Oracle Taps Adrian Jones to Head Asian Operations (Read the Memo)

Software giant Oracle named Adrian Jones to head its operations in Asia. The move was announced in an internal email from Oracle president Mark Hurd, obtained by AllThingsD.

If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Jones (pictured) is a former Hewlett-Packard exec who was sued by that company in 2011. HP had alleged that Jones stole trade secrets and shared them with Oracle. The suit dates back to one of the more rancorous periods in the relationship between those companies, and the aftermath of the days when Hurd, who was for five years the CEO of HP, joined Oracle following his surprise resignation in 2010. (That situation, you'll recall, spurred its own legal merry-go-round.)

In a lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court in Santa Clara County, HP had accused Jones of copying sensitive files concerning its strategic and financial plans, plus other information, to a USB drive, and not returning them when he resigned from the company. Among other things, lawyers for HP had sought to examine every electronic device Jones owned, including phones and iPads belonging to his girlfriend.

It later turned out that the copying of the files in question didn't take place at the time that HP originally said it did, but during a period when the computer Jones used was in the hands of HP's corporate security office. Talk about awkward.

Since then, the case has been forgotten. HP was eventually forced to withdraw the case against Jones entirely, according to people familiar with how it all turned out. Neither HP nor Oracle would confirm that, however. Entries in the case-record file on the court's website make vague mentions of a dismissal that occurred on July 30, 2012.

The case against Jones was one of many HP filed during a period when Michael Holston was its general counsel. Remembered as a key aide to Hurd during the years he was running HP, Holston remained HP's general counsel during the 11-month tenure of former CEO L o Apotheker, but was among the first members of HP's executive council to leave the company after Meg Whitman became CEO.

Anyway, enough with the legal footnotes. Here's the memo announcing Jones' promotion:

From: Mark Hurd
Date: July 24, 2013, 2:00:02 AM PDT
To: Oracle Asia Pacific Sales

The business across Asia Pacific represents a significant opportunity for Oracle. We continue to invest in this region and it is poised for growth.

I am pleased to announce Adrian Jones to the position of General Manager and Senior Vice President, Oracle Asia Pacific. Adrian will lead the region for hardware and software, and be responsible for accelerating market share, revenue, and margin growth.

Adrian has strengthened our Systems business and has held senior leadership positions across the IT industry for more than 20 years. Before joining Oracle, he held the position of Senior Vice President of Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking for HP Asia Pacific and Japan. He has in-depth knowledge of these markets.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Steve Au Yeung for his contributions to Oracle. Steve is leaving Oracle, and we thank him for his five years of leadership and wish him the best in the future.

Mark

Japan’s Docomo prepares upgrade to bring 150Mpbs downlink speeds to its Xi LTE network

NTT Docomo, the largest mobile network operators in Japan, announced today that it will be starting prelaunch operations for an upgrade to its Xi LTE network, offering downlink speeds of up to 150 Mbps - similar to speeds being offered by South Korean operators SK Telecom and LG Uplus for their LTE-Advanced services.

Docomo will start verifying its 150 Mbps LTE service in Japan's Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture from July 30 onward, prior to the planned launch of the service in parts of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya this October.

Docomo says it has been upgrading its LTE coverage and data transmission speeds consistently, most recently expanding its 112.5 Mbps downlink service to more than 130 cities as of this month. Its latest move has not been termed as LTE-A by the operator, so this is probably an appetizer to the final LTE-A rollout (which is expected to arrive in 2015). In February, Docomo selected Nokia Siemens and Panasonic to upgrade its network with certain LTE-A features like carrier aggregation.

The 150 Mbps service boasts double the speeds of the first LTE network that Docomo rolled out in 2010, though the operator notes it is a theoretical maximum as speeds may vary depending on network traffic or transmission environments.

With its latest move, Docomo has become the first operator outside of South Korea to roll out such high download speeds. Docomo notes that its 150 Mbps LTE network will be compatible with selected handsets introduced from October onward.

Last month, SK Telecom took the wraps off the world's first LTE-A network offering speeds of up to 150 Mbps, which is now operational in Seoul and a further 42 cities across the Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do districts. Subsequently, LG Uplus introduced a rival service earlier this month, which is currently available in Seoul and a few other major cities, but will be made available across South Korea during the third quarter of this year.

Consumers have been quick on the uptake as they display their eagerness for higher speeds - more than 150,000 subscribers signed up for SK Telecom's LTE-A service just 14 days after its launch, making for a take-up rate of more than 10,000 new subscribers a day.

So far, only Samsung's Galaxy S4 LTE-A handset - which launched on the same day as SK Telecom's LTE-A network - runs on the service, though LG and Pantech are reportedly planning to release LTE-A smartphones soon.

US carriers have also been keen to push ahead with their LTE-A plans, with T-Mobile reportedly saying it will roll out LTE-A features later this year and Verizon talking about next-generation speeds.

Image Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno via AFP/Getty Images

Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection gets release date!

How much Metal Gear Solid can Konami fit into one package? We’re going to find out with the Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection. Crammed into two blu-ray discs will be the ultimate Metal Gear fan’s dream line-up: Metal Gear Solid, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, MGS: Peace Walker, MGS: VR Missions (all HD’d up), the original MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 and two Ashley Wood digital comics. Also featured will be an expansive 100 page art book covering the 25 years the franchise has been captivating gamers.

The PS3 exclusive set is now officially set to drop on July 9th for $49.99. Quite a bargain when you consider how many Metal Gear games you get and all the trophies you can acquire! Stay tuned as this Metal Gear geek is craving some Legacy.

Ultimate Line-Up of Fan Favorites Available in PlayStation 3 Package

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION will be available in North America and South America on July 9, 2013.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the METAL GEAR SOLID franchise, this PlayStation 3 exclusive package will include METAL GEAR SOLID, METAL GEAR SOLID 2: HD Edition, METAL GEAR SOLID 3: HD Edition (which includes the original MSX versions of METAL GEAR and METAL GEAR 2), METAL GEAR SOLID: Peace Walker HD Edition, METAL GEAR SOLID: VR MISSIONS, METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Trophy Edition and two Ashley Wood digital graphic novels which will be released for the first time in North America. In addition, the collection will include an all-new 100 page art book highlighting marketing art from across the globe, spanning the profound 25 year history of the esteemed franchise.

The METAL GEAR SOLID series is the seminal work of Hideo Kojima, Japan’s master game creator, and the progenitor of the stealth action game genre. With more than 33 million units sold to date, the METAL GEAR series has become a global phenomenon. The player controls a secret agent from an elite special forces unit who is sent on solo stealth missions through enemy installations, vast jungles, and sometimes even the thick of battle. Alone and surrounded by the enemy, even a special forces agent will find it tough to come out alive. But that is the secret behind the series’ popularity-the cerebral challenge of figuring out how to avoid combat, and the thrill of sneaking through enemy territory undetected.

METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION will be available on July 9 for $49.99 for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.