Napster Blames Microsoft for Failures
Napster chief executive Chris Gorog took Microsoft to task Tuesday, telling Reuters that Microsoft and its hardware partners were to blame for his company's inability to make headway against market leading iTunes. Recent surveys show Apple's music software has more than 80 percent of the market, with that number continuing to rise.
Gorog called Microsoft's execution "less than brilliant" and said that technical glitches with the company's digital rights management technology was hurting Napster's business.
Microsoft: Dance Through Your E-Mail
As part of its annual TechFest gathering in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft is showing a new method of computer interaction that uses feet instead of hands. Called "Step User Interface," or Step UI, the input device is a simple dance pad like those used for the popular game Dance Dance Revolution.
Microsoft researchers A.J. Brush, Steven Drucker and Marc Smith developed the idea after looking into ways to extend the current methods of interacting with PCs. The group has developed two compatible applications, StepMail and StepPhoto.
MSN, AP Launch Video Network
Microsoft and the Associated Press launched on Wednesday the AP Online Video Network, a new service powered by MSN Video that will make the newswire's footage available to the websites of its members. The service would be free to users and supported through ads that play before the news clips.
Details of the project were first announced in November, when the two companies introduced a beta version of the player.
AOL in Spat Over Certified E-Mail 'Tax'
AOL shot back at interest groups attempting to block its implementation of Goodmail, accusing them of spreading misinformation about the Certified Mail feature. The company also said it would implement Goodmail next month, calling it a "timely and necessary safety and security measure."
In exchange for paying a small fee of a quarter of a cent to one cent per message, the sender would be guaranteed delivery and the e-mail would be marked as legitimate in the header. Participation is not mandatory, however companies who don't pay will receive no assurance that their e-mails are getting through.
Google CFO Sees Slowing Growth
Investors panicked over comments made by Google Chief Financial Officer George Reyes Tuesday, sending shares of search engine giant down as much as 14 percent by mid-morning before halving those losses. Reyes warned that he saw slowing growth on the horizon, and said Google would need to find new ways to make money.
"The search monetization gains have now been largely realized," Reyes was quoted by CNBC as saying at a Merrill Lynch investor conference in New York. Google follows a policy of not commenting on financial targets, which leads to wild swings when it misses what analysts expect it to make.
Microsoft Improves Live Local, Opens Expo
Microsoft continued to push ahead with updates to its Windows Live services Tuesday, announcing a preview version of Live Local that would allow for street-level views of select neighborhoods, along with a nationwide beta of Windows Live Expo. New services are also expected later in the week.
The updates to Windows Live Local are intended to supplement Microsoft's local search and mapping tools. "As an additional navigational tool, the street-side feature offers a vantage point similar to driving behind the wheel of a car for a close-up, street-level view," the company said in a statement.
Microsoft Joins DVB-H Consortium
Microsoft said Tuesday that it would become a founding member of the Mobile DTV Alliance, an organization formed to promote the use of broadcast television on mobile devices. The company said it would assist mobile operators in developing Windows Media-based solutions for the technology, called DVB-H.
The Mobile DTV Alliance was formed in late January as a partnership between Intel, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments.
AOL Sues Three Phishing Gangs
AOL said Tuesday it had filed three lawsuits against alleged phishing gangs in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The ISP is accusing the groups of violating the state's new anti-phishing statute, as well as federal trademark and anti-spam laws, and is asking for $18 million in damages.
The suit claims both AOL and CompuServe members received e-mails that attempted to trick them into visiting fake Web sites that were set up to fool users into divulging personal information. This information included AOL screen names, passwords and credit card numbers.
Sony to Launch Blu-ray Movies in May
Sony Pictures said Monday it would target May 23 as the launch date for the first Blu-ray movie titles from the studio. The date was selected to coincide with the debut of the first commercially available Blu-ray player from Samsung.
The company said it expects players from Pioneer and Sony, as well as a Sony Vaio PC with a Blu-ray drive to follow shortly afterward.
Windows Live ID to Replace Passport
EXCLUSIVE Microsoft plans to roll its Passport authentication service into the Windows Live family of Web services by 2007, renaming it to Windows Live ID, BetaNews has learned. While the company is keeping mum on specifics, the service will make use of Microsoft's new InfoCard technology.
Sources familiar with the situation say Windows Live ID is part of up to three-dozen "Live" services currently in development. Some of these products would piggyback on top of preexisting services -- like Windows Live Local Search Free Call, which enables users to call businesses directly from search results.
CBS to Offer Mobile Video Subscriptions
CBS said Monday that it would launch a subscription video service for cell phones that allows users to access news or entertainment content for a monthly fee. Monthly CBS News alerts will run 99 cents, while access to entertainment news from Entertainment Tonight costs $3.99 per month.
The company says the service is the first of its kind, and extends the network's strategy to allow access to its content from a variety of platforms. Subscribers would receive up to five alerts daily, and the service would be available for all phone models and carriers.
IBM Takes On InfoCard with 'Higgins'
IBM endorsed an open source alternative to Microsoft's InfoCard initative Monday, announcing that it would join Novell and Parity Communications in donating code to a project dubbed "Higgins." The system is being developed atop a concept originally proposed by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Microsoft demoed InfoCard at the RSA Conference earlier this month. InfoCard is intended to replace Passport, and would make password-based authentication obsolete. Furthermore, the system would allow sites to request separate InfoCards, each individually secure from one another.
DOJ Rebukes Google Privacy Concerns
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing Friday that Google's privacy concerns are unwarranted, claiming its request to cull through search result queries would not be traceable to specific users. The DOJ was responding to Google's assertion that the subpoena would reveal confidential information.
The federal government is asking for the information in order to fight the blocking of an online child protection law by the U.S. Supreme Court. Internet filters are not good enough to prevent minors from viewing inappropriate material online, Justice Department lawyers said in the 18-page brief.
Jeeves Retires as Ask.com Rebrands
Ask Jeeves said Monday it was relaunching as ask.com, complete with a new understated design, tools, Web-based desktop search, and a cleaner and less advertising-laden result page. Noticeably missing is Jeeves, the familiar butler that has been associated with the site for the past decade.
The company says the new the site is intended to put the focus on the search engine, rather than the branding. "As the web became more of a real-time utility for people, Jeeves' job dramatically changed," the company explained.
USPTO Rules Second NTP Patent Invalid
As arguments began in the hearing that will decide the fate of Research In Motion's BlackBerry service, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Friday that it had ruled the second of five patents at the heart of the patent infringement case invalid in a final judgment.
The news means that only three patents remain viable in the case, all of which have already been ruled invalid in non-final actions. The latest move by the USPTO gives RIM even more ground to stand upon in asking the judge to either stay or dismiss the injunction.
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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