Office formats alliance opens for business

Microsoft Office is facing an organised challenge from an alliance of government bodies and IT vendors that are promoting OpenDocument Format (ODF).

The Register reports that 35 organisations including IBM, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Oracle and Novell, plus international government representatives, are to start the Open Document Format Alliance, a group that will promote education and learning around ODF.

The ODF Alliance will operate through the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA), and represents a second attempt to push the XML-based ODF as an alternative to a set of XML file formats in Microsoft Office.

According to The Register, Sun, IBM and others are also pushing for the technical advancement of ODF through a committee of the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).

The ODF Alliance has been founded in the wake of last year's debacle around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' declaration that all state IT departments dump proprietary document file formats by 2007 and adopt standards, says The Register.

The publication says that Massachusetts' decision, reversed amid considerable acrimony and politicking, would have seen the state dump Microsoft Office for productivity suites using ODF. That would have allowed in IBM, Sun and others who support ODF.

{mospagebreaktitle=Intel warns of weaker demand and revises forecast}Intel warns of weaker demand and revises forecast

Intel, the largest semiconductor manufacturer, shook the industry Friday by announcing a decline in chip demand and sharply lowering its revenue forecast for the quarter.

The New York Times reports (4 March) however, that the bigger loser on the day was its main competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, which had been flying high of late. Even though Intel conceded a slight loss of market share to its rival, AMD.'s stock closed 4.4 percent lower, while Intel's shares fell only slightly.

Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Raymond James, said AMD investors feared that Intel would cut prices to regain lost ground.

The newspaper reports that Intel said it now expected to post quarterly sales of US$8.7 billion to US$9.1 billion, down from the previous estimate of US$9.1 billion to US$9.7 billion that it gave in January.

Analysts had been expecting sales of us$9.42 billion for the first quarter, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. But in recent weeks, several analysts have lowered their estimates, citing increased competition. Intel declined to elaborate on the reasons for the warning; the company plans to report its first-quarter results on 19 April.

The NYT says that the revised forecast was one of Intel's sharpest warnings since 2001, when the company's troubles were part of the industrywide slump. Intel's warning Friday was seen as a combination of broad industry troubles and problems unique to Intel

{mospagebreaktitle=Microsoft presses rivals}Microsoft presses rivals

Microsoft is asking American courts to compel Sun Microsystems, IBM., Oracle and Novell to hand over correspondence with European Union regulators on Microsoft's antitrust battle in Europe.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (4 March) that it filed papers on Friday with federal courts in New York, Massachusetts and California, saying they could order that evidence be provided for use in foreign legal action. Microsoft said it needed to see the documents to understand how an independent expert came to write reports highly critical of the company's efforts to comply with a 2004 antitrust order.

Sun, IBM and Oracle did not return calls seeking comment. A Novell spokesman, Bruce Lowry, said he could not comment because the company had not seen the filing.

{mospagebreaktitle=DSL price war helps close broadband gap}DSL price war helps close broadband gap

Last year in the US was the first in which telephone companies added more broadband internet subscribers than their cable TV rivals did, according to a research report.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (3 March) that the largest DSL providers, which have been engaged in a price war that has slashed promotional prices as low as US$13 a month, added 5.2 million subscribers in 2005, according to Leichtman Research Group's analysis of company statements.

The major cable companies gained 4.4 million high-speed internet subscribers last year, for a total of 24.3 million. That means cable retained a narrowing lead in total subscribers over the phone-line based DSL technology, or digital subscriber line, which had 18.5 million customers.

According to the AP., the numbers reflect the 20 largest broadband companies in the United States, with 42.8 million total subscribers and about 94 percent of the market. Bruce Leichtman, principal analyst at Leichtman Research, estimates that around 35 million people are still using dial-up access.

The report says that the number of new cable broadband customers has been fairly stable each year since 2002, while DSL growth has been accelerating. Meanwhile, the overall phone vs. cable fight is becoming even more contested as phone companies begin rolling out subscription TV services in some locations.

Prices for low-end and introductory DSL services were cut in half last year, as SBC Communications, now AT&T., introduced a one-year plan for US$15 a month which was matched by Verizon Communications.

The phone companies hit the ''grand slam'' with those price plans in the second half of the year, Leichtman said.

AP says that the price war has continued this year. Last month, AT&T introduced a yearlong DSL contract for US$13 a month. When the contract runs out, the price jumps to US$30 a month. Cable companies typically charge us$35 a month and up for broadband, while generally offering higher download speeds than DSL providers.

The largest cable broadband providers in 2005 were Comcast Corp., with 8.5 million and Time Warner Cable with 4.8 million.

According to AP., among the telephone companies, the leader was AT&T with 6.9 million broadband subscribers. Verizon had 5.1 million, which includes an undisclosed but relatively small number of fiber-optic connections in addition to DSL.

{mospagebreaktitle=Google enthusiasm for Opteron}Google enthusiasm for Opteron

Google has become an Opteron convert despite having Intel CEO Paul Otellini on its board, according to an analyst report.

The Register reports (4 March) that Mark Edelstone at Morgan Stanley has Google shifting into Opteron or bust mode.

According to the publication, the server hungry ad broker, like many, has turned to AMD's speedy 64-bit chip for performance and power saving gains, he said in a research report. If true, such a shift away from Intel's Xeon would be a huge boost for AMD and the server vendor or vendors Google has picked.

The Register says that the analyst backs what AMD has long claimed and proven in various tests - that it has a serious performance per watt advantage over Intel. Power savings have risen to priority number one at Google as energy costs and energy supply have become constraints.

A source also in the financial analyst community said he heard that Google was in the process of switching to AMD, while Google was on stage at the last Intel Developer Forum."

The analyst added that Sun was the likely supplier of the Opteron gear.

According to The Register, Sun might appear as Google's most likely Opteron partner given the companies' close ties. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was once a top executive at Sun, and the two vendors announced a toolbar deal a few months back.

{mospagebreaktitle=Korea may probe Samsung, Hynix price-fix claims}Korea may probe Samsung, Hynix price-fix claims

The South Korean government may be about to investigate claims that local memory makers Samsung and Hynix conspired to fix memory prices, a senior official from the nation's Fair Trade Commission has suggested.

The Register reports that the move follows the announcement that four Hynix executives have agreed to plead guilty to US Department of Justice charges that they colluded with others to fix DRAM prices in the US.

The DoJ has fined Samsung and Hynix US$300million and $185million, respectively, for their parts in the cartel. Both companies have declared their guilt.

According to The Register, the FTC is already investigating an alleged deal struck between Samsung and Apple to supply the iPod maker with NAND Flash chips for less than Samsung sells them to local customers.

{mospagebreaktitle=New contract undermines ICANN's integrity}New contract undermines ICANN's integrity

The new dotcom contract undermines ICANN's integrity and "poses unacceptable risks to the values that underly ICANN's mission", one of the internet watchdog's own board members said.

The Register reports that, in statements just released over the controversial contract passed earlier last week, new member Susan Crawford pulled no punches in her dissection of the deal. She also has the support of other board members, including some that voted in favour of the deal.

The contract, which awards control of all dotcom domains to VeriSign until at least 2012, was ratified by nine votes for, five against, and one abstention.

According to The Register, board dissension over the deal was widely known, and two special meetings were held to push the deal through before ICANN's public meeting later this month.

The publication says that the statements reveal the degree of disagreement at the top of the organisation, and reflect the internet community's dislike for the new contract.

Crawford said the agreement damages ICANN's reputation, undermines its mission as a forum for policy development, and disrupts its effectiveness. She said: "We will need to evaluate how ICANN should be structured and should operate for the future, so that crises of confidence like that created by this proposed agreement can be avoided."

The Register says, however, that among the camp that favoured that deal, Veni Markovski marked it as "a positive step forwards, as it puts an end to a long-lasting tension which was driving ICANN away from its main job". Instead, he laid the blame on the ICANN community that he said was only interested in finding problems, rather than solutions.

{mospagebreaktitle=Schmidt says Google could hit a hundred billion}Schmidt says Google could hit a hundred billion

The Register reports that late last week Google promised Wall St the world, as it sought to steady nervy analysts who have wiped billions of its stock value in recent weeks.

According to the publication, CEO Eric Schmidt lifted the roof of the Googleplex a touch when he told a meeting of analysts he reckoned the firm could become a US$100billion company, the Associated Press reports.

The Register says, however, that Schmidt did not say whether that would be US$100bn in sales or in market cap.  Whatever kind of a target Schmidt had in mind, he said it was achievable as the company pushed into new advertising channels, adds the publication.

Execs also said they expected to top last year's US$838m capital investment, as it further racks up its computing muscle.

{mospagebreaktitle=European Digital Library is go}European Digital Library is go

More than 6 million books and other culturally significant works are to go online via the European Digital Library over the next five years.

The Register reports that the ambitious scheme will involve establishing centres throughout Europe dedicated to rendering works in a digital format, partially funded by the European Commission. The commission plans to establish a framework for setting up the library that respects intellectual property rights.

The commission also published the results of a consultation on the digital libraries initiative on Thursday, which revealed opinions are divided on copyright issues, in particular between cultural institutions and right holders. On the practical side, the European Digital Library will build upon the TEL (The European Library) infrastructure, which also gives access to a range of digitised resources of the participating libraries.

According to The Register, by the end of 2006, the European Digital Library should involve collaboration among all the national libraries in the EU. Over coming years this will be expanded to include archives and museums. Two million books, films, photographs, manuscripts, and other cultural works will be accessible through the European Digital Library by 2008. A figure that will rise to at least 6 million by 2010, as potentially every library, archive and museum in Europe will be able to link its digital content to the online resource, says The Register.

{mospagebreaktitle=US Justice opens probe into online music pricing: sources}US Justice opens probe into online music pricing: sources

The US Department of Justice has opened an investigation into online music pricing at the world's major music labels, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (3 March) that the DOJ probe closely tracks a similar investigation by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer into the pricing of digital music downloads, the sources said.

One music industry source said some subpoenas may have been issued already in connection with the probe, while other labels had been tipped off that subpoenas would likely be coming in the next few days.

Reuters says thhat it appeared that Sony BMG had already received a subpoena, the second industry source said.

The major record labels are Warner Music Group, EMI Group, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group and Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann.
                         
According to Reuters, Apple's iTunes music store dominates the industry, charging 99 cents for each of the vast majority of its songs, but some music labels have indicated they want to institute variable pricing. Rival online music stores include those run by music subscription service Napster; retailer Wal-Mart Stores and RealNetworks, which makes software for playing video and music on computers.

{mospagebreaktitle=Orange to use Walkman phone}Orange to use Walkman phone

Mobile phone operator Orange said on Friday it would roll out Sony Ericsson's new Walkman phones across Europe in a venture that includes a sponsorship deal with pop diva Christina Aguilera.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (3 March) that Orange, owned by France Telecom, is betting heavily on services such as music and video downloads as the industry seeks other sources of income, with voice call revenues under pressure from rising competition and falling prices.

The agreement covers Orange's entire European reach, including Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries. Sony Ericsson is a joint venture between Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony and Sweden's Ericsson.

According to Reuters, the sponsorship deal with Aguilera, an artist with record company Sony BMG -- another Sony joint venture, with German media conglomerate Bertelsmann -- includes a nine-month marketing campaign for the Grammy Award winner's upcoming single, album and European tour.

Orange custoich attempts to offer consumers a consistent way of using its service regardless of the handset maker.

{mosapagebreaktitle=AOL's free e-mail to non-profits}AOL's free e-mail to non-profits

AOL, the internet service provider unit of Time Warner, on Friday said it will not charge legitimate not-for-profit organisations and advocacy groups to have their e-mails authenticated and delivered to consumers.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (3 March) that the decision addresses an outcry from political and civic activist groups, which said AOL's plans to charge mass senders of e-mail a fee to reduce junk mail amounted to an ``attack'' on the ``free existence of online civic participation.''

The company said that it is seeking to make it ``crystal clear'' that nonprofit groups would have all their e-mails delivered, including enabled Web-links and images, contrary to recent criticism in the media by advocacy groups.

AP says that the company said it is also offering to pay for the e-mails of qualifying groups to be validated by a third party.

AOL is working with the Goodmail Certified E-mail program, which authenticates e-mail messages allowing the delivery of images and hyperlinks on most high-volume messages.

Earlier this week the advocacy groups Electronic Frontier Foundation and MoveOn.org called the plan a tax on e-mail.

According to AP., MoveOn sent an e-mail to its membership claiming the ``very existence of online civic participation and the free internet as we know it are under attack by America Online.''

{mospagebreaktitle=Chinese Gov't sets up blogs for lawmakers}Chinese Gov't sets up blogs for lawmakers

China's government is trying to boost public interest in its figurehead parliament and its companion advisory body by setting up web logs for members as they meet this week.

Called ''bo ke'' in Chinese, blogs are popular with young people despite strict censorship rules.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (5 March) that in one posting, National People's Congress delegate Zhou Hongyu wrote that serving in the legislature is a way to ''fulfill my duty and be a better deputy.''

The patriotically named ''Strong Country Blog'' is run by the People's Daily, the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party.

AP says that, so far, only eight of more than 5,000 delegates to the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have been approved to post comments online, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing Tang Weihong, who runs the site.