Dell: Higher profit, but expects less growth

Dell has reported revenue growth of 13 percent in its fourth quarter, but analysts warned that it was not performing like the growth company of the past.

The New York Times reports that Dell reported profit of US$1.01 billion, or 43 cents a share, a 51 percent increase over its US$667 million, or 26 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue in the period, which ended 3 Feb., increased to US$15.2 billion from US$13.5 billion. However, says the newspaper,the double-digit growth rate does not portend a return to high growth for the company, the world's largest seller of PC's. This year's quarter had one extra week, which Dell said added about US$400 million, or 2 to 3 percentage points of revenue growth.

Dell's chief executive, Kevin B. Rollins, said that he still expected revenue in the current quarter of US$14.2 billion to US$14.6 billion, an increase of 6 percent to 9 percent from the previous year.

Despite the slower revenue growth projections, the company predicts strong profit growth. Dell said it expected net income per share of 39 cents to 41 cents in its fiscal first quarter, up from 27 cents a year earlier. "We don't see an economic slowdown," Mr. Rollins said.

According to the NYT.,Mr. Rollins pointed to the company's growth in shipments of notebook computers, up 47 percent worldwide. "We grew faster than the market and we took share," he said. Growth in the PC business grew in all areas of the world; Asia Pacific stood out with 21 percent growth.

Mr. Rollins said the company's success in China, where it sells computers in 2,000 cities, is proof that the direct-sales model works well overseas. It expects the same result in India, where it plans to begin manufacturing and add sales employees.

The newspaper reported that Mr. Rollins said he also expected that the introduction of Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, later this year would be a "very powerful catalyst" for sales of new computers as consumers and businesses upgrade

{mospagebreaktitle=Mac-user sites shut for possible violation}Mac-user sites shut for possible violation

Two busy web sites that focus on Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system went silent Friday just days after they featured links to information on how to hack the software and run it on non-Apple PCs.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (17 February) that The OSx86 Project Web site stated Apple had served it with a notice on Thursday citing violations of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the site was reviewing all of its discussion forum postings as a result. The site has always aimed to adhere to copyright laws and is working with Apple to ensure no violations exist, according to a statement by the site administrator.

The AP report says that the other Web site, Win2OSX.net, was completely shut down. Administrators there could not be immediately reached for comment.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment Friday on the DMCA-based notices. The federal US law prohibits anyone from distributing software or hardware that can circumvent copy protection mechanisms. The law has been criticised at times as being unconstitutional and too broad.

AP says that Apple does not authorise the use of its Mac OS on machines other than its own, and earlier this week, the sites posted links to the web site of a hacker who claimed his software patches could be used to run a version of the Mac OS on a non-Apple machine.

According to AP., the hacking endeavors are, for now, relegated to a small, technically savvy set, but it underscores a risk Apple faces if a pirated, functional version eventually becomes as accessible and straightforward as installing other software on a computer.

It's a risk that became more apparent after Apple decided to make a historic transition from Power PC chips to Intel-based chips, the same type that its rivals use in predominant Windows-based PCs, says AP.

The AP report says that Apple so far has two Intel-based computers on the market and plans to migrate the rest of its Macs to the Intel platform by the end of the year.

The Mac maker had anticipated some people would try to crack its new Intel-compatible OS X operating system and deeply embedded some warnings to would-be hackers in the software, including one written in the form of a poem.

{mospagebreaktitle=Google criticises US Gov't in court papers}Google criticises US Gov't in court papers

In the US., Google on Friday criticised the Bush administration's demand to examine millions of its users' internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company's credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (17 February) that the company delivered its indignant critique in a 25-page brief that marked its initial legal response to the US Justice Department's attempt to force the online search engine leader to comply with a 6-month-old subpoena.

The Justice Department has 24 until Feb. to respond to the papers that Google filed Friday. A hearing for oral arguments is scheduled 13 March before US District Judge James Ware.

AP says that the case has attracted widespread attention because the Justice Department's demand to peek under the hood of the internet's most popular search engine has underscored the potential for online databases becoming tools for government surveillance.

Hoping to revive an online child protection law that has been blocked by the US Supreme Court, the Justice Department wants a random list of the search requests made by the millions of people who visit Google during any week.

The government believes the search requests will help prove that internet filters aren't strong enough to prevent children from accessing online pornography and other potentially offensive web sites.

AP reports that Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and Time Warner's American Online already have provided some of the search engine information sought by the Justice Department. All three companies say they complied without relinquishing their users' private information.

But Google has steadfastly refused to hand over the requested information.

In one particularly scathing section, Google's lawyers ridiculed the government's belief that a list of search requests would help it understand the behavior of Web surfers.

''This statement is so uninformed as to be nonsensical,'' the lawyers wrote, as reported by AP.

{mospagebreaktitle=NTT DoCoMo, RealNetworks in video software tie-up}NTT DoCoMo, RealNetworks in video software tie-up

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator, said on Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with RealNetworks to jointly deploy software to boost video streaming capabilities for DoCoMo's phones.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (17 February) that the move reflects DoCoMo's efforts to beef up its new video streaming service, a company spokesman said.

Under the MOU, RealNetwork, a maker of software for playing video and music on computers, will aim to develop an open software environment enabling content providers to use their own multiformat servers to stream video content over the internet to DoCoMo's handsets.

{mospagebreaktitle=Amazon to compete with iPod with own music player}Amazon to compete with iPod with own music player

Amazon.com is preparing to take on Apple Computer in digital music by introducing its own portable music player that would be linked to an online music service, according to several music industry executives involved with negotiations with Amazon.

The New York Times reports (17 February) that, unlike Apple, which sells songs for 99 cents each, Amazon will offer a service that charges a monthly or annual fee to customers, who will have the right to fill up their music players with as many songs as they like, the executives said. When they stop paying the fee, the music on the player will be disabled.

Amazon has not told the music industry what the fee would be, but similar subscription services range from US$5 to US$15 a month.

Apple, which sold 32 million iPods last year, has expanded its lead in digital music. Apple increased its market share last year in the United States to 67 percent of digital music players from under 49 percent in 2004, according to the sales and marketing research firm NPD Group.

According to the newspaper, music industry executives are enthusiastic about Amazon's entry because it might be a counterweight to Apple, which many see as having too much power in digital music.

The NYT adds that Amazon's intention to tie a subscription service to its own music player was reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Music subscription services have been offered by Napster, AOL, Real Networks and Yahoo for several years, and have attracted about two million customers, industry executives said.

{mospagebreaktitle=Mobile firms bet on wireless broadband to boost 3G}Mobile firms bet on wireless broadband to boost 3G

More and more mobile operators are betting on upgrades to their third-generation (3G) networks, hoping to ride a booming market for services such as music downloads and fend off threats from new technologies.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (17 February) that wireless broadband was a key theme at the mobile industry's biggest annual trade show in Barcelona, as one operator after another unveiled plans to roll out HSDPA, a technology that can offer internet speeds at least four faster than the present WCDMA 3G standard.

``It's not just another buzzword. It is here, it's real,'' said T-Mobile Chief Executive Rene Obermann, as the Deutsche Telekom unit announced plans to roll out HSDPA in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands during this quarter, reports Reuters.

Reuters says that T-Mobile rivals Vodafone, Orange are among many others planning to roll out the technology. Most operators initially plan to launch data cards aimed at corporate users.

Mobile phone services to consumers are set to follow later this year or next year when more handsets become available.

According to Reuters, the latest push by operators to lure more customers to higher-paying 3G services comes as rising competition in mature European markets along with falling prices erode existing revenue streams, leaving them with little choice but to look to boost revenues from new services.

The report says that operators in Europe spent billions of euros on 3G networks, which they hoped would fetch them many more billions in additional revenues from services such as internet surfing and video calling.

But, says Reuters, take up of these services has proved elusive, and even though the new networks have been around for a few years now, operators continue to depend on voice calls and text messages for the bulk of their revenues.

{mospagebreaktitle=Chicago gears up for wireless broadband}Chicago gears up for wireless broadband

The US nationwide rush to go wireless appears poised to extend to its biggest city yet. Chicago is launching an effort to offer wireless broadband, city officials said Friday, jumping on the Wi-Fi bandwagon as similar initiatives proceed in Philadelphia, San Francisco and smaller cities.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (17 February) that Chicago has hundreds of wi-fi hotspots in places like coffee shops, bookstores and libraries, where anyone can walk in, sit down and connect to the web. Hoping to extend that wireless blanket to all 228 square miles, the city plans to ask technology companies this spring to submit proposals for the project.

AP reports that while it's too soon to say how the system would operate, the goal is to make internet access ''broad and affordable'' for residents and heighten Chicago's appeal for businesses and tourists alike, according to Chris O'Brien, the city's chief information officer.

The city did not specify goals for how much the system would charge for access. In Philadelphia, EarthLink is building a citywide network that will charge a wholesale rate of US$9 a month to internet service providers that would then resell access to the public at an undetermined price.

{mospagebreaktitle=RIM still open to "reasonable" NTP settlement: CFO}RIM still open to "reasonable" NTP settlement: CFO

Research In Motion has not shut down communications with US patent holding firm NTP and remains open to a ``reasonable settlement opportunity,'' its chief financial officer said on Friday.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (17 Ferbruary) that with one week before a 24February court hearing on NTP's request for an injunction to halt US service of RIM's BlackBerry e-mail device, he also repeated that the Canadian firm's technical workaround will avert any blackout.

In early 2005, Ontario-based RIM agreed to pay US$450 million to resolve its long-running legal dispute with NTP, but the deal unraveled just months later.

NTP sued RIM in the United States for patent infringement in 2002 and won an injunction in 2003 to shut down US service. That injunction was stayed pending appeals.

Reuters says that, in what has been described as the latest move in a high-stakes poker match, RIM announced details last week of a workaround plan that it says will let US BlackBerry service continue even if it loses the patent fight.

{mospagebreaktitle=US satellite radio reports}US satellite radio reports

In the US., Sirius Satellite Radio reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter yesterday as costs for building its rapidly growing base of subscribers mounted.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (18 February) that the company lost US$311.4 million, compared with a loss of US261.9 million in the same period a year earlier.

The loss amounted to 23 cents a share, a penny lower than the 24-cent loss expected by analysts. Revenue more than tripled, to US$80 million from US$25.2 million.

Despite the nearly in-line results, the shares of both Sirius and its rival, XM Satellite Radio Holdings, fell yesterday, a day after XM disclosed the sudden departure of a director, who warned of a crisis at that company if it did not rein in costs.

AP says that Sirius reported that its costs for acquiring new subscribers more than doubled, to US$145.2 million, from US$64.9 million in the same period a year ago.

Sirius ended 2005 with 3.3 million subscribers, triple the number of a year ago. XM has about six million subscribers.

{mospagebreaktitle=Sony pledges 2006 launch for PS3}Sony pledges 2006 launch for PS3

Sony has promised to ship the PlayStation 3 in 2006. Sony Computer Entertainment Asia head Tetsuhiko Yasuda told reporters at the Taipei Game Show that the console will launch this year, though no specific date or price point have been decided, he claimed. He also said the company expects the new machine to out-sell the PS2.

The Register reports (17 February) that, alas, the show played host only to mock-ups of the next-generation gaming platform and not the working units some gamers had hoped for, DigiTimes reports. Fans and observers' eyes will now turn to the E3 show, to be held in Los Angeles in May, for the debut of working consoles, says The Register.

Unless, of course, says The Register,Sony launches sooner, such as the late March timeframe it originally suggested. Some observers have claimed that's unlikely, given the lack of working PS3s at the Taipei Game Show, the report in DigiTimes said.

According to the publication, the company expects accumulated global PS3 shipments of more than 100 million, beating records set by the PlayStation and the PS2, and despite the fact the PS3 will cost more than the PS2.

{mospagebreaktitle=Call for reform as unlicensed software use rises}Call for reform as unlicensed software use rises

There was a 25 per cent increase in the number of companies settling for unlicensed software use in the UK last year, according to the Business Software Alliance. But the sums paid go some way to showing how UK law provides little deterrent to such piracy.

The Register reports (17 February) that the Business Software Alliance (BSA) figures were published on Monday. It opened 420 investigations in 2005 into UK businesses reported to be using software illegally, an increase of 24 per cent on 2004. According to the BSA, the strength of the economy was a key contributor to the rise: as businesses enjoy rapid growth, managers often overlook their software licensing. It put 80 per cent of the settlement cases down to negligence.

According to the publication, the largest settlement was for £31,000 and eight settlements exceeded £20,000. But these sums are not wildly different from what each company would have paid had it been properly licensed in the first place because copyright law does not set out to punish for simple infringement, says The Register.

{mospagebreaktitle=New player could heat up Chile mobile phone battle}New player could heat up Chile mobile phone battle

A possible new player in Chile's already competitive mobile telephone market could heat up the battle between cellular companies fighting over the more than 1 million new mobile users expected this year.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (17 February) that with a mobile phone penetration already at 65 percent, one of Latin America's highest rates, Chile is expected to close the year with 12 million cellular phone accounts, up some 10 percent from the end of last year.

Since prices are already relatively low, the three existing mobile companies are ramping up publicity campaigns and offering payment plans tailored to the specific needs of clients, says Reuters.

Some 80 percent of Chilean mobile phone accounts use prepaid cards.

Chile had 11 million mobile accounts at the end of last year, 10 percent higher compared with the year earlier, and up steeply from 3 million in 2000.