Channel Insider Staff

(Reuters) – As Microsoft Corp’s Windows 7 release approaches, early reviews are generally positive. But so were reviews for Windows Vista just before its launch. In the months leading up to Windows 7’s release this Thursday, publications from ComputerWorld to the New York Times have written favorable assessments, praising, in particular, its increased speed and […]

At some point every pop icon — particularly the animated kind — are enlisted to shill a product. Homer Simpson did it. Fred Flintstone did it. Bugs Bunny did it. And you can add Peter Griffin and the characters of Family Guy to the roster. Already circulating on YouTube is a Family Guy clip featuring […]

Let’s start by stating the obvious: 2009 was a tough year. Recession, uncertainty, declining IT spending, disruptive technologies and services, and fierce competition all added up to one of the most challenging business years in industry history. And yet many vendors and solution providers thrived. Investment, ingenuity, innovation and dedication propelled successful leaders and organizations […]

(Reuters) – Demand for computers from large companies is likely to pick up by as soon as mid-2010 as a result of Microsoft’s launch this week of its Windows 7 operating system, a senior Dell executive said on Wednesday. Dell was also looking to the services capability and virtualization software sectors for future acquisition possibilities, […]

(Reuters) – Tens of millions of U.S. computers are loaded with scam security software that their owners may have paid for but which only makes the machines more vulnerable, according to a new Symantec report on cybercrime. Cyberthieves are increasingly planting fake security alerts that pop up when computer users access a legitimate website. The […]

(Reuters) – Apple Inc’s profits and sales streaked past Wall Street forecasts as iPhone and Mac sales hit quarterly records, sending its shares rocketing to all-time highs on Monday. Sales of Mac computers — the largest single contributor to Apple’s revenue — jumped a better-than-foreseen 17 percent, but shipments of the closely watched iPhone were […]

Since the end of summer, solution providers and vendors have complained to me about how packed the fall schedule is with channel events. On average, there’s one or two major channel events each week through the end of the year, and the first week of November will be among the busiest as three conferences–Symantec, HTG […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – IBM placed senior executive Robert Moffat on leave of absence after he was arrested in the largest ever hedge fund insider-trading scheme. Moffat, senior vice president and head of International Business Machines Corp.’s systems and technology group, is being charged with passing on insider information to a hedge fund. He had […]

By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Countries need to forge new trade rules governing the movement of electronic data across borders as the world becomes increasingly connected, a Microsoft official said on Wednesday. As more and more software services are provided over the Internet, "people will be calling on computers located around the world," said […]

By Ian Sherr and Clare Baldwin SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Strong notebook processor sales helped Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) post a narrower than expected loss and turn its core chipmaking business profitable, but the results failed to excite investors, who sold off its shares. The stock of the chip maker — which has […]

By Jim Finkle SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Oracle Corp CEO Larry Ellison talked up his company’s prospects after a planned purchase of Sun Microsystems Inc, saying he hopes the deal will help more than double revenue within five years. Ellison, who co-founded the company 32 years ago and built it into the world’s No. 2 […]

SANTA CLARA, California (Reuters) – Dell Inc Chief Executive Michael Dell said the business climate was improving and repeated his expectation for a "powerful" hardware refresh cycle beginning next year. While noting that there are still obstacles to the recovery, Dell sounded optimistic about the upcoming year as the tech sector makes its way out […]