For the first time in nearly two years, companies ponied up more money for a category called “equipment and software” in the third quarter of the year.
It isnt a huge growth rate - just 1.1 percent, according to the governments report last week on U.S. economic growth. Still, equipment and software are a broad and important category of items made by such companies as Deere & Co., EMC Corp. and General Electric Co. It includes computers, software, medical equipment, industrial engines, autos, planes, furniture and farm machinery.
Business spending is especially crucial now because consumers, who normally drive a recovery, arent - - - - >

Dassault Systemes rose as much as 7.6 percent in Paris, the biggest intraday gain in three months, after unveiling plans to buy the IBM business that sells and supports its Product Lifecycle Management software, including customer contracts. IBM, the worlds biggest computer-services company, and Dassault Systemes aim to complete the deal by the second quarter of next year, the companies said in a statement today.
“Its an excellent financial operation,” Aurel BGC in Paris wrote in a note to investors. “It unifies the channels of distribution for - - - - >

The Seattle-based companys RealDVD software violates federal anti-piracy law and also goes against a contract RealNetworks signed to gain keys to unscramble DVDs, U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel said.
DVDs are embedded with anti-piracy technology that prevents copying, Patel noted.
“RealDVD products are designed primarily for circumvention of that technology,” she wrote. “This unauthorized access infringes the Studios rights because it entails accessing content without the authority of the copyright owner.”
Patels order bars the company from selling its software until the case is resolved, saying the movie industry is likely to prevail in its legal battle with RealNetworks.
The companys software - - - - >

The company blamed the declines on the effects of a stronger dollar - which makes deals done in other currencies worth less. Companies also have been shelling out less for new software because of the recession.
Still, Oracles chief financial officer, Jeff Epstein, said in a statement that Oracle executed “substantially better” than the company expected.
Oracle, which is based in Redwood Shores, Calif., said after the market closed Tuesday that its net income from March through May was $1.89 billion, or 38 cents per share. Last year, it was $2.04 billion, or 39 cents per share.
Excluding stock-based compensation and one-time items, - - - - >

A three-year agreement signed Friday calls for setting up two new centers in Hangzhou to focus on developing the local technology industry. Microsoft will provide curriculum support, technology and training for teachers at Hangzhou Normal University through an institute set up to nurture local innovation.
“Partnering with leading IT companies like Microsoft will greatly boost Hangzhous innovative capabilities and help us build a model information technology city in China,” Cai Qi, Hangzhous mayor, said in a statement.
No dollar figure was announced for the plan. Spending will be above the roughly $1 billion the company pledged in November to spend on research - - - - >

Yahoo spurned a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft in May, and later rejected Microsofts bid to buy only its search engine. Ballmer has said repeatedly of late that the buyout remains off the table, though a search-related deal is possible.
But Wednesday marked the first time he had renewed that stance since the resignation announced this week by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who had resisted Microsofts overtures. Yahoo shares rose when Yang said he would step aside, because investors hoped it meant a deal with Microsoft would now be more likely.
Ballmer said the companies are not currently talking about a - - - - >

Once one of the hot emerging markets, outsourcing is now on the decline in Bangalore and elsewhere. The industry rose to a pinnacle as the housing bubble needed someone to do the paperwork. Companies like WNS Holdings, which was founded by British Airways, found market share and grew during that time.
“The main market for us is still the United States. If companies are not doing good there, our job prospects are low,” said Nilesh Raut, 29, a software engineer at Oracle, which has an office here.
Bangalore is full of young migrants like Raut, who snapped up tech jobs that - - - - >