More from Dow Jones on the latest acqusition:
Wind River Tries To Bolster Its OS Software With Acqusition
Dow Jones Online News, Monday, July 06, 1998 at 20:16
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Wind River Systems Inc., a well-regarded
developer of operating-system software for cellular phones, camcorders,
fax machines and other electronic devices as well as some networking
equipment, plans to buy privately held Zinc Software Inc. as part of an
effort to withstand Microsoft Corp.
Wind River (WIND_ said Zinc Software, of Pleasant Grove, Utah, is
developing a graphical user interface for so-called embedded devices.
Microsoft has said it wants to penetrate the embedded chip market with
its lightweight Windows CE, a software operating system that has the
look and feel of its flagship Windows programs. Microsoft is working to
shrink the product to meet the demands of the embedded market, which
requires that software systems take up a minimum of memory.
Wind River didn't release financial details of its stock transaction
with Zinc, which the company plans to formally announce Tuesday. Wind
River hopes to use Zinc Software to offer customers a customizable
interface for use with printers, copiers, telephones and other devices.
Microsoft in April said it will put "real-time" capabilities into
Windows CE. What that means is Microsoft intends to enable the software
by early 1999 to react fast enough - and reliably enough - to be used in
high-percision devices such as test and measurement equipment. It also
would make Windows CE a better choice for Internet-ready TVs, set-top
boxes and handheld devices - high-volume products that Microsoft is more
interested in.
Investors woory that Wind River will soon face competition from
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft. But it is a claim Wind River has
disputed. Wind River believes it has a technical advantage it can
maintain over Microsoft. Wind River claims its popular VXWorks program
is smaller, more versatile and quicker than what Microsoft hopes its
software will be next year. Wind River also has acquired the rights to
use a graphical user interface - a strength of Windows CE - from Oracle
Corp.'s (ORCL) subsidiary - Network Computer Inc.
However, Microsoft, which usually sells software through
distributors, has signed up a number companies to support its
initiative. At stake for both Microsoft and Wind River is a market that
could have sales of many millions of units over several years. It also
is a market now caught up in a much broader Microsoft Windows versus Sun
Microsystems Inc. Java conflict. Both technology are competing for the
loyalty of developers. That has left Wind River, which has embraced
Java, feeling the Microsoft punch
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