iTunes to Offer TV Show Subscriptions
Making the first move toward offering subscription based downloads through its iTunes Music Store, Apple has joined forces with Comedy Central to offer TV shows on a monthly basis for $9.99. The "Multi-Pass" feature would give iTunes users access to 16 episodes of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report."
Customers will be able to download each show after it has been aired on Comedy Central. Thus far, Apple has stayed away from the subscription model, only selling individual songs for 99 cents and videos for $1.99. Unlike the typical subscriptions offered by iTunes competitors, however, the Multi-Pass downloads will not expire.
Mozilla Revenue Claim Sparks Frenzy
Since its inception, the non-profit Mozilla Foundation has remained active thanks to generous corporate backing and the hundreds of volunteers devoting countless hours toward building an open source browser. But little has been made of the company's revenue following the launch of the Mozilla Corporation -- until now.
The rumor frenzy was started by Weblogs, Inc. founder-turned AOL executive Jason Calacanis following the BarCamp conference in LA. "The best piece of information I got out of BarCampLA was that Firefox, which is produced by the for-profit Mozilla Corporation, made $72M last year and is on target to have 120 employees this year," said Calacanis.
Microsoft Debuts Windows Live Search
Microsoft early Wednesday took the wraps off an improved Live.com homepage complete with a beta of Windows Live Search, the successor to MSN Search. The Redmond company expects the new site to seriously challenge Google's dominance in the search market.
Windows Live Search utilizes advanced Web features to create a dynamic search experience. For example, users can preview search results on the site, adjust a slider bar to reveal more information on a result, and a "smart scroll" feature to display results without moving from page to page.
Intel Shows Off Origami-Like Devices
At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco Tuesday, the chipmaker offered the first real peek at Microsoft's much-hyped "Origami" platform for ultra-portable PCs. The devices sport a 7-inch touch screen and run full versions of Windows, although Microsoft plans to offer a custom variant of XP for Origami.
According to Intel, initial versions of the device will appear like a small Tablet PC designed for consumers. Internet functionality will be key, along with entertainment features such as listening to music and watching video.
Yahoo: Create Apps for Our Services
As the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference gets underway this week, "mashup" has become the buzzword of the Web. Yahoo is opening up four APIs for developers to create mashups, along with an Application Gallery to showcase third party solutions that have been built atop Google services.
Mashups are Web sites or applications that take two different content sources and combine them into one experience. For example, a developer could integrate Craiglist apartment listings with Google Maps to enable users to visually see nearby rentals on a single screen.
Music Service to Offer CD Swapping
Even with iTunes surpassing one billion song downloads and digital album sales beginning to take off, CDs remain the medium of choice for purchasing music. A new music sharing service, set to launch in July, plans to capitalize on that fact by offering customers the ability to swap real CDs rather than files.
Dubbed Lala Media and backed by $9 million in funding by Bain Capital and Ignition Partners, the company will encourage users to trade CDs they own for CDs they want at a cost of $1 plus a 49-cent shipping and handling fee. 20 percent of La la's revenues will go to recording artists, the company said.
MapQuest Opens APIs to Developers
Following in the footsteps of Google and Yahoo, mapping stalwart MapQuest said on Tuesday it will open its map and routing technology to developers through an open source beta. The MapQuest OpenAPI uses JavaScript to integrate maps into Web sites and applications.
"OpenAPI represents our initial step to provide developers with a simple way to access all the core tools, routing included, necessary to create truly useful mashups," said Jim Greiner, MapQuest vice president. The company is also holding a contest to develop the most creative map mashup, with the winner receiving $1,000 and a trip to the Where 2.0 Conference in San Jose.
Sun Unveils SPOT Java Powered Objects
Three years ago at CES, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates introduced SPOT technology for building connected personal objects, such as alarm clocks and wrist watches that deliver information on demand. Now, Sun Microsystems is building its own SPOT platform based upon Java and offering it to embedded programmers.
The Sun SPOT Project -- short for "Small Programmable Object Technology" rather than Microsoft's "Smart Personal Objects Technology" -- consists of a Java 2 Micro Edition virtual machine that can run directly on a CPU without an operating system.
Microsoft Asks U.S. Courts for Help with EU
Following accusations last week that the European Commission was "secretly working" with four rivals, Microsoft has turned to federal district courts in the United States for help. The Redmond company is asking the courts to order IBM, Oracle, Sun and Novell to hand over documents relating to its EU antitrust case.
The four companies allegedly supplied the Commission with evidence that Microsoft was not properly complying with a March 2004 ruling against it. The company also claims the EU is withholding key documents that could help its case.
AOL Opens AIM Platform to Developers
AOL on Monday became the first major IM network to open up its platform to third parties with the release of a software development kit and the launch of an Open AIM initiative. The program covers three different areas: plug-ins, online presence and completely custom AIM clients.
AOL has long held aspirations to break down the walls surrounding AIM and invite outsiders to build solutions upon the architecture. The company says the recent launch of AIM Triton -- version 6 of its client software -- has provided the necessary foundation.
AT&T to Buy BellSouth for $67 Billion
AT&T on Sunday confirmed it plans to acquire BellSouth in a deal valued at close to $67 billion. The newly merged company would become the largest telecommunications service in the United States, surpassing Verizon and giving AT&T full control over Cingular, the largest wireless operator.
Under terms of the deal BellSouth shareholders will receive 1.325 shares of AT&T common stock for each common share of BellSouth. This exchange ratio equals $37.09 per BellSouth share -- a 17.9% premium. AT&T chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre will retain his position and serve as CEO of the new company.
RIM to Settle with NTP for $612.5 Million
Research In Motion announced late Friday that it had reached a settlement with patent firm NTP to end a never-ending legal battle that threatened to shut down BlackBerry service in the United States. RIM will pay NTP $612.5 million in a "full and final settlement of all claims."
RIM's stock surged 14 percent in after-hours trading following the announcement. At the same time, the company warned that fourth-quarter earnings would fall short of expectations due to disappointing new subscriber numbers. RIM said the litigation had affected new signups.
Microsoft Accuses EU of Collusion
Microsoft's attack on the European Union's handling of its antitrust case grew Thursday, as the company filed a formal complaint alleging the European Commission colluded with rivals and hid critical documents. The move comes one week after Microsoft opened some of its court filings to the public.
The Redmond company says it has obtained documents that show the EU regulator had "inappropriate" communication with computer science professor Neil Barrett, who testified that technical documentation provided by Microsoft to comply with the March 2004 antitrust ruling was not adequate.
Microsoft Origami: Mobile PC, Runs XP
As expected, Microsoft on Thursday revealed a few new hints about its much-hyped Origami Project, which is expected to launch in the form of an ultra-portable PC with touch screen and media capabilities. However, details of the project are still sketchy and Microsoft is remaining cryptic.
The "week 2" update on origamiproject.com expands the questions offered last week, saying "wondering where to find me?," "i am everywhere you are, but never in the way" and "who am i?" The statements reinforce the idea of Origami as a small portable computer.
Apple Plugs iChat, Safari Security Holes
In its first standalone security update for 2006, Apple on Wednesday plugged 17 flaws affecting both Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. The fixes come after two potential vulnerabilities -- one in iChat and another in Safari -- were heavily publicized and brought warnings from security experts that Macs are not immune from malware.
The first claims of a Mac "virus" surfaced mid-February with the discovery of Leap.A, which is distributed as an archive. Once Leap.A is activated, when any iChat user changes his or her status, the worm initiates a file transfer for the latestpics.tgz archive.
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