Alibaba To Build its Own PC
Alibaba.com, the big Chinese e-commerce site that Yahoo owns a 40% piece of – part of those seemingly priceless Asian assets that could reportedly get sold in a Microsoft deal to pay off disappointed stockholders – is going to build an e-commerce PC with Intel to get Chinese SMEs online. The widget, which will be made by domestic Chinese PC makers, perhaps using the Atom chip, will be fitted out with Alibaba’s e-commerce applications. It should be available this year. Alibaba says there are 42 million SMEs in China and only a few of them have launched e-commerce services.

Google’s Advance Continues
ComScore has upped Google’s US search share. It was 59.8% in March and now for April it’s 61.6%. It gave Yahoo 20.4% and Microsoft 9.1%.

IBM Eats HP’s Dust
HP passed IBM in servers in Q1, according to Gartner. It captured most of the revenue (29.6% or $4 billion) and most of the units (30.1%). IBM did $3.9 billion (28.9%), relegating it to second place. HP took better than half of the blade revenues (52.9%), up 111.7%, and 46.3% of the blade units. Dell’s server shipments were up 15.8%, better than any of its competitors, with revenues up ~6% to $1.6 billion. Gartner said the generic server market was up 7.6% in Q1, with revenues worth a total of $13.6 billion, up 4.3% compliments of emerging markets and data center build-outs.

HP Building PC Plant in Russia
HP and Foxconn International, a unit of Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry, the big contract manufacturer, are building a $50 million factory outside St Petersburg where they will produce a half-million PCs a year for the Russian market starting next year. It could become a hub for the Baltic states and Scandinavia. Hon Hai, meanwhile, is going to start making laptops.

Oracle’s Cloud
Oracle is going to build a 200,000-square-foot global IT facility in West Jordan, Utah . As you might have guessed, Oracle says it’s for its growing on-demand business as well as R&D infrastructure and customer service. It should cost an initial $285 million, house 100 people and begin operating in 2010.

Virtual Complexity
According to Enterprise Management Associates, a research firm, 98% of enterprises implementing virtualization are using multiple platforms, technologies and vendors, adding to the complexity.

Apple’s Slice
According to the NPD Apple got 66% of all the computers sold at retail in the US in the first quarter priced at about $1,000; or 70% of desktops and 64% of laptops priced over $1,000. Throwing out price, it would be 14%

Purple Goes to Korea
Purple Labs, the guys with Linux for mass-market 3G phones, are opening an operation in South Korea, prodded by the fact that both LGE and Samsung are part of the LiMo Foundation as are the Korean network operators KTF and SK Telecom. Purple is peddling LiMo-compliant software.

Valley Dumps its Own Garbage
Looks like the folks at Intel, Yahoo, Cisco, HP, Oracle and the other Valley companies who use the services of Service Employees International Union Local 1877 will be taking out their own garbage as long as the janitors who clean their offices are out on strike for a living wage and better healthcare benefits.

Virtualization Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008
The following companies are among the providers and contributors of Virtualization technology: 3Leaf Systems, 3PAR, 3Tera, Acronis, Actional, Active Endpoints, ActiveGrid, activePDF, ActiveServers, ActiveState, Actuate, Agile Software, Agilent, AGiLiENCE, Agilysys, Akamai, Akorri, AlachiSoft, Altova, AMD, AMDAHL, Amentra, Amyuni, anacubis, Apani, APC, Appcelerator, Appistry, AppStream, Ascential, Astaro, Attune Systems, Autodesk, AutoVirt, Availl, Azul Systems, BEA Systems, B-Hive, Black Duck Software, Black Hat, Blackbaud, Blue Lane Technologies, BlueArc, BlueNote, BluePhoenix Solutions, BMC Software, Borland, Bristol Technology, Brix Networks, BroadVision, Brocade, Burton Group, Business Objects, CA, CalAmp, Cassatt, Cast Iron, Catbird, Cayenne Technologies, Ceedo Technologies, Cenzic, Certeon, CiRBA, Cisco Systems, Citrix Systems, ClearApp, ClearCube Technology, Compass America, Composite Software, Compuware, Configuresoft, Continuity Software, Coraid, Courion, Coyote Point Systems, DataDirect, DataSynapse, Dell, Double-Take Software, Ecora Software, EDS, Egenera, Elastra Corporation, Embarcadero, EMC Corporation, Enomaly Open Source, Enterprise Management Associates, Entuity, EqualLogic, ESRI, F5 Networks, Fortisphere, Forum Systems, Fujitsu, GemStone, Getronics, GigaSpaces, Green Hills Software, Grid Dynamics, GridGain Systems, GT Software, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, Hyperic, IBM, ICEsoft, Illumita, ILOG, IMEX Research, Information Builders, InstallFree, Intel, International Computerware, iTKO LISA, JBoss, Juniper, Kidaro, LynuxWorks, ManageIQ, Managed Methods, Marathon Technologies, Mellanox, Microsoft, Mindreef, MKS, Moka5, Motorola, MQSoftware, NASTEL, Ncomputing, NEC, NetApp, Netegrity, Neverfail, Nexaweb, NextAxiom, Nimbus, Novell, OpenSpan, OPNET Technologies, OpTier, Oracle, Panacea Software, Parallels, Pillar Data Systems, PlateSpin, PLX Technologies, Progress Software, Prolifics, Prosync Technology, Provision Networks, QLogic, Quest Software, Racemi, Raxco Software, Red Hat, Reflex Security, Resolutions Enterprises, Riverbed Technology, Rogue Wave, rPath, RSA Security, SanDisk, SAP, Saugatuck Technology, ScaleMP, Secure Command, ShavLik, ServInt Internet Services, Silpion IT Solutions, Skytap, Software AG, Splunk, StackSafe, Stoneware, StoreVault, StrikeIron, STT, WebOS, Sun Microsystems, Surgient, Sybase, Symantec, Tenfold, TheInfoPro, Thinstall, Third Brigade, TIBCO Software, Tideway Systems, TRANGO Virtual Processors, Transitive, Trend Micro, Trigence, Unisys, Verio, VeriSign, Virtual Iron, VirtualLogix, Vizioncore, VKernel, VMLogix, vmSight, VMware, Web Age Solutions, WSO2, XDS, Xiotech, xkoto, and Xsigo Systems.