MicroScope articles from January 2003

MicroScope archives from January 2003

Axe falls at Biomni after change in direction: future relationship between Computacenter and e-commerce spin-off called into question following strategy shift.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Computacenter's e-commerce spin-off Biomni has made 30 people redundant after an internal reorganisation which has also seen some staff transferred back to the reseller giant. The job losses come after Computacenter--which still has a 50...

Swell in sea freight charges hits channel.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... The channel is bracing itself the impact of increases in sea freight charges this year after it emerged that some major carriers had rocketed prices by $1,000 ([pounds sterling]666). A letter sent to MicroScope revealed sea carriers Cosco,...

Fujitsu shake-up expected.(Fujitsu Siemens rumored to be seeking new distribution partner in UK)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... There could be a shake-up in Fujitsu Siemens' distribution channel this year after sources suggested the vendor was looking to partner a broadline giant in the UK. The PC manufacturer works with Ingram Micro and Computer 2000 across...

European distributors must wake up to 2003 shake-up. (News).(industry trends according to Tech Data and Bell Microproducts execs)
January 7, 2003... Distributors and resellers will ace the prospects of further consolidation and an increase in vendor direct business during the coming year, the CEOs of two of the world's largest distributors have warned. Speaking exclusively to...

Symantec warns of Yaha.K virus risk. (News).
January 7, 2003... Anti-virus vendor Symantec is calling on dealers to warn users about a prolific new virus called Yaha.K The Windows e-mail worm has been classified as high risk by anti-virus firms and has already affected thousands of PCs. According to...

LogicaCMG begins integration of its computer systems. (News).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... LogicaCMG completed its first trading last week as the merger between the two services giants became effective on 30 December 2002. A company spokesman told MicroScope: "What has really happened [so far] is the creation of a legal entity....

Birmingham dealers set the pace. (News).(WTL and Probrand set optimistic goals)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Despite many predictions of continuing gloom for the year ahead, two Birmingham-based dealers have revealed upbeat forecasts for 2003. Systems integrator WTL has set an aggressive and optimistic new year's resolution to treble its turnover...

Liquidation looms for Lapsafe. (News).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Colchester-based mobile computing specialist Lapsafe is set to follow sister company Corporate IT into liquidation at a creditors' meeting due to be held this week. Lapsafe is headed by Kevin Crouch, previously managing director of...

Unipalm e-commerce site to go live next month. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Security distributor Unipalm is to go live with a full e-commerce site on 1 February. Unipalm.com will allow channel partners to procure online as well as check credit availability and access invoice information.

IT spending to fall this year. (In Brief).(information technology)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... IT spending is set to tumble further in 2003, according to a survey of 100 IT managers by Goldman Sachs. The report predicted spending would decline by one per cent during the year, with long-term growth falling to five per cent.

Prize money promotion. (In Brief).(Michael Robertson donates prize money)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Lindows CEO Michael Robertson anonymously donated $200,000 ([pounds sterling]125,000) in prize money for a contest to translate the Linux operating system to Microsoft's Xbox video game console. Robertson said he funded the contest not for...

Volk swaps HP for Sybase. (In Brief).(Thomas Volk)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Sybase has appointed former Hewlett-Packard executive Thomas Volk to help boost its position in the enterprise software market. Volk, who previously managed the manufacturing industry business unit at HP, will lead the new Infrastructure...

Hitachi seals disk drive deal. (In Brief).(with IBM)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... IBM has completed the sale of its disk drive manufacturing operations to Hitachi for $2bn, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Hitachi paid IBM 70 per cent of the purchase price last week and will pay the remainder over...

ACCPAC acquires eWare. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Computer Associates subsidiary ACCPAC has acquired CHM software developer eWare. The two companies had been operating an OEM agreement for the past 18 months. All eWare's staff will be joining ACCPAC.

Veritas to increase margins and extend product base. (In Brief).(with Precise Software and Jareva Technologies)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Increased margins and wider product base for the channel is the aim of software vendor Veritas after it netted Precise Software and Jareva Technologies for $537m and $60m respectively. "We will be able to provide to our channel a range of....

Dealers predict growth across the public sector. (News).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Resellers have tipped the healthcare, public sector and education markets as the main areas of growth this year as corporates continue to keep purse strings closed and the 2005 deadline for e-government looms large. But those hoping to...

EDP boasts to City about 'profitable' end to 2002. (News).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Sheffield-based software reseller Electronic Data Processing has claimed a return to profitability after preliminary end of year results revealed it had slipped into deficit. EDP made pre-tax losses of [pounds sterling]297,000 for the year...

Amey sells ARM to Futuro. (News).(Amey Resources Management)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Business support specialist Amey has sold IT staffing arm Amey Resource Management to venture capitalist Futuro Group for [pounds sterling]1.4m. The deal is subject to contracts being retained and a further sum of [pounds sterling]250,000...

Investors keep Hynix afloat. (News).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Shareholders offered Hynix Semiconductor a lifeline last week after approving a $4bn ([pounds sterling]2.9bn) bail-out to allow it to continue trading. The move comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the chip vendor and will see...

PNY gets second distributor. (In Brief).(Micro Peripherals)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... PNY has signed Micro Peripherals as the second distributor of its graphic cards and memory products in the UK. It will work alongside Gem.

Bugs delay Microsoft global CRM launch date. (In Brief).(customer relationship management)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... The launch of the international version of Microsoft's CRM suite could be delayed until the second half of the year while the vendor addresses "a few bugs" with the US version.

Axios brokers SCC deal. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... IT service management software specialist Axios Systems has won an assyst helpdesk contract with SCC. Paul Everatt, SCH director of IT and e-commerce, said: "We needed to implement assyst quickly and with no bespoke work."

Ariba to revise fiscal results. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Ariba is set to restate its results for the financial year to 30 September 2001 and for the quarter to 31 March 2001 due to an ongoing audit of the company's finances. The audit has focused primarily on what originally was considered by Ariba...

P2P file sharing will create 'big virus problems'. (Software).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... PCs will come under further threat from hackers this year as the growth of P2P software continues and Windows will remain the number one target for virus creators, according to software vendors. "The top viruses will be on Windows and...

Linux predicted to pose real threat to Windows dominance. (Software).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... The growth of Linux will soar this year, according to independent research analyst Meta Group, which has warned Microsoft to ignore the operating system at its peril. Meta Group predicted Linux would have such a large portion of the...

Big changes will cure or kill security market. (Networking).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Although tipped by many last year as the growth sector of choice for resellers and distributors, this year will be a make or break era for the security market. As broadliners like Ideal Hardware seek bigger market share and specialists...

Dealers advised to boost AV sales by specialising. (Hardware).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Dealers that saw the audio-visual market as the "panacea" to all their margin problems in 2002 have had a rude awakening and have been advised to inject value into sales this year by specialising. The sector has started to mature and the...

Integration will make e-services next big thing. (Services).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... If analysts are to be believed, Web services will be the next big thing this year--but if resellers are to take advantage, the key will be integration. Analyst firm The Butler Group raised the issue in its report Enterprise Application...

Business continuity development 'will not be spectacular'. (Services).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Business continuity first hit the headlines four years ago when fears about Y2K led to a push to integrate continuity into IT infrastructure--but now it has become a little harder to identify the issues that will lead the sector. John...

Committed to delivering a year of excellence. (Editorial).(Editorial)
January 7, 2003... IT IS TRADITIONAL AT THIS time to deliver a New Year message outlining expectations for the 12 months ahead. Some messages will be gloomy, step forward Tony Blair, while others will be in a more hopeful vain like George Bush's attempts to...

Back to the future: Caroline Bassett reveals positive and negative aspects of using new media to archive our time--we are all historians, but deleting digital material is too easy. (Editorial).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... What happens to history when the world of parchments, scrolls and yellowing photographs from old Kodak Brownies is replaced by a world of digital pictures, information, storage, equipment and selection? For historians these kinds of...

Tomorrow's world.(industry overview for the next 18 months)
January 7, 2003... THE NEXT 18 MONTHS WILL SEE TODAY'S INNOVATIVE NEW TECHNOLOGIES BECOME THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A RANGE OF STRONG OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESELLERS. WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME. As 2003 rolls around, resellers will be eager for...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
January 7, 2003... Some things don't ever change Communication technologies have been through many trends, some fleeting and others permanent. These trends have never been revolutionary, but always evolutionary. The classic product lifecycle is being...

It seems those slipper dreams come true for some. (5 Minute Interview: Tom Lasek).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... What have you got in your pockets? A comb, a shopping list and my mobile phone, though I do worry about the radio waves at that level. How did you get into the IT industry? When I left school, I thought that working in IT paid good...

Soap.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... The world of IT failed to get much of a look in on the New Year Honours list. The emphasis of the awards this year was to honour "normal people". That partly explains why so few technology specialists appeared in the list. The other point...

At the margins: the soap opera for the IT channel.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... Roger Callard sets off to find freedom in Texas, unknowingly following in the footsteps of soon-to-be ex-wife Angela, who jetted off in search of an oilman... Flying had never been that pleasurable an experience for Roger, but at the...

PC World fulfilment threat: retail giant set to expand product supply role for services players.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... PC World Business' threat to the channel is set to increase as the Dixons-owned giant begins promoting itself as a product fulfilment arm for services players. The reseller division of Dixons Stores Group, which has increased turnover by...

Allasso loses as Ideal gains in RSA distribution reshuffle.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... A question has been raised over the future of specialist security distributors after broadliner Ideal Hardware replaced Allasso in RSA's UK line-up. Ideal commercial director Alex Tatham claimed the deal with the Internet security...

MDs resurrect liquidated Lapsafe by transferring portfolio to new business.(managing directors of liquidated firms form Frab Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... The directors of failed mobile computing specialist Lapsafe have founded a new business to continue supplying its product range to schools. Michael Haggerty, former managing director of Lapsafe, and Kevin Crouch, previously managing director of...

Education set to be boom sector for dealers this year: Christopher Walton reports from the BETT education show in London.
January 14, 2003... With the education market cited as a growth area for 2003, many dealers at the BETT education show in London last week were looking to kick-start the year by meeting vendors and education clients. Exhibitors insisted the BETT show was...

BSA campaign to boost business. (News).(Business Software Alliance)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... A revenue boost is predicted for resellers involved with the Business Software Alliance's (BSA) compliance campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the risks of poor software management. The campaign has been described as a "phenomenal...

IBM ships out. (News).(IBM outsources manufacture of low-end servers to Sanmina-SCI)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... IBM has outsourced the manufacturing of a large chunk of its low-end servers to Sanmina-SCI in a move that will see its Greenock facility transfer to the manufacturing services provider, writes Roanna Avison. About 650 IBM staff will...

Norris satisfied with 2002 performance. (News).(Computacenter chairman Mike Norris)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Computacenter chairman Mike Norris expects the reseller giant to maintain the [pounds sterling]51.1 m pre-tax profits it achieved in 2001 when it reveals full-year results in March. Speaking to MicroScope following a pre-close of trading...

Training Bridge brand bought by Interquad. (News).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Networking distributor Interquad has snapped up independent training specialist Training Bridge for a confidential sum. Training-Bridge.Com Ltd began as the channel education business of Ingram Micro and was bought by Horizon Tech Services...

OpenPSL banned from repeat Sun attack. (News).(advertising attacking Sun Microsystems banned)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... OpenPSL has been told by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) not to reuse a mailshot sent out last year attacking Sun Microsystems. The distributor was instructed to withdraw the lead generation mailer, which was sent to IT directors...

Microsoft responds to channel feedback. (In Brief).(revamping its certified partner program)
January 14, 2003... Microsoft has revamped its certified partner programme for 2003 in response to feedback from the channel which requested greater accessibility to the vendor and greater, simplicity on its partner sites. The programme enhancements include a...

Parity condenses sales team. (In Brief).(cuts 12 employees from sales staff)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Parity Training has cut 12 employees from its sales staff of 65. Managing director Barbara Greenway said that having looked at its sales structure, Parity realised it "did not have the volume in some areas". Sales staff are to be centralised in...

Enterasys Q1 2002 revenues drop by one-third. (In Brief).
January 14, 2003... Enterasys Networks has reported a 33.5 per cent drop in revenues to $120.8m ([pounds sterling]75m) in the first quarter to 30 March 2002. Net losses spiralled from $2.9m in 2001 to $13.7m.

Save money by switching off. (In Brief).(UK businesses waste 90 million pounds sterling by not turning off computers)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... UK businesses waste [pounds sterling]90m a year by failing to switch off computers at night According to research by, software consultancy 1E, a business could save [pounds sterling]100 per PC in a year 1E founder and CEO Sumir Karayi said:...

SAP expects 2002 growth. (In Brief).(slightly vs 2001)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... SAP has revealed that after a preliminary review it expects fourth quarter software licence revenues of about [euro]950m ([pounds sterling]633.3m). Based on that figure, SAP anticipates 2002 full-year revenues to increase slightly compared with...

IT firms should be entitled to state aid, according to TUC. (In Brief).(information technology)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... The TUC has called for the technology sector to gain access to cash currently aimed at small businesses. According to a TUC report, SMEs are getting too much state aid. Instead; it suggested, IT firms were ripe for extra cash support because...

Beware of Avril Lavigne. (In Brief).(new e-mail worm claims to be about the singer)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Anti-virus vendors have warned of an e-mail worm that claims to be about singer Avril Lavigne. When triggered, the worm attempts to disable most anti-virus and security software and then forwards itself to everyone in the e-mail address book....

SAP turns over new leaf to get back on track. (Software).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... SAP has admitted it had been "arrogant" and kept its partners "at arm's length" in the past, but insisted it has now changed for the better. The vendor is also determined to shake off its ERP image as it attempts to conquer the SME space....

Anglia to double staff numbers. (In Brief).(Anglia Business Computers to double staff )
January 14, 2003... Anglia Business Computers is set to double its employee numbers over the next two years, following a series of major new contracts worth over [pounds sterling]1m in total. Business development director Andrew Gardner attributed the upturn to...

Shareholders give go-ahead for Coda's Squaresum purchase. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Coda's acquisition of Squaresum is now complete after the vendor received acceptances from shareholders in respect of 98 per cent of Squaresum's issued share capital. Squaresum will now be integrated with Coda.

Teksys gets EdLAR-accredited. (In Brief).(Teksys Education receives Microsoft accreditation )(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... IT consultancy Teksys Education has been awarded Microsoft EdLAR accreditation for its commitment to software services in the education sector. This makes Teksys one of 20 UK partners able to provide educational licence agreements using...

Sage boosts portfolio with Concept Group acquisition. (Software).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Accounting and business software vendor Sage is to expand its mid-market product set and its international profile after netting Paris-based financial software provider Concept Group. Sage will pay [pounds sterling]4.7m in cash, with...

MRO cites strong partner channel as expansion key. (Software).(according to director of business development at Emea)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... A strong partner channel is the key to expansion in Europe, according to Frank Geisler, MRO director of business development for IT asset management software Emea. He put channel expansion and a broader coverage of overseas markets at the...

Liberty Broadband is latest victim of price trends. (Networking).(Internet access provider runs afoul of competitive market conditions)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Corporate Internet access provider Liberty Broadband has become the latest operator to fall foul of competitive market conditions and commodity pricing after appointing insolvency practitioners. The Reading-based group, which previously...

Coggrave brings 20 years' experience to Websense. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Websense has appointed Frank Coggrave as UK regional director. Coggrave has more than 20 years' managerial experience in the international technology industry, having worked for companies such as Unicom, Jacada and Legent Prior to joining...

Scalable Networks forms alliance with Radware. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Consultant and integrator Scalable Networks has formed an alliance with application switching manufacturer Radware. The deal will see Scalable Networks adding Radware's product range to its offering, allowing it to sell a broader range of...

Cisco resellers to benefit from C2000 testing facility. (Networking).(Computer 2000 opens new facility)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Computer 2000 is attempting to underline the centrality of Cisco to its networking and storage enterprise division by opening a partner testing facility at its Basingstoke headquarters. The move will see C2000 open a "proof of concept" lab...

Netwise Systems chooses not to float on stock market. (Networking).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Surrey-based networking reseller Netwise Systems has abandoned plans for an AIM flotation this year. The eight-year-old reseller, which came 31st in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list at the end of 2002, had planned to go public at some...

Channel told to watch out for fraudulent product. (Hardware).(in the printing and imaging markets)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... The UK channel has been warned to be on its guard for counterfeit printing products. The Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe (ICCE) has launched a campaign to increase awareness of the problem among resellers. The ICCE estimates that...

Via Technologies wins appeal against Intel. (Hardware).(in UK Court of Appeal)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of Via Technologies in its long-running dispute with Intel. Intel launched proceedings against Via in 2001, claiming that its chipset and processor products infringed five Intel patents. As part...

Imago bolsters services bid. (Services).(Imago Micro expands workforce and dealer support services)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... Berkshire-based distributor Imago Micro claims it has been able to use its services offering to expand its workforce and dealer support despite the general IT downturn. The multimedia specialist launched its reseller-only managed services...

Floods could make sales flow for recovery experts. (Services).(data recovery specialist promoting services)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... The flood waters have barely dropped and the first calls on dealers to exploit the situation have been sounded by Kroll Ontrack, which is promoting a "data recovery lifebelt" to those facing water-damaged IT equipment The Epsom-based data...

CRC says A Novo loan refund imminent. (Services).(CRC Group expects loan repayment from A Novo)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2003... CRC Group has insisted that the repayment of a [euro]5.5m ([pounds sterling]3.7m) loan given to the Italian subsidiary of pan-European support services supplier A Novo will be received in the first week of February. The Oxfordshire-based...

A special position no longer looks so secure. (Editorial).(broadline computer products distributors could replace specialst product distributors)(Editorial)
January 14, 2003... IT IS AN ARGUMENT THAT is almost as old as the channel itself, the great debate about the merits of a specialist distributor versus a broadliner. The battle is well established and runs along well-drawn lines of debate which have the...

Under attack: Chris Bidmead is fed up with spam, but as a mere user there is nothing he can do. He believes it is up to ISPs to protect us from these daily irritations. (Editorial).(Industry Overview)
January 14, 2003... Chris Bidmead is fed up with spam, but as a mere user there is nothing he can do. He believes it is up to ISPs to protect us from these daily irritations The opportunities are coming thick and fast in every post now: to render...

Far out software.(extreme programming is touted as new method of software development )(Industry Overview)
January 14, 2003... EXTREME PROGRAMMING USES REVOLUTIONARY WORKING PRACTICES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF SOFTWARE AND THE EFFICIENCY OF ITS DEVELOPMENT, BUT PRACTICALITY AND TRADITIONALISTS COULD DELAY THE POPULAR ADOPTION OF XP BY DECADES Listening to Ken Auer...

Great expectations: Alpha Landsteinar experienced continued growth last year, despite the tough economic climate, and looks set to do the same this year. (Meet the Reseller).(Company Profile)
January 14, 2003... As 2003 dawns, it looks like the long-suffering IT industry will face yet another tough year, with businesses tightening their purse strings while demanding increased return on investment But reseller and authorised Microsoft business...

Can video conferencing really do all that? (5 Minute Interview: Simon Dudley).(Interview)
January 14, 2003... What have you got in your pockets? Twelve old tube tickets, nine petrol receipts and four security passes for the Polycom Emea headquarters in Slough -- I really must do some expenses and wear a different suit I also have a bunch of my own...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
January 14, 2003... Keep an open mind While the recent Business Link report (see MicroScope, 3 December 2002) -- which tells SMEs to heed advice IT and not to be too preoccupied with the day-today running of their business -- is worthy and well-meaning, it is...

Soap.
January 14, 2003... The logic appears to be sound: we all know how many people have wristwatches, so imagine if you could gain just five or ten per cent of that market with smart wearable devices. That simple vision was outlined by Bill Gates as he unveiled some...

At the Margins.(Column)
January 14, 2003... The soap opera for the IT channel... Harry is determined to get rid of his sales director Johnny Carter, who is dangling below him on a rope in the Lake District... Harry couldn't understand why Carter had not let go of the rope. A...

Fujitsu faces battle in Solaris arena: sales of Unix platform remain biased towards Sun limiting market for its rival supplier.(Fujitsu Siemens and Sun Microsystems)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... Fujitsu Siemens' attempts to gain a stronger foothold in the Solaris market have suffered a setback, after claims that rival Sun Microsystems has warned corporate resellers against working with the vendor. The two manufacturers are the...

Poor marketing could get resellers the chop.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... Resellers that fail to prove they can effectively handle the marketing process for vendors could face the chop. Research carried out by consultants Marketing Performance for the UK's top IT vendors has shown that few manufacturers are happy...

The ups and downs of Sun distribution.(Sun Microsystems distributor, Clarity, announces layoffs, tplc reports more sales)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... There were mixed fortunes in the Sun Microsystems distribution channel last week, with Clarity cutting headcount and tplc revealing increased sales. Clarity axed nine jobs after a review, although it had previously expected to make up to a...

PC sales opportunities drop as many firms 'make do'. (News).(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... The channel has been told to wave goodbye to the corporate practice of refreshing desktop PCs every three years as lifecycles become stretched to four or five years. According to research carried out by investment bank UBS Warburg,...

WStore offers resellers low-cost Web presence. (News).(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... Online player WStore plans to launch a scheme which aims to encourage resellers to use its e-commerce software and trade as part of an affiliate group. The corporate e-tailer hopes to use its Icon Software unit to attract resellers...

Web traders defend online purchasing. (News).(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... E-commerce players have hit back at accusations that corporates are refusing to order product via the Web, after MicroScope learned that two banks had banned the use of online procurement systems. The news came to light after West...

Vendors post mixed results. (News).(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... Intel has led the way in the flurry of results from major vendors and revealed fourth-quarter revenues of $7.2bn ([pounds sterling]4.5bn), up three per cent on last year, with pre-tax profits up 108 per cent to $1bn. Rival AMD saw total...

Microsoft dealers to police licensing. (News).(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... Microsoft's search for up to ten resellers to specialise in software asset management as part of its drive to tackle under-licensing among users has provoked a mixed reaction. One industry source claimed the appointments would cause fury...