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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (47795)	1/21/2009 3:11:39 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Cleantech Crowd Cheers Obama’s Inaugural Speech _______________________________________________________________ By JENNIFER KHO GigaOm January 20, 2009 After being ignored in the last two inaugural speeches, the issue of climate change got plenty of attention at U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday. As an estimated 1.4 million watchers looked on in the mall alone, by far the largest attendance at an inaugural event, Obama said that “the ways in which we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet” and that the country cannot “consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.” He promised to “restore science to its rightful place,” a move that likely will be seen as an admonition to the Bush administration, which had been accused of interfering with scientific work related to climate change (see stories here and here). He pledged to build electric grids, “harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories” and work with other countries to “roll back the specter of a warming planet.” The cleantech industry applauded the speech for underlining the new president’s commitment to the climate change fight. “We’re certainly encouraged,” said Susan Preston, general partner for the California Clean Energy Fund’s angel fund. “It gives us an understanding of the priority [clean energy]’s been given, and it’s one that it’s never been given before.” With the Obama administration’s focus on climate issues, Preston said she believes green technology will be one of the key factors to revitalizing the economy. She also said she understands that it will take time to craft new legislation to support clean technology and indicated her willingness to have patience, a good sign for an administration that has made hefty promises. While Preston would, for example, like to see a federal renewable portfolio standard as soon as possible, she said it would likely take some time to put together and doesn’t expect it to happen in the first quarter. She added that a carbon cap-and-trade program might happen first. “In listening to the conversations in Congress, there’s a lot of difference in opinion, but there’s absolutely no question in my mind that Obama is fully and utterly committed to having a federal renewable portfolio standard and considers it one of his highest priorities,” she said. Gary Mull, V-P of marketing at Akeena Solar, called the event “amazing” and said Obama’s ability to stir the crowd and offer hope to the nation was “very impressive.” Aside from Obama’s direct references to the environment and clean technology, Mull said that his call to the nation for service and his reminder that everyone has a duty to work to address the nation’s challenges was relevant to addressing climate change. Mull also referred to the new presidential limousine — a Cadillac hybrid — as another sign of Obama’s commitment to the cause. The car choice “is a statement of his out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new message,” he said. “He’s leading by example. We’re off to a great start.” Copyright 2009 GigaOm.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (47795)	1/21/2009 3:29:37 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Microsoft Dumps Comcast Investment paidcontent.org

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (47795)	1/21/2009 3:49:07 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

Cisco to Target IBM and Hewlett-Packard With New Server (Update1) By Rochelle Garner Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Cisco Systems Inc. plans to sell a computer server that combines storage and networking functions, a challenge to International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett- Packard Co., a Pacific Crest Securities analyst said. The product will make it easier for companies to move information and applications among data centers using so-called virtualization software, said Pacific Crest’s Brent Bracelin, who is based in Portland, Oregon. Companies use virtualization software to run multiple operating systems on a single server, saving hardware and energy costs. “We are calling this the clash of the technology titans,” Bracelin said in an interview. “Cisco is reinventing what was the mainframe, with a whole new category of server that emphasizes the network.” Chief Executive Officer John Chambers has said that penetrating further into data centers, the vast rooms of computers that store company files and run applications, will fuel Cisco’s growth. Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Dell Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. control the computer-server market, which was valued at $12.6 billion in the third quarter, according to researcher IDC in Framingham, Massachusetts. Cisco, the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, is working on more ways to simplify how clients shift information among networked computers, according to an e-mailed statement from the San Jose, California-based company. Cisco said it doesn’t comment on unannounced products. Virtual Networks “Right now, we have virtualized local area networks, virtualized storage and virtualized servers,” Cisco said. “The challenge is integrating the management of those systems so they all work seamlessly. We think the network is the logical place to solve that challenge.” Cisco rose 39 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $15.40 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 9:34 a.m. New York time. The shares lost 40 percent last year. Emma McCulloch, a spokeswoman for Palo Alto, California- based Hewlett-Packard, declined to comment. Tim Breuer, a spokesman for IBM in Armonk, New York, didn’t return a call after hours seeking comment. Cisco’s product should be available in the next few months, Bracelin said. The device could be a so-called blade server, said Samuel Wilson, an analyst with JMP Securities in San Francisco. A blade server would allow customers to slide hard-disk drives and other components into a Cisco-made chassis. Cisco said in November that first-quarter sales rose at the slowest pace in three years as the global economic crisis crimped customers’ budgets. The company leads the market for routers and switches, which direct information on company networks. Cisco already offers a combination network switch and data-storage product. Untapped Market Servers are “one of the few, big untapped markets for Cisco,” Wilson said. “They already have all of the market share in routers and switches that they can get, so they have to look at adjacent markets. It’s the only way to grow at the rates they want to grow.” Chambers, 59, said in December that he’s “comfortable” with a projection of long-term annual sales growth of 12 percent to 17 percent. That goal means Cisco must go after new markets, said Nikos Theodosopoulos, an analyst at UBS AG in New York. “They will enter the blade-server market and increase their competitive position against IBM and H-P,” Theodosopoulos said. To contact the reporter on this story: Rochelle Garner in San Francisco at rgarner4@bloomberg.net Last Updated: January 21, 2009 09:36 EST