Ed Oswald

Amazon disclosed Thursday that it has begun testing an online grocery service to residents of a Seattle suburb. The effort mirrors similar but unsuccessful startups that appeared during the dot-com boom.

Those names -- WebVan and HomeGrocer.com -- read like a who's who of the dot com bust. Sales never managed to match the huge amount of capital investment the companies had to make in order to launch the services.

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Google has been testing the waters in the wireless industry, seeing if there is enough support for it to offer mobile phones customized to include various services provided by the company.

While the company will not manufacture the devices directly, it has apparently provided a list of specs to manufacturers, the Wall Street Journal reports. It has also apparently talked with at least two carriers, Verizon and T-Mobile.

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Microsoft said Wednesday that it will test out a version of its Microsoft Works productivity suite with computer manufacturers that would be free and ad-supported.

Works' place in Microsoft's portfolio has been in question as the company focuses more on its Office suite. Additionally, the company is facing increasing pressure from competitors such as Google, who are offering similar Web-based products at no cost.

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The US Government said Wednesday that it had executed 32 search warrants in 16 states as part of a crackdown on devices and chips which allow pirated games to be played on gaming consoles.

Government officials say the targets of the raids were company's that produce devices to circumvent copyright protections on Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360, and Nintendo's Wii, among others. The industry claims these chips cause billions of dollars in lost revenue each year.

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With a new owner, it appears relations between DirecTV and TiVo are on the mend. TiVo says a software upgrade is on the way to owners of DirecTV TiVo units.

Under the ownership of News Corp, relations between the two companies soured after DirecTV said it would opt for its own in-house digital video recorder system. However, the DVRs were not well received by customers, and News Corp's exit from DirectTV opened the door for TiVo to make a return.

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A scheduled event at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino next Tuesday has some thinking that a significant update to the company's iMac line is imminent.

Members of the press have been invited to an August 7 press conference at 10am Pacific Time. Apple is remaining typically mum about the details, only saying that the announcements are "Mac-related" and that Apple executives will be present.

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Apple released a bevy of patches for the Macintosh operating system, as well as its first patch for the iPhone late Tuesday. Almost fifty separate vulnerabilities have been fixed as a result.

The move may be in response to the upcoming Black Hat Conference, where at least one of the flaws patched -- the one aimed at iPhone -- was to be the subject of discussion. Apple prides itself on its claims that Mac OS is one of the most secure operating systems around.

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Eminem and Apple are back in court again, this time over a dispute on whether or not the rapper's tracks are on iTunes with his permission.

While Universal distributes Eminem's albums, Eight Mile Style LLC and Martin Affiliated LLC own the publishing and copyrights to the songs. Both are claiming that they have never given Universal authorization to distribute his music online.

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We don't know what it is yet, but Sony's talking up its exclusive deal for the PlayStation 3 on a new game franchise from Rockstar Games.

Exact details of the contract were not provided; SCEA third party relations chief Michael Shorrock said it wasn't the LA Noire franchise, but "something completely new." Rockstar and Sony have had a close relationship in the past, especially surrounding the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

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Adobe is facing criticism over its decision to include a prominent button in the software that allows its users to print their .PDF files at a local FedEx Kinko's.

FedEx saw the deal as the way to continue building momentum for its Kinko's unit which it acquired in 2004. Since .PDF has become the business standard for documents, aligning with Adobe seemed like a logical decision. However, some Adobe customers weren't too happy about it.

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The iPhone has only been out for a month, yet there's already a class-action lawsuit against it over its battery life.

Jose Trujillo filed the suit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Among other things, he claims that the battery can only be charged for 300 cycles before needing to be replaced, and that he wasn't made aware that the battery was soldered inside of the unit.

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A Virginia District Court Judge sided with eBay on Friday, allowing it to continue to use the "Buy it Now" feature, which is at the center of a patent dispute with MercExchange.

eBay lost a Supreme Court ruling last year that found it guilty of patent infringement. However, the high court declined to rule on whether or not an injunction to prevent the future use of the technology should be enforced, leaving that up to the lower court.

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Lawyers for Google's YouTube subsidiary told a New York District Court judge that it would have a method to "fingerprint" videos in the fall.

The new functionality will help the site find copyrighted videos easier by looking for similarities. It is being developed in conjunction with content providers, and YouTube said it will begin using the new technology by autumn, possibly as early as September.

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The coming transition from analog to digital television here in the United States has some in Congress a little worried that any consumer confusion may come back on them.

On February 18, 2009, broadcasters will be required to stop transmitting programming in analog format. The spectrum freed up once the move is complete would be reassigned to other uses, including frequencies for first responders and new wireless broadband services.

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The BBC launched its online television service on Friday, which is being called the biggest change to the way its viewers watch its programming in four decades.

The advent of content on the Internet is as big for the BBC as its first broadcasts in color in the 1960s, according to Director General Mark Thompson.

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