B&N aims to sell $1B worth of e-books by 2013

In today's podcast: Chinese video site signs content deal; VMware in talks to acquire Novell's Linux business; and B&N aims to sell $1B worth of e-books by 2013.

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In a move that will legally bring more American TV shows and films to the Internet in China, Ku6 Media, an operator of one of the country's largest video hosting sites, has signed content deals with Sony Pictures Television and a major Hollywood studio. Ku6 announced the deal in a statement on Thursday, claiming that the agreements would make Ku6 "the first Chinese local video portal to acquire legitimate copyright content from major Hollywood studios." The deal would give Ku6 the broadcasting rights for several hundred Hollywood films and TV episodes.

VMware is among a number of companies in talks to purchase Novell, according to published reports. Novell is reportedly looking to split up the company and sell it in separate pieces. It is now in "advanced talks" with at least two buyers, including VMware, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. VMware appears to be solely interested in acquiring Novell's SUSE Linux operating system and associated business. Novell's NetWare enterprise file sharing software may be purchased by Attachmate, a software firm specializing in supporting legacy applications, the Journal said.

Book retailer Barnes & Noble expects to generate US$1 billion in revenue from sales of digital books, including e-books and e-textbooks, by 2013. The company hopes to capture a 25 percent share in the e-book market by then, said William Lynch, B&N's CEO, in a letter to shareholders detailing the company's business growth strategy.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd made his first public comments on Thursday since taking a job as Oracle co-president saying the company is poised for major expansion. He spoke during a conference call about Oracle's first-quarter earnings results. Hurd is heading up sales, marketing and support at Oracle.

...And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I'm Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.