Russian Piracy Ruling Overturned
A Russian schoolteacher is being forced to stand trial on charges he pirated software for a second time, as a regional court overturned an earlier ruling that had dismissed the charges against him.
The initial case drew the attention of former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who wrote an open letter to Bill Gates to ask that he show the defendant mercy. However, Microsoft responded and said they had nothing to do with the case, and it was later thrown out.
Cingular to Offer Banking by Cell Phone
Cingular has signed deals with several banks that will eventually allow it to offer services that let its customers manage their accounts and pay bills via their cell phones, it said Tuesday.
The service will be available to customers that download a special application, and belong to banks managed by Wachovia, BancorpSouth, Regions Financial, and SunTrust among others. There will be no additional fee to use the service.
HTC Debuts New 3G Smart Devices
Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer HTC has unveiled two smart device models, including one that runs a full copy of the Windows Vista operating system.
HTC's Shift features a 7-inch widescreen touch display and 30GB hard drive, as well as a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE.
Adobe Unveils Creative Suite 3
Calling it the largest software release in the company's 25-year history, Adobe on Tuesday took the wraps off Creative Suite 3, an impressive catalog of 13 standalone applications available in six different configurations.
Adobe's latest release answers the call of many of its users who use the Mac OS X platform by making CS3 a Universal Binary - meaning it is compatible with Apple computers utilizing an Intel processor. In addition, the suite will take advantage of Windows Vista as well.
Sprint to Roll Out WiMAX By Year's End
Sprint elaborated on its WiMAX plans Tuesday, saying it was already in discussions with several manufacturers about producing compatible devices, as well as naming nineteen markets in the US where it would initially offer service.
Initial launches of WiMAX will begin by year's end, with commercial services available in "a number of markets" by April of next year. Sprint hopes to have service available to 100 million consumers by the end of 2008, it said.
Sony Ericsson Debuts First US HSDPA Phone
In a sign that 3G is getting closer to becoming commonplace in the US cellular market, Sony Ericsson on Monday introduced its first HSDPA phone for North America, the Z750.
Up until recently, manufacturers passed over the American market in favor of the European and Asian markets where 3G is already widespread. However, with Cingular already beginning to offer HSPDA service and T-Mobile preparing to this year, companies are beginning to roll out phones for the US.
Microsoft Readying High-End Xbox 360
Several news outlets are citing various sources saying Microsoft plans to release the Xbox 360 Elite, a high-end limited edition console that would retail for $479 USD and include an HDMI connector, IPTV capabilities, and a 120GB hard drive.
The Redmond company is not confirming the rumors, although it has been reported that a Microsoft XNA framework developer may have unintentionally confirmed the HDMI functionality in a company forum for the technology.
Apple: Leopard Will Ship on Time
It seems as if Apple is determined to not take a similar route as Windows Vista with its next-generation operating system, code-named "Leopard."
The company took the unusual step on Friday of responding directly to speculation by the Taiwan technology publication DigiTimes that its newest operating system was delayed, saying it was on track to deliver Leopard in the spring.
Qualcomm Looks to EV-DO Revision B
With EV-DO Revision A deployments well underway, Qualcomm on Monday debuted a new chipset for Revision B that is said to have reached average data speeds of 9.3Mpbs in field trials.
At that data rate, a mobile data connection would be roughly the same as that of a current cable modem connection. Qualcomm says its chipset, called the Mobile Station Modem MSM7850, is the first device solution for EV-DO Rev. B.
Alcatel-Lucent Wins $6 BN Verizon Wireless Contract
Verizon has signed a three-year deal with Alcatel-Lucent worth $6 billion to continue building out its network in the United States and help extend the reach of its multimedia and data services.
The agreement would mean the country's second largest mobile operator would be able to expand its EV-DO Revision A coverage, as well as add new services. Among those planned are VoIP, push-to-x (an extension of PTT), video calls, and other technologies.
Vonage: We Will Survive Post-Injunction
Calling the turmoil following a Friday verdict banning it from using VoIP technology patented by Verizon an "overreaction," Vonage said Monday that it was confident it would be able to win on appeal, but investors are worried.
US District Judge Claude Hilton issued an injunction Friday after dismissing arguments by Vonage that it was in the public interest to not enforce such an action, siding with Verizon's claims of 'irreparable harm.'
Oracle Accuses SAP of Massive 'Corporate Theft'
Accusing its competitor of "corporate theft on a grand scale," business software rival Oracle sued SAP on Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
The Redwood Shores, Calif. company claims that SAP used the access codes of its customers to gain access to the company's servers and then download copyrighted material. It further alleges that the company kept a large library of Oracle's property on its own servers.
Palm Wins Stay of Suit By NTP
A federal judge handed Palm a victory on Thursday, saying that the company could continue to sell phones including technology that has caused them to be sued by patent-holding company NTP.
NTP is no stranger to patent litigation -- the company most recently successfully settled a$612.5 million with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. The suit against Palm is similar to that case.
Microsoft Shutters Soapbox to New Users
Attempting to stave off a similar situation to that of YouTube, Microsoft said this week it would not accept new registrations for as long as two months while it works on a better system to protect copyright.
The move is in response to an increasing number of illicit videos appearing on the service. While current users will be able to continue to access Soapbox, the site would not accept any new registrations.
Borders to Open Online Book Store
Borders is about to take its online fate into its own hands, as it plans to reopen its own online store and end a several year partnership with Amazon.com. It also announced that it will abandon its international strategy, choosing to focus domestically.
Amazon took over Borders' online service in 2001 following the dot-com stock market crash. While it was branded with the company's name, all proceeds except for a commission on sales was kept by the online retailer.
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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