Software AG has announced that it will acquire WebMethods in a deal worth $546 million.

Software AG is Europe’s largest systems software and SOA (service-oriented architecture) software provider; WebMethods also focuses on SOA and Web-services technology, as well as overall, enterprise-application-integration technology and business-process management.

Extensis announced that it has been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its popular Font Sense technology. Font Sense is found within Extensis’ leading font management solutions including Suitcase Fusion, Suitcase for Windows and Font Reserve Server.

This technology provides a robust and industry-proven mechanism to identify and match exact versions of fonts. Extensis uses this cross-platform technology in its own font management applications to ensure that an application can activate the exact version of a font. Font Sense is available in Suitcase Fusion, Suitcase for Windows and Font Reserve Server and allows for true font identification in Illustrator, InDesign and QuarkXPress documents.

Kurt Vonnegut, dead at 84.

Learn how to access the built-in voice chat facility of IBM Lotus Sametime V7.5 using Bluetooth technology. Converse with your instant messaging contacts wirelessly.

The new architecture of IBM Lotus Notes V8 enables a wide range of new ways to extend and customize the user experience. This article looks at two locations in this environment, the sidebar and toolbar, and discusses how to add functionality by using Eclipse plug-ins.

More than two-thirds of UK Internet surfers interviewed admit to an occasional "wilf," or surfing aimlessly on the Web. Nearly one quarter estimate they wilf more than 30 percent of the time they are online at work. #That’s two full workdays every month## of non-work-related Internet surfing–perhaps an important wake-up call for employers worldwide.

IBM is looking to use its System i platform to get a foothold among the smallest of businesses, a market traditionally dominated by x86 servers running Microsoft Windows applications.

At an event April 10, IBM officials, along with a number of customers and partners, unveiled two new entry-level System i servers–both of which come with a per-user pricing model–and a new program designed to encourage application providers to create software for the System i platform in a number of particular verticals, including IP telephony, health care and retail.

A judge violated a juvenile’s free-speech rights when he placed her on probation for posting an expletive-laden entry on MySpace criticizing a school principal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.

The three-judge panel on Monday ordered the Putnam Circuit Court to set aside its penalty against the girl, referred to only as A.B. in court records.

"While we have little regard for A.B.’s use of vulgar epithets, we conclude that her overall message constitutes political speech," Judge Patricia Riley wrote in the 10-page opinion.

Messaging security, storage, and compliance provider LiveOffice Managed Messaging Services introduced its Sentinel email portal, a web-based administration console that enables organizations to search and retrieve archived messages for e-discovery purposes, while also providing real-time views of inbound threats, email volumes and storage utilization. LiveOffice’s new client portal acts as mission control for Sentinel, putting administrators "just a few clicks away from real-time, graphical views of their entire organization’s email activities, from threat levels to archive usage and more," said Matt Smith, president of the Torrance, Calif., company.

Spring has sprung. What better way to embrace the season by doing a little professional spring cleaning? Some professional spring cleaning can go a long way to enhancing your attitude and productivity.

De-clutter your desk, the long winter may have left your desk in disarray. Out with the old projects, in with the new; you can’t spring forward if you’re bogged down with old projects. Organize your email inbox. If you’ve got scores of old emails lingering in your inbox, you may risk noticing important new messages. Address old messages this spring so you can face the season with an empty inbox.