ASCDI in the news
HP
IBM
Linux
Moves, adds & changes
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Sun

ASCDI in the news

Trilogy announces its inclusion in “The Monitor 25”
Trilogy Leasing is proud to announce that it has been included in the first ever “Monitor Top Private Independents” report.  The Monitor is the leading publication covering the equipment leasing industry, and this report is a listing of the top 25 private independent equipment leasing companies in the United States.  Trilogy was listed as the 19th largest such company in the country, and the sixth largest specializing in technology equipment leasing.  We are especially pleased to note that Trilogy was recognized as the #1 equipment leasing company in new business growth.

Trilogy Leasing originated over $70M in equipment leases in 2007 and had a profit of $3.3M. The company has rentals and sales of over $60M per year. The cash position of the company has grown steadily over the past several years and is now at a record level. Additionally, there are large untapped credit facilities available to the company. Trilogy has accomplished this status in only its eighth full year of operations. The vast majority of the companies which were included in this list have been in business longer than Trilogy.
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HP

HP leaves door open on XP downgrades
The top dog among PC OEMs plans to exercise Microsoft's downgrade rights to sell custom-built PCs with Windows XP until at least July 30, 2009, more than a year after Microsoft's official June 30 deadline. Hewlett Packard is giving customers the option of buying PCs with XP Professional pre-installed through what it calls a 'custom factory downgrade,' in which HP, acting on behalf of its customers, exercises the downgrade rights that Microsoft offers with Windows Vista Business and Ultimate editions and ships PCs with custom-built XP images. Downgrade rights, which Microsoft also offers to volume licensing customers, give users the ability to roll back to the previous version of the product they're using. Downgrade rights aren't new, but they're receiving unprecedented attention due to the market's icy response to Vista. HP also offers XP through 'field downgrades,' which are available for customers that bought PCs with Vista pre-installed and have a Vista certificate of authenticity (COA).
Visit www.hp.com.



HP’s virtual arrays for mid–size businesses
A storage disk array that does not force mid-size businesses to make tradeoffs in power and business uptime is now available. The virtual array is designed to reduce the costs and complexity of implementing a storage-area network (SAN).  The EVA 4400 offers a combination of high-performance and availability features, virtualization capabilities and advanced provisioning software that makes it ideal for mid-size businesses that want to cost-effectively manage large amounts of data in a SAN environment without investing in deep storage experience. The EVA 4400 has key virtualization features previously available only on high-end arrays, but not at a price designed for mid-size businesses. Specifically, the EVA4400 features a dual-redundant hardware architecture that supports local and remote replication software. This eliminates single points of failure and helps ensure maximum uptime.  It is more affordable than higher end systems by roughly 20 percent.
Visit www.hp.com.
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IBM

System i users: Power Systems merger good, OS name change mixed
System i users have reacted positively to the merger of the platform with System p, saying it could give their beloved server platform more visibility, but there were mixed responses to the renaming of the operating system from i5/OS to i.  At the System i user group Common conference, IBM announced that the System i and p platforms would merge to form a new server platform called Power Systems.  Because System i and IBM's Unix platform, System p, run on the same Power processor and essentially have the same hardware, IBM considered the merger a good way to combine the two. Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, the CIO for the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, said that she likes the renaming of the System i operating system from i5/OS to just i, calling it "brilliant" because "it's not tied to a specific version of an operating system or platform. It stands for integration." But not everyone was thrilled with the change. One user wrote in an email that he wished IBM had renamed it i/OS; that way the name wouldn't be tied to the version of Power processor, but it would still be clear that it was an operating system, and not just a noncapitalized first-person pronoun.
Visit www.ibm.com.
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Linux

Dell, HP, Lenovo back Linux with driver promise
Dell, HP and Lenovo have promised to push chipset vendors to make open-source drivers for Linux. Representatives from Dell, HP and Lenovo made the commitment at a Linux Foundation conference, promising to include wording in their hardware procurement processes to "strongly encourage" the delivery of open-source drivers for integration into the Linux kernel. "This year we saw breakthroughs in driver support for the desktop, IPV6 compliance and virtualisation. We feel it's an important venue for solving cross-industry and cross-community issues," Linux Foundation executive director, Jim Zemlin, said in a statement. Maker of the Linux-based Eee PC, Asus, has also said it will encourage its hardware suppliers to provide open-source drivers for Linux.
Visit www.dell.com, www.hp.com or www.lenovo.com.
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Moves, adds & changes

Kodak completes acquisition of Intermate A/S
Eastman Kodak Company announced that it has completed an acquisition of Intermate A/S, a global supplier of remote monitoring and print connectivity solutions used extensively in transactional printing. Kodak expects Intermate’s expertise in Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) systems, a hardware and software technology that links mid- to high-volume print systems, will extend Kodak’s capabilities in the growing transactional print marketplace. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Birkerod, Denmark, Intermate’s solutions provide reliable, high quality printer connectivity and network communication products and solutions, particularly for mission critical transactional printing. The company develops hardware and software IPDS products aimed at distribution channels and integrating IPDS print technology software into products from printer manufacturers through OEM partnerships.
Visit www.kodak.com.
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Power

Emerson Network Power showcases integrated enclosure solutions
Emerson Network Power featured its NetXtend series of integrated enclosure solutions during two days of product demonstrations at the Emerson Communications Conference. The NetXtend series offers outdoor enclosure options integrated not only with traditional battery backup power, but also with fuel cells. Fuel cells weigh less, operate virtually silently, and have an extended lifespan—making them an attractive option for some deployments in residential neighborhoods or on rooftops where batteries may be too heavy.  NetXtend integrated enclosures are designed for extended outdoor battery backup at telecom central office and Outside Plant sites and can replace diesel generators and existing battery backup systems. They provide increased reliability and battery life thanks to the integrated enclosure system that offers protection from the elements and other outside threats.
Visit www.emersonnetworkpower.com.
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Sun

Setting Sun
A day after posting its worst financial results in more than a year, Sun Microsystems announced that rock musician Neil Young would join its executives on stage in San Francisco to promote a new music project that uses Sun's Java programming language. Young's appearance at Sun's annual JavaOne conference may grab headlines, but it surely won't help the worsening business fortunes hammering Sun's already battered shares. Just when it looked like the embattled computer maker was emerging from a multiyear spiral, an unexpected third-quarter loss sent Sun's shares even lower. The stock, temporarily buoyed by a one-for-four reverse stock split in November, 2007, fell sharply. The results suggested a turnaround begun under CEO Jonathan Schwartz may be losing steam and fueled concern the economic slump is taking a bigger toll on Sun than on peers. In the quarter that ended Mar. 30, Sun suffered a loss of $34 million, or 4¢ a share. Wall Street was looking for a profit of 18¢. During a conference call with investors, Schwartz said Sun's U.S. business customers postponed buying decisions in March amid uncertainty over U.S. economic growth. Schwartz, who succeeded co-founder Scott McNealy as CEO in 2006, also said he'd cut as many as 2,500 jobs.
Visit www.sun.com.
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