Short takes

06.10.2008
-- California has became the second state to pass legislation making it illegal to steal data from RFID cards. Those found guilty of doing so face a year in jail and fines of up to US$1,500.

-- Hewlett-Packard Co. has agreed to buy LeftHand Networks Inc. for $360 million. Through the transaction, HP will acquire LeftHand's storage virtualization and iSCSI products for midsize companies. The deal is expected to close in January.

-- Microsoft Corp. has unveiled the next version of its Visual Studio development tool suite and upgrades to its Visual Studio Team System collaborative offering. The new Visual Studio 2010 will replace the current release at an as-yet-undisclosed date.

-- Oracle Corp. has agreed to buy Advanced Visual Technology Ltd., a maker of applications for retailers, for an undisclosed sum. Oracle plans to combine AVT's space-planning software with its Oracle Retail suite.