Surprise! Oracle buys Sun

Apr 20, 2009 | Hot Topics

It hit the wires this morning: Oracle has agreed to pay $9.50 a share for Sun, a transactionthe companies have valued at $5.6 billion, excluding Sun’s cash and debt. The deal givesOracle the ability to sell hardware as well as its database technology — and...

WSJ says venture capital at 11-year low

Apr 18, 2009 | Hot Topics

The Wall Street Journal today has a bunch of stats related to investment by venture firmsover the last several months. A quick summary: In Q1 2009, VCs invested only half asmuch as a year ago — still close to $4 billion but the lowest amount since 1998....

Dassault Systèmes reports a tough Q1

Apr 16, 2009 | Hot Topics

Dassault Systèmes reported that Q1 revenue was around EU310 million, far lower than theearlier target of EU325 million to EU335 million. Said CEO Bernard Charlès in a preparedstatement, "Revenue grew a modest 1% year-over-year, as the business environment,...

Intel thinks we’ve bottomed out

Apr 15, 2009 | Hot Topics

Earnings season is slowly starting. No, Intel is not a PLM company, but it is an importantindicator of global demand. Intel today reported first quarter revenue of $7.1 billion, operatingincome of $670 million and net income of $647 million. The net is far higher than...

Every PLM vendor hearts unemployed engineers and designers!

Apr 7, 2009 | Hot Topics

A bit of an editorial: After yesterday’s barrage of offers of help for unemployed designers andengineers (following the trickle of offers earlier in the year), I asked around to see if anyother vendors were embarking on similar programs. I somehow missed...

Solidworks cares about displaced workers, too!

Apr 6, 2009 | Hot Topics

SolidWorks announced that it is giving back to loyal users and helping them hone theirskills as they face tough competition in the job market. Originally mentioned at SolidWorksWorld in February but activated this week, SolidWorks’ Engineering Stimulus...

Take-aways from Autodesk Investor Day

Apr 6, 2009 | Hot Topics

I was unable to listen to the entire day, but found the following particularly interesting:- Autodesk is trying to help its channel partners make it to the other end of the recession, inpart by reducing the inventory they have to hold in order to remain authorized....

Autodesk launches displaced worker program

Apr 6, 2009 | Hot Topics

Today Autodesk formally rolls out the Autodesk Assistance Program which offers "free"software licenses, free online training, reduced-cost classroom training and discountedcertification programs for unemployed architects, designers and engineers. The...

Autodesk announces more job cuts and hires new CFO

Apr 2, 2009 | Hot Topics

Autodesk today announced that it has not seen any improvement in global economicconditions and therefore is further reducing its operating expenses. The company plans towring out another $100 million to $150 million, on an annualized basis. Details are still...

Rackable Systems buying SGI

Apr 1, 2009 | Hot Topics

Since this is from an SEC filing, I don’t think it’s a practical joke: Rackable Systems willbuy "substantially all the assets, except for certain excluded assets, of SGI for $25 million,subject to adjustment in certain circumstances, plus the...