PRESS: Informix in the News

List of Informix related articles. Format: PUBLICATION "Article Name" Summary of Article [Date, Location in Publication, Author] Informix in the News --------------------------------- (03/17/97) PC WEEK ONLINE "Informix modifies suit against Oracle" Informix is refining its lawsuit against Oracle based on information shared during the discovery process. Informix filed an amended complaint last week that focuses all allegations on former Vice President Gary Kelley. The allegations include breach of contract, threatened misappropriation of trade secrets, "tortious interference with prospective advantage," unfair competition and breach of fiduciary duty. The modification in the complaint has come about because Informix has found no proof that the departing employees stole trade secrets. As a result, Informix is now suing them for "threatened" misappropriation of trade secrets. A temporary restraining order is in effect that prevents the engineers from divulging trade secrets. (3/13/97, online, Juan Perez) SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Informix amends suit against Oracle" Informix has amended its suit against Oracle based on further evidence about who allegedly took information and what was taken when 11 employees jumped ship in January. The amendment focuses on threatened misappropriation of trade secrets and seeks punitive damages against one employee for apparently urging several colleagues to leave for Oracle. (3/12/97, pg. C1, staff writer) Additional coverage: COMPUTERWORLD "Short takes" (3/17/97, pg. 8, staff writer) ENT "Informix files lawsuit" (3/5/97, pg. 34, staff writer) COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS "Informix ... " The latest Informix billboard, perched outside Oracle HQ blares: Dinosaur crossing. In retaliation, Oracle took out full page ads in the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE over the weekend -- written by Larry Ellison himself. The ad mentions that Informix might want to get rid of more bodies. It also states that some say layoffs are imminent, because the company's numbers seem down. (3/17/97, pg. 236, staff writer) INFORMATIONWEEK ONLINE "Informix and Cornell Theory Center unite to demonstrate petabyte databases" Cornell Theory Center (CTC) and Informix will announce today that they are joining forces to demonstrate support for databases that are petabytes, thousands of terabytes. The partnership will combine Informix's OnLine XPS with Cornell's 512-processor IBM RS/6000 SP system. CTC also plans to use Informix's Universal Server to demonstrate support for multimedia applications. (3/17/97, online, John Foley) INFOWORLD ONLINE "Large Informix database to attend Cornell" Calling the project the largest commercially available database in the world, Informix will work with Cornell University to develop a database system for testing large-scale, petabyte-size enterprise applications, such as investment analysis and trading and scientific applications. Cornell's Informix configuration is intended for use at the university's testing center and is not designed for commercial deployment. (3/17/97, online, staff writer) C/NET "HP smartens up security" HP, in conjunction with Informix and smart card manufacturer Gemplus, will introduce two smart card solutions; one for corporate intranets and extranets, and the other for public Internet sites. Companies will be able to issue personal smart cards to consumers, partners and employees and create secure business-to-business and Web applications. The portable cards, called ImagineCards, are plastic, credit-card sized plates, which require a password for use. Both ImagineCard solutions include developer and deployment kits. Pricing will range from $60 to $250 per user and will ship on April 1. (3/12/97, online, Tim Clark) SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "Internet World is a stage" (3/12/97, pg. C3, Julia Angwin) INFOWORLD ONLINE "HP announces 'extended enterprise' products" (3/13/97, online, Niall McKay) INFOWORLD ONLINE "SAP looks to Informix for new generation of database support" According to Informix, SAP is working with Informix to migrate SAP R/3 business application users to INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server relational database management system. The initial plan involves migrating users to OnLine Dynamic Server, but it is possible the users may migrate to INFORMIX-Universal Server, at some point. (3/11/97, online, Paul Krill) LAN TIMES "Databases get image overhaul" Leading database vendors are responding to the demands of Web-site designers to better manage and search database content. Both Informix and Oracle have announced RDBMS extensions, known respectively as cartridges and DataBlades, and are giving designers better multimedia capabilities. The new technologies treat multimedia files as objects for easier network distribution. "Using a relational database for multimedia is an oxymoron and an exercise in futility," said Errol Gerson, president and CEO of Cow Inc., a Web-site development firm. (3/17/97, pg. 16, Cesar Alvarez) COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS "Informix the visionary?" The article details Phil White's seeming change in public appearances to take on more of the technology visionary role. The author notes how White showed this change at last month's partner conference. "The only way to differentiate yourself is going to be through content," Phil White said. He also talked about an aggressive new advertising campaign planned for this year. VARs had mixed responses to the call to higher technology. While some said they had been in line with White's vision for some time, others are still trying to fit new technologies into their businesses. (3/17/97, pg. 85, Shawn Willett) C/NET "Software firms play financiers" Increasingly, software companies are taking on the role of venture capitalists and investing in small and emerging technology firms. The trend is a way for larger companies to cement partnerships and for smaller players to gain sales and marketing resources. According to Jeff Hudson, Informix has invested more than $20 million since 1995. "We have a technology lead in the database market, and one reason we do is we focus in the technology area we're involved in," he said. "Customers just don't buy a technology; they buy a solution. So we partner with a number of different companies." (3/11/97, online, Dawn Yoshitake)