Acquisition rumor mill: IBM is rumored to have NetApp in the acquisition crosshairs. Novell is also rumored to be on the auction block, with Oracle as a potential suitor.

Going Green East at the Four Seasons in Boston could be the source of some green tech news this week. The Boston Globe already mentioned the event in the context of the current venture capital interest in energy start-ups.

There are at least two big news items happening at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Crytek will be demoing a new 3D engine for the extremely popular Far Cry series. 3D coverage should continue to intensify through the year as new 3D televisions keep rolling out in tandem with 3D gaming engines and graphics cards. Also at the Game Developers Conference, the speculation is that Valve's platform may be arriving to Mac. If you've never heard of Half-Life or Team Fortress, this means nothing to you, but one of the knocks on Mac is that it's been so far behind in serious gaming titles - so this would be a major development that could trigger a lot of interest in gaming on the OS X platform.

Speaking of Apple, the company recently sued HTC for 20 infringing patents, which many see as a not-so-subtle shot across Google's bow. No doubt that the tech media will stay on the story this week as it continues to play out.

Food for thought: 8 Signs of Tech PR Firm #FAIL

Top Free Mobile Apps (PC Magazine)

We contacted PC Magazine about their June issue "Top Free Mobile Apps" item. For an app to be considered it must be FREE (not a teaser or limited functionality app). The story is being researched until May, and any submissions should be directed to Sasha Segan and Sean Ludwig.

Inc. 500 | 5000 (Inc. Magazine)

Inc.'s 500 | 5000 recognize top private companies. To be eligible, a company must have been in business by March 31, 2006, must have had at least $100,000 in revenue in 2006, must have generated more than $2 million in revenue in 2009, and must be privately held and based in the U.S. The nomination form is currently live. The final deadline is April 30, 2010.

Worldwide Partner Conference Awards (Microsoft)

At its annual Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft recognizes 28 categories for vendors that have built solutions using Microsoft technologies. The nomination form is currently live. The submission deadline is April 2, 2010.

Hardware/Software Co-Design Contest (IEEE)

At the IEEE MEMOCODE event, an Intel R&D executive is coordinating a special challenge. As described by semiconductor industry blogger George Harper: "On the first day, a problem is published with a reference design. Participating teams get a month to improve the performance of the reference design - the solutions with the most speedup win." The contest ends 12 AM EST April 1, 2010. See the FAQ for details. While more of the teams tend to hail from academia, companies are encouraged to participate as well.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Technology and Innovation Awards (San Francisco Business Times)

Categories include: best CEO at a big company (companies with revenue over $100 million), best CEO at a small company (companies with revenue under $100 million), best venture capitalist (individual, not firm), best startup (less than three years old), best gaming / entertainment company, best Internet advertising / marketing company, best security company, best social media company, best mobile application or service, best gadget or product, best business application or service. Emily Fancher, special publications editor, is an appropriate contact with any questions.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Nextgov Awards (Nextgov)

The Nextgov awards recognize government executives with notable IT achievements.

TechCrunch Disrupt

TechCrunch Disrupt will address tech and new media trends with panel sessions, as well as showcase startups via a tournament-style competition called the "Startup Battlefield." For the Startup Battlefield, while the deadline for applications is March 26, 2010, applications will be reviewed as they come in - so better to get your bid in sooner rather than later.

Speaking Info: There will also be limited opportunities for startups to present during the morning sessions. Applications “For Show” will be considered through Monday, March 15, 2010.

Web 2.0 Summit

From its very first year, the Web 2.0 event seemed to be competing with TED to officially be the most pretentious event, dressed up with "request an invitation" reverse psychology registration tactics (hint: anyone that pays can get in) and "speakers are by invitation only" exclusivity posturing. Pomp aside, there are always a lot of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and tech authors at Web 2.0, and the networking opportunities are typically rich.

Speaking Info: The call for speakers is live. No deadline is specified.

4G World

4G World - produced by Trendsmedia (the events division of Yankee Group) provides a roadmap for wireless industry professionals planning their 4G technology deployment and business strategies.

Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 31, 2010.

Agile Software Development Practices - East

Agile Software Development Practices - produced by Software Quality Engineering - aims to address agile "methods, technologies, tools, and leadership principles."

Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 29, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: BPM Europe (Business Process Management Conference)

BPM Europe - produced by IRM UK and BPTrends - aims to address a range of BPM topics, including implementation, governance, etc.

Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 8, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: JavaOne

With Oracle's acquisition of Sun, the fate of Java and MySQL will certainly be the hot-button topic at this year's JavaOne event. Other than TheServerSide Java Symposium, there really is no other big Java event. Could this be the swan song for JavaOne (will it be subsumed by OracleWorld)?

Speaking Info: The call for papers closes on March 14, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: OFC/NFOEC

OFC/NFOEC (Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition plus the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference) targets optical communications & networking professionals. IEEE Communications Society, IEEE Photonics Society and The Optical Society produce the event.

Speaking Info: While this event is happening in just a few weeks, organizers are accepting "postdeadline" submissions up to March 10, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: ConnectivityWeek

ConnectivityWeek - produced by Clasma Events - is a group of co-located events that aim to address the application of IT to energy issues. ConnectivityWeek "Enablers" events focus on the technology. ConnectivityWeek "Vertical Venues" events focus on the application of technology to four broad markets: buildings, homes, industrial facilities, and infrastructure.

Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 12, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Antenna Systems Conference

Antenna Systems Conference - produced by Webcom Communications (publisher of Antenna Systems and Technology magazine) - aims to address developments in antenna systems and technology.

Speaking Info: The call for presentations closes March 12, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Thermal Management & Technology Symposium

Thermal Management & Technology Symposium, co-located with Antenna Systems Conference and several other conferences, targets design engineers, system engineers, process engineers, material scientists/engineers and CTOs and R&D managers "whose products, operations and services depend upon sophisticated and precise control of thermal properties and states."

Speaking Info: The call for presentations closes March 12, 2010.

FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: ESC Boston (Embedded Systems Conference)

Produced by TechInsights (publisher of Embedded Systems Design and EE Times), ESC targets engineers, engineering managers, and executives in the electronics industry.

Speaking Info: The call for papers closes March 9, 2010.