EchoStar wins partial reversal of TiVo verdict on DVR infringement
A complex tangle of technological arguments ended up being untangled in EchoStar's favor, in an appeals court decision today that could lead to DVR service being restored to Dish Network.
A technically replete, yet still dramatic, decision handed down today by Federal Circuit Appeals Court Judge David Folsom has found that two of EchoStar lines of digital video recorders, including its own 50X line and another, using technology supplied by Broadcom, did not infringe upon two patents held by TiVo.
TiVo's revolution in audience measurement snags CBS
CBS Corporation has announced it will enter into a partnership with TiVo, utilizing the DVR pioneer's Stop||Watch viewer metric.
TiVo's Stop||Watch service is a second-by-second system, which is used to measure program and advertisement ratings for both live and time shifted DVR viewing. It was the first company to use such a comprehensive system, and major network NBC began using Stop||Watch earlier this year.
Internet blackout cuts off tens of millions in the Middle East
On Wednesday, Internet traffic to Middle Eastern countries through two international data pipelines was greatly reduced or totally severed, as a result of breaks in undersea cables.
Countries serviced by the Sea Me We 4 and FLAG ("Fiber-optic Link Around the Globe") data pipelines were severely affected by what are believed to be undersea breaks.
HyperOffice brings corporate e-mail to the iPhone
Launched in public beta on Wednesday, HyperOffice's enterprise communications tools will enable Apple iPhone users to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook, since the iPhone doesn't support Microsoft Exchange.
Currently, the iPhone has no support for Exchange e-mail, which can be seen as a negative to its use in the corporate environment. HyperOffice hopes that its tools suite will solve this problem.
The first Garmin phone pairs location with connectivity
Consumer GPS company Garmin has announced for the third quarter of 2008, its first entry into the cellular handset market: the nuvifone (with a small "n").
It's Garmin's first entry into the broader smart communications device market, adding mobile Web browsing, data connectivity, and personal messaging to the company's trademark personal navigation functions.
Amazon scoops up Audible in $300 million deal
The deal is likely to mean that audiobooks will become the latest addition to its fast-growing music download store.
It's not clear what will happen to Audible's deal with iTunes, if anything -- the company is the chief supplier of audio books to Apple's music service. However, Audible seems a good fit for Amazon considering the retailers core business is book sales.
Sweden formally charges Pirate Bay owners
As expected, the Swedish government charged the owners of Pirate Bay with copyright infringement of four applications, nine movies, and 22 music tracks.
Each of the four owners, Fredrik Neij aka 'TiAMO,' Gottfrid Svartholm Warg aka 'Anakata,' Peter Sunde aka 'Brokep' and businessman Carl Lundström could be liable for fines of up to $188,000 and a two-year jail sentence.
Gaming, electronics sales compensate for Sony's lagging music, movies
The keyword this morning for Sony is "up," especially with regard to its performance over the holiday quarter. The PlayStation brand would finally steal the show, if it weren't for Bravia hogging the spotlight.
The reason you build a corporation with highly diversified operations is because, regardless of the state of the global economy, no single market segment can ever be guaranteed to grow. Sony, in light of that fact, is a very smartly combined operation, and its careful balance of market segments helped it once again weather a year that at least seemed at the time to have been going badly.
FCC 700 MHz 'C-block' reserve price finally met
In what will certainly come as relief to advocates of open access rules for wireless services, someone this morning placed a bid for the jewel-in-the-crown "C-block" of spectrum just above the minimum reserve trigger price.
At approximately 11:00 am Eastern Time, the FCC's live auction database reported a bid during round 17 for the C-block of $4,713,823,000. That qualifies under FCC rules as a Potentially Winning Bid (PWB), over the $4.6 billion reserve price. This means if that ends up being the final bid, the winning bidder must promise to open any wireless services it offers on the C-block to the end user's choice of premise or handset equipment.
Verizon exec: No 'policing the Internet' for us
The telecommunications company said it had no interest in looking into how its customers use its broadband services in an attempt to filter pirated content.
Public affairs chief Tom Tauke made the comments at the Congressional Internet Caucus' State of the Net conference, being held in Washington, DC. The stance of Verizon seems to differ from that of other operators, who are actively throttling downloads.
Dell shutters its kiosks as part of a new retail strategy
In a move possibly intended to shift focus to its efforts in retail stores, computer manufacturer Dell Inc. said that it will shut down its retail kiosks in about 140 malls nationwide.
"Moving into retail is a prime example of Dell listening to its customers," global consumer business chief Tony Weiss said in a statement. "This move fits in with how our broad global retail strategy is evolving."
Sonic Solutions drops HD DVD authoring in favor of Blu-ray
11:30 am ET January 31, 2007 - Sonic Solutions this morning clarified its position regarding its apparent switch from HD DVD to Blu-ray, telling BetaNews that initial reports that the company abandoned HD DVD altogether were not quite accurate.
Sonic spokesperson Chris Taylor said that the decision is only specific to its professional authoring suite. Other divisions, such as its Roxio consumer arm and ATG licensing group would remain format neutral. Even within the professional division, HD DVD would still live on through its CineVision authoring application.
In the great Web migration, are enough advertisers following along?
Now that more consumers are viewing video online -- as opposed to watching traditional TV -- why isn't advertising catching up faster? Experts believe there are still some creative strategies yet to be discovered.
The viewing public might be migrating in droves from TV, newspapers, and magazines to the Web, but where's the ad money to help the Web sites stay afloat? In pondering this question at this week's OnMedia NYC conference, executives of online services and ad agencies cited needs for finding the right employees, technologies, and business approaches to address a tangled mare's nest of related issues.
Better living through pizza tracking
For those who doubt the change our daily lives have undergone thanks to increased connectivity, Domino's Pizza presents to you....Pizza Tracking.
While it premiered Pizza via SMS late last summer, and most national pizza delivery franchises already support online ordering, Domino's has taken their newest feature from the postal sector.
Visual Studio 2008 hits the streets one month early
Once again Microsoft redefines the concept of "launch," releasing today the retail edition of a suite that was said to have "launched" last November, though whose "launch party" remains scheduled for late February.
It's one of the guests of honor at a formal launch party still slated for February 27 in Los Angeles. But with one guest bowing out early -- specifically, SQL Server 2008, whose RTM may come as much as six months later -- Microsoft decided today to balance things out by moving up its retail release of Visual Studio 2008 to today.
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
Regional iGaming Content
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.