News in Brief

Microsoft releases Explorer 6.0

Despite a storm of protest and cries of fowl play from competitors and Web

developers, Microsoft released its Internet Explorer 6.0 browser. Unlike

previous versions, the browser doesn't support Java applets, Apple's QuickTime

technology or Netscape plug-ins. That will force consumers to download the tools

to make Explorer compatible with the new browser. It also presents major

headaches for Web developers who face a lot of work accommodating Explorer 6

visitors to their Web sites. Explorer 6 users will have to download a patch to

see Web pages using Java, unless they are upgrading from a previous version of

Internet Explorer.  The move has outraged Sun which has been trying to

rally support among users to force Microsoft to reinstate some sort of Java

support in its system. - SVNS

Workshop on project management

BANGALORE: The Indian subsidiary of Rational Software Corporation will be

conducting a one-day workshop on ‘Project Management and Improving Software

Economics’ at Bangalore on September 6, 2001 and at Chennai on September 7,

2001 fort project managers, project leaders, organizations’ managers, CIO’s

and CTO’s. Rational Software Corporation's vice president, Walker Royce will

conduct the workshop. The workshop will combine a mixture of presentations and

audience participation and that enable attendees to exploit Rational’s wide

experience and expertise in improving the software development process.

Acer says H1 net profit falls 85.6%

TAIPEI: Taiwan's top personal computer maker Acer Inc said on Tuesday that net

profit for the first six months of 2001 fell to T$817 million, down 85.6 percent

from T$5.67 billion in the same period a year earlier. Acer's first-half

earnings per share (EPS) dropped to T$0.19 from T$1.45 a year ago, a company

spokeswoman told Reuters by telephone. On Tuesday, Acer shares closed down

T$0.20 or 1.3 percent at T$15.50, compared with a 0.37 percent fall on the main

TAIEX market. - Reuters.

‘SAN market is recession proof’

CHENNAI: Storage Area Network (SAN) market is a recession proof, high

opportunity market for Indian companies growing at a CAGR of 40-60 per cent,

said GDA Technologies director G S Madhusudan. If the company is ready to invest

Rs 2-3 lakhs, it could go in for developing ISCSI/PCP/FCIP protocol, which is

the best area in products segments. For companies which were looking to break

into the SAN area, Madhusudan suggests Linux based SANs and open sources based

products to which the companies could add value and become resellers for the

Indian and South East Asian markets. — CNS 

BEML launches e-services with Ramco, Autodesk

BANGALORE: Center owned Public Sector Unit, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML),

launched its e-services along with its technology partners Chennai based Ramco

Systems and Autodesk. The company plans to offer solutions to the manufacturing

industry supplemented with CAD, CAM, CAE tools. BEML's e-services, operating out

of Bangalore, will have a dedicated team of engineers with basic domain

knowledge in manufacturing and collabrative engineering. The e-services division

will offer its expertise in drafting, 2D and 3D modelling, finite element

analysis, tool path generation, BPR/ERP implementation. It also specializes in

offering rapid assistance in converting legacy data to current CAD/CAM needs.

Ramco Systems will be supplementing BEML in its efforts to implement and support

Ramco's e-applications. Similarly Autodesk will offers its expertise in CAD

applications. -CIOL Bureau

Palm names CEO for new software unit

NEW YORK: Palm Inc, the No.1 maker of handheld devices, on Monday said it had

named David Nagel, AT&T's former chief technology officer, to president and

chief executive of its newly created software unit. Nagel's appointment is the

latest in a series of moves to boost Palm's software platform division, which

develops the programs that power handheld computers made by Palm and others.

Nagel, 56, has been a member of Palm's board of directors since February 2000,

and will continue in that position. He takes his new post on Sept. 17, Palm

said, and will report to a separate board.

Yokogawa tests its CENTIUM



BANGALORE: Yokogawa Electric Corporation has successfully tested its CENTUM
CS/CS1000/CS3000 by the Fieldbus Foundation’s Host Interoperability Support

Test (HIST). Yokogawa is one of the founding members of the original ISP

Foundation and later the Fieldbus Foundation and has taken a pivotal role in the

specification, development, testing and now implementation of FOUNDATION

fieldbus technology in their instrumentation and control solutions. The Fieldbus

Foundation (FF) located in Austin TX, announced the HIST program enabling

controls manufacturers to demonstrate that their host systems deliver the robust

control functionality and interoperability of FOUNDATION fieldbus technology.

The CENTUM CS3000 was the first control system tested last September and

approved to the services supported in the FF document FF-569 Exhibit A. - CIOL

Bureau

LIBA, Ohio School sign up for SENATE



CHENNAI: Loyola Institute of Business Administration and Bangalore-based Ohio
School of Business has signed up for Blueshift's software driven service called

SENATE(Service Engine for Assessment, Testing and E-learning) for online exam

registrations. It has also closed deals with two of the eight different schools

of Pune-based Symbiosis to take its exam registrations online. Blueshift is now

working on an ASP model charging institutions a rate extending between Rs 250 -

Rs 300 per student. Blueshift is focusing on the 800 plus management schools,

universities and colleges, education and training institutes, companies

recruiting in large numbers and education boards.-CNS