BillVeghte
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HP names Bill Veghte new COO, hands over the keys to HP Software
After successfully piloting HP's software division and, presumably, performing well as the company's chief strategy officer, Bill Veghte is getting a promotion. Effective immediately he'll be taking over as COO of the struggling computer manufacturer and finally handing over the keys to HP Software. As Veghte is forced to give up his executive vice president's position, George Kadifa will be stepping it to take up the charge of leading the non hardware-based part of the business. The move will also mean that Veghte will be working even more closely with CEO Whitman, who expressed confidence in Veghte. The shakeup comes shortly on the heels of a particularly tough financial quarter and the announcement of 27,000 layoffs. Check out the complete PR after the break.
HP appoints Bill Veghte as chief strategy officer, will lead 'cloud and webOS open source initiatives'
Bill Veghte was already having his checks cut by HP (after cutting ties with Microsoft), but now he'll be filling a slightly different corner office. The company today announced that he has been appointed chief strategy officer, but somehow, he'll also have enough time to hold onto his current role as executive vice president of HP Software. We're told that he'll be working with HP's senior business and technology brass in order to innovate in ways that perhaps it hasn't lately, with newly-appointed CEO Meg Whitman saying the following: "Every 10 to 15 years, fundamental shifts occur in the IT industry that redefine how technology is delivered. From mainframes to client/server to the internet, companies that identified the opportunity first and developed the right strategy came out on top. As we move forward, HP intends to stay on top, and I believe Bill has the knowledge and vision to keep us there." Strangely, the release (embedded in full after the break) mentions that Bill will be leading HP's "cloud and webOS open source initiatives," but it fails to elaborate on what exactly those "initiatives" may be.
Microsoft promises to support Windows XP until 2014
It may finally be starting to move down the availability ladder with computer manufacturers (netbooks and the like aside), but it looks like Microsoft is going to be standing by Windows XP for a good while yet, with it now pledging to support the tried and true OS through 2014. According to Microsoft senior VP Bill Veghte, that support will include security patches and "other critical updates," and he adds that "customers who still need Windows XP will be able to get it," despite plans to stop selling a retail product and stop licensing it directly to PC manufacturers after June 30th. For those keeping track, that'll mean that Microsoft will be supporting Windows XP for a full 13 years since its release -- assuming it doesn't push out that support window again when users refuse to upgrade to Windows 7, that is.
