AMD and Intel patch things up, HP buys 3Com

- IDG News Service\Boston Bureau

We had a blockbuster deal this week, with Hewlett-Packard saying it plans to buy 3Com, and a blockbuster settlement, with Advanced Micro Devices and Intel ending a long-running legal dispute. By midnight tonight, Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers are supposed to file a revised book-search settlement proposal, which could add to our top stories list for the week. For now, though, what follows are our top IT headlines of the moment.

1. AMD, Intel settle antitrust, IP disputes and Analysis: Intel, AMD end a bitter business and technical battle: AMD and Intel surprised us with word that they have settled an ongoing antitrust and intellectual-property legal spat. The settlement could have far-reaching effects, even to the point of leading the two rivals to cooperate with one another.

2. HP buying 3Com in $3.7 billion blockbuster and Wall St.: HP-3Com union a real Cisco threat: HP is buying 3Com for US$3.7 billion, which financial analysts said will pose a threat to Cisco.

3. Flash flaw puts most sites, users at risk, say researchers: A Flash flaw of "huge" magnitude is "frighteningly bad," with the potential for any site to be compromised that allows users to upload content. Yikes!

4. Google goes forward with Go language and Google's Go is promising, but still in diapers: Google is releasing to open source an experimental programming language called Go, which is said to show a lot of promise but could take years to really take hold.

5. Mobile deathmatch: Motorola Droid vs. iPhone, side by side: There's nothing quite like a deathmatch, with photos, to amp up the headlines, especially when the matchup is Motorola Droid versus the iPhone.

6. Windows 7 based on Mac design: A gaffe for the ages and Microsoft denies employee's comments about copying Apple: This story cracked us up, and considering the comments it got and the traffic it drove we weren't alone. Without a doubt, the comments of a Microsoft employee regarding Windows 7 being based on Mac design were more than a little overblown, but even so, if we were giving an award for the most amusing IT news of the week, this saga would win.

7. EU reveals objections to Oracle-Sun deal: The European Commission released its formal "statement of objections" to Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems, revealing why it has found cause to hold up the deal.

8. Adobe to lay off nearly 700 workers and Sprint to lay off more than 2,000: The recession's ripple effect continued, with word that Adobe will lay off nearly 700 employees and that Sprint Nextel will cut more than 2,000 jobs.

9. Wall Street Beat: Big tech deals stir market: But even as unemployment figures continue to climb, the big IT-related deals of the week gave the financial market a boost.

10. H1N1 drives demand for secure remote access: It might be time to just set up a standing entry for tech-related H1N1 virus news. Once again this week the focus is on how businesses are preparing for the possibility that the flu pandemic will leave a lot of workers unable -- or unwilling -- to come into the office. Vendors of remote-access technologies report stronger-than-expected product demand as a consequence of worries over and preparations for the spread of H1N1.