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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2004 PeopleSoft Says No to Oracle, Again Comcast to Offer Phone Service Upping the Ante in the Router Market PEOPLESOFT SAYS NO TO ORACLE, AGAIN The PeopleSoft Board of Directors has, for the fourth time, rejected the takeover bid from Oracle. Oracle, which originally offered $16 a share and eventually upped its bid to $26 a share, recently lowered the bid to $21 a share, saying the lower bid more accurately reflected the value of PeopleSoft after changes in the market. PeopleSoft's board, however, said the bid is "inadequate," an opinion supported by recent reports from Citigroup Global Markets and Goldman Sachs. PeopleSoft also disputes the proposed takeover on antitrust grounds, noting that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to prevent the deal, saying it would be an anticompetitive merger. PeopleSoft also announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought by shareholders who objected to the company's customer assurance program, which guaranteed payments to customers in the event of a takeover under certain circumstances. The plaintiffs in that suit alleged that the program lowered the value of the company. ZDNet, 26 May 2004 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5220539.html COMCAST TO OFFER PHONE SERVICE Comcast has announced plans to offer voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) phone service to all of its 40 million subscribers by the end of 2006. The company said its various pilot programs of the service have gone better than expected. The announcement marks the latest round in the ongoing competition between cable and phone companies, which are increasingly looking for customers in each other's markets. John Billock of Time Warner Cable, the country's second-largest cable company behind Comcast, said the reason for the overlap is simple: "Customers want one company and one bill." Comcast joins other cable companies, including Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, that already offer telephone service and report strong demand for their one-price offerings. Cablevision, for example, offers unlimited service in the United States and Canada for $34.95 a month. Phone companies will likely have trouble matching prices with cable companies, although many telephone providers argue that their service is more reliable and of higher quality. Wall Street Journal, 26 May 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108552125681821065,00.html UPPING THE ANTE IN THE ROUTER MARKET A new router from Cisco Systems promises to shake up the router market with the possibility of transferring data at rates as high as 92 terabits per second. Cisco is the leader in the router market but is feeling increased pressure from Juniper Networks. Cisco's new routers can, individually, transfer data at 1.2 terabits per second or can be combined in groups of as many as 72 to achieve the maximum transfer rate. According to Chris Nicoll of research firm Current Analysis, Juniper's routers individually are at least as fast as the new Cisco router but cannot be arranged in clusters as large as Cisco's, resulting in lower maximum transfer rates. Cisco claimed the new router will be easier to manage than older routers, a characteristic Nicoll said Juniper has demonstrated with its routers. The new routers, which reportedly cost $500 million to develop, will cost $450,000 each, with a typical high-end installation costing $40 to $50 million, according to Cisco. New York Times, 25 May 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/25/technology/25cisco.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. For information on EDUCAUSE publications see http://www.educause.edu/pub/ ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/conference/ ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2004, EDUCAUSE
