Stories by Peter Sayer

  • IDC: Economic recovery is what you make it

    Economic recovery in the IT sector is in the eye of the beholder and, depending on what you're looking for, it may already be here - or still a long way off, according to speakers at the 13th annual IDC European IT Forum in Paris.

  • France Télécom offers to buy back Orange

    France Télécom SA (FT) wants to buy back the 13.72 per cent of its mobile telecommunication subsidiary, Orange SA, that it doesn't own. On Monday, it made an all-stock offer for the outstanding shares, at a premium of about 20 per cent over the market price.

  • Microsoft warns of critical flaws in Internet Explorer

    Microsoft has released a patch for a number of flaws in its Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser, including two it rated critical for some versions of the browser, which could enable an attacker to take control of a user's computer.

  • Sales of phones using Symbian OS soar

    Shipments of handheld devices running Symbian's operating system software totaled 2.68 million in the first half of 2003, compared to 230,000 in the first half of last year.

  • Microsoft launches Smartphone 2003 SDK

    Software developers can begin developing applications for the next generation of smart phones based on Microsoft operating software. The company has posted a software development kit (SDK) for Windows Mobile 2003-based Smartphones on its developer website. Like Windows Mobile 2003-based Pocket PCs, Smartphone 2003 devices will run software based on Windows CE .Net 4.2.

  • Macromedia updates Contribute

    Macromedia will begin shipping a new version of Contribute, its desktop application for Web content maintenance, in Australia in August.

  • Oracle extends PeopleSoft tender offer

    Oracle has given PeopleSoft shareholders an extra 11 days to accept its offer to acquire all common stock of PeopleSoft, and announced that the holders of one in nine shares have so far accepted the deal.

  • Sun to buy mobile content distribution vendor Pixo

    Sun Microsystems has agreed to acquire Pixo, a developer of mobile content distribution management software, it announced on Thursday. Pixo's products are typically used by carriers to secure distribution and manage billing of downloadable ringtones, screensavers and Java games for mobile phones, but Sun sees the same technology being useful in the enterprise, for example to control distribution of catalog updates to mobile sales staff.

  • RIM ordered to pay extra damages in patent case

    Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry wireless email device, was ordered to pay almost $US9 million in enhanced damages in a post-trial ruling on a patent dispute with NTP, a US court has ruled.