Microsoft settles antitrust suit over Windows in South Korea

Microsoft will pay the South Korean internet portal operator Daum Communications US$30 million to settle an antitrust suit over the bundling of an instant-messaging program into its Windows software, Microsoft said Friday.

The New York Times reports (12 November) that as part of the settlement, Daum, which offers its own messaging service, agreed to drop its suit and its complaint to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Chung Ji Eun, a spokeswoman for Daum, said.

But the fair trade commission said Friday that its four-year-old inquiry into Microsoft's bundling of its instant messaging and media player programs would continue. Speculation immediately arose on whether Friday's settlement could soften any penalties Microsoft might face.

The newspaper says that the agreement Friday follows another last month in which Microsoft paid RealNetworks US$761 million to settle in the United States. RealNetworks had also filed a complaint with the commission, which it agreed to drop as part of the settlement.

The inquiry, however, is proceeding. A commission spokesman, Lee Tae Hwi, acknowledged that the Daum settlement could influence the commission's ruling, signaling a potential breakthrough for Microsoft.

The NYT says that the Korean news media had speculated that the commission was likely to rule against Microsoft. Mr. Lee said only that the commission agreed with some of the complaints against Microsoft. "Some of the charges against Microsoft have been confirmed," he said.

The commission plans to rule by the end of the month.

According to the newspaper, the worst outcome for Microsoft would be an order to market a version of Windows specifically for South Korea without the messaging and media player functions. Microsoft has warned that not only would it appeal such an order, but it might take Windows off the market in Korea.

{mospagebreaktitle=Dell profits decline as sales growth slows}Dell profits decline as sales growth slows

Dell has said that third-quarter profit fell 28 percent, hurt by one-time charges and by a slowdown in the rate of sales growth, a slowdown its chief executive said was likely to worsen this quarter.

The New York Times reports (11 November) that Dell earned US$606 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with US$846 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

The newspaper says that the company took charges of US$442 million related to a restructuring and to the expense of fixing a failed part in a line of desktop PC's. Excluding the charges, Dell earned US$944 million, or 39 cents a share, matching the forecast of Wall Street analysts.

But analysts were concerned about revenue.

According to the NYT., Dell said sales in the period, which ended 28 October, rose 1 percent, to US$13.91 billion, from US$12.5 billion a year earlier, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of slower growth. The rate has been declining since the quarter that ended in April 2004, when it posted a 21 percent increase.

Kevin B. Rollins, the chief executive, forecast that Dell's revenue in the current quarter would increase US$14.6 billion to US$15 billion, a growth rate of 8.5 percent to 11 percent.

{mospagebreaktitle=US video game sales take hit}US video game sales take hit

US retail sales of video games in October fell to US$365 million, down 24 percent from a year earlier, when publishers released a slew of blockbuster titles, analysts said on Friday.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (11 November) that, citing figures from market researchers NPD Group, analysts said October console game sales were around US$294 million, while sales of handheld games were about US$71 million.

Analysts are closely monitoring sales as the industry heads into the holiday season, which accounts for roughly half of its revenue, says Reuters.

The Reuters report says that UBS analyst Michael Wallace is betting that game sales will decline slightly in 2005, and backed his estimate calling for a 1 percent year-over-year decline in US video game sales.

For the 10 months ended 1 October, video game sales were up 1 percent from the same period in 2004 to US$3.7 billion.

Reuters reports that many game publishers have reported soft sales amid a transition to next-generation consoles. Many video game enthusiasts are putting off purchases until the new machines are released.

Microsoft will be the first to market with a new console when its when its Xbox 360 comes out on 22 November.

{mospagebreaktitle=Vodafone licenses open-standard anti-piracy tech}Vodafone licenses open-standard anti-piracy tech

US-based technology group Intertrust said an agreement by British mobile carrier Vodafone to license its anti-piracy software would be a breakthrough deal to protect online music.

Reuters reports in The nNw York Times (11 November) that anti-piracy technology for digital media, also known as Digital Rights Management (DRM), controls usage of digital music, video and other content to prevent illegal copying and file-swapping.

DRM technology is already used in online stores such as iTunes from Apple and Connect from Sony, but there is not yet an open standard that would allow consumers to buy a song in one vendor's store and forward or copy it to a device from another vendor.

The Reuters report says that with this deal, Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile operator by revenue and a trendsetter for the cell phone industry, gains access to the Intertrust's entire portfolio of patents, which it will need to use either of the two open standards that are being developed for anti-piracy software.

Intertrust's technology is going into the open standards being set by the Open Mobile Alliance of electronics companies and operators as well as those from the Marlin alliance of the world's top four consumer electronics companies.

Reuters says that the Marlin standard has been agreed and will be available next year.

Japan's Sony and Panasonic-brand owner Matsushita Electric Industrial, South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Dutch Philips Electronicshave said they will introduce electronics devices in 2006 based on Marlin software.

{mospagebreaktitle=Sony BMG pulls CD software}Sony BMG pulls CD software

Music publisher Sony BMG said on Friday it would stop making CDs that use a controversial technology to protect its music against illegal copying.

``As a precautionary measure, Sony BMG is temporarily suspending the manufacture of CDs containing XCP technology,'' it said in a statement.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (11 November) that the decision follows the discovery on Thursday of the first virus that uses Sony BMG's CD copy-protection software to hide on PCs and wreak havoc.

A hacker had mass-mailed e-mail with an attachment, which when clicked on installs malware. The malware hides by using Sony BMG software that is also hidden -- the software would have already been installed on a computer when consumers played Sony's copy-protected music CDs.

According to Reuters, the malware, a trojan program which appears desirable but actually contains something harmful, tears down a computer's firewall and gives hackers access to a PC.

Sony BMG provided a patch to protect computers against the virus, which is available on its web site.

{mospagebreaktitle=US enters BlackBerry patent fight}US enters BlackBerry patent fight

The US government has inserted itself in a high-stakes patent fight over the popular BlackBerry device, saying it wants to make sure federal workers won't be cut off from mobile access to their e-mail.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times that the Justice Department filed a ''statement of interest'' earlier this week to explain how the US government, with as many as 200,000 BlackBerry users, could be harmed if a federal judge in Virginia issues an injunction against Research In Motion to stop selling the device and accompanying e-mail service.

According to AP., if the judge, Judge R Spencer, issues an injunction, ''it is imperative that some mechanism be incorporated that permits continuity of the federal government's use of BlackBerry devices,'' the filing said.

The AP report says that the patent dispute with NTP has heated with its return last week to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia -- nicknamed the ''Rocket Docket'' for its speedy resolution of civil cases.

''I don't run their business and they don't run mine,'' Judge Judge Spencer said, asserting that he had spent enough time on the suit and intended to move swiftly on key issues.

Spencer, who issued an injunction against RIM after the 2003 jury verdict, but stayed it pending appeals, could rule before Thanksgiving on whether a US$450 million settlement deal reached earlier this year is valid.

{mospagebreaktitle=US Attorney General offers to jail copyright infringers}US Attorney General offers to jail copyright infringers

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has proposed tough new copyright enforcement laws that would criminalise consumers simply for trying to make unauthorised copies of music, movies and software, whether they are successful or not.

The Register reports (11 November) that the bill, dubbed the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005 (IPPA), which has yet to be put before the US Congess, seeks to provide harsher penalties for copyright infringers, in particular those who do so persistently.

According to The Register, for tougher sentences, think not only bigger fines, but also jail terms, the seizure of equipment used to make illegal copies and the payment of compensation to the owner of the copied work, Gonzales indicated.

The publication says that Gonzales' IPPA proposal comes after the US Supreme Court ruled that anyone seen to be knowingly aiding and abetting copyright infringement can be sued by copyright holders. That judgement led to renewed efforts by the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) to force P2P companies to block copyright infringement and to obtain licences to allow copyright works to be shared. A number of them have since complied, or closed their networks down while they get legal.

{mospagebreaktitle=Yahoo! pulls! out! of! race! for! AOL!}Yahoo! pulls! out! of! race! for! AOL!

Yahoo! has dipped out of a possible tie-up with AOL after the pair couldn't agree terms, the Wal Street Journal has reported.

According to The register (11 November) the WSJ reported that the giant portal with its distinctive admitted that the bosses of both companies had met last month to discuss a possible deal but that there wasn't enough common ground.

Yahoo! made no formal offer, it said.

The Register says that with Yahoo!'s position now clear, it paves the way for a two-horse race between favourite Microsoft and Google, although Google may or may not launch a bid in conjunction with cableco Comcast.