Cisco

Cisco Systems plans to acquire WebEx for about $3.2 billion in cash and stock, the companies announced Thursday.

WebEx, which offers network-based solutions for on-demand collaboration between businesses, will enhance Cisco's unified communications segment for small to medium-size business clients, according to the companies. The deal has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies but is still pending regulatory approval.

WASHINGTON--Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers popped into the nation's capital on Wednesday to add his voice to the "green tech" movement.

In a brief appearance here at an event hosted by the TechNet, a political network composed of high-tech CEOs, Chambers called on all businesses to team up with government to adopt environmentally responsible practices.

"I think technology can enable many of the green innovations on a global basis," he said. His own company, for example, has applied its networking devices to help cities like San Francisco, Amsterdam and Seoul manage their public transportation systems … Read more

Cisco Systems said Monday it's buying social-networking technology from privately held Utah Street Networks, the operator of the social-networking site Tribe.net.

This is the second social-networking play the company has made since it formed the new Media Solutions Group last year. In February, it announced it was acquiring the 11-person social-networking start-up Five Across, which is based in San Francisco.

Is Cisco assembling technology to build the next MySpace or YouTube? The answer is "no", which helps explain why Cisco said it has not acquired the Tribe.net social-networking site, which will continue to operate independently.… Read more

I'm afraid to write this item. The whole shooting match got started with a blog. And a lot of the angered folks have guns, and know how to use them. So even though this is a target-rich environment for punsters, I will try to stick with the facts.

This all began when professional hunter Jim Zumbo posted a blog on February 16. Zumbo's a longtime hunter and a frequent speaker at National Rifle Association events. He'd been an NRA member for 40 years, according to The Washington Post. In addition, he's been hosting a cable show, … Read more

Apple and Cisco Systems are still trying to work out an agreement over the use of the name "iPhone".

The companies said late Wednesday that they have agreed to extend the time for Apple to respond to a lawsuit Cisco filed against Apple claiming the computer and iPod maker is using its trademark "iPhone" without permission. They extended the deadline so they could continue discussions on an agreement, which Cisco hopes will include interoperability among the companies' products.

Cisco has owned the iPhone trademark since 2000, and in December it launched a new line of Linksys-branded … Read more

The Linksys iPhone has taken some flak over the last couple of weeks from the open-source community after a software researcher, Armijn Hemel, a consultant with Loohuis Consulting, accused Linksys of not publishing the source code for some components in its voice over IP phone, the iPhone. This is a violation of the GNU General Public License, since the iPhones are based on Linux, an open-source operating system software.

John Earnhardt, senior manager for global media operations at Cisco (Linksys is owned by Cisco), responded to the claims on the company's blog. He said Cisco has taken steps to … Read more

An updated version of this story appears here.

Cisco Systems has filed a lawsuit against Apple for infringing its iPhone trademark, the networking company said Wednesday. The suit (click here for PDF) was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Cisco said.

Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in the year 2000 after it acquired a company called Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear's original filing for the trademark dates back to March 20, 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family … Read more

San Jose-based Cisco and the Oakland Athletics this morning officially announced news widely reported last week that the two are working together on plans for a new state-of-the art baseball park to be named "Cisco Field."

The A's struck a deal to buy from Cisco a 143-acre parcel in Fremont, Calif., which would be the future home of the team surrounded by a village complete with housing, restaurants, and shops, A's owner Lew Wolff said in a statement. Separate to this agreement, Cisco would purchase the naming rights in a 30-year deal valued at $4 million … Read more

Technology giant Cisco Systems is planning a new rebranding campaign complete with a new logo and new advertisements targeted at consumers.

The company unveiled the new logo and brand to employees at a Las Vegas event earlier this summer. And executives are expected to show off the new look to investors and analysts in New York City this week before the new campaign kicks off later this fall.

The idea behind the new marketing push is to "make Cisco more relevant to everyday people", said Tony Bates, Cisco's senior vice president and general manager of its Service … Read more