Adobe completes acquisition of Macromedia

Adobe has completed the acquisition of rival software developer Macromedia. The company said that the merger will enable it to create a 'powerful software platform' based on Adobe's PDF technology and Macromedia Flash. 'The explosion of digital content, combined with the accelerating proliferation of mobile phones, wireless devices and the growth of broadband are transforming the way the world engages with information,' said Bruce Chizen, chief executive officer of Adobe. ...more

The score for MS patches: Moderate 2 Critical 1

Not one but three security bulletins from Microsoft, involving SQL Server, Word and Excel and the notorious Windows XP Help file deletion vulnerability. In Security Bulletin MS02-060, Microsoft returns to the vulnerability where the Windows XP Help system can be tweaked to delete a file of the attacker's choice. Rated only as a 'Moderate' problem, this was addressed in Windows XP Service Pack 1, which was released at the start of September. ...more

NetVista shrinks for business

IBM throws the book at PCs Touted as about the size of a dictionary, IBM has launched the S42, aimed at businesses where space is short. At about a third of the space of a conventional PC, the NetVista measures little more than a foot square and 3.3in deep. ...more

Microsoft calls for 'cool apps'

Microsoft has put out a call to developers to build 'cool apps' for the Vista operating system. In an open letter, Jim Allchin, Microsoft's Co-President for Platforms & Services told the development community that Vista represents 'new opportunities on a scale you haven't seen since Windows 95'. Allchin also draws attention to analyst claims   that some 200 million people will be using Windows Vista within the first 24 months of launch. ...more

Michael Dell returns for Dell 2.0

More than twenty years after he founded the company, Michael Dell is back in the driving seat as Dell's chief executive (CEO), a position he handed over to Kevin Rollins in 2004. The company had suffered another blow by having to announce that its fiscal year 2007 revenues will be below expectations. Rollins who was, until yesterday, the company's CEO has resigned forthwith from his leadership position and as a member of the board. ...more