The US Justice Department has decided against asking Microsoft to split in two for breaking competition laws. In the latest twist in the four-year anti-trust case the Bush administration will instead ask the software giant to change the way it does business. The decision - aimed at speeding up the case - received criticism from some who believe the administration is reluctant to pursue legal actions against big business unlike the government lead by Bill Clinton.
In June, a court of appeal overturned an earlier court order that Microsoft be split. However, it did uphold that it had acted anti-competitively. The Justice Department said it had made its decision in an effort to "streamline the case with the goal of securing an effective remedy as quickly as possible." The Justice Department along with the states of Iowa and Connecticut took the original case against Microsoft in 1997. Connecticut's Attorney General supported the decision saying: "while difficult, was driven by a realistic, clear-sighted view of the clock."
Chips Not Down: Intel has said its third-quarter sales targets will be met. The California-based company said quarterly revenue will be within previously stated estimates between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion but will fall toward the low end of the range.
Tech Tock: Sings of the tech slump continued unabated last week with the loss of almost 300 jobs in the Republic. Online financial services company first-e group shed 245 employees in Dublin - leaving a remaining staff of 35 - after its parent company Banque d'Escompte announced it was concentrating on its core French market. In Mayo 44 jobs were lost at Volex in Castlebar. The firm, which makes electronic cable for the telecoms and computer industries, employs 600 in the town. Forty nine people have agreed to part-time work arrangements with the company.
What A Site: Property portal myhome.ie was victorious in three categories at the fifth Golden Spider Internet awards, announced in Dublin on Thursday. The site took the Marketing Excellence award, Best Use of the Internet by an SME award and the EsatBusiness Sponsor's award. ireland.com won in the information excellence category, while the prize for best financial site went to goodbody.ie. Ryanair.com won in the Best International Site category. A full list of winners is available at: www.spiderawards.com
Celebrity Sale: A chance to date Jeremy Irons or Helen Mirren, limited edition art by Damien Hirst and a balloon trip with Sir Richard Branson are among opportunities up for charity auction on the Web until October. Oxfam, The Rainforest Foundation, Help the Aged and the Variety Club are among the beneficiaries of the sale, which has been created by Chivas Regal and is hosted by eBay.
Advanced Search: The search is on for Irish commercially viable projects which offer technological advances in the information and communications technology sector. HotOrigin and Tornado Insider are focusing on universities, technical colleges and corporate research on their tour of ten European countries. Entries can be made at www.tornado-insider.com/events/s2m. The closing date for entries is October 2nd.
Learning Experience: Former Baltimore Technologies founder Fran Rooney has been appointed chairman of e-learning firm Addoceo Digital Media. Commenting on his appointment, Rooney said: "I am delighted to be able to contribute my experience to accelerate Addoceo's rapid growth and market penetration."
Robotalk: Humanoid robots with legs and arms will be part of society by the year 2050, an expert who is helping to develop "socially interactive" machines said last week. A psychology lecturer at Glasgow University Dr Frank Pollick described taking part in a Japanese research project involving a humanoid robot which performs Tai Chi with a human partner. Speaking at the British Association science festival he said: "Once people start growing up with these things they're going to be adopted in ways we can't predict now".
Web Wars: The head of the biggest Palestinian ISP has complained that an FBI raid on its source company in the United States had forced its closure. Aroob.com is it is going to "take court action in US courts against the decision to shut down" the Texas ISP, which he described as a "serious precedent." They say his ISP has been targeted "because it is Palestinian, while the other ISP's affected by the search have returned to normal business".
In Brief: Irish computer chip designer Parthus has signed a licensing agreement with Sun Microsystems for the joint development of Java technologies targeting wireless devices. . . The US Census Bureau shows 94 million people used the Web at home in the US last year, up 37 million from 1998.