Citing competition from Apple's own Safari browser, currently in beta testing, Microsoft announced it would cease future development of Internet Explorer for Mac OS X. Redmond says it will continue to support the browser and is expected to issue a security and performance update shortly, but IE 5 will be the last release for Mac users.

While IE 5 was the primary browser for Mac OS X upon its release in 2000, rivals such as the Gecko-based Camino and Safari have far surpassed IE in terms of features and speed. Microsoft claims Apple has better resources to create a browser because they control the underlying operating system.

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AOL has followed through on longstanding plans to offering messaging between its AIM and ICQ chat networks with a new alpha version of ICQ Lite. The test release of ICQ Lite features support for AIM and AOL buddies, the final ingredient necessary to achieve IM interoperability.

AOL began preparing for cross-network communication last October when it added support for ICQ users to the AIM client, but messages could not be exchanged until the ICQ client was updated. AOL purchased ICQ from Mirabilis in 1998, but opted to keep the two networks separate for business reasons, according to sources.

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In the latest move as part of the company's Trustworthy Computing initiative, Microsoft announced it will acquire antivirus technology assets from GeCAD Software. GeCAD makes an antivirus engine called RAV, which is currently supported across multiple platforms.

Microsoft plans to enhance Windows with native antivirus support, while allowing third-party antivirus vendors to better integrate with the operating system.

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In an e-mail sent to Office System testers Monday, Microsoft beta coordinators officially unveiled details behind the much anticipated Technical Refresh of Office 2003 Beta 2.

"We haven't sent a specific date, but are targeting the last half of June for most languages," the company said. "The languages are the same as Beta 2; English, French, German, and Japanese. Note The English-language version includes a multilingual user interface (MUI) pack for Chinese (simplified or traditional), Korean, Arabic, Japanese, and German."

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In an effort to prepare for the public launch of its Smart Personal Objects Technology initiative, Microsoft has announced a new wireless service that will deliver information to SPOT-enabled devices. Called MSN Direct, the service is currently being tested in eight cities and will eventually reach more than 100 cities across the United States and Canada.

Watches will serve as the first SPOT devices, which are capable of receiving real-time information such as news, weather, sports, stock quotes and more. The watches will also be able to access dining information, movie listings and even play games. Calendar appointment reminders from Outlook will be available and messages can be sent to SPOT users via MSN Messenger.

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In an update originally branded MSN 8.5, Microsoft issued numerous improvements to its subscription based MSN 8 service. The new version number that appeared in beta testing was dropped from the final release, as subscribers will receive the free upgrade automatically while logged on. Microsoft began testing MSN 8.5 in March after inviting current subscribers to join the beta program.

The updates to MSN include improved performance, additional spam filtering with new algorithms to hunt for unwanted messages, as well as easier to use parental controls. Incoming e-mails are blocked until they are scanned for viruses, and embedded images do not appear from persons not in a subscriber's address book. An on-screen meter has also been added to display how much inbox space has been used.

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Microsoft at TechEd delivered the first beta of BizTalk Server 2004, the initial phase of Redmond's next-generation e-business platform, code-named "Jupiter." Built on the .NET Framework, BizTalk integrates with Office System and Visual Studio .NET to provide the foundation for designing business solutions.

BizTalk Server 2004 provides single sign-on functionality and process management with a graphical interface for creating business rules and policies. The release also includes support for Web Services and the Business Process Execution Language for communicating across back-end systems.

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At its annual TechEd developer training conference in Dallas, Microsoft announced a new addition to its Windows Server System dubbed Windows Storage Server 2003. Formerly known as Windows Powered NAS, the new server functions as a dedicated file server and will ship in storage devices from a variety of OEMs.

Windows Storage Server 2003 is slated to go gold later this month with products expected to reach the market by September. Redmond partners such as Dell, EMC and Fujitsu have already signed on to work with Windows Storage Server 2003.

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UPDATED Less than 24 hours after its public debut, WASTE was pulled offline by Nullsoft parent company AOL. In a notice posted to the former WASTE Web site, AOL said the release was "unauthorized" and revoked all rights to the software, demanding WASTE be deleted from users' computers.

"If you downloaded or otherwise obtained a copy of the Software, you acquired no lawful rights to the Software and must destroy any and all copies of the Software, including by deleting it from your computer," the notice reads. "Any license that you may believe you acquired with the Software is void, revoked and terminated. Any reproduction, distribution, display or other use of the Software by you is unauthorized and an infringement of Nullsoft's copyright in the Software as well as a potential violation of other laws. "

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In a scene reminiscent of Microsoft's 1997 investment in Apple and associated patent settlement, Redmond announced that it will pay AOL $750 million as part of a wide ranging deal in which AOL will drop all pending litigation against Microsoft.

AOL will receive a royalty-free seven-year license to continue using Internet Explorer in its client software, and license to use Windows Media 9 Series technologies. The companies have also agreed to establish interoperability between AIM and MSN Messenger.

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In the company's annual corporate strategy meeting, Sony announced a new hardware platform that brings together elements of its PlayStation game console with home entertainment electronics.

Dubbed "PSX," the device features a built-in 120 GB hard drive and recordable slot-loading DVD±RW/-R drive, as well as TV tuner and Ethernet port. For expansion, the PSX will include USB 2.0 support and a Memory Stick slot. Sony will also include a connector for its upcoming PSP portable entertainment device.

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Nullsoft has released a beta version of a new tool called WASTE designed to secure communication within small groups of users. The brainchild of Winamp creator Justin Frankel, WASTE utilizes encryption and public keys to keep sensitive data hidden from prying eyes.

WASTE currently features instant messaging and chat capabilities, along with file sharing functionality with support for browsing and searching.

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RealNetworks on Wednesday launched a RealOne branded version of Rhapsody, the music subscription service the company plans to acquire with the purchase of Listen.com.

The move has put Real in a unique position of competing with itself, however, as RealOne Rhapsody will initially utilize Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format. Real has said it plans to eventually transition the service to its own RealAudio format, but did not give a timeframe for such an undertaking.

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Amid pressure from its music industry partners, Apple has disabled a controversial feature in iTunes 4 that enables the program to share songs with other iTunes users over the Internet.

Apple removed the ability in a small update to iTunes, which also corrects a volume limiter bug and touts improved performance. Version 4.0.1 can, however, still share music between users on the same local network via Rendezvous.

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As the PC continues its march into the living room as a centralized home entertainment device, SnapStream Media has aimed to bridge the gap between familiarity of a television and the power of a low-cost computing platform.

The upcoming version 3 of SnapStream's Personal Video Station takes this digital convenience even further, giving users complete control over their TV viewing experience.

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