Axon prefers HCL Tech’s offer to Infosys

New Delhi, Oct. 2 In a move that places HCL Technologies ahead in the race for the acquisition of the Axon Group, the Board of the UK company on Thursday dropped its recommendation of Infosys’ 600 pence a share offer, and said it would unanimously recommend HCL’s 650 pence a share bid to its shareholders.

This assumes significance as the recommendation by the Axon board establishes HCL’s offer as a ‘friendly bid’ and not a ‘hostile’ takeover, sources said. Moreover, while the shareholders in any case would have opted for a higher bid, the recommendation also means that HCL now has the option to convert its offer into a scheme of arrangement.

Wait period lapses

The decision to switch allegiance and recommend the HCL bid comes just days after the 60-hour period stipulated in the pact between Axon and Infosys lapsed without the latter improvising its offer. This left Axon free to amend its endorsement of the Infosys offer to shareholders, in favour of HCL’s .

“Axon and HCL Technologies have enjoyed a long-standing relationship. The Board is pleased that HCL has recognised the quality of the Axon business and has announced its intention to make an offer. The value of the HCL offer is at a premium of 8.3 per cent, to the value of the Infosys offer,” an Axon statement said today.

Counter bid?

Mr V. Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer of Infosys told Business Line, “We have nothing to say at this point. We are still evaluating our options.”

No clincher

The change of recommendation by the Axon Board does not imply that HCL Technologies has clinched the deal; any counter-bid at this stage can stretch the timelines. “In case the status quo remains in the absence of a counter-bid, the clock will not tick on the offer until HCL Technologies publishes a formal offer document and sends it to the shareholders. Thereafter, the company has 46 days to get shareholders’ nod and close the offer,” sources pointed out. Thethree founders of Axon hold 18 per cent stake, while another six per cent is with directors and staff

Ref : THE HINDU, Friday, Oct 03, 2008

IBM's Linux Wristwatch

One of the products showcased by IBM at the recently concluded Bang!inux conference was their Linux-based wrist watch. The software development for this watch is being done here in India. We were able to grab some of the developers working on this watch project and pump them for more information

IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'.
IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'. ‘

IBM or `Big Blue', as it is passionately called, is not only a multi-billion dollar giant with a fascinating product line, but also the single largest company with the most number of patents in the world. And if such a company, which has all along banked upon it's proprietary products for it's revenue, were to suddenly turn to Open source it makes you wonder and a little skeptically too. And this is just what's happening.
IBM's investment (to the tune of a billion dollars) has got the whole Open Source world rife with speculations about the Big Blue's interest in the Linux arena. Looks like IBM, this time around, don?t want to miss the turn-on-the-road (it has passed a few in the past). Now it wants to show the world that it is serious about the most happening Operating System--`Linux'.
The technical specifications for the wristwatch running Linux are as follows:
* Kernel: 2.2.1 * X11R6 for the GUI env. * Size: Watch:56mm wide x 48mm long x 12.25mm thick (2.20 inches x 1.89 inches x 0.48 inches) MotherBoard: 27.5 mm wide x 35.3 mm long (1.08 inches x 39 inches) * Weight: 44 Gms ( Approx. 1.5 ounces) * Touch sensitive display * 8MB Flash * 8MB DRAM * IrDA * Radio Frequency Wireless connectivity * Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery
The Linux watch was conceptualized at IBM's T. J. Watson research center where various groups are continuously exploring the various challenges that arise in the area of user interface design, power management, input devices, wireless communication, sensors and models for co-existences for pervasive devices and wearables. The story goes, that among them, a team of researchers with skills in hardware design, Operating Systems, displays, electronic and mechanical packaging, industrial design and user interface design, that was spread across multiple research IBM sites, worked together to develop the wrist watch that would eventually run Linux and X11. The team, led by Chandra Narayanaswami, worked relentlessly for about 18 months to accomplish this feat.
The wristwatch runs the Linux 2.2.1 kernel with the ARM patch from Ben Williamson. According to IBM, there are certain issues regarding the non-availability of this patch in the latest stable kernel release. The ARM processor that powers the watch runs at 19MHz, is RISC based and which according to estimates is almost equivalent to a 100 Mhz Pentium. The motherboard for the watch was fabricated at IBM's Japan research center. The kernel, which required some massive hacking including the shell that the watch runs, was `tweaked' at Big Blue's research center at Bangalore.