Archive for July 2004
Microsoft Seeks to Knock Out Sony
"During an interview at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, CEO Steve Ballmer predicted that Microsoft would soon steal the game crown from Sony: ‘We may still be losing money, but we have gone from nowhere to a significant player with a whole different approach. I bet we can take Sony next generation.’
"Indeed, Microsoft has made progress, signing up more than 1 million subscribers for Xbox Live, the online game service the company launched in late 2002."
Steve Musil. Week In Review: Ballmer Guns for Sony. News.com. July 16, 2004.
Ina Fried. Ballmer: Xbox ‘Can Take Sony’. News.com. July 14, 2004.
Judge Grants Stay for Copyright Case
"A federal judge on Monday denied AutoZone’s request to transfer its copyright case with The SCO Group from Nevada to a Memphis, Tenn., court, but he also granted a limited stay to the auto parts chain.
"The SCO Group Inc. in March filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AutoZone Inc. in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, claiming that AutoZone violated copyrights on SCO’s proprietary Unix System V technology through the use of Linux.
"AutoZone in April filed a response to SCO’s lawsuit requesting that the Nevada court stay the case and transfer it to Memphis, where AutoZone is headquartered."
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. AutoZone Wins Brief Stay in SCO Copyright Case. eWeek. July 14, 2004.
AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo Link Instant Messaging
"America Online Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. are teaming up to link their separate instant messaging services for use in the workplace, the first major step by the industry leaders to enable computer users to communicate with one another no matter which of the three systems they use.
"In an announcement, the triumvirate will outline a new partnership aimed at spurring greater use of instant messaging at work by tearing down the electronic walls that keep the respective networks separate.
"To use the new system, companies will have to license new Microsoft network software that will serve as the hub connecting messaging systems operated separately by AOL, Microsoft’s MSN division and Yahoo."
David A. Vise. AOL, Yahoo And MSN To Integrate Messaging. WashingtonPost.com. July 15, 2004.
See also:
Matt Hicks. Microsoft Opens IM Server to AOL, Yahoo. eWeek. July 15, 2004.
Jim Hu and David Becker. IM giants Drop Some Barriers to Peace. News.com. July 15, 2004.
(Editor�s Note: The Post allows free access to their stories on the Web for 14 days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archives.)
Japan Issues Microsoft Antitrust Warning
"Software giant Microsoft Corp. received a warning (.pdf) from Japan’s anti-trust regulators about unfair business practices on Tuesday, but the decision did not carry the heavy fines the U.S. firm was given in Europe.
"Japan’s Fair Trade Commission said Microsoft should scrap a provision in its licensing contracts with PC makers that prevents them from filing patent infringement suits if they find Microsoft’s Windows software contains features similar to their own technology."
Reuters. Japan Warns Microsoft on Anti-Trust. Reuters. July 13, 2004.
See also:
No author. Regulators In Japan Cite Microsoft. Techweb. July 13, 2004.
Charles Bickers. Microsoft Raided By Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. Bloomberg.com. February 26, 2004.
MP3 Blogs Unearth Forgotten Musical Gems
"A new genre of Web sites that offer an eclectic mix of free music downloads may not be strictly legit, but the sites’ creators say they’re doing the beleaguered record industry a favor.
"Named for the MP3 music format and the popular self-published Web sites known as blogs, they are part online mixtape, part diary, and part music magazine.
Well-known blogs include Soul Sides, which has underground hip-hop and forgotten R&B; The Tofu Hut, whose offerings range from gospel artists Blind Mamie and A.C. Forehand to rockabilly performer Carl Perkins to soul god Donnie Hathaway; and Said the Gramophone, which has indie rock, folk music and hip-hop."
Adam Pasick. Livewire: MP3 Blogs Serve Rare Songs, Dusty Grooves". Reuters. July 11, 2004.
EFF’s Patent Busting Campaign
"The Electronic Frontier Foundation has started a campaign to get a number of what it regards as bad patents off the books.
"All the most-wanted patents are dangerously overbroad and every single one of the targeted patents is held by an entity that has threatened or brought lawsuits against small businesses, individuals, or nonprofits.
"The EFF has begun to collect prior art for each of these. This is hard evidence that a patent is ‘obvious’ because it is based on a commonly known idea or because the claimed ‘invention’ actually existed before the patent was filed."
Ed Hardy. EFF Attacks Handheld-Related Patents. Brighthand. July 9, 2004.
See Also Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Patent Busting Project.
The Game of Numbers
"Just a day after the BSA came out with their misleading report on software ‘piracy‘, the MPAA needed to follow suit by releasing their own misleading study on the impact of movie downloads.
"On the numerical side, this is really a survey, so they’re not making up numbers… just conclusions. They found that 50% of people they surveyed claimed to have downloaded ‘copyrighted content’ last year.
"First off, that’s a ridiculous question. If you visit just about any website you’ve downloaded ‘copyrighted content.’"
Techdirt. MPAA’s Turn To Mislead With Statistics. July 8, 2004.
See Also. Techdirt. BSA’s Latest Made Up Software Piracy Numbers Parroted By The Press. July 7, 2004.
COPYCENSE 