Ed Oswald

Fueling speculation of its next moves, Apple, with the newest version of iTunes released late Monday, began to sell music videos as part of some album downloads. Interestingly enough, these videos are without digital rights management, meaning they can be shared freely.

The music videos can be downloaded following the purchase of an album, either including one video, or several short clips. The videos have a 480x272 resolution at 30-frames per second.

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Security firm Secunia on Tuesday urged Apple iTunes users to upgrade to version 4.8 of the software in order to avoid a recently discovered security flaw, which it has listed as "highly critical." The hole is created by causing a buffer overflow via a specifically crafted MPEG4 file. If the exploit is successful, a user's system could be compromised to run malicious code.

Apple was made aware of the vulnerability and has fixed the bug in its iTunes latest release. "iTunes 4.8 addresses this issue by improving the validation checks used when loading MPEG4 files," Apple said in a security advisory listing enhancements found in the new version of the software.

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Just when you thought it was over, the fight for MCI may just be getting started. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that shareholder dissent is high over the board's decision to accept Verizon's latest proposal, even though it is $1.3 billion less than Qwest's "final offer."

The WSJ cited unnamed sources saying that Qwest is talking with shareholders and believes that there is enough opposition to the deal, which may prevent it from going through when it comes to a vote early this summer.

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Customers of T-Mobile and Cingular wireless will now have access to new ring tones, wallpapers and graphics thanks to a deal between Napster and Dwango Wireless that was made public on Monday. The companies expect the service to be available through most wireless carriers by the end of the summer, with services also planned for Rogers and Fido Wireless in Canada.

"Napster is dedicated to giving consumers the widest set of options to access the music they love in a way that fits their lifestyle," said Chris Gorog, chairman and CEO of Napster. "We are excited to work with Dwango to make Napstertones a reality and give millions of wireless subscribers a simple way to get a taste of the Napster experience."

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PalmOne on Monday gave some credence to reports that a new line of PDAs may be coming soon, saying that usage patterns and requests from customers are prompting the company to introduce a new line called "mobile managers." From now on, products from PalmOne will fall into three categories: smartphones, handhelds, and the mobile manager.

On Friday, details of PalmOne's latest addition to its product line, called the LifeDrive, leaked on Amazon. While initial reports called the authenticity of the rumors into question, Monday's announcement suggests that the LifeDrive may indeed be authentic.

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Google's release of its Web Accelerator has caused growing concern among some developers that it may actually do more harm than good. In order to speed up Web surfing, the tool automatically downloads URLs linked from the page a user is visiting, which means it might load administrative links for editing or deleting content.

The issue was discovered when users of Backpack, a service designed to organize information for individuals and small businesses in a wiki-like format, complained that their Web pages were suddenly disappearing.

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Amazon.com on Thursday leaked details of PalmOne's rumored LifeDrive PDA that is expected to ship later this month. According to details on the Web page, the PDA is rumored to have a 4GB hard drive and color screen, as well as wireless connectivity.

According to sources, the retail price of the LifeDrive, slated for release on May 18, is expected to be around $500. The unit will have a 416MHz Intel XScale, the fastest processor in a Palm handheld to date, along with a 320x480 display resolution.

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Continuing its strategy of targeting the open Web, America Online has launched a new service to attract the blogging masses. Users of AOL's instant messaging client have been given access to the company's personalized AOL Journals feature, which up until now was limited to AOL subscribers.

The AIM Blogs service acts much like a Web log, or blog, allowing users to post their thoughts and pictures and control who can view the contents of their site.

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Sprint announced on Thursday plans to begin testing WiMAX technology, which promises wireless broadband access over a larger area than current wireless technologies can provide.

The company will work with chipmaker Intel on the new service, ironing out specifications and performing WiMAX trials. Sprint will also test interoperability with new technologies for future wireless broadband standards.

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Qualcomm announced on Thursday that its new chips for UMTS and CDMA2000 will support Linux, meaning handset makers will be able to use the open source operating system on handsets for Smartphones and other 3G devices.

The support of Linux on Qualcomm chips marks the first time a third-party operating system has been supported by the company.

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The FCC plans to enter the discussion over 9-1-1 services for VoIP phones by pushing for regulations to ensure that customers are able to send location and callback information to emergency responders. The proposal, if ratified, would require compliance within four months.

Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, drafted the proposal so it could be voted on at the Commission's next meeting on May 19. There are three other commissioners on FCC board, so in order for the new policy to take effect, 3 out of 4 must agree.

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An industry group aimed at promoting Bluetooth as a viable wireless technology said on Wednesday that it had entered into talks with developers of a competing short-range wireless standard known as Ultra-wideband (UWB) to ensure compatibility in future Bluetooth devices.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which includes in its membership such tech heavyweights as Microsoft, Motorola and Nokia, says the move would be in the best interest of consumers since one device would work across both technologies.

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Internet telephony company Vonage, which has been under fire in recent weeks for its handling of 911 calls, announced a deal with Verizon that will allow it to use Verizon's landline and wireless enhanced 911 services to provide its customers with better handling of emergency calls.

Calls placed within Verizon's territory on Vonage phones will now be able to provide responders with caller location and a call back number, which in some situations has proven to help save lives and allow for a quicker response to emergencies. The deal marks the first time a traditional phone company has worked with a VoIP provider to offer such a service.

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Apple further solidified its hold on the portable music industry in March as the iPod Shuffle gained popularity among consumers according to new data released Wednesday. Research firm NPD also reported that the much-delayed iTunes phone from Motorola was not being held up because Apple was against sharing revenue with carriers.

iPod Shuffle's share of the market grew 15 percentage points to sit at 58 percent in March. Meanwhile, Apple's share of the hard-drive based market remained at about 90 percent as in previous months, and the iTunes Music Store had a 70 percent share of all digital music sales.

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Xbox fans looking for a premium channel to add to their cable service may want to consider Showtime. The Viacom-owned movie channel will give two free Xbox games, or one game and a starter kit along with a 12-month subscrition to Xbox Live to new subscribers as part of a new promotion.

Showtime says it came up with the idea after internal research showed that households who subscribed to premium services were 75 percent more likely to purchase video games. The network plans to alert consumers of the promotion through a direct-mail and television ad push.

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