A Michigan law aimed at restricting the sale of violent video games was struck down on First Amendment grounds Friday. The ruling follows a similar pattern by judges to side with game manufacturers and gamers, citing that freedom of expression prohibits such laws.

The law was originally blocked from taking effect in November through a temporary injunction. The legislation was signed into law by Governor Jennifer Granholm and was supposed to be enforced beginning December 1.

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The music industry began the next phase of its fight against file sharers in Europe Tuesday, filing 2,000 more lawsuits against people in 10 countries. Altogether, some 5,500 lawsuits have been filed in 18 countries since the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) started its latest effort.

The IFPI is the European equivalent of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Here in the United Sates, the RIAA has filed nearly 18,000 lawsuits.

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Samsung said Tuesday it would delay the launch of its Blu-ray disc player to late June in order to ensure it could fully test the unit before release. Orignally scheduled for release May 23, the player would now release in the United States on June 25. The company said it still expected to be the first player to launch in the U.S. The news follows word from Toshiba that it would delay its HD DVD players to mid-April. HD DVD players are already on sale in Japan.

The Samsung BD-P1000 will sell for $999 and includes memory card capabilities that would allow users to view digital still pictures. It is also widely expected to be the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market for quite some time. In comparison, Toshiba's HD DVD players start at $499.

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AT CTIA WIRELESS With mobile phones becoming ever more ubiquitous in today's society, so has the consumer's desire to access the Internet while on the go. However, so far the experience has been lacking. .mobi's Alexa Raad thinks her company is about to solve that, and she sat down with BetaNews to tell us why.

"It's not the lack of devices," says Raad, vice president of business development at .mobi -- a new top-level domain set to launch next month. Prices of phones have dropped dramatically in recent years. "It's not because of bandwidth either," she continued, pointing to the emergence of high-speed 3G data.

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Apple on Monday released the sixth major update to Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, fixing a number of minor bugs and making improvements across its operating system. Spotlight's ability to search documents made in iWork and Microsoft Office has been bolstered, along with improved Bluetooth functionality. iSync 2.2 is also included in the update.

Mac OS X 10.4.6 additionally enhances 802.1x login authentication, and corrects bugs in FileVault, Mail, iChat, Terminal and Disk Utility. iDisk and WebDAV performance have been improved, as well as automatic proxy configuration files. Mac OS X 10.4 users can download the release, which weighs in between 45MB and 108MB, from the operating system's Software Update feature.

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The VC-1 video codec proposed and developed by Microsoft was officially released by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers on Monday, paving the way for the technology to be used by next-generation DVDs. Microsoft submitted the Windows Media Video 9-based codec for standardization in September 2003.

Microsoft's rationale for embracing standards was to provide the industry with better access to high-quality video compression. This move would for allow easier adoption of Windows Media, as companies would no longer be forced to contact Microsoft directly. Devices such as home video cameras or set top boxes can natively support VC-1, without Redmond's direct approval.

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Microsoft is preparing to beta test a new software client for Windows Mobile 5.0, which will replace the Pocket MSN application with Windows Live based services formatted for smartphones. Pocket MSN features currently include one-click access to Hotmail and Messenger, along with viewing alerts.

With Windows Live services set to succeed their MSN counterparts throughout the year, Microsoft will update the mobile client as well. The company is seeking beta testers to trial the new software, which requires a Windows Mobile 5.0 device such as a Treo 700w. The test, only available in the United States, is open to join through Microsoft's Connect beta site -- users can find an application survey under the "Available Programs" link.

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Microsoft said Monday that it had acquired analysis and visualization software maker ProClarity. The Boise, Idaho based company produces software and technologies that are compatible with Microsoft's business intelligence (BI) programs. The Redmond company said it was investing a great deal in BI, including in its upcoming Office 2007 productivity suite, and this acquisition builds upon those efforts.

BI software helps companies sift through the multitude of electronic data they accumulate, allowing them to see trends and patterns and increase productivity. "This acquisition advances our BI strategy and our ability to deliver performance management applications to customers," Microsoft Business Division president Jeff Raikes said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Sony inked a deal on Monday to sell its new Reader device in Borders bookstores across the United States, including some airport locations. The Sony Reader, demoed at this year's CES conference in January, offers a high-contrast, high-resolution (800x600) electronic paper display for viewing e-books and text documents.

Sporting a form factor much like a Tablet PC, the Sony Reader is roughly as thick as a paperback book and includes internal flash memory, along with optional Memory Stick or Secure Digital (SD) slots. Sony will sell books for the device through its CONNECT service, and offer prepaid cards at Borders. The company says prices will be competitive with brick-and-mortar bookstores.

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While most of the buzz at this week's LinuxWorld in Boston is intended to revolve around the open-source operating system, Microsoft on Monday decided to use a backdrop of the semi-annual Linux confab to make some waves of its own.

The company has announced that it would support those customers who decide to run Linux under Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. Installations of Red Hat and SUSE Linux have been made simpler through software created by the Redmond company. Additionally, Microsoft would provide technical support for those who decide to run both through virtualization.

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XM said Monday that it had added 568,000 new subscribers to the service during the first quarter, bringing its subscriber base to over 6.5 million. The company also reiterated its end-of-year target of 9 million subscribers. While the numbers may seem impressive, the leading satellite radio service is struggling to hold off surging competitor Sirius.

Buoyed by shock jock Howard Stern, Sirius was on track to add around 750,000 subscribers by the end of March. Sirius announced it had passed 4 million total subscribers on March 22. XM said its major initiatives through the summer include the broadcasts of Major League Baseball, radio hardware that adds MP3 player functionality, FIFA World Cup soccer coverage, and the premiere of a radio show featuring Bob Dylan.

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EarthLink said Monday it is bringing back MindSpring -- one of the most successful Internet brands of the 90s -- for a free voice over IP offering. Like Skype, MindSpring users can make free calls via the PC and receive voicemail to their e-mail address. Outbound calls to cell and landline phones can be made for a small fee.

Built on SIP, MindSpring is also interoperable with Google Talk and other instant messaging services using the protocol. A beta version of the MindSpring product was first launched last year as EarthLink Vling, and the final product runs on Windows XP and 2000. "Our MindSpring product is a key building block in EarthLink's suite of Internet voice offerings, so it's appropriate that we name the service after one of the pioneering Internet companies," said Tom Hsieh, director of voice products and engineering at EarthLink.

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Time Warner's America Online division has officially changed its name to AOL, LLC., a move that is intended to aid the company's efforts to shed its aging image as a dial-up service provider. AOL has been busy rolling out a new generation of Web services targeted at consumers outside its walled garden, including those not in the United States.

"Our company long ago accomplished the mission implied by our old name. We literally got America online," said AOL's chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller in a statement. "Our new corporate identity better reflects our expanded mission -- to make everyone's online experience better. Plus, consumers in the U.S. and around the world already know us by our initials."

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Claria launched the beta of its customized web portal Monday, marking the end of a two-year project to clean up the company's image. Called PersonalWeb, the site requires a small download that analyzes a user's surfing habits and then places suggested content on the portal without setup from the user.

In an addition to suggested content, PersonalWeb would also provide links to a customers web e-mail accounts and RSS integration. Claria said that it would continue to add features over the next several months as well as adding support for other browsers.

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On Tuesday, Brokeback Mountain will break ground once again -- this time as the first movie to be launched on a download service the same day as its DVD release. Along with Brokeback, beginning Monday movies would be available on service Movielink as "download-to-own" titles.

New releases would be available for between $20 and $30 USD per download. Older movies would start at $9 USD, the company said.

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