Last week saw the end of most of The SCO Group’s claims that IBM contributed Unix code to Linux. Now, Novell has filed a motion that undercuts all of SCO’s contract claims against IBM, based on a "silver bullet" clause in the original sale of Unix to SCO. In its latest legal move against SCO, Novell on Dec. 1 filed for partial summary judgment against SCO in its own case. In this motion, Novell is asking the U.S. District Court to rule that the Unix APA (Asset Purchase Agreement), which sold Unix from Novell to SCO, gave Novell the right to waive SCO’s contract claims.

IBM has thrown its weight behind the use of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol standard for interoperability, and will announce on Dec. 6 that Lotus Sametime 7.5 instant messaging customers can now communicate with users of AIM and Google Talk, and will be able to do so with Yahoo Messenger in a matter of weeks. This is also the first time IBM has publicly announced its support of the XMPP standard for interoperability with Sametime, but it has been a longtime supporter of the Session Initiated Protocol standard, Akiba Saeedi, the program director for IBM Lotus Sametime, told eWEEK.

AMD announced its entry into the 65-nm manufacturing generation with a new line of 65-watt "energy-efficient" processors that the company claimed already consumes just under 50 percent less power than the Intel Core 2 Duo. AMD’s novel argument provided a backdrop for four new chips–the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+, 4400+, 4800+, and 5000+–will be sold for the same price as their older counterparts, which were fabricated on the 90-nm process. The Athlon 64 X2 line will receive the 65-nm conversion treatment first, which will be completed by the first quarter of 2007 in its Fab 36 in Dresden.

Distributor Tech Data has teamed with IBM Global financing to give VARs better access to large deals for small and midsize businesses without the accompanying cash flow crunch. The program leverages IBM’s Flexible Credit, which IGF (IBM Global Financing) launched in November. IBM wants to give VARs in the United States access to credit lines between $100,000 and $500,000 above the unsecured interest-free 30-day credit typically provided by distributors such as Tech Data.

As many of your know, for the past week we have been following the story of missing CNET Senior Editor James Kim and his family. Fortune smiled on his wife Kati and daughters Penelope and Sabine when they were found by searchers on Monday. James had left them Saturday morning on a quest for help. He was found deceased today.

We in the tech industry, particularly here at ZATZ, will miss James and mourn his passing. He was an intelligent and well-respected writer and tech guru. James made the ultimate sacrifice in his dedication to the safety and welfare of his family. We will miss our colleague and friend; our thoughts and condolences go out to Kati and the girls.

Eighteen care packages will be strategically dropped along the route where an intensive search for missing CNET editor James Kim continues, authorities announced Wednesday morning. Items in the packages will include a bright orange sweatshirt, sweat pants, a large wool blanket, socks, gloves, waterproof bib overalls, three half-hour flares, a flashlight, a handwarmer, a MRE (meal ready to eat) and a personal letter from the family, Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police, said at a press conference. Late Tuesday afternoon, searchers found various items left by Kim, including two gray long-sleeve shirts, one red T-shirt, one wool sock, a pair of gray pants and the remains of an Oregon map. Officials believe Kim may have left them as markers or indicators of his path.

Secure Software announced the integration of its CodeAssure 4.0 with IBM’s recently-announced Rational Software Delivery Platform 7.0 desktop products. CodeAssure is the industry’s most accurate tool for identifying, assessing and remediating software vulnerabilities in applications and is deployed in leading enterprises for protecting business-critical applications. This integration, which has been successfully validated to the requirements of Ready for IBM Rational software V7.0 specification, will provide users of IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform with the ability to seamlessly perform automated, security-focused code reviews while supporting the Rational Compliance Solution.

IBM is helping a European astronomy research firm look to the stars. The company announced Dec. 6 that it is entering into an agreement with ASTRON, the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy, which offers observation facilities for astronomers in the Netherlands. As its part of the agreement, IBM will begin to develop high-performance, low-power customized chips that will be used in thousands of antennas as part of ASTRON’s project to build a radio telescope, which will be called the SKADS/EMBRACE. The telescope will be the precursor to what will eventually become the world’s largest radio telescope, the SKA (Square Kilometer Array).

Yahoo announced a reorganization Tuesday that marks Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker as a likely successor to the CEO and simplifies its structure as it battles faster-growing rival Google. Decker will take the lead of a new unit focused on advertising, which is Yahoo’s main source of income but has also seen growth slow in some areas. Media, communication and other product groups will be merged into a unit focused on user activities.

CA introduced its latest Identity and Access Management software package on Dec. 4, boasting increased automation, new standards support and more tightly integrated controls for helping enterprises strengthen and streamline their IT authentication systems. The updated CA IAM offering brings a number of additions to the five individual applications that make up the product, which are the company’s eTrust SiteMinder 6.0, Identity Manager 8.1, eTrust Access Control 8, eTrust Single Sign-On 8.1 and Embedded Entitlements Manager 8.2.