SpiralFrog signs on EMI for free music downloads
The ad-supported music service said today it had struck an agreement with major record label EMI, meaning it will now carry content from two of the four majors.
The service apparently struck an agreement with EMI previous to its launch back in 2006, but the deal fell through, and it launched with only Universal Music Group and a scant few independents last September.
Craiglist's newest competition in the online classified space: Wal-Mart
Although some may question how this latest move fits into the strategy of the retailer, the retailer has launched a test of a free classified ads service.
Powered by Oodle.com, retailer Wal-Mart last week launched with very little fanfare a "pilot test" of a free online classified advertising service for essentially all product categories. It carries about 30 million listings, is essentially a co-branded version of Oodle's service, and could pose some very sudden competition for Craigslist.
Fanning's payday: $30 million from Electronic Arts
Computer programmer Shawn Fanning, known for having created the original Napster, has sold his latest company ThreeSF to game maker EA.
ThreeSF controls Rupture, which is essentially a social-networking system for gamers that publishes profiles to a central space, serving as a means of communication between World of Warcraft players.
Music recommendation site listens to what you're listening to
Toshiba looking to get high-def out of standard DVDs
Despite its exit from the next-generation DVD race, the one-time champion of HD DVD is not giving up on the promise of high definition on optical disc. Rather, it seems to be working to improve standard DVDs.
Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida has said that his company has no plans to market optical disc players compatible with Blu-ray, according to a citation that appeared last week in Japan's Daily Yomiuri.
Unsealed documents add to Yahoo-Microsoft drama
Newly uncovered documents in Yahoo shareholders' battle with the company allege that CEO Jerry Yang worked actively to undermine a deal with Microsoft, perhaps in some cases unethically -- and possibly illegally.
Yahoo expressed disappointment that Delaware State Court Judge William B. Chandler, III decided yesterday to unseal the documents, which originally had appeared in redacted form a month earlier, though it maintained the suit was without merit.
IDC: Despite the iPhone, RIM's smartphone share still rises
While many have said Apple's iPhone would immediately spell trouble for RIM's BlackBerry, it's not happening yet according to the latest research.
First quarter sales data compiled by research firm IDC indicate that sales of the BlackBerry increased during the first three months of 2008, while sales of the iPhone decreased.
Minnesota private community says no to Google Street View
In the latest example of "opt-out" in action, an entire Minnesota town demanded that Google take down Street View imagery of its municipality, and the search giant duly complied.
The City Council for the 4,500-resident town of North Oaks, Minnesota sent a letter to Google in January giving the company the option to either remove the imagery or be cited for trespassing. Rather than risk a legal battle, North Oaks no longer has Street View capability.
FTC approves Icahn's Yahoo stock purchase
The Federal Trade Commission has given activist investor Carl Icahn approval to purchase a large chunk of Yahoo stock, it said on Friday.
The FTC is required under current rules to give its approval to large purchases of stock, and for Carl Icahn, that approval came Friday (PDF available here). Icahn currently owns a little over four percent of Yahoo, valued at around $1 billion USD.
HP to make Microsoft Live Search its system default
5:00 pm EDT June 2, 2008 - BetaNews has learned further details concerning the extent of the partnership between HP and Microsoft. In addition to the Live Search agreement, the computer maker would also install Silverlight, meaning that Microsoft's answer to Flash could potentially now reach millions of new computer buyers.
The plug-in is necessary to run the newest version of the Live Search toolbar, so there would really be no way for the application to not be installed.
Dish, EchoStar sue TiVo to keep their DVR offerings afloat
Dish Network says their new software no longer infringes on TiVo's patents, but the DVR maker disagrees.
Last week, TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said his company believes Dish Network's new software still infringes on its patents, and was asking for an injunction to block DISH from using it immediately. On Friday, EchoStar responded by launching a new suit, essentially asking the court to validate its software as legal and non-infringing.
India, Brazil next to take issue with Open XML
After South Africa voiced its objections to how the Open XML standards ratification proceedings were conducted, the standards bodies of both India and Brazil are registering similar complaints.
The IEC has confirmed that it received two additional appeals from India and Brazil before the deadline. A fourth country is said to have considered filing an appeal, but the standards body has not confirmed this, and declined to say how many appeals it had received.
Apple releases OS X 10.5.3, users report problems
The update to Apple's operating system fixes a multitude of its security vulnerabilities, but some users are reporting issues with graphics and Adobe CS3 after upgrading.
Along with fixing issues with incorrect fonts, video and audio playback, and wireless network connectivity, at least two dozen security issues were patched.
Comcast.net hacked, DNS servers changed
Visitors to Comcast's Internet portal were greeted with a cryptic message for several hours overnight Thursday.
Checks by BetaNews indicated that the problems as a result of the hack were continuing even into Thursday afternoon, including problems with accessing Web-based e-mail and the company's support forums.
South Africa to appeal Open XML's ratification as a standard
Letters have been sent to both the International Standards Organization and the International Electrotechnical Commission saying the standardization process was flawed.
South Africa is believed to be the first country to file a formal appeal with the world's two leading technology standards organizations, protesting the ratification of what had been called "Office Open XML" as ISO/IEC 29500, and contesting its validity as a standard. The South African Bureau of Standards argued in both cases the process was rushed, and too much information was needed to be analyzed in too short a time.
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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