Ed Oswald

Microsoft has officially confirmed the existence of its homegrown media player, giving an exclusive interview to Billboard magazine that appeared in the publication Friday. Under the Zune brand, the company will begin release a line of players along with a companion music software service that is completely controlled by Microsoft.

As first reported by BetaNews late Thursday, the Redmond giant plans to begin to show off the initial player publicly beginning as early as the last week in August, with another round of demonstrations the second week of September.

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Take-Two Interactive said Friday that the Federal Trade Commission had given final approval to the settlement it had reached back in June, thus closing the inquiry. The closure of the investigation comes after a mandatory 30-day period where the public was given an opportunity to comment.

Under the terms of that agreement, Take-Two must now prominently disclose any questionable content on the cover of the game, unless the company had already informed the ESRB of its content. Additionally, the company is barred from misrepresenting the content of a game in the future.

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AT&T joined the municipal Wi-Fi fray Friday by submitting a joint proposal with MetroFi to operate a wireless network in Riverside, Calif. Free access would be provided by MetroFi throughout the city with 500kbps downstream and 256kbps upstream according to the proposal.

To support the network, advertising would be inserted into every Web page that the user visits. Those who wish to have an ad-free service would have an option to subscribe to a 1mbps pay service for USD $19.95 through AT&T.

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BellSouth shareholders on Friday approved the $67 billion sale of the company to AT&T, which would further expand the latter company's reach in the telecommunications sector and place Cingular under a single owner. The two companies say the merger would benefit the nation's largest cellular provider, whose management structure is split between AT&T and BellSouth executives. The deal is still subject to government scrutiny, which may force the combined company to shed some of its assets.

Additionally, AT&T Wireless would likely make a comeback -- at least in name -- as the company plans to phase out the Cingular trademark. The merged company would provide landline service to 70 million customers, wireless to 54.1 million, and broadband access to 10 million. Services would be provided in 22 states, although Cingular operates nationally.

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A bill that would ban Internet gambling may be voted on in the U.S. Senate before the August recess, however it faces tough opposition and charges that it is an election year pander to the Republican base. Aides for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Thursday that lawmakers were working on the bill attempting to assure its passage, and had not given up on trying to get the bill through before lawmakers break during the month of August.

The House of Representatives approved a similar bill earlier this month, which supporters say is a reaction to recent court actions against those who run these sites. David Carruthers, CEO of BETonSPORTS, was recently arrested and thrown in jail amid charges of racketeering and conspiracy. Supporters say the bill is needed to add online gambling to a 1961 law that forbids sports betting.

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Google's revenues soared in the second quarter, helped along by strong results in its search and advertising business. The Mountain View, Calif. company reported $2.46 billion in revenue, up 77 percent from last year and nine percent from the previous quarter.

Profits also jumped from last year, with Google reporting $721 million in income versus $342.8 million in the year ago quarter. Split by type, Google-owned sites comprised 58 percent of revenues, or $1.43 billion, a 94 percent increase over last year. Network sites contributed $997 million or 41 percent, which was a 58 percent increase.

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The U.S. government was dealt a serious setback in its efforts to keep its ties with AT&T secret, as a federal judge in San Francisco ruled in a 72-page decision Thursday that the government's claims that the case should be dismissed on state secrets grounds could not be supported by legal precedence.

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker wrote in his ruling that much of the NSA's wiretapping program has already been publicly reported, thus it is no longer a secret. Additionally, he said the plaintiffs, in this case the EFF, seemed to be entitled to a discovery period to assemble evidence.

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Google is testing a version of its popular search engine that would allow those with vision problems to more easily use the site. Called Accessible Search, the page is different from normal Google Web search in that it also evaluates site usability in ranking results.

Complex site designs can make web surfing very difficult for those with disabilities. For example, individuals that use devices to convert text to speech may find it hard to find what they're looking for, says Google Research Scientist T.V. Raman.

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EXCLUSIVE Microsoft's so-called "iPod killer" could be unveiled as early as late next month, with the company preparing to build momentum towards an October launch, sources close to the situation have told BetaNews.

These latest developments indicate that Apple has only a short period of time to react before a barrage of marketing and publicity surrounds Microsoft's new device. To its defense, Apple told analysts in an earnings call Wednesday night that it "wasn't standing still."

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Sirius disclosed Thursday that it had been the target of an FCC inquiry regarding the FM transmitters in some of its radios. Based on an internal review, the second largest satellite radio provider has pulled several radios from store shelves. XM announced a similar inquiry in April.

The company first received notice from the FCC on June 20, according to an SEC filing. After completion of an internal investigation, the company responded to the letter on July 12 with preliminary results. Sirius did not specify which radios were not in compliance.

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Motorola said Thursday that it had struck an agreement with Yahoo to distribute its Yahoo! Go for Mobile application on millions of new cellular phones produced by the company. Starting in the first half of next year, the service would be pre-loaded on capable handsets, the companies said.

The deal marks the second with a major phone manufacturer who will carry the service. In January, Yahoo forged an alliance with Nokia to make Yahoo! Go available on the company's phones worldwide.

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Despite warnings to the contrary, Apple posted fairly impressive quarterly revenue on Wednesday, including stronger than expected iPod sales and Mac sales that increased at a rate faster than that of the broader PC market.

For the fiscal third quarter, Apple posted $4.37 billion in revenue, up from $3.52 billion in the year-ago quarter but slightly lower than the average estimate of $4.4 billion from analysts polled by Thompson Financial. However, what should catch the eye of investors is Apple's profitability -- up 48 percent to $472 million on 54 cents a share.

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Sony introduced two affordable high-definition camcorders on Wednesday, the first to record in full 1080i resolution. One model will allow for direct recording to three-inch DVD discs, while the other includes a 30GB hard drive permitting video storage and in-camcorder and PC editing.

In addition, the video cameras record in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, which would provide a truer-to-life sound reproduction on playback. An optional Bluetooth wireless microphone enables the recording of center-channel sound up to 100 feet away.

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Microsoft has licensed its interactive display technology code-named "TouchLight" to EON Reality, a visual content-management software provider. The deal will allow EON to create interactive marketing displays, product demonstrations and training environments, and bring 3D displays to desktops in 2 to 3 years.

Additionally, the technology would be integrated into preexisting product lines for the commercial, automotive, aerospace and defense industries.

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Netflix said Wednesday that it had struck an agreement with NBC to allow subscribers of the movie rental service to have the opportunity to see the premiere episodes of two new dramas before they are broadcast. The deal, the first of its kind, will make "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Kidnapped" available for rental six weeks before the two shows debut.

As well as allowing customers to view the premieres, the DVD will also include preview trailers highlighting other new fall dramas to make their debut on the network. The DVDs will begin shipping August 5, and the promotion is slated to end on September 17.

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