Intel 'VIIV' Leaves Analysts Guessing
Intel's recent trademark filings are leaving analysts to speculate what the chipmaker may have up its sleeve for the near future. The phrases "Intel Inside VIIV" and "Intel VIIV" were filed as U.S. trademarks last month. But what does Intel VIIV mean?
Some speculate that it is a combination of the roman numerals for 6 and 4, meaning VIIV could be one of Intel's first consumer chips use 64-bit technology as promised by the company. Another possible meaning could be that VIIV is a dual-core chip, consisting of two Pentium 5 processors. Intel declined comment, saying that it does not talk about unannounced brands or trademarks.
Carriers Bid $1bn for Wireless Spectrum
$974 million in bids had already been placed Wednesday in the first day of bidding for 242 wireless licenses, with the heaviest bidding for licenses in the Los Angeles area. Four bidders dropped out of the process, however 31 still remain in the auction that will last until there are no more bids for any of the licenses.
The auction comes as part of the now bankrupt NextWave Telecom's settlement with the government over debt for airwaves. Originally, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile had settled with NextWave to buy its entire remaining spectrum, however the government stepped in to annull the deal, and brought the licenses to auction.
'Commodore' Revived for Audio Players
Beverly Hills and Dutch-based Yeahronimo Media Ventures announced Wednesday the acquisition of the Commodore brand and plans to resurrect it in the form of two new mobile media devices, the eVic and Mpet II.
The Mpet will be a flash based music player with a built-in FM tuner. The unit will come in two capacities, 256MB and 512MB, and will retail for $139 USD for the 512MB version. No price was given for the smaller unit.
Sirius CEO Denys XM Merger Rumors
UPDATED Citing officials close to the matter, the New York Post reported Wednesday that talks have resumed between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius over a possible merger. While the talks have not gotten as far as to discuss a price, the paper said officials have discussed anti-trust concerns.
But Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was quick to squash the rumors. In a company earnings call on Wednesday, Karmazin said, "I have not met with the [XM] chair or the CEO, so I have no idea where this has come from," according to Billboard.
Earthlink to Enter US Cellular Market
Earthlink uncovered plans Wednesday to enter the U.S. mobile market as a nationwide mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). SK-Earthlink, a joint venture between the company and South Korea-based SK Telecom, expects to begin offering mobile multimedia services later this year.
Each company will hold a 50 percent stake in the newly formed company, and the venture marks the first time SK Telecom is entering the U.S. market. However, the Korean company is not the first to cross an ocean - Germany-based Deutsche Telekom formed T-Mobile USA after buying wireless carrier VoiceStream in 2002.
Security May Threaten IBM, Lenovo Deal
IBM's decision to sell its computing business has reportedly worried U.S. regulators. According to Bloomberg News Services, regulators are citing "security issues" as a primary factor in taking a closer look at the $1.75 billion merger.
The primary concern with the deal is that Chinese nationals could presumably use IBM's North Carolina facilities as a possible "base" for espionage activities. The source that leaked the information to Bloomberg was not disclosed.
Earthlink Triumphs Over 'Alabama Spammers'
Earthlink announced Tuesday that it had settled a lawsuit against two alleged spammers. As part of the agreement, the spammers will pay Earthlink an undisclosed amount of money, as well as cease sending unsolicited e-mails.
Earthlink filed the lawsuit in February 2004 against the "Alabama Spammers," who were given that name because of their frequent use of phone lines in and around Birmingham, Alabama. The settlement is pending before the U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
Take Two Acquires Sega Game Studios
One day after announcing an exclusive deal to be the official video game vendor for Major League Baseball, Take Two announced it has finalized plans to purchase Sega's sports game development studios, Visual Concepts Entertainment and Kush Studios, for $24 million.
The deal includes the rights to Sega's 2K sports brand, and the two companies will work together to expand the line of games to Sega's arcade game business. Talks are underway to allow Take Two to also distribute Sega's games in Japan and throughout Asia.
Maxtor Nixes 2.5 Inch Disk Drive
Maxtor said Tuesday that it has canceled plans for a 2.5 inch disk drive and will take a charge of $5.4 to 7 million as a result of the decision, according to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing said the drives were expected to be made available later this year.
The disk drives are used in notebook computers. Competitors Toshiba and Hitachi are the biggest manufacturers of the small drives, and Seagate recently reentered the business.
Movie Downloads Next for Napster?
Napster CEO Chris Gorog says that his company is considering adding movie downloads to Napster's music library in the coming future.
"We are currently considering moving into video, particularly to tap the younger video game generation," Gorog said at the Midem music conference in Cannes, according to the Financial Times.
Study: Users Confuse Ads, Search Results
While users may be happy with the results they get from search engines, a new study has found that most of them cannot differentiate between an embedded ad and an actual search result. The Pew Internet and American Life Project says that only 1 in 6 people can tell the difference.
Only 38 percent of users were aware there was a difference between regular and paid search engine placements.
Vonage Jumps the Atlantic
Internet telephony company Vonage announced Monday that its service is now available to customers in the United Kingdom. The residential plan will run 9.99 pounds per month, and the small business plan 18.99 pounds. Customers will also be able to select a virtual United States, Canadian, or Mexico City phone number for an extra 2.99 pounds.
"Establishing Vonage within Europe and with a strong central base in the United Kingdom has always been a priority," said Jeffrey A. Citron, chairman and CEO of Vonage. " We are very pleased to demonstrate our commitment to the European market and to offer UK customers our full-featured, cost-effective calling plans."
Apple Sells 250 Million iTunes
A little over a month since announcing it had surpassed the 200 million download mark, Apple announced that iTunes Music Store sales were accelerating and had reached 250 million downloads on Monday. 1.25 million songs are being sold every day, and downloads for the year could surpass a half billion songs, Apple says.
iTunes explosive growth in January is no doubt due in part to the over 4.5 million iPods that were sold during the fourth quarter of last year. "When we launched the iTunes Music Store we were hoping to sell a million songs in the first six months - now we're selling over a million songs every day, and we've sold over a quarter billion songs in total," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.
Supreme Court to Hear File Sharing Case
The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday said it will hear oral arguments in a case that could determine the legality of file sharing networks on March 29. The case stems from a suit filed by the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America against the Grokster and Morpheus Networks, which the groups lost in lower courts.
The case follows a similar case against Kazaa in Australia, where a decision is expected in March.
Worm Targets MSN Messenger Users
A new worm has set its sights on MSN Messenger users, and is currently spreading its way through the network, anti-virus software makers warned on Thursday. The worm, named W32/Bropia-A, attempts to trick users into downloading malicious PIF files. Once a file is executed, it runs a trojan horse that allows the hacker to control a victim's machine through Internet Relay Chat.
The trojan could potentially be used to reveal system information, log keystrokes, relay spam, or steal sensitive data according to security experts. The Bropia-A worm follows a similar attack on MSN Messenger users last October. That worm, called Funner, altered the Windows host file and added pornography and gaming sites.
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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