Ed Oswald

In a brief statement late Wednesday, Apple and Cisco said they had agreed to extend the time that Apple would have in which to respond to Cisco's lawsuit regarding the iPhone trademark.

"Apple and Cisco have agreed to extend the time for Apple to respond to the lawsuit to allow for discussions between the companies with the aim of reaching agreement on trademark rights and interoperability," the statement reads.

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Flaws within the Windows Mobile operating system could cause phones to crash, security firm Trend Micro said in a pair of advisories. One deals with Internet Explorer, while the other involves the Pictures & Videos application.

In each case, devices running these programs and opening either a specially crafted Web page or JPEG image file could be susceptible to a denial-of-service attack. Microsoft has been alerted to the issue, and the firm will not release details of the flaw.

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Yahoo this week began launching sites under its "Brand Universe" concept, aimed at creating online destinations for fans of specific entertainment properties, the first of which would be the Nintendo Wii console.

Almost none of the content on these sites would be original, rather they would borrow from Yahoo's various properties. For example, on the Wii site, the front page features content from Yahoo! Video Games, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Yahoo! Answers, along with a message board and buyers guide.

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The Justice Department has acquiesced to Congressional demands to provide more details on the controversial spying program, with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales agreeing to hand over secret documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Calls for the release of the information came from both sides of the aisle, with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), now the committee chair, and Arlen Specter (R-PA) leading the calls for its release.

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Even with the operating system released to the public, Microsoft cannot seem to catch a break with Windows Vista. The latest complaints come from game developers, who say the OS' parental controls are so strict they're disrupting gameplay.

The charge comes from WildTangent, an online gaming network. It says that security restrictions in Vista actually breaks hundreds of games across RealArcade, Yahoo Games, AOL Games, and even on its own site. The reasons? One is that there's no ESRB rating.

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Just three weeks after Skype development chief Eric Lagier said a Skype version for cell phones was a no-go, the company has signed an agreement with HelloSoft to license its VoIP software to enhance its Windows Mobile client.

Lagier's comments may sound contradictory considering the company already provides software for mobile phones with versions for either Microsoft's PocketPC or Windows Mobile operating systems, however he was likely referring to a general version that would be compatible with a larger section of cellular handset manufacturers.

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Microsoft has made the decision to use the Word HTML rendering engines for both the reading and composing of messages within Outlook 2007, a decision that has been criticized by those who use HTML e-mail frequently.

The change means that many e-mails who may have displayed perfectly within Outlook in previous versions may look seriously jumbled in the latest incarnation. There's a simple reason for this: Word supports far less HTML standards.

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Aiming to encourage its customers to keep their landlines, Verizon is offering package deals including up to four services from the company. For the first time, wireless service would join the bundle deals of television, Internet and landline phone service.

The nation's largest telecommunications company had already been offering packages that allowed consumers to save money by bundling DirecTV satellite service, Verizon DSL, and a landline number for substantial savings.

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Sony BMG has settled with the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing to reimburse consumers up to $150 for damage to the computers caused by the label's use of rootkits to prevent piracy of its discs.

The company had settled a similar case with 39 states and the state of California late last year. Like those settlements, Sony BMG admits no wrongdoing, and must provide tools to help uninstall the rootkit software. In addition, it would be required to post notices of the settlement on its Web site for two years.

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Apple was ordered to pay the legal fees in a case involving two Apple enthusiast sites, seven months after a judgment in its favor was overturned, essentially giving bloggers the same protection as traditional journalists in the state of California.

The case involved Apple rumor sites AppleInsider and PowerPage.org. At issue was the disclosure on both sides of a confidential product code named "Asteroid." The device was never released, but the Cupertino company sued anyway.

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Apple has begun offering a $1.99 USD software patch that would enable use of 802.11n wireless networking on select Intel-based Mac models. However, the update has not come without controversy.

The Cupertino company claims that it had to offer the capabilities in this manner due to finance laws, commonly referred to as GAAP, which they say require a charge for significant feature enhancements. But many Wall Street analysts have said that is not the case.

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Many computer users prefer to install their operating system "clean" by simply using their old Windows disc to verify they own a copy of the software. However, that appears to no longer be possible using an Upgrade version of Windows Vista.

The Redmond company has apparently taken out the option to do so from upgrade versions of its new operating system, meaning a user would need to purchase a full copy of the OS in order to perform a clean installation. Upgrade discs would only work if a copy of either Windows 2000 or XP is already on the system.

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Microsoft has given the go ahead for users to buy the low-cost OEM copies of Windows Vista now appearing on sites like Newegg.com; however, they would be expected to adhere to the licensing terms just like any other computer manufacturer.

This could mean that support for those computers with this version of Windows installed would be the responsibility of the end-users themselves. Microsoft also noted that like with standard copies of Vista, a user running the OEM version would still be forced to reactivate if he or she substantially alters the computer's hardware configuration.

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When Vista launches on Tuesday, Microsoft will simultaneously release a version of the operating system aimed at developing markets. The operating system would be designed for lower-end processors and include tutorials for those who may be using their first computer.

Microsoft did something similar in June 2004 when it released Windows XP Starter Edition. That version was initially made available in Southeast Asia, Russia and India, although was eventually sold in 130 countries in 24 languages.

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Microsoft is investigating reports of a new zero-day attack on Microsoft Word, and is aware of "very limited attacks" exploiting the vulnerability. Worse yet, it is not related to three other flaws in Word unpatched by Microsoft, says Symantec.

The issue is known to affect Office XP, 2000 and Office 2003 on Windows 95, NT, 98, Me, 2000, Server 2003 and XP. It is known that the exploit involves the execution of arbitrary code, but specifics of the actual issue are not yet known.

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