Rivals of Microsoft have accused the company of continuing to flout US antitrust laws by tying the latest version of its media player software into its new Windows XP operating system. With the lower court's landmark antitrust case still under review by a federal appeals court, a group funded by Microsoft competitors likened the move to Microsoft's decision to weld its Internet Explorer browser into Windows 98, a step that touched off the antitrust charges.
This is yet latest example of how Microsoft has routinely used `bolting' practices both to violate the Consent Decree it agreed to in 1995, according to the Project to Promote Competition and Innovation in the Digital Age, also known as Procomp. A Microsoft spokesman said customers will have to buy Windows XP to get the new sound and video player. But he denied any violation of antitrust laws.
AMAZON ABOVE BOARD: Online retailer Amazon has defended its chief executive Jeff Bezos against allegations of misconduct after he unloaded $8 million in company stocks earlier this year. Amazon says it is confident regulators will rule that Bezos has behaved properly.
BROADCAST NEWS: Yahoo! is to launch a new broadcast site offering a wider range of audio, video and multimedia content. The company said the new service will enhance its media products by compiling it all in one place.
CISCO KIDS?: Cisco Systems is being sued by shareholders who claim it misled them about its performance. They say Cisco made false statements about its products, financial results and business between August 1999 and this month.
AIR NET: Aerospace giant Boeing hopes to build its embryonic airborne Internet service into a $4.5 billion venture by the end of the decade, the unit's president has said.
INTEL'S BIG SPEND: Intel's chief executive Craig Barrett has said that his company, still plans to spend $7.5 billion in capital spending this year, as well as $4.2 billion on research and development. Many analysts have expressed increasing scepticism that Intel would indeed spend the full forecasted amount.
MISS INFORMATION: A French beauty queen impresario has denied rumours that this year's Miss France had been born a man and denounced the Internet as a terrifying source of misinformation. "Ms Elodie Gossuin is a perfectly normal young lady," Genevieve de Fontenay, head of the Miss France Committee said. Fontenay denounced the Internet as an uncontrolled medium where rumour-mongers, paedophiles, prostitutes and criminals could go about their business with impunity.
FIRST TO MARKET: The Isle of Man is set to start third-generation (3G) mobile phone services ahead of the rest of the world after Japan's NTT DoCoMo postponed its commercial launch by four months. British Telecom's subsidiary Manx Telecom has been running neck-and-neck with DoCoMo, the world's largest mobile Internet operator, in the race to start 3G by the end of May.
PHONE FRIENDS: Ericsson and Sony have agreed on a joint venture in a bid to revitalise their loss-making handset businesses. The new venture, which is to start operating in October, will have 3,500 employees worldwide, Ericsson said. It will launch its first products next year and also create a new brand.