handset, allowing customers to swipe their card. The credit information is then transmitted via an audio signal through included software to Square servers for processing. Full Story »

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Richard Phillips, the ship captain toasted as a hero after he was taken captive by Somali pirates, ignored repeated warnings last spring to keep his freighter at least 600 miles off the African coast because of the heightened risk of attack, some members of his crew now allege. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Doctors in Britain were warned Wednesday not to respond to sexual advances from patients made through social networking sites such as Facebook, as such contacts could breach their ethical duties. Full Story »