eBay's Skype announced Tuesday plans to acquire start-up Sonorit Holding and its US subsidiary Camino Networks, which specializes in speech processing, coding, and transmission over the Internet. The technology is expected to be integrated into Skype's voice over IP calling services.

"We're excited about bringing the talented Camino Networks team to Skype," said Niklas Zennstrom, Skype CEO, in a statement. "They will add considerable expertise to our own world-class technology team." Sonorit will receive 700,000 shares of eBay stock in the transaction, which is valued at approximately $27 million.

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Apple on Tuesday released the third version of its Remote Desktop software, adding support for Intel based Macs and 50 new features including faster file copy speeds and the ability to hide a desktop while it is being controlled remotely. Version 3 also integrates with Mac OS X 10.4's Spotlight features for searching across multiple remote desktops.

Other new features in Remote Desktop 3 include a Dashboard widget for monitoring remote systems, task templates for replicating tasks across multiple machines, application usage reports, and 128-bit AES encryption between Remote Desktop and client machines. The new release is available now for $299 USD when managing up to 10 systems. A version for managing unlimited Macs runs $499 USD.

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After announcing an initiative to work with Sprint on ways to combine cellular service with cable television offerings, several of the cable companies involved have begun to disclose their testing plans. Sprint's 20-year deal, which is exclusive for three years, was announced in November of last year.

The agreement calls for more than a simple reselling of Sprint's cellular service. Instead, the companies plan to integrate the cable television experience into that of the cell phone. Together, this would allow customers to watch and schedule DVR programming remotely, as well as provide other potential services.

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In a scathing blog entry posted on Sunday, GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons attacked European registry EURid for "grand manipulation and lax administration" regarding the recent opening of the .eu top-level domain. Parsons said the process turned into a large scam involving hundreds of fake registrars.

The .eu domain opened on Friday for what was called the "landrush" registration phase. During this period, accredited registrars such as GoDaddy could register domains for their customers using a process similar to standing in line. A registrar could request one domain at a time and then would be shuffled to the end of the line until the other registrars had a turn.

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IBM on Monday unveiled a new technology known as SecureBlue, which is comprised of a set of encryption circuitry that can be integrated directly into a computer's CPU. The idea behind the project is that no software or external chip can be truly secure, as hackers can intercept the data as it is sent to main processor.

Unlike approaches taken by Intel and others that involve a trust platform module, or TPM, chip, IBM believes an all-in-one solution provides the best encryption. The SecureBlue technology has also been designed to fit into a number of form factors, including cell phones and portable music players.

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Disney said Monday that it would further expand its online programming options by making four popular ABC prime time television shows available online the day after they air. The offering is part of a two-month trial that would begin in May.

The free TV episodes would be advertiser supported, with AT&T, Ford, Procter & Gamble and Universal Pictures already having bought ad space in the online broadcasts.

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A group of broadcasters unveiled their plans to further promote high-definition radio receivers by announcing new deals with retailers that would make it easier for consumers to access the service. Altogether, some $200 million in advertising and promotions is planned this year.

HD Radio promises to give FM broadcasts a free boost to near-CD quality, and gives AM near-FM quality sound. Also, radio stations are able to broadcast up to two digital sub-stations on top of the traditional frequency.

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Taking a page from Apple's playbook, Microsoft is preparing a new application for creating music in the same vein as GarageBand for Mac OS X, according to the Microsoft Watch newsletter. The program, code-named Monaco, would be designed specifically for Windows Vista and take advantage of the operating system's Avalon user interface framework.

Sources say Monaco is targeting a new generation of content-creating consumers that Apple has attracted through its iLife suite. However, it's not clear how Microsoft will release Monaco -- whether it will be bundled with Vista or offered as a download like Microsoft Max. Microsoft Watch reports that the program will also take advantage of new search technology to locate audio clips.

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Microsoft Research has released a new tool as part of its Strider project, which reveals third party domains that are being contacted in the background of a Web site. Called Strider URL Tracer, the Internet Explorer add-on also scans and blocks URLs that try to capitalize on misspellings, known as typo domains.

Many cybersquatters will register these typo domains and fill them with adult advertising or other inappropriate content. In turn, Strider URL Tracer will enable parents to proactively block such domains. The tool -- an extension of Microsoft Research's HoneyMonkey project -- generates a list of potential typos using five methods.

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Time Warner will pay $2.65 billion to end a shareholder lawsuit after a U.S. District Judge approved a proposed settlement. The company initially agreed to the settlement last August, admitting it had inflated AOL's revenue in order to have the merger approved.

Judge Shirley Wohl Kram approved the payout on Thursday, calling it "fair, reasonable and adequate." Nearly 600,000 Time Warner shareholders have signed on to the class action lawsuit.

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Linux vendor Red Hat announced Monday it has entered into an agreement to acquire JBoss, maker of middleware, or software that connects disparate systems and applications to facilitate faster and cheaper development. Red Hat will pay $350 million in cash and stock for the company, with another $70 million payout based on performance.

With the acquisition, Red Hat says it will transition to service-oriented architectures (SOA) in order to enable running next-generation Web applications atop a low-cost open source platform. JBoss has a similar business model to Red Hat, offering service and support for its open source middleware applications.

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Tokyo-based Trend Micro on Monday extended its 2004 agreement with Microsoft to provide antivirus capabilities to 230 million Hotmail accounts. The company will scan and clean incoming and outgoing e-mail attachments for viruses, Trojans, worms, and other malicious threats.

"As Internet threats remain a top concern amongst users worldwide, Microsoft can rely on Trend Micro -- with our proven track record in delivering a scalable antivirus engine and rapid-response service -- to continue safeguarding e-mail for MSN's growing base of Hotmail customers," said Lane Bess, global Trend Micro's general manager of consumer products and services in prepared remarks.

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While Google Talk remains a slimmed down communications client compared the likes of AIM Triton and MSN Messenger, the search giant has added a few new consumer-oriented features to its latest update released late Thursday. Google Talk 1.0.0.92 now supports buddy icons, also known as avatars, and nine different themes for chat windows.

Users can choose a buddy icon from a gallery or upload their own 32x32-pixel image. The custom Appearance option is slightly different from AIM Expressions, as it does not change the way friends or colleagues see the chat window on their computer. Google also recently added support for the BlackBerry through a special downloadable version of Google Talk designed for the handheld device.

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Security firm McAfee has put out a request for beta testers to trial the latest version of its Secure Content Management Appliances application. The suite includes three products: Secure Messaging Gateway, providing secure content management for SMTP and POP3; Secure Web Gateway for secure content management for HTTP, ICAP and FTP; and the Secure Internet Gateway, combining the above two products to provide secure content management for both web and messaging protocols.

Participants would need the appliance that sits at the gateway in order to participate, although this is pretty common in IT environments, McAfee said. Compatible units have been listed on the application's beta site. As a prize for the best feedback, the SCM engineering team will be giving away iPods to three testers. The initial release of the beta is already out, with a refresh due later in the month and release candidate expected in May.

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Microsoft gained nearly five percent market share in the Web server market, however still lags well behind market leader Apache, research and security firm Netcraft said Friday. Nonetheless, it was the biggest one-month swing in the history of the industry.

With more than 80 million Web sites on the Internet, Microsoft now claims a 25.2 percent share, up 4.7 percent from March. Apache still leads by a wide margin, however it was down close to 6 percent to 62.7 percent. Sun remained a distant third, down slightly to 2.36 percent.

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