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Microsoft will release on Monday the first of several of its hosted business-productivity services.The company will launch Exchange Online and SharePoint Online at an event in San Francisco, according to an e-mail from its public relations firm. A spokeswoman from the agency confirmed that the services will be available Monday.[ Find out more about Microsoft's cloud strategy and other plans for hosted apps in InfoWorld's coverage of Microsoft PDC 2008. ]Exchange Online, a hosted version of Microsoft's messaging software, and SharePoint Online, a hosted collaboration application, are part of the Microsoft Online Services suite but also are available as individual services.In addition to Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, the full suite includes office Communications Online, a hosted unified-communications offering, and Office Live Meeting, a hosted Web-conferencing application. The subscription price for the suite, which Microsoft unveiled in July, is $15 per user, per month.Individ

By the first half of 2009, Citrix will make its XenDesktop and XenApp client and server software for remote access to Windows applications available for the iPhone."We expect to have it sooner rather than later," said Chris Fleck, vice president of Solutions Development at Citrix.Fleck said the company is addressing an "unbelievable market demand" for such a product. Requests have become the number-one topic of discussion on its blog site.[ Special report: IT's guide to the iPhone ]Citrix XenApp virtualizes an individual application, be it Microsoft office, PowerPoint, Excel, or SAP, allowing users to run those applications on a client directly from a XenApp server hosted with a Windows application like SAP.?XenDesktop provides access to a centrally hosted desktop, in particular a user's desktop on a remote server."Your entire XP or Vista desktop and all your apps are available in that virtual desktop with all the inherent security and manageability that is currently available on remot

Sun is laying off 15 to 18 percent of its employees as part of a restructuring plan aimed at saving $700 million to $800 million a year, and its top software executive is leaving the company, Sun said Friday.The cuts will affect between 5,000 and 6,000 employees. Sun is also reorganizing its software division, a move it said stands as "a recognition of the comprehensive role software plays in the company's growth strategy."[ Learn more about how the financial crisis is affecting IT and the high-tech industry, plus what IT can do to help, in InfoWorld's special report. ]In addition, Sun said that Rich Green, the company's executive vice president of software, has decided to leave the company. Sun said Green "has been an instrumental force in evolving Sun's Software strategy and successful business execution across its diverse portfolio."Sun's software division changes include a new group, Application Platform Software, composed of Sun's MySQL

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SINGTEL has topped up its war chest by S$1.075 billion ($1.08 billion) as buyers sift the ruins of the economic meltdown for bargains.

THE aviation safety watchdog is investigating the possibility that interference from a naval base caused a Qantas jet to plunge.

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm has developed a low-cost computing platform to provide an alternative to Windows-based PCs in parts of the world where traditional broadband connections aren't available. It said it will fill the niche between desktop PCs and internet-capable wireless devices.

Hewlett-Packard plans to cut approximately 450 jobs in Australia over the next three years as part of its global integration program with EDS.

Storage and data management company NetApp has reported a 41% decline in net profit to $49.18m for the second quarter 2009, compared to $83.75m in the year-ago quarter, on revenue up 15% at $912m. The decline was attributed to higher operating expenses.

SonicWall has expanded its email security portfolio with a new offering for Windows Small Business Server 2008.