RealDVD judge again boots public from courtroom For the second time in three days of court hearings, the federal judge presiding over RealDVD dispute bars public to protect "trade secrets." (Posted in Digital Media by Greg Sandoval) April 29, 2009
Is RealDVD dispute really about a DVD jukebox?CNET snaps photos of RealNetworks' "Facet," a prototype DVD player that copies and … Read more
Microsoft met a deadline this week to respond to European Commission charges that its inclusion of a browser in Windows violates antitrust laws there.
In January, the European authorities filed a new complaint with a preliminary finding that Microsoft had broken the law by bundling a browser into Windows.
Microsoft's response was not made public and the company did not offer a comment, but it's fair to say the company disagrees with the finding.
The stakes are high. In addition to potential fines, Microsoft has noted in regulatory filings that European authorities may seek to force Microsoft to include rival browsers … Read more
This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines
SAP's first-quarter software revenue--an indicator of maintenance and services health--skidded 33 percent due to a "difficult operating environment" and a tough year-ago comparison. Meanwhile, SAP altered its maintenance pricing plans to allay customer concerns.
SAP on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of 204 million euros, down from 242 million euros a year ago. Revenue was 2.39 billion euros, down from 2.46 billion euros a year ago. SAP managed to hold software and software-related service revenue flat at 1.74 billion euros in the first quarter … Read more
This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.
Time Warner's first quarter was weighed down by its AOL unit, which saw revenue fall 23 percent. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes reiterated that the company is looking for "the right ownership structure for AOL."
Here's why: AOL reported first-quarter revenue of $867 million, down 23 percent from a year ago. Subscription (dial-up) revenue fell 27 percent, and advertising sales declined 20 percent. Both declines were expected, and AOL noted that ad sales were weak in all categories (ad networks, display, and search).
Operating income for AOL fell 47 percent to $150 million, which included restructuring costs of $58 million. AOL also ended the quarter with 106 million average U.S. unique users. AOL's dial-up business had 6.3 million subscribers, down 2.4 million from a year ago and 570,000 from the fourth quarter.
… Read moreIt's hard to tell if anyone is as enthused about the possibilities of Dell making a smartphone as Michael Dell.
He's been making periodic references to his company making "small screen" devices in the near future at public appearances for the last year. But the people who watch his stock and analyze his company's every move, appear incredibly underwhelmed by the idea of a Dell handset. Their apathy is notable since a) Dell's last handheld device was very popular with consumers and b) Dell hasn't formally announced anything specific.
While getting into the … Read more
Update at 3:11 p.m. PDT: This story now includes a comment from Consumer Watchdog.
A federal judge has granted authors worldwide four more months to decide whether to participate in a settlement involving Google's online Book Search service.
Absent the ruling, made by Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, authors would have had until May 5 to decide whether to join the settlement or opt out.
But according to a law clerk in Chin's court, as well as one of the lawyers in the case, the … Read more
In the past 36 hours, rumors have been flying around that Verizon Wireless is in talks with Apple, Microsoft, and a Google Android phone maker. So who's next?
Just in case you are having trouble keeping up, here's a summary to get you up to speed:
Late Sunday, USA Today reported that Verizon was planning to offer an iPhone on Verizon's current CDMA-based wireless network. Business Week followed on Monday with its own story that Verizon is talking to Apple about a new "iPhone-lite" phone and a tablet-Netbook-type device. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal … Read more
A Linux advocacy group on Tuesday said it is publicly seeking invention data that could help overturn three Microsoft patents that the software maker has charged are infringed by some implementations of the Linux kernel.
The Open Invention Network said it is looking for examples of so-called prior art that could help invalidate three file management patents that Microsoft used in its suit against GPS maker TomTom. Although TomTom and Microsoft settled, the suit raised the specter that Microsoft might pursue other Linux-related companies.
OIN encouraged those with examples of earlier work in the areas covered by Microsoft's patents … Read more
Updated 10:30 a.m. PDT with comment relating to Yahoo's new management.
Throughout 2008's on-again, off-again talks between Yahoo and Microsoft, many financial analysts declared the belief that some sort of deal--either Microsoft acquiring Yahoo outright or later just its search business--was a matter of when, not if. One report released Tuesday, though, shows at least one change of view.
Jim Friedland of Cowen & Co. said the relative financial results of Yahoo and of Microsoft's online-services business (OSB) gives Microsoft a bad bargaining position. Specifically, he said operating revenue from advertising dropped 16 percent annually … Read more
EarthLink beat analyst expectations for the first quarter of 2009 as fewer customers dumped its Internet service.
The company, which provides dial-up and broadband Internet service, said first quarter profits fell to $32.5 million, or 30 cents a share, from $51.7 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was down 24 percent to $199.1 million.
But these results beat analysts' expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters expected earnings of 27 cents a share, excluding exceptional items, on revenue of $202.4 million.
EarthLink is still losing dial-up Internet users. But it appears that rate is … Read more
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