Achiram blog

IBM Expands Server Laboratory in Taiwan

I think this is a statement about IBM's success in Taiwan," said laboratory Director Chris Verne. "It's about having an ecosystem of products and companies we can work with."

The company will pass on its server architecture to Taiwan's high-tech contractors for design and manufacturing.

The expansion will help make Taiwan's contract manufacturing industries smarter and more service oriented, increasing their use of Power Systems computing for analytics and complex applications, IBM said.

IBM said its Power systems held a 54 percent share of the Unix server market in the fourth quarter of last year, a gain of nearly six points over its competitors, which include Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, following that company's acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

IBM declined to say how much money it planned to invest in the Taipei lab expansion.

India Files Charges Against Former Telecom Minister

s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed charges against nine people, including the country's former telecommunications minister, A. Raja, in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G licenses and spectrum in 2008.

The charge sheet, which sets the stage for the trial of Raja and others, was filed by the CBI before the court of a special judge for CBI cases in Delhi on Saturday. The CBI said it had established that Raja and others committed offenses punishable under the country's Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Raja and two aides were arrested in February by the CBI in connection with the agency's investigation into the alleged scam in the allocation of 2G licenses.

Irregular allocations of 2G licenses and spectrum to some Indian operators in 2008 may have cost the country US$39 billion, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) that was presented to Parliament in November.

Raja resigned a few days ahead of the presentation of the report in Parliament, after its contents were leaked to local media.

The 2G licenses were issued at 2001 prices without an auction even though other government agencies, such as the Ministry of Finance, had asked the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) to review the decision, the CAG said.

Some companies were also favored while awarding the licenses, even though the DOT had earlier said it would follow a "first come, first served" policy, it added.

Others named in the CBI charge sheet on Saturday include Raja's two aides, and executives of two realty firms that obtained 2G licenses in 2008 and went on to sell stakes in their mobile companies to foreign mobile companies.

The two mobile companies and a company belonging to Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) were also named in the charge sheet, according to reports. India's second largest mobile operator, Reliance Communications, is part of ADAG.

One of the mobile companies, Unitech Wireless, which has Telenor as an investor, said in an emailed statement Saturday that the CBI charges have yet to be proven and that it will argue its case in court. The company added that it believed it was eligible for the license and has rolled out services as required. Unitech Wireless uses the Uninor brand in India.

Etisalat, which has a stake in the other mobile operator, Etisalat DB Telecom, was not immediately available for comment. Etisalat DB Telecom was called Swan Telecom before the UAE operator acquired a stake in the company.

Etisalat said in February that it acquired its stake in December 2008, after Swan had applied for and obtained 15 licenses. Etisalat said it had no involvement in the license application process and that it had purchased its stake in the company on the belief that the licenses had been properly granted.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at . John's e-mail address is

Simon Cowell denies "American Idol" bad blood

Ten years after helping launch "American Idol" into a national pastime, Simon Cowell is again playing the role of underdog.

He's back auditioning talent for a largely unknown singing competition -- although this time, when "The X Factor" premieres on Fox this fall, it will come with immense hype and expectations.

Cowell, 51, spoke with Hollywood Reporter editor at large Kim Masters for a segment on her KCRW radio show, The Business. An edited transcript follows:

TELL ME WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM LAUNCHING IDOL THAT YOU MIGHT BE PUTTING INTO PRACTICE NOW WITH THE X FACTOR?

Simon Cowell: When we launched the show, which was literally 10 years ago, I was doing exactly the same thing. I was talking to people, talking up the show, which nobody knew anything about. This is when we were trying to get people to audition in the first place and praying that it was going to work and that people would like it. But until people actually showed up, we didn't know whether the show was going to work or not. And it's the same principle now. No matter what your ambitions are for one of these shows, it absolutely depends on who the contestants are. If they're all useless and boring, you haven't got a show.

THE EXPECTATIONS FOR "IDOL" WERE NOTHING, AND IT TURNED OUT RATHER WELL. THE EXPECTATIONS FOR "X FACTOR" ARE HIGHER, SO WHAT DO YOU DO?

Cowell: Just keep doing what I'm doing, which is don't believe the hype, assume you've still got to get the message out to people -- maybe those who would normally not enter a show like this. You've got to start from the absolute basics because we haven't filmed a second yet of this new show. I know what it turned into in the U.K. It turned into a really successful, fun show, and I hope the same thing can happen in America.

"IDOL" RATINGS HAVE HELD UP QUITE WELL, AND THE TALENT IS AWFULLY GOOD THIS YEAR. IS IT OVERSTATING IT TO SAY YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT TALENT NOT KNOWING WHAT "X FACTOR" IS AND NOT TURNING OUT THE WAY THEY DO FOR "IDOL" NOW?

Cowell: I said from the beginning I was going to put my money where my mouth is. So we put up, in addition to a recording contract, $5 million to the winner of this show, as a statement to say that I actually did believe that we could find somebody who would become a world star. Because we don't give out recording contracts like that at Sony any longer.

IS THAT $5 MILLION CASH GUARANTEED?

Cowell: It's $5 million cash guaranteed. Whether you sell one record or 10 million records, you get $5 million.

DO YOU HAVE A NUMBER IN YOUR HEAD OF WHAT SORT OF RATING WOULD BE A WIN FOR YOU?

Cowell: That's a very good question. I mean everything over 20 million (viewers) would be a good first week, right?

IT WOULD BE GREAT. "IDOL" AT THIS POINT IS DOING 22 MILLION, DOWN FROM A HIGH OF 31 MILLION.

Cowell: Well, we have a fifth of your population in the U.K., and on the final last year, 21 million people tuned in. It's a vast amount of people in this small country. But I don't take anything for granted. I've sat in there many, many times during auditions, thinking this is going to be a complete and utter disaster, and then somebody good walks in an hour later.

"IDOL" WAS NOTORIOUS FOR TENSION ON THE SET. IS IT JUST A PART OF SOMETHING THAT BIG AND SUCCESSFUL, THERE'S GOING TO BE BAD BLOOD?

Cowell: There wasn't bad blood from my point of view. I was very grateful for the show because otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you today. It did a lot of good for a lot of people, and we all benefited from it. It's sad when you read about the producers saying, "I'm glad Simon's not on the show anymore," that "it's better without him," because you kind of wish that they would say that to your face rather than in public. Because I didn't feel that when I was on the show. I thought we all liked each other. And that's why I'm happy now that I'm launching something new with people who do want to work with me.

SO THE NOTION THAT YOU WOULD BE HAPPY IF IDOL FAILED WITHOUT YOU, IS THAT JUST FANCIFUL?

Cowell: I never said that. I still talk to Randy (Jackson), Ryan (Seacrest), (producer) Kenny Warwick, (executive producer) Cecile (Frot-Coutaz). A couple of people maybe would have a grudge, but no, we always said that if that show remained popular it means that people are still interested in these types of shows. But we are competitive with each other, which is healthy. Each show wants to do better than the other. But it's not just "Idol," it's "Dancing With the Stars," it's Mark (Burnett)'s new show, we're all competitive with each other. But that's a good thing.

I DO MISS YOU AS A JUDGE ON IDOL. NOBODY IS SAYING THE WORDS THAT YOU USED TO SAY, WHICH IS "THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE" AND "YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE GONE." DO YOU WATCH?

Cowell: I watched it a couple of weeks ago. And it was interesting. I was watching it with some friends. And for a moment, it's like you're on the show and somebody's singing and you want to say something, and then suddenly you realize you're not on the show and you're listening to somebody else. It's a really odd experience. But they genuinely seem to be happy and the audience seemed to like it so I guess everyone's happy.

Albany (N.Y.) hangs on to defeat Hartford 62-59

ALBANY, N.Y. – Jacob Iati made two free throws with 2.6 seconds left and Albany (N.Y.) hung on for a 62-59 victory over Hartford on Saturday night.

Tim Ambrose had 20 points to lead the Great Danes (12-14, 5-6 America East Conference), who led by as many as 11 points in the first half. But Ambrose scored his last points with 4:24 to play and Albany had to withstand a Hartford rally without any further offense from its top scorer.

The Hawks (7-16, 4-6) twice pulled to within one point in the final 22 seconds, but never tied or took the lead. They were led by Milton Burton with 16 points and Joe Zeglinski with 15. The two combined to make 9 of 20 from 3-point range, but Burton misfired on a last-second attempt to tie. Hartford never led and lost its fourth in a row.

Logan Aronhart, Mike Black and Luke Devlin each had 11 points for Albany, and Devlin added 11 rebounds for a double-double.

MSU suspends G Ravern Johnson for critical tweets

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State's Ravern Johnson has been suspended for Saturday's game against LSU because of "inappropriate tweets" sent following the team's 75-61 loss to Alabama on Wednesday.

The suspension was announced Friday in a statement released by the university. Johnson, a 6-foot-7 senior, is averaging 17.7 points per game.

Johnson was critical of his role in the offense and of fans in Twitter messages after scoring just 10 points in the loss to the Crimson Tide. Johnson's Twitter account was deleted soon after posting the comments on the social networking website.

MSU coach Rick Stansbury banned the team from using Twitter on Thursday.

Mississippi State (11-10, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) has lost four out of its past seven games.