NY AG Sues Dell Over 'Bait and Switch'
The New York Attorney General's office sued computer maker Dell and subsidiary Dell Financial Services on Wednesday, accusing the company of "bait and switch" practices and poor customer service.
Andrew Cuomo said the state had received an "unprecedented number of complaints," totaling about 700. Most apparently revolved around Dell's financing practices.
Apple Stock Drops on iPhone, Leopard Rumors
Apple's stock plunged over two percent Wednesday after technology news blog Engadget posted an unsubstantiated rumor claiming that both the iPhone and Leopard had been delayed.
The precipitous drop began after managing editor Ryan Block posted information "on authority" saying Apple had delayed the iPhone until October, and Mac OS X Leopard a second time until January 2008.
Toshiba to Offer $100 HD DVD Instant Rebate
Beginning Sunday, Toshiba will be offering a $100 USD instant rebate on its entry-level HD DVD player for a period of one month, with the savings eventually being available on any player it sells.
The promotion will run from May 20 to June 16. For the entire period, the $100 instant rebate is applicable to the HD-A2 model, bringing the price down to $299.99 USD. During the final week, the rebate applies to any player.
Gonzales Pushing for Sweeping IP Law Changes
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is asking the US Congress to pass new intellectual property legislation that would stiffen penalties as well as criminalizing "attempted piracy."
Called the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007, the bill has several key provisions that aim to change how piracy is prosecuted. As mentioned previously, one change is the go-ahead for prosecutors to charge somebody who intends to commit piracy but does not complete the act.
Imeem Sued by Warner Music
Warner Music Group has sued Imeem, claiming the social networking site is allowing its users to share content from the label without permission. The suit, filed in US District Court in Los Angeles, is asking for an injunction against the site as well as monetary damages.
Each instance of a music video or song owned by WMG could cost the site as much as $150,000 if the courts rule in favor of the label. Warner also claims Imeem has done little to prevent its users from sharing content and is actively participating in the infringement.
MySpace Deleting Sex Offender Profiles
The MySpace profiles of a "few thousand" convicted sex offenders have been removed, the popular social networking site said Tuesday. But the company says it will not hand over the users' names to states requesting the data.
The company had previously announced a program in December that will identify and block sex offenders that were attempting to use the site. Called Sentinel Safe, the technology matches information on profiles with a database of about 550,000 sex offenders nationwide.
DirecTV Considers Internet Via Power Lines
DirecTV is considering offering broadband internet service via power lines next year, with the company mulling a wide-scale test in a major US city.
The satellite provider is one of several talking to power-line Internet equipment manufacturers about offering high-speed Internet services. A test to see if such a service is feasible would occur in a "top 50" city and would have a coverage area of at least half the city.
Motorola Cozies Up to Napster for ROKR
Motorola severed its ties with Apple on Tuesday, announcing that it would partner with Napster in the US, UK and German markets to bring the subscription music service to its new ROKR phones.
While the first phase of the marketing agreement between the companies will place the Napster To Go service on the ROKR Z6, Motorola said it would also look into other ways to integrate the music service with its product lines.
Motorola Introduces Second-Gen RAZR
Motorola on Tuesday introduced the second revision of its popular RAZR phone, complete with support for next-generation high speed data, a thinner profile, and higher-resolution display screens.
The RAZR 2 phone will initially become available this July in select markets. Among the features are up to 2GB of on-board memory, as well as an operating system based on Linux and Java. The new OS would mean a completely new user interface for the phone, something Motorola customers have long been desiring.
Report: Piracy Software Loses Continue to Rise
While the rate of piracy worldwide has stayed fairly stable, the cost of the problem to software developers continues to rise as the market continues to grow, the Business Software Alliance said on Tuesday.
An IDC study commissioned by the BSA found that for every $2 spent on legitimate software, a dollar is lost to piracy. Worldwide, around 35 percent of all software is pirated.
Apple Speeds Up MacBook Line
Apple updated its popular MacBook line on Tuesday, giving the laptops faster processors, more memory, and larger hard drives across the board.
The MacBook is a huge hit for Apple, and the company said the line is one of the reasons why Mac sales are growing at a rate three times that of PCs. The updated MacBooks will be available immediately from both Apple's retail locations and partners, as well as online.
Report: Video Download Market Will Fail
A prominent research firm is calling the for-pay video download industry a "dead end," saying free ad-supported streams would likely take their place. The peak for the industry will come this year, it claims.
According to Forrester Research, premium video downloads will reach revenues of $279 million in 2007, up from $98 million the previous year. Such a market shift could have major implications for products like Apple TV, which depend heavily on the industry.
DoD Blocks Access to 13 Web Sites
A new policy being implemented by the Department of Defense means that soldiers will lose access to 13 sites including MySpace and YouTube beginning Monday in an effort to conserve bandwidth.
The agency claims the "recreational" use of its network slows down official government work, as well as posing a security risk for ongoing operations. The new policy would supplement a preexisting policy that forbids the sharing of information that may jeopardize the missions of the military.
Halo 3 Struggles to Impress Gamers
Microsoft's Halo 3 video game may not be the blockbuster some were hoping for: at preview events in both New York and San Francisco, the game was generally well-received, although some said it could be better.
Halo is one of Redmond's most successful gaming franchises ever, and the latest release of the first person shooter game is one of the most highly anticipated titles of the year. Microsoft will make available a public beta of the game starting Wednesday.
Microsoft: Open-Source Violates 235 Patents
Microsoft is using a new technique to combat the threat of open-source to its business: accusing it of using its intellectual property covered in some 235 patents.
The accusation comes from Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer and general counsel Brad Smith, who told Fortune the movement needs to "play by the same rules" that everybody else does and license the technologies it uses.
Ed's Bio
Ed Oswald is a freelance journalist from the Reading, PA area. Although he has written across a variety of subjects, Ed’s passion and focus has been on technology and gadgets. His work regularly appears on tech news sites BetaNews, PCWorld, and Technologizer, and has been syndicated to eWeek, Time’s Techland blog, VentureBeat and the New York Times.
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