TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Steve Jobs Advising Oracle: The Apple Computer Inc. founder has a new position that could lead to a marriage between Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple and software leader Oracle Systems Corp. of Redwood City, Calif., according to a published report. Jobs has been advising Oracle founder Larry Ellison on a possible alliance between the two, unnamed Silicon Valley sources told the San Francisco Chronicle. Ellison wants to license Apple software for the $500 “computer for the masses” that Oracle plans to sell next year, the paper said Friday. That would make Oracle a bigger player in the personal computer market, bolster Apple and hurt Microsoft Corp.--a rival of both.