Posted 8:55 AM by Blah blah

If you have been following the battle between Walter Hewlett vs. the heads of HP and Compaq over their proposed merger, look out---it has moved onto the web! Hewlett, son of HP co-founder William Hewlett, started a website to argue his case against the merger. HP brass in turn started its own site to argue for it.

Gerstner to Step Down as I.B.M. Chief (NY Times): "Louis V. Gerstner Jr., an outsider who guided a remarkable turnaround at I.B.M. and transformed its once-hidebound culture, announced today that he would step down as the chief executive on March 1.

The timing of the announcement was mildly surprising, coming a bit earlier than industry analysts had expected. But Mr. Gerstner's move was widely foreseen within the company and the computer business, as was the decision by the I.B.M. board today to name Samuel J. Palmisano, the president, as the new chief executive. Mr. Gerstner turns 60 on March 1, and he had told colleagues he was aiming for that date, with the final word coming at the board meeting today at company headquarters here.

Mr. Gerstner, who will remain as chairman to advise Mr. Palmisano until the end of the year, would not say in an interview what he will do next. A sturdy, vigorous man, whose regimen includes daily workouts, Mr. Gerstner made clear that stepping aside at I.B.M. would not mean retirement. His interests include public policy and education, as well as business. He had been mentioned as a possible cabinet member in the Bush administration, and he has written a book on education and been chairman of education conferences, promoting national testing and standards of achievement."