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Code generation is a part of the application development world that has a somewhat disjointed aspect, with a spectrum of products and market positioning, some of which on the surface would not be recognized as part of the same movement.

China-based B2B e-commerce provider Alibaba has announced plans to invest CNY 2bn ($292m) to expand its online auction unit Taobao.com.

IBM has released an open beta of its Rational Requirements Composer, the second product based on its Jazz ALM platform.

Dassault Systemes has introduced product lifecycle management software to enable companies to manage the approval, delivery, cataloging, and utilization of new parts.

VODAFONE Australia has announced its iPhone pricing but has failed to better offerings from rival carriers Telstra and Optus.

Sun on Tuesday announced availability of Java VisualVM, an open-source GUI tool for troubleshooting and profiling Java applications.Users can view detailed information about Java applications while they are running on a JVM (Java Virtual Machine). Billed as an all-in-one troubleshooting tool, VisualVM integrates several command line JDK (Java Development Kit) tools and profiling capabilities. It enhances monitoring and performance analysis, according to Sun."After eight months of frantic development since VisualVM Preview 1 was released, I'm happy to announce the general availability of JDK 6 Update 7 Java VisualVM and VisualVM 1.0," said Luis-Miguel Alventosa, a Sun senior software engineer, in a blog.Offered as part of Java Platform, Standard Edition (SE) Update 7, Java VisualVM provides a visual diagnostic tool for development and production environments. It includes such technologies as jvmstat, which provides lightweight performance and configuration instrumentation to the HotSpot

NATIONAL Australia Bank has announced another wave of roles to be offshored that could see over 400 jobs sent to India by year's end.

Prince's Trust arm celebrates £5m mark - and unique approach

A GROUP of Australian scientists has found a way to make the world's internet pipes run more than six times faster.

Microsoft said Monday it would offer free technical support to small businesses that buy new PCs with Windows Vista in the next three months, its latest attempt to convince users that moving to Vista is a good idea.And if those efforts are for naught, Microsoft will help those users downgrade from Vista to Windows XP, the same maneuver several large computer makers, including Dell and Hewlett-Packard, have used in recent months to continue offering the older operating system to buyers.The offer, dubbed Windows Vista Small Business Assurance, is available to businesses with fewer than 50 employees or 25 PCs, and it provides free telephone support through the end of October to companies that buy new PCs with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate between now and Sept. 30, according to details posted on the Microsoft Web site.Only businesses buying new hardware can take advantage of the free support; companies upgrading existing computers from, say, Windows XP, don't qualify.Microsoft has