Microsoft readies bumper update

Microsoft will issue its biggest ever security update on 13 October.

The update will include 13 bulletins that between them tackle 34 vulnerabilities.

Microsoft said that eight of the bulletins were rated as critical - the most serious sort of vulnerability.

The security patches will close loopholes in many different programs including different editions of Windows, Internet Explorer and some elements of Office.

One update, rated as critical, tackles a loophole in Internet Explorer 8 running under Windows 7. The next version of Microsoft's operating system is due to be released on 22 October.

Most people will get the updates automatically but links to download them can also be found on Microsoft's security pages. Once applied to a PC, the machine will need to be re-started before the fixes take effect.

In a blog posting giving an outline of the updates, Jerry Bryant, a Microsoft security expert, said two of the fixes were for problems flagged up in earlier advisories.

One of those loopholes, for the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) bundled in with Microsoft's Internet Information Server, is already being exploited by some hi-tech criminals.

Windows is by far the most popular target for cyber criminals and the vast majority of the millions of malicious programs, including worms and trojans, are aimed at the operating system.

Prior to the bumper October security update, Microsoft's biggest every update was released in June 2009. That package of 10 fixes tackled 31 vulnerabilities.

Microsoft typically issues its updates on the second Tuesday of every month. It started this regular monthly update system in late 2003.

Tech Mahindra makes changes in Satyam open offer

IT firm Tech Mahindra has extended the date for approaching the shareholders of Satyam Computer regarding its Rs 1,154-crore open offer for the purchase of a 20 per cent stake in the scam-hit firm, a move which comes days after market regulator SEBI cleared the open offer.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Satyam Computer said the last date by which letter of offer will be dispatched to the shareholders has been revised to 9th June, from the earlier scheduled date of 3rd June.



Further, the last date of withdrawal by shareholders has also been revised to 26th June, from the earlier 27th June.



"Dates for all other activities of the schedule remains unchanged," the filing added.



The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had received the open offer for its consideration on May 6, and issued its 'observations' on May 27.



Through Venturbay Consultant, its acquisition vehicle for the Satyam Computer purchase, Tech Mahindra had announced an open offer on April 22 for buying an additional 20 per cent

from the shareholders of the IT firm.



The open offer was made pursuant to Tech Mahindra buying a 31 per cent stake in Satyam for Rs 1,756 crore through the issue of preferential shares after an auction process conducted by the government-appointed board of Satyam.

Microsoft suffers first sales dip

Microsoft has said sales in the first three months of 2009 fell 6% from the previous year - its first quarterly drop in 23 years as a public company.

The world's largest software maker said profit dropped by 32% to $2.98bn (£2bn). Sales slipped to $13.65bn.

Microsoft makes most of its profit selling the Windows operating system and business software such as Office.

However demand has been hit by falling sales of personal computers as consumers and businesses trim spending.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told the BBC World Service that its results had been "impacted" by the downturn in the world economy.

He also admitted the company would have had less total sales "than we would have had before the downturn". We expect the weakness to continue through at least the next quarter," said the firm's chief financial officer, Chris Liddell.

Microsoft - which became a public company in 1986 - has been looking at ways of cutting costs.

In January, it said it would cut up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months, including 1,400 immediately.

Tech Mahindra emerges highest bidder to acquire Satyam

Ending the three-month ordeal of about 50,000 employees, Tech Mahindra on Monday emerged as a top bidder with an offer of Rs 58 a share for a 31 per cent stake in beleaguered Satyam Computer, beating a strong rival L&T.

Tech Mahindra would acquire the stake in an all-cash deal, followed by an open offer for a 20 per cent stake to take management control of the company.



No immediate comment could be obtained from either Tech Mahindra or L&T.



After evaluating the bids, the government-appointed board of Satyam Computer on Monday announced that "its Board of Directors has selected Venturbay Consultants Private Limited, a subsidiary controlled by Tech Mahindra Limited as the highest bidder to acquire a controlling stake in the Company, subject to the approval of the Hon'ble Company Law Board."



The Company was administered by a new Board appointed pursuant to the orders of the CLB dated 9th January 2009.



The process to select a strategic investor has reached this significant stage within three months of the new Board s first meeting.



"On behalf of all Satyamites and their families, we congratulate Tech Mahindra on being the highest bidder. The selection of the highest bidder, in a fair, open and transparent process, signals a new stage for the Company in its progress towards stabilization and growth," Satyam said in an announcement.

Sensex remains up for the sixth day in a row

In volatile trading, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday rose for the sixth straight day, the longest winning steak of the year on news of inflation easing and firming global cues.

The Sensex, which notched gains of nearly 12 per cent in the last five sessions, advanced by 0.57 per cent, or 61.52 points at 10,803.86.

During the day, it moved between 10,932.12 and 10,655.96 points.

However, the 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty, after touching a six-month high level of 3,400, fell to close with a loss of 0.90 points at 3,342.05.

While the market received support from firming overseas stock markets, the inflation rate falling to 0.26 per cent from 0.31 was a major booster.

Realty stocks were major gainers on agressive buying by funds on expectations of interest rate cuts by banks, leading to more home sales.

The realty sector index surged by 5.42 per cent to 2,041.33.

Commodity producers tracked gains in metal prices, while banking and financial company shares rose on expectations of a fresh stimulus move by the US.

The metal index rose by 3.72 per cent to 6,801.56, followed by the banking index, by 2.64 per cent to 5,045.27.

Trading in the metal sector picked up after the index of six metals rose 0.7 per cent on the London Metal Exchange, its second day of gains.

Google addresses newspaper woes

The majority of newspapers should be online, says Google boss Eric Schmidt, amid criticism it should share some of the millions it makes from newslinks.

Media owner Rupert Murdoch has questioned if aggregators like Google should pay to use content.

The Associated Press is to sue to protect its content at a time when the industry is losing readers to the web.

"I would encourage everybody to think in terms of what your reader wants," Mr Schmidt told newspaper bosses.

"These are ultimately consumer businesses and if you [annoy] enough of them, you will not have any more," he warned the Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) annual conference in San Diego.

While he praised the way newspapers initially embraced the internet, Mr Schmidt said they had since dropped the ball allowing the likes of Google to take over content distribution.

"There wasn't an act after that. You guys did a superb job, and the act after that is a harder question."

"Fair use"

In a question and answer session at the end of his keynote address, suggestions that Google and the internet were eroding the intellectual property rights of newspapers was downplayed by Mr Schmidt."From our perspective, there is always a tension around fair use - and fair use is a balance of interest in favour of the consumer."

Industry analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell told the BBC this was the wrong way to look at the argument over how Google profits from newspaper content.

"The real question is, 'Is it fair for news companies to produce all this content for Google and for Google to keep the lion's share of revenue?'

"What we should be focusing on is 'fair share'." said Mr Doctor.

In a blog post, the search engine giant claimed it did provide a financial kickback for newspapers through online advertising.

"We drive traffic and provide advertising in support of all business models - whether news sources choose to host the articles with us or on their own websites," wrote Alexander Macgillvray, Google's associate general counsel for products and intellectual property.

"Users like me are sent from different Google sites to newspaper websites at a rate of more than a billion clicks per month."

Techmeme, which is an aggregator of technology news, agreed that the value of what they did was in driving traffic back to the original publisher of a story.

Microsoft to launch retail chain

Computer software giant Microsoft has announced plans to open its own stores, at a time when many other retailers are struggling in the economic downturn.

The company plans to sell computers installed with Microsoft software and other products, Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner said.

The stores will also promote new operating system Windows 7 and updates of Windows Live and Windows Mobile.

Ex-Wal-Mart executive David Porter will head the new retail division.

The company's rival Apple already has high-profile stores located around the world.

'Tremendous opportunities'

"This is an exciting time with our strong line-up of upcoming product releases," Mr Turner said in a statement.

"There are tremendous opportunities ahead to create a world-class shopping experience for our customers."

Mr Porter, corporate vice-president of retail stores, will devise a strategy outlining when the stores would be launched and where they would be located.

The decision comes after Microsoft launched a $300 million (£207m) advertising campaign last autumn in a bid to revive its Windows Vista operating system, which was widely criticized for being too slow.

In January the company cut 1,400 jobs and said it would axe 3,600 more workers over the next 18 months.

Satyam getting new contracts: Murty

Even as a few customers have left in the wake of the financial fraud committed by its erstwhile promoter, Satyam Computer on Wednesday said it is continuously getting new software services orders and existing clients have showed faith in the company.

"A significant majority of our clients have indicated their support for Satyam, and are staying with us. Orders continue to come in, and the organisation is (making) efforts to grow new businesses," Satyam Computer CEO A S Murty told a news agency.

Asked if he visualises Satyam regaining its earlier position of the fourth-largest software exporter, the CEO said, "The board and senior management have been in constant contact with customers and associates to assure them of business continuity. To this point, our efforts to provide clear, consistent and forthright communications are working."

Earlier Infosys, TCS and mid-sized IT firm Infotech had said some Satyam clients have approached them.



In January, State Farm Insurance Co of the US terminated its contract with Satyam. Its other key customers -- GE, Nestle, Coca Cola, and National Australia Bank -- had earlier said it would suspend new contracts given to Satyam.



On working alongside the rivals, Murty said, "We continue to compete for new businesses with Infosys and TCS and other companies in all the markets we serve.


"With a new management at the helm of affairs, Satyam Computer is also looking at long-term strategic options and reviewing its legal liabilities.

"My immediate short-term priority as CEO would be to initiate and continue measures that will instill confidence in all our stakeholders, customers, associates, alliance partners, vendors, etc. and to ensure business continuity."

The CEO said his priorities are also to address key customer concerns, focus on delivery, reinforce associate confidence and introduce key retention measures.

With Satyam's market value plunging to less than $700 million from $7 billion in May 2008, the company is weighing long-term strategic options.

"Our other priorities are evaluating long-term strategic options, assessing and managing legal liabilities and resuming investments in identified areas," Murty said, adding the company recently got a financial commitment of Rs 600 crore for working capital needs and has receivables of up to Rs 1,700 crore.

BK Modi's Spice Corp and L&T Infotech, which is a 12 percent shareholder, are among the possible firms interested in taking over the scam-hit company.



The focus is on assessing the company's financial position and taking measures to ensure business continuity as well as evaluating cost-rationalisation alternatives, he added. He, however, did not elaborate on cost-control measures. It could mean staff reduction wherever possible.


Murty said, "We are in the process of creating detailed plans for the next 30, 60, and 90 days. Having secured funding, our immediate focus remains on working closely with our associates, customers and partners, determining Satyam's strategic options, and providing stability and leadership.”

“When these are achieved, we will turn our attention to medium- and long-term programs. The options will address the interests of all stakeholders", he said.

The company has formed a task force to look at cost optimisation, which will involve exploring options such as optimising infrastructure spend, non-billable travel, and balancing onsite-offshore people-related costs and sabbatical to keep expenses in tune with revenue.

Large-scale layoff is definitely not among the options Satyam is considering at this time, company officials said.

Satyam's founder B Ramalinga Raju on 7th January confessed to doctoring the accounts of the firm, resulting in a Rs 7,800 crore fraud.


Satyam Computer was trading at Rs 42.35, down 4.19 percent, in morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Murthy named Satyam CEO; co gets Rs 600-cr bank sanctions

Taking two important key decisions towards a revival path, Scam-hit Satyam Computer Services has appointed A S Murthy as the CEO and said it has received bank sanction for Rs 600 crore for meeting working capital requirements.

"A S Murty has been appointed as Satyam's Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect," Member of the Board Deepak Parekh said in a statement on Thursday.

Besides, the board on Thursday confirmed receiving bank sanctions for a total sum of Rs 600 crore (USD 130 million) as a planned fund infusion towards working capital requirements.

This funding, along with healthy collections, is expected to help the company tide over its financial challenges.

Satyam also reaffirmed that 9th January salaries (globally) and the fortnightly salary in 9th February (for its US-based associates) have been met from its internal accruals.

"US payroll is run fortnightly for US based associates and has been so since company's inception," he said.

The Board also announced the appointment of Homi Khusrokhan and Partho Datta as Special Advisors to the Board, to assist in Management and Finance areas, respectively.



The Special Advisors, along with Boston Consulting Group, will work pro bono and will assist the newly-named CEO and the Board, in defining priorities and executing them, effectively.

IBM bucks gloom with rosy outlook

IBM believes it can benefit as cash-strapped companies seek its help to cut costs and improve IT infrastructure.

The firm has also been able to cut its own costs sharply.

IBM's net profit in the fourth quarter rose 12% from a year earlier to $4.4bn. IBM boss Samuel Palmisano said it had been an "outstanding year".

IBM said it expected to earn $9.20 per share in 2009 - significantly more than analysts had expected.

"To be honest, I didn't believe they could show something like this - I think the results they posted were stellar," said Peter Misek, an analyst with Canaccord Adams.

"They just executed really well - really, really, really well."

IBM's profit margin was 47.9%, up three percentage points from a year earlier.

The news boosted IBM's share price. In after-hours trading in New York, it climbed 4.5% to $85.64.

Other technology firms have fared less well.

Intel reported a sharp 90% profit drop in the final quarter of 2008, while Bloomberg said it could report its first loss for more than two decades in the current quarter.

Satyam Board begin crucial two-day meet today

The six-member board of Satyam Computer Services is holding the crucial two-day meeting in Hyderabad on Thursday, to discuss among other things issues concerning mobilisation of finances and a strategy to hold major clients.

The third meeting in a row, the board will also consider appointment of chief executive officer and chief financial

officer the two key posts needed to revive the company.



The government had appointed Tarun Das, T N Manoharan and S Balkrishna Mainak, on Satyam's board, which already had Deepak Parekh, Kiran Karnik and C Achuthan.



After its last meeting on 17th January, the board of troubled Satyam had said that it was looking for funds, for

which it had opened a dialogue with lenders, to ensure salaries to employees and normal business operations, even as the search for a new CEO and CFO continued.



Representatives of a few lenders, including Citibank and ICICI Bank, had visited the Satyam headquarters, presumably for discussions with the new leadership of the IT company.



The second board meeting also constituted an audit panel and had appointed legal advisors Amarchand & Mangaldas, Suresh A Shroff & Co to the board, and internal auditors Brahmayya & Co.

Microsoft is accused by EU again

The European Commission has accused Microsoft of harming competition by bundling its Explorer web browser with its Windows operating system.

The commission said it had reached the preliminary view that the US software giant had undermined consumer choice and infringed EU rules.

Microsoft and the European Union have engaged in legal battles over competition issues for years.

Last year, the EU fined Microsoft 899m euros ($1.4bn; £680.9m).

Browser battle

In its statement on Friday the Commission said: "Microsoft's tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice."

Microsoft that it was studying the commission's preliminary finding, and did not rule out requesting a formal hearing.

It has been given eight weeks to reply.

The US software firm controls the majority of the web-browsing market through its Explorer browser.

Analysts say the company has diversified enormously and is now no longer so reliant on its Windows operating system, with revenue coming from Xbox sales and server software.

In February 2008, the EU fined Microsoft 899m euros for defying sanctions imposed on it for anti-competitive behaviour.

The penalty - which was then one of the largest imposed by the European Commission - came after Microsoft failed to comply with an earlier 2004 ruling that it had abused its market position.