Columnist's corner: SAP's plans for 2007 are akin to a sea change taking place across the software industry, explains Ephraim Schwartz in this week's installment of Reality Check. Take Enterprise Search, for instance. "Most search products focus on text. If you're looking for news, reviews, or an esoteric piece of information about an obscure author, Google is the way to go. But what if you want to know the status of a customer shipment, how much inventory is left, who is so-and-so's supervisor, or whether I am authorized to give him or her a raise? These are the kinds of questions Enterprise Search is built to answer."

M&A: Level 3 Communications plunks down $135 million for the content delivery network arm of Savvis, with which it will be able to host rich media including videos and Web 2.0 applications.

Best of the blogs: Microsoft just might be using the public, as in early adopters of Windows Vista, for the final beta testing, according to this Tech Watch post by Mr. Schwartz. "It reminds me of the robot arm GE uses to test how many times you can open and close a refrigerator door before it falls off its hinges. The robot just keeps slamming away, simulating the general public, especially in football season, opening and closing the fridge door," he writes.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on December 26, 2006 10:57 AM