LAS VEGAS - Cisco last week said it was considering unbundling network software from its current hardware platforms - a move that could end up costing users more but could give them increased flexibility in buying and configuring the company's gear.
Sony Bravia 46-Inch HDTV
11/27/09
Wal-Mart has a 46-inch HDTV, the Sony Bravia KDL-46S504, on sale for $798. This 1080p HDTV features a 60Hz refresh rate and a 20,000:1 contrast ratio. It also has three HDMI inputs, and is Bravia Link compatible. The lowest price we found for the KDL-46S504 on PriceGrabber was $1200 at Crutchfield, so you'd save about $400
Get Real Business Results From Social Media
11/27/09
Can you tell which of the following tweets is from a small but rapidly growing company?
Acer Aspire AS5517-1208 Laptop
11/27/09
RadioShack is offering the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire AS5517-1208 laptop for $400. This Aspire laptop features an AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive, and it runs Windows 7. It's currently selling on the RadioShack Website for about $550, so the deal is a good $150 off
Cisco floated the idea of decoupling the sale of IOS software, network hardware and SMARTnet maintenance contracts at its Networkers user conference, which drew more than 10,000 customers to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Though not publicly announced, the software evolution idea comes as Cisco looks to become more of a software and applications vendor. It already has sold millions of licenses for unified communications, network management and security applications and has an eye on more advanced software areas such as telepresence.
"We have to evolve our software strategy," said Cisco CEO and Chairman John Chambers during a session with journalists at the show. "We tend to lump software into maintenance. So often people get the difference between maintenance and software upgrades [confused] when in fact they are in the same category."
Chambers was referring to Cisco's practice of bundling router and switch software with ongoing maintenance contracts on the equipment, which usually is required to receive updated, licensed IOS software. By breaking software out as a separate item, Chambers said, Cisco could give customers a clearer idea of what software they're buying and more options for mixing services with hardware and software. How this change would affect costs for users remains a question.
|
Does Verizon's Voyager stack up to the iPhone? |
5 IT skills that won't boost your salary 
[1,407]
Women 4 times more likely than men to cough up personal info [589]
Japan's 10 funniest tech-related commercials [Videos] [407]
Throwing away a promo CD is "unauthorized distribution"? [1,265]
Adults too quick to dismiss educational video games [682]
Attack of the iPhone clones [Slideshow] [578]
10 things IT needs to know about AJAX [1,258]
This Year's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries [Slideshow] [409]
Network World on Twitter: Get our tweets and stay plugged in to networking news