SAP's co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hageman Snabe say SAP will be bolder at developing and marketing products, as they try to reverse the sales decline that led to the ouster of their predecessor, Leo Apotheker. To step up the pace of development, SAP is trying an "agile" method, with small teams and rapid iterations of software.
SAP Co-Chief Executives Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe have pledged to quicken the pace of product introductions and dealmaking at the German software company as they try to reverse the sales decline that led to the ouster of their predecessor, Leo Apotheker.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=010000ZWE3TW
PC pioneer Ed Roberts, designer of the Altair 8800 (shown here), has died at 68. Roberts, who earned a medical degree and had a practice in Georgia, picked Bill Gates and Paul Allen to write Altair BASIC, which later became Microsoft BASIC. Roberts' Altair had an open bus to add components, but a small memory board and insufficient power supply.
Dr. Henry Edward Roberts, who designed the Altair 8800 personal computer in 1974, died April 1, at the age of 68. The computer kit that "Ed" Roberts developed and offered to hobbyists at a price of $397 is credited by many industry observers as the key event that launched the personal-computer revolution.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/PC-Pioneer-Ed-Roberts-Dies-at-68/story.xhtml?story_id=0100014V0806
Victorinox plans to add a secure USB memory stick with Mission Impossible-style features to its Swiss Army knives. The Victorinox Secure devices will have a fingerprint scanner that can detect life, and will self-destruct if the case is cracked. Victorinox is offering $150,000 to anyone who can breach the Victorinox Secure layers of security.
Victorinox intends to add a USB memory stick to its lineup of iconic tools that fold out from the casing of the company's popular Swiss Army knives. The hook that Victorinox announced Friday is that the new products will also sport high-tech security 
features aimed at preventing the devices from being accessed by others if lost or stolen.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Victorinox-Adds-Self-Destructing-USB/story.xhtml?story_id=010000NHV23O
Intel has launched a possible game-changer in its new Xeon 7500 processor series, allowing "good enough" x86 systems to challenge enterprise-class servers. With three times better performance than Intel's 7400 series, a single box with Xeon 7500 processors could consolidate up to 20 older servers, slashing energy costs and advancing ROI.
Intel on Tuesday launched the Xeon 7500 processor series. The new processors are expandable to include two to 256 chips per server and offer an average performance three times better than the company's 7400 series.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Intel-Xeons--A-Server-Game-Changer/story.xhtml?story_id=010000RMPFOM
More problems have cropped up in China's heavily censored Internet market, as at least three foreign journalists experienced issues with their Yahoo e-mail accounts attributed to hacking. Also, many of Google's redirected queries appeared to be blocked, as searches were met with results from Chinese search engines such as Baidu.
Yahoo e-mail accounts belonging to foreign journalists appeared to have been hacked and Google's Chinese search engine was intermittently blocked Tuesday, the latest troubles in China's heavily censored Internet market.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Yahoo-E-Mail-Hacked-in-China/story.xhtml?story_id=0100014D576Y
The biggest threat to mobile-service providers isn't the Internet, but overcapacity and low-margin customers. One expert says consolidation would help. Operators have the customer base, the billing relationships, and the customer behavioral data, while Internet companies have the freedom to introduce new mobile services and applications.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Mobile-Operators--Too-Many-To-Profit/story.xhtml?story_id=010000R4UFKY
In a victory for Novell, a federal grand jury has ruled that the rights to Unix do not belong to The SCO Group. Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian said Unix will remain open source. SCO, which is now bankrupt, had sued Novell, IBM and others. Novell's Ian Bruce said Novell is also committed to Linux. The decision could enhance the value of Novell.
The legal battle by Novell and The SCO Group over Unix may have reached its conclusion. On Tuesday, a federal jury said the rights to the widely used open-source operating system do not belong to SCO.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Jury-Rules-Novell-Owns-Rights-To-Unix/story.xhtml?story_id=010000L6IDMK
Oracle is expected to change the Solaris operating system it acquired from Sun Microsystems from free and open source to a licensed product. While OpenSolaris may remain open source, Oracle could make some components proprietary and erode developer support. Sun's Java will be vital to Oracle, but could evolve in new ways.
The future for Sun Microsystems' Solaris operating system and Java programming language are beginning to crystallize at Oracle, which completed its acquisition of Sun earlier this year. Among other things, Solaris is expected to morph from a formerly free and totally open-source product to one that requires the purchase of a license after an initial 90-day trial, according to media reports.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Oracle-Will-Change-Solaris-and-Java/story.xhtml?story_id=010000L6IDK2
Ford and Microsoft are teaming to help utilities and customers manage energy costs. The companies will unveil a "smart system" that will eventually lead to homeowners being able to use their cars to power home appliances and cut costs at peak electricity use times. The system would start with the all-electric Ford Focus due in late 2011.
Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. have signed a deal to work together on a computerized link between houses, electric cars and utility companies to help manage energy use.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Microsoft--Ford-Team-Up-on-Energy-/story.xhtml?story_id=010000S4KFYE
If you're faced with data-storage constraints, take steps to free up hard disk space. Taking measures such as honing in on -- and deleting -- unneeded disk-eating files and folders, deleting hidden "hibernate" files and temporary Internet files, altering your Recycle Bin properties and more can greatly increase your working disk space.
Large hard drives may be plentiful these days, but you can still face storage constraints. You could be coping with a small hard drive provided by your company. Or maybe you're trying to squeeze some life out of an older hard drive that you aren't ready to upgrade.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Recovering-Disk-Space-in-Windows/story.xhtml?story_id=010000S4KFEE
With a multitude of security software companies issuing myriad paid and free antivirus and anti-malware protection, what's the best option for consumers and businesses? Make sure you get the real thing, as fake security programs have multiplied. Known brands such as Symantec are good bets; reputable free software can also protect well.
Choosing a computer security program these days can be a daunting task.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Select-Security-Software-with-Care-/story.xhtml?story_id=010000ZWE63K
Intel and Nokia have released the initial version of their open-source MeeGo mobile operating system, a merger between Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo. The companies want developers to test and further develop the MeeGo OS, which ranked last in a recent survey of developers. The full release of MeeGo is expected in May.
Giant chipmaker Intel and mobile-phone maker Nokia have released initial code to developers to test the new open-source MeeGo platform. The platform is a merger between Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo projects that was announced in February.
http://www.toptechnews.com/news/Initial-Version-of-MeeGo-Released/story.xhtml?story_id=010000ZWE6BC
Verizon Wireless is reducing its inventory of Palm's webOS smartphones by offering the Palm Pre Plus for $49.99 and the Palm Pixi Plus for $29.99. The deals include a two-year contract and a second phone for free. Verizon is also making its Mobile Hotspot application for the Palm free. AT&T is also expected to sell the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus.
Verizon Wireless is aggressively pushing Palm's webOS smartphones, with sharply reduced prices and other special offers. The largest U.S. carrier announced Thursday that the price for the Palm Pre Plus has been reduced from $149.99 to $49.99, and the Pixi Plus from $99.99 to $29.99. Both deals include a two-year service contract.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0100014V07Z2
AT&T and Apple appear to still be close, but their exclusive iPhone contract is getting a lot of scrutiny. With CDMA and 4G versions of the iPhone reported, competitors like Verizon Wireless could get a shot at selling Apple's market-boosting iPhone. AT&T appears resigned to change, even helping Apple improve performance on its network.
With Apple and AT&T experiencing so many growing pains, their relationship is getting more scrutiny these days than those of jilted Oscar-winning actresses or philandering golf pros. And with Apple's iPad launching Saturday, some analysts wonder if the 3G-capable version of the device will further strain a struggling network on which the carrier has spent billions to increase capacity.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=010001804KSY
Sharp has developed a no-glasses 3-D touchscreen and plans to install the LCDs in mobile devices like digital cameras and smartphones. Sharp's 3-D technology uses a parallax barrier system with images different for each eye. Sharp declined to comment on whether it will supply the screen for Nintendo's planned 3DS portable game player.
If wearing glasses to watch 3-D is less than enticing, Sharp may have an alternative. The electronics company announced Friday that it has developed a high-quality, no-glasses 3-D touchscreen LCD.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0100010W46O8
Google took a censorship stand against the Chinese government when it moved its search engine to Hong Kong, but Google's bold stance could be risky, potentially costing Google ad revenue and customers. Offering services via Hong Kong will put a strain on Google servers there, causing slowdowns that may spur users to move to Baidu.
Google is attempting to prove a point to the Chinese government, but some believe its stance comes with a hefty price tag. Google recently moved its search services, Google News and Google Images from Google.cn to Google.com.hk in an effort to make a point to the government in China.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0100014D57UK
TV comedians had a field day building buzz for Apple's iPad, even suggesting a kosher iPad that makes salsa. David Letterman's Top Ten List included variations on "what the hell is this thing?" and he accidentally switched it off. Stephen Colbert (shown here) displayed a little-known app that he said allows the iPad to make salsa.
Is the iPad kosher for Passover? That's one of the questions David Letterman predicted people will ponder as they wait in line for Apple's latest toy on Saturday.
http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=010000KULQ0I
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