Yesterday, some news outlets reported on Oracle’s mischaracterization of HP’s server technology and business performance.

These reports come on the heels of data released earlier this week by both IDC and Gartner that confirmed HP as the #1 market share leader in the server market.

In response, HP issued the following statement:

HP is the No. 1 provider of enterprise servers in the world.  We are focused on our customers, and those customers continue to be won over by our combination of technology, product performance, and pricing.  The numbers prove it – our Enterprise Storage and Servers segment saw 25% revenue growth year over year during Q4 FY2010, and HP was the only major UNIX vendor that reported server growth. 

Larry Ellison bought a money-losing business that had steady market share declines for years, and which still ranks at the bottom of the market. Customers aren’t fooled by outdated benchmarks, no matter what Oracle says. HP’s market share results prove it. Sun customers are running to HP in droves because they recognize we deliver superior technology, performance and pricing.

For more information:

IDC press release, 12/1/10: “Worldwide Server Market Revenues Increase 13.2% in Third Quarter as Market Accelerates Further, According to IDC”

Gartner press release, 11/29/10: “Gartner Says Worldwide Server Shipments Grew 14.2 Percent and Revenue Increased 15.3 Percent in the Third Quarter of 2010”

HP press release, 11/22/10: “HP Reports Fourth Quarter 2010 Results”

A full house Tuesday night at San Jose’s Churchill Club got to hear HP mobility exec Jon Rubinstein and Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs pondering the future of wireless computing, a technology the event billed as “the biggest tech platform in history."

So what is next for wireless, event moderator and AllThingsD co-founder Kara Swisher  wanted to know.  

Resisting Swisher's legendary ability to wring out information, Rubinstein was cagy about product details.  But he argued that the hit mobile products and services of the future will only result from offering a first-rate user experience and from moving fully into the cloud.

“What enables breakthroughs,” said Rubinstein, “is the convergence of technology, product vision and software.” HP and Palm, he suggested, are well positioned to integrate across that entire spectrum, unlike some other players in the mobile space that account for individual elements of the user experience.

Qualcomm’s Jacobs predicted that before too long we’ll see smartphones able to sense much more than their locations, that will be remote controls for manipulating the environment around us and that will offer us new ways to share.  We’ll point phones at signs in a foreign language and get an instant translation, he suggested.  And we’ll be using sensors attached to phones to remotely diagnose health problems, especially in nations where heath care is the least developed.

When Swisher pushed for some for really futuristic predictions, Rubinstein imagined that we’ll one day sleep with mobile devices in our ears.  Our pillows, he said, might then “recharge the electronics in your head."

What could hold wireless back? Both execs agreed that power (i.e. battery life) and the limited availability of cellular bandwidth present the two biggest technical challenges right now. 

How about market fragmentation, asked Swisher?  Is it a problem to have seven different mobile OSs to choose from?  “We’re only at the very beginning of this,” Rubinstein replied, a point born out by news yesterday that Apple’s share of the mobile OS market has slipped from 51.9% to 33% in the last year. Data released yesterday morning by Neilsen further suggests that the smartphone battle is only just starting to heat up.  

Some barriers to wireless growth will be more social than technical. Both Jacobs and Rubinstein argued that before we can exploit all that wireless has to offer we’ve got habits that need to be unlearned and fears that need to be overcome.

Rubinstein said he has a ready reply when people worry about sharing data with cloud-based services.  “Where do you keep your money?” he asks.  For most, of course, it’s in a bank.  “See,” says Rubinstein, “it’s already in the cloud.”

That comment was much retweeted by members of last night's tech-heavy audience, many of whom offered real-time event commentary under the #Churchillclub hashtag -- a reminder that whatever cool stuff is on the horizon, the biggest tech platform in history has already seriously reshaped our world.

Today, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission published a preliminary staff report that "proposes a framework to balance the privacy interests of consumers with innovation that relies on consumer information to develop beneficial new products and services."

HP issued the following statement by Scott Taylor, Chief Privacy Officer: 

“HP applauds the work of Federal Trade Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch and the staff report ‘Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Consumers, Businesses, and Policymakers.’  The framework aligns with HP’s current priorities and is important for industry to address. We are not only encouraged by the report, but we look forward to continuing to support these efforts.”

For more information:

- Read the FTC Press Release: "FTC Staff Issues Privacy Report Offers Framework for Consumers, Businesses, and Policymakers"

- Learn more about HP's privacy practices

- Read about innovative research in privacy and security technologies happening at HP Labs

We've written here before about the ability of information to save lives, and today we're happy to share a new example of how HP is putting those ideas into practice.

Today, HP and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) announced a partnership to provide a new cloud-based system that will speed up the turnaround time for HIV test results for babies in Kenya, allowing for earlier treatment - and ultimately saving lives.

Under the current system, results of HIV tests are delivered on paper by courier. By taking advantage of IT – including HP datacenters, new database software, real-time analytics and SMS-connected printers – the system will reduce the turnaround time dramatically. Results will be available online and delivered to healthcare workers via SMS-enabled printers in just one to two days vs. the three months it can take today in rural areas of Kenya.

How does it work?

HP collaborated with CHAI to design a system that uses cloud computing to improve the tracking process and make test results available in real-time. HP is providing networking, storage, and servers to power five datacenters across Kenya, along with PCs and SMS-connected printers for healthcare workers

(view the full size image)

With support from HP, students at Strathmore University in Nairobi developed a custom

database application used in the system.  At each lab, the processing of field information and capturing of testing data will become automated using this application, which generates a unique barcode for each sample of field data. As soon as the testing machine provides results, they are made available online and sent to healthcare workers via GSM/SMS printers in the field, and subsequently communicated to patients.

How could this save lives?

 In Kenya, approximately one out of every ten pregnant women is HIV positive. That means that of the 1.3 million children born in Kenya each year, more than 120,000 have HIV-positive mothers. Without intervention, there is up to a 45 percent chance that an infant born to a mother with HIV will become infected.

Due to the high rate of HIV in Kenya, all infants are required to be tested for the disease before they are six weeks old. However, the current testing procedure is paper-based and results, which are delivered by courier, can take up to three months to arrive in rural areas.  This delay reduces the efficacy of life-saving anti-retroviral treatment (ART), which needs to be started immediately following a diagnosis.  For example, an HIV-positive infant who does not receive ART has less than a 50 percent chance of living to see his or her second birthday.

What is the impact of this program?

The HP/CHAI project will:

– Expedite the delivery of test results from two to three months in rural areas to just one to two days

– Increase the number of children who are diagnosed with HIV and put on treatment from 45,000 in 2009 to 70,000 in 2011

– Increase the number of healthcare facilities that can access test result data from 1,500 to more than 3,000

– Connect data from four central labs to more than 20,000 healthcare workers via GSM/SMS

We expect that the HP/CHAI system for early infant HIV diagnosis will be replicated and scaled for use in other countries in 2011. In addition, it serves as a model for how IT could change the equation in the diagnosis and treatment of other diseases.

Quote from President Clinton:

“Technology and innovation are key to solving many of the most pressing challenges of our world, none of which are more urgent than a disease which takes the lives of 31 children every minute. I’m pleased HP’s technology and expertise will enable the partnership with CHAI to save the lives of more than 100,000 infants in Kenya each year, and in the process, demonstrate how the private sector can and should operate in the developing world.”