IBM, Nokia, Oracle to gang up with EU against Microsoft

A lobby group backed by Nokia , Oracle and IBM has asked an EU court for permission to join the European Commission in its antitrust battle with Microsoft, it said on Wednesday.

The New York Times reports (5 April) that the five-firm European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS) said the request demonstrated there was still solid industry backing for the EU executive's crackdown on Microsoft, despite settlements with some opponents.

In a landmark ruling last year the Commission found Microsoft abused the near-monopoly of its Windows computer operating system to crush competition. It fined the world's biggest software maker nearly 500 million eurosand ordered it to change its business practices, says the paper and Reuters.

The NYT and Reuters say Microsoft failed in its bid to delay the sanctions, which required it to sell a version of Windows without Windows Media Player and share software data with rivals. However, the software giant is appealing the main ruling, even as it puts in place the changes ordered by the Commission.

Intel, AMD race to be first with 2-processor chip

Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are racing to introduce a dual-core computer chip in what could be the biggest change in PC technology in a decade, reports The New York Times/Reuters, in a 5 April report.

Both companies have something to prove and both expect in a matter of months to launch products which essentially combine two microchips into one, says the paper and Reuters.

For Intel, the transition offers a chance to shake off a year's worth of missteps and delays with an on-time product introduction; for AMD, the change amounts to its best opportunity in years to take business away from Intel, its much larger arch-rival, the paper and Reuters observe.

The NYT/Reuters say that having approached the limits of speed gains with traditional chips, Intel and AMD have moved to combine two chips onto a single piece of silicon. The result is one chip with two cores that can operate independently -- with one, for instance, processing a television show while the other scans for viruses.

According to the paper and Reuters, for some applications -- like the multimedia processing that is seen as a key path for PC industry growth -- dual core shows major gains.

Meanwhile, say the paper and and Reuters, Intel on Monday turned heads in the computer industry by allowing independent reviewers to publish performance tests on its first dual-core computer chip, called Extreme Edition, before it becomes officially available. The reviews were generally positive, though some noted the chip's high heat production.

Google and Yahoo! accused of click fraud collusion

Google, Yahoo! and other players in the search business have become embroiled in a lawsuit which involves overcharging for pay-per-click online advertising, reports The Register in the UK (5 April).

The Register reports that the Wall Street Journal says that plaintiffs in the US filed a lawsuit in February alleging that Google and Yahoo overcharge advertisers, and also that they collude with each other, to continue overcharging.

The online news service says that in the pay-per-click model used by Google, Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves , advertisers pay each time a user "clicks through" on an ad listed alongside search engine results. Each click costs on average between €0.30 and €0.50 with more popular keywords costing as much as €10 per click.

The Register says that led by an Arkansas company called Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, the plaintiffs want the lawsuit certified as a class action. They allege that the defendants, which include Google, Yahoo!, FindWhat, Ask Jeeves, America Online and Look Smart, improperly charged advertisers for incidents "click fraud".

The publication says that click fraud is a growing problem in the search industry. The practice has seen people - such as competitors or unhappy employees - click repeatedly on an ad to run up a bill for the advertiser. This can cost advertisers a lot of money and is difficult to track down.

Howewer,according to The Register, Google and Yahoo! and other search engines say they have anti-fraud systems in place and that they regularly give advertisers refunds for fraudulent clicks. However, they have been sketchy with details, causing some advertisers to worry that the problem is bigger than they are being told.

Apple now selling Mac Minis at best buy stores

Apple Computer has started selling its Mac mini computer at retailer Best Buy stores, the second large electronics retailer to carry the slim, US$499 PC. the company said on Tuesday.

The New York Times and Reuters report (5 April) that Apple rolled out the Mac mini, which is sold without a monitor, keyboard or computer mouse, in January, taking solid aim at making its products more affordable for the masses. It's the cheapest Macintosh to date.

The paper and Reuters say that the mini is aimed principally at consumers who already own one or more of Apple's popular iPod digital music players and have a Windows or a Macintosh computer at home. Apple hopes that users will want a Mac mini to manage their digital music library, movies and pictures with its iTunes digital lifestyle applications.

Ethiopia plans to expand internet access

Ethiopia, one of the poorest nations on earth, will expand internet coverage from a handful of users to the entire country in three years, the prime minister said Tuesday.

The New York Times and Aassociated Press report (5 April) that Premier Meles Zenawi said information technology lay at the heart of transforming the impoverished country where millions are dependent on foreign aid.

The government is working with US technology giant Cisco Systems to boost its coverage.

The paper and Reuters report that currently there are just 30,000 internet lines in a country of 71 million people making it one of the lowest users of information technology in the world, according to a study by the World Bank. But within six months that figure will be expanded to 500,000 lines.

The NYT reports that the government has begun laying 6,200 miles of fiber optic cables and invested around US$40 million in developing its Internet service.

Hackers add web, chat to PSP video game player

Sony's new PlayStation Portable is turning into a great tool for web browsing, comics reading and online chat -- and it also happens to play video games, movies and music, if you prefer that sort of thing, reports The New York Times and AP (5 April).

The NYT and AP report that the US$249 PSP handheld video game player went on sale in the United States on 24 March, and it took very little time before techies added the kinds of functions to the PSP that Sony did not include -- and may never have intended.

One man needed only 24 hours to get a working client for internet Relay Chat, or IRC, an older messaging platform.

The paper and  AP report that much of the new PSP functionality comes from using the web browser built into the racing game "Wipeout Pure," which was meant to go to a Sony site. By changing some of the PSP's network settings, the browser can be pointed to an internet portal.

The report says that a number of people have already set up such portals, formatted to fit in the PSP's screen and offering links and a place to enter Web addresses. The technology blog Engadget has rounded up a number of those links.

MCI rejects Qwest's takeover offer
 
 
In the US telcos mergers and acquisition battles, the board of MCI has said it is sticking by its merger agreement with Verizon Communications and rejecting a higher bid from rival Qwest Communications.

The New York Times repopertrs (6 April) that MCI's board made the decision after spending the day reconsidering Qwest's bid, which is 19 percent higher than Verizon's. Qwest had asked MCI to decide by midnight yesterday whether the company's bid was superior to the US$7.6 billion deal MCI had agreed to with Verizon.

However, the NYT reports that despite Qwest's bid being higher, MCI's board considered Verizon to be more stable and as a result, a better long-term prospect.

The paper reports that Qwest has not ruled out raising its bid again. But more likely, industry analysts say, the company will take its case to MCI's shareholders, many of whom have lobbied their board to accept Qwest's US$8.9 billion bid.

A Qwest spokesman said: "MCI's board has chosen to reject what we believe is a superior offer. The company currently is weighing its options, and Qwest and MCI shareholders will dictate the next steps in the process."

The NYT says that a showdown could come at MCI's next shareholder meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for 16 May. At that meeting, shareholders will likely have the chance to vote on whether to approve the merger with Verizon, according to proxy specialists.

The NYT says that in the intervening weeks, Qwest could try to persuade more MCI shareholders to throw their weight behind its bid and to reject the deal with Verizon.

The paper repprts that some analysts say that to survive, Qwest needs to become part of a larger entity, either by acquiring a competitor or being acquired. A merger with MCI was the company's best bet, and the remaining alternatives are either less appealing or more difficult to pull off.