Short Takes: February 1

By SD Times News Team

February 3, 2009 —

Borland’s back in the blender
Here we go again, as the company that once had the best brand in software development jumps back into the blender.

You’ve probably seen the cheery stories that broke on the Web last month about Tod Nielsen, former CEO of Borland, becoming COO of VMware. The positive, "Isn't this great?" coverage was skillfully orchestrated by VMware’s crack PR team, who did such a good job that nearly every Web reporter wrote nearly exactly the same upbeat, happy-happy, group-hug story.

What was neglected in almost all of the media coverage is: what about Borland? Because VMware’s PR team didn’t talk about Borland, few reporters bothered to look at the mess that Nielsen created during his three-year tenure.

(It’s striking that at Macworld, I was talking to a software developer and casually mentioned Borland. He asked, “Are they even still in business?”)

Nielsen joined Borland as president and CEO in November 2005. During that time, all that he succeeded in doing, as far as I can tell, was to spin off the tools division, which operated for a while as a subsidiary called CodeGear. CodeGear was purchased by Embarcadero Technologies in May 2008.

So, as Nielsen moves from the command chair at Borland to a supporting role at VMware, what has he left behind? When announcing his departure, Borland also announced preliminary fourth-quarter revenues in the range of US$38.5 to $40 million. That’s a big drop over fourth-quarter 2007 revenues of $61.5 million. The company also announced that it will layoff 130 employees, or about 15% of its regular full-time staff.

Goodbye to Nielsen, who looks like he jumped before he was pushed. And good luck to new Borland acting president/CEO Erik Prusch, who previously served as Borland’s CFO. He’s going to need it. (By the way, when a company promotes its CFO to acting CEO, instead of advancing a sales or product executive, that’s a good sign that the company’s going to be sold soon.)
— Alan Zeichick

The Onion strikes again
“Everything is just a few hundred clicks away.” That is what Brian Gilman, Apple’s senior product innovator (wink, wink), proclaims in a spoof news broadcast from the Onion News Network entitled “Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard.” The Onion will make you cry with laughter with its report on the MacBook Wheel, which replaces the everyday keyboard with Apple’s touch sensitive click wheel, found on your iPod.

The “news broadcast” is carried out well, with a very convincing conference setup. Some of the more noteworthy lines are, “I’ll buy almost anything if it’s shiny and made by Apple” from a consumer, and, “Alex Zalban was one of the lucky few to get to try out a Mac Wheel, and spent 45 minutes typing an e-mail to his friend.”

If you haven’t seen the video, Google the title: it’s good for a few laughs. — Jeff Feinman

Once Vista'd, twice shy?
The reviews of Windows 7 have been very positive so far, but my opinion is still out. I'll admit that I have not tried it yet; it would have to install on my Mac. Before the switch to the Apple side, I habitually beta-tested each new edition of Windows that I could get my hands on, even internal builds that had the build numbers written on the CDs with marker.

Windows Vista hosed my machine twice and broke the habit. My old, “ol'-reliable” PC is just fine running Windows XP, and I don't feel like having to reinstall Windows and my applications again. Maybe Windows 7 will win me back when it's closer to production. — David Worthington

It's hip to be Rails, too
This month, I spent a lot of time in the worlds of Mac and Ruby. Not at the same time, mind you, though Apple has pushed some Ruby tools into Xcode.

There are some similarities between the Apple and Ruby worlds, though. Both are home to ravenously eager fans who consider their beloved to be the only rational choice. Both worlds are small, but gaining popularity in the world of big business. On the Ruby side of things, there is a sense that businesses are waking up to the advantages of Rails. Certainly, a huge chunk of the Web 2.0 world is Ruby-based. Of course, Apple is wildly popular in Hollywood and in music studios.

Perhaps the greatest single similarity between the Macintosh and Ruby is their popularity among the hip, cool trendsetters. — Alex Handy

Related Search Term(s): finances, Rails, Windows, Apple, Borland, Microsoft, VMware

Share this link: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/33237

Ballmer announces Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 betas Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer used the CES 2009 spotlight to announce the availability of betas for the upcoming version of Windows. Preview versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have been distributed to testers, with general availability coming tomorrow.

European Commission: Microsoft violated antitrust In a new statement released today, Microsoft has been found to be violating European antitrust laws as far back as 1996, stemming from its IE/Windows bundling. The company has the opportunity to respond to these claims.

Borland restructures, expects layoffs after Nielsen departure Tod Nielsen and Peter Morowski are leaving Borland, and the company faces low quarterly earnings and impending layoffs. An analyst comments on these matters and the rise of former CFO Erik Prusch to acting CEO and president.

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