| |
April 21, 2003
|
 |
Bush Backs RIAA Lawsuit Against Verizon
The Justice Department filed court documents Friday supporting the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) lawsuit against Verizon Internet Services, putting the Bush administration clearly on the side of the RIAA in its ongoing legal battles to stop illegal file sharing.
Invoking the subpoena power of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the RIAA is attempting to force Verizon to turn over the name of a subscriber who allegedly downloaded more than 600 copyrighted music files in a single day. Under the DMCA, subpoenas can be issued without a judge's signature.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled in January Verizon must comply with the RIAA subpoena, but the telecom giant has appealed the decision. The RIAA, though, has insisted that Verizon not only immediately turn over the name of the alleged infringer and has additionally issued two more subpoenas demanding Verizon finger more accused infringers.
Verizon has moved to quash the new subpoenas and Bates has decided to consolidate the cases.
The RIAA in August asked a federal district court in Washington, D.C., to enforce the original subpoena, which seeks information related to "a computer connected to the Verizon network that is a hub for significant music piracy." The motion said Verizon is the only entity that can identify the infringer behind the computer.
|
|
|
Opteron heading for four-way servers
Servers containing up to four Opteron processors will hit the market later this quarter, a key element in Advanced Micro Devices' strategy to penetrate the corporate market.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker--in conjunction with server start-up Newisys--has created a four-processor server, code-named Quartet, that will hit the market later this quarter, said Ben Williams, director of the server and workstation business segment at AMD. The chipmaker created the basic reference design. Newisys works with various computer makers to devise implementations of Quartet for commercial release.
"(Computer makers) take the designs and modify them, but you will see designs based on Quartet in the market late in the second quarter," Williams said. Workstations based on Opetron, meanwhile, should arrive late in the second quarter to early in the third quarter.
Two-processor servers based on Opteron, along with a host of chipsets and complimentary software, will be formally unveiled Tuesday at a news conference in New York.
|
|
|
Microsoft to ease Windows license terms
Microsoft said Monday it has agreed to cut the cost and ease some restrictions that it placed on competitors seeking to view the inner workings of the Windows program under last year's antitrust settlement with the government.
Following complaints from some rivals, Microsoft said it would make it cheaper and easier for other software companies to access key pieces of computer code that their server software needs in order to properly function with the Windows operating system.
The concession came after months of negotiations with attorneys for the Justice Department, who are charged with overseeing the landmark antitrust settlement.
"These changes are designed to make it easier for companies to license our technology. We are absolutely committed to full compliance with every aspect of our settlement and providing responsible leadership on behalf of our industry and consumers," said Brad Smith, Microsoft senior vice president for law and corporate affairs.
|
|
|
Banks cash in as more bills are paid online
Online bill payers are better bill payers.
That's the gist of a new study by ComScore Networks, which examined the bank accounts of thousands of people with online bank access and found that those who pay bills online through their bank have twice the account balances of those who don't and are less likely to bank-hop.
The study comes amid other evidence that paperless bill-paying is hitting its stride and becoming a standard operating procedure for an increasing number of consumers.
"The growth rates aren't showing any (sign) of slowing down," Mike Sinco, director of analytics for ComScore Financial Services Solutions, said in an interview. "Online banking and bill (paying) are two of the fastest-growing activities online. And online bill payers are more attractive demographically. They're younger, have higher incomes, and they're more likely to have broadband Internet access."
|
|
|
Sun plans software support for Opteron
Sun Microsystems' software products will support Advanced Micro Devices' new Opteron processor--but not initially the chip's 64-bit capabilities that distinguish it from rival Intel processors.
The support will include Sun's version of Unix, called Solaris; its Java software that lets programs be moved more easily from one computer to another; and its Sun Open Network Environment (Sun ONE) server software collection, the company said in a statement Monday, the day before AMD launches Opteron.
"We are very excited to work with AMD on this new opportunity, as the availability of Solaris, Java and Sun ONE on AMD Opteron provides our customers and partners with a highly reliable, secure, enterprise-ready platform for deploying applications and Web services," Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of software for Sun, said in a statement.
Sun executives have already said they will likely adopt Opteron into its x86 server line.
The move is an endorsement for Opteron, a processor that can run existing 32-bit programs written for processors such as Intel's Xeon or AMD's Athlon, but that can also run 64-bit programs that have been built for the chip. The 64-bit nature of the chip allows a computer to use much more memory than 32-bit chips.
|
|
|
Windows faces new competition: Itself
In the past year, Microsoft appears to have done just what it asked a court not to make it do: fragment Windows.
In April 2002, the software maker's chairman, Bill Gates, testified that too many versions of Windows would be bad for consumers and for competition. But since then, Microsoft has essentially doubled--to about two dozen--the number of "current" versions of the operating system software.
The goal behind the proliferation, analysts say, is in fact to create competition of sorts, within Microsoft's own monopoly market. They say the variations indicate the company understands that consumers and businesses crave choice. More versions could also boost sales and fill niches left vacant by the lack of external alternatives.
"Vanilla just doesn't work for everybody anymore," said Technology Business Research analyst Lindy Lesperance. "Microsoft is looking for ways to drive new demand, in new form factors and segments of the market where their OS may be applicable. They have to fragment to get into these new markets."
Since November, for example, Microsoft has released three new versions of Windows XP alone.
|
|
|
eBay patent case heads to trial
eBay is set to go to trial Tuesday in a patent infringement lawsuit that could have a major impact on the company.
The suit, brought by MercExchange of Great Falls, Va., in September 2001, alleges that eBay infringed on three patents that MercExchange founder Tom Woolston began applying for in the spring of 1995, some five months before eBay founder Pierre Omidyar launched the auction site.
Losing the case would be a serious blow to the online auction giant, one of the most successful online businesses with more than $1.2 billion in revenue last year and continued profitability.
"If the plaintiff were to prevail on any of its claims, we might be forced to pay significant damages and licensing fees, modify our business practices or even be enjoined from conducting a significant part of our U.S. business," eBay stated in an annual report filed last month to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
eBay tried unsuccessfully to have the entire case thrown out in a series of motions for dismissal. But eBay did win a small victory in October when a judge ruled that one of Woolston's patents, covering online auction technology, is invalid and therefore unenforceable.
|
|
|
Sony sinks $1.6 billion into 'Cell' plant
More details about the highly secretive "Cell" processor--slated to power the upcoming Sony PlayStation 3 game console--emerged Monday.
The new chip, touted to be a thousand times more powerful than the processor in a PlayStation 2, will be built on an advanced fabrication line in Japan, according to Sony.
The plant will use industry-leading circuitry widths of 65 nanometers, compared with the 90-nanometer widths found in today's most advanced chips. Reducing the circuitry widths allows more transistors--and hence more processing power--to be squeezed into the core. The plant will also try to cut costs by using large, 300mm wafers.
|
|
|
RealNetworks seeks Listen.com buyout
RealNetworks has agreed to buy Listen.com for about $36 million in cash and stock, a deal that could alter some key alliances in the online music business.
The two companies announced an agreement Monday, under which RealNetworks will pay $17.3 million in cash and 4.1 million shares of stock for privately held Listen. Real had already taken a minority stake in the San Francisco-based company in February.
The companies said that bringing Listen's online music subscription service, dubbed Rhapsody, closer to RealNetworks' RealOne product will help both services in the market--despite the fact that Rhapsody technically competes with a rival that is partly owned by RealNetworks.
|
|
|
|
