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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Sony Pulls XCP CDs, Will Offer Exchanges

Sony's copy protection debacle has gone from "bad" to "nightmare:" now the company is pulling XCP music CDs from retail shelves and promising exchanges for consumers.

Dell Now Accepting PayPal

As analysts wonder whether direct marketer Dell has "jumped the shark," the computer maker announces customers can now buy merchandise online via PayPal.

EA Cuts Some Game Prices by 20 Pct

Trying to fend off the competition - and a wider sales slump as everyone waits for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 - Electronic Arts has reduced prices on selected current games.

AOL, WB To Offer Older TV Online via P2P

AOL and WB have announced In2TV, a new service planning to offer high-quality video of thousands of older TV shows for free via a P2P-style network.

Sony Yanks XCP Copy Protection from CDs

As new Windows Trojans appear, music publisher Sony BMG said Friday it would stop manufacturing CDs with the controversial XCP copy protection scheme.

FTC Shuts Down Three Spyware Firms

Three firms which illicitly purveyed spyware with ring tones, music programs for blogs, and purported security updates have been closed by the FTC.

Amazon Granted Consumer Review Patents

The company which managed to patent 1-Click shopping has now been awarded patents for purchase circles, displaying similar products, and gathering consumer reviews.

Belkin Announces New nano Cases

The Classic Case and Holster Case, both in black and priced at $24.99, will be available in early December.

Four New Belkin Cases for Video iPods

Belkin has announced four new cases for Apple's fifth-generation video-capable iPods, including one with a "Kickstand" to prop up your videos.

Mobile Operators To Provide Content Ratings

Major U.S. mobile operators have agreed to identify adult content and create filtering and blocking technologies for mobile content offerings.

MGM: Yeah! Us Too! With the Blu-Ray Thing!

Film studio MGM has announced it will release films in Sony's Blu-Ray next-generation DVD format.

Cerf, Kahn Receive Top Civilian Honors

Internet architects Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn are among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S.'s top civilian honor, at a White House ceremony today.

NBA TV Broadband Offers Video Highlights

The National Basketball Association has launched NBA T Broadband, offering online video highlights of the 2005-06 NBA season.

Microsoft, AP to Launch Online Video News

Microsoft and the Associated Press are joining forces to create a new advertiser-supported online video news service in 2006.

AMD’s October Sales Surpass Intel

Research firm Current Analysis says chip-maker AMD's sales edged past Intel's during October, although Intel still holds the top spot for consumer PCs.

iPod nano Class Action Suit Hops the Border

Lawyers bringing a class action suit claiming the Apple's iPod nano screen scratches too easily have now filed suits on behalf of buyers in Mexico and the U.K.

FCC Nixes E911 Cutoff for VOIP Users

The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Internet phone providers do not have to cut off service for subscribers who can't receive enhanced 911 emergency service.

CBS, NBC To Offer $0.99 Shows On Demand

NBC and CBS announced they will be partnering with DirecTV and Comcast, respectively, to offer $0.99 on-demand versions of current shows just hours after initial broadcast.

Grokster Shuts Down, Promises Return

As part of a settlement with the RIAA following a loss in the U.S. Supreme Court, peer-to-peer file sharing service Grokster has stopped distributing its software.

New Google Mapping Software for Mobiles

Google is reaching deeper into mobile technology by introducing new software which makes using Google Local's mapping service easier for mobile phone users.

Over Half U.S. Teens Create Online Content

A report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project says over half U.S. online teens have created blogs or Web pages, posted original material, or remixed online material.

EA Recordings Brings Game Tunes Online

Electronic Arts has announced a partnership with Vancouver's Nettwerk Music Group to bring music from EA's video games to online music distributors.

Samsung vs. iTunes: We, Um, Didn’t Mean It!

Contradicting its own statements last week, Korea's Samsung Electronics now says it has no plans to enter the online music business.

Google Print Book Search Debuts

Google has launched a beta version of Google Print, enabling users to search the complete contents of public domain documents and some copyrighted material.

D’oh! EA Lands Simpsons Games Deal

Electronic Arts has landed an deal to create video games based on The Simpsons.

Nokia N-Gage Games Moving to N-series

Disappointing sales of Nokia's N-Gage phone/portable gaming device have spurred the company to make the games available for Nseries "digital convergence" devices.

Sony Using Controversial DRM on Music CDs

Since early 2005, Sony has been shipping copy-protected music CDs which install spyware-like rootkits on users' computers which can't easily be removed.

New BlackBerry 8700c Has Intel Inside

RIM's new BlackBerry 8700c supports high-speed EDGE connectivity, sports Intel's "Hermon" PXA901 processor, and will be exclusively available from Cingular November 21.

Ford Pickups Gain Built-in Mobile Office

Ford says it will offer a wireless, console-mounted touch-screen computer with broadband cellular Internet access as an option in F-series trucks in 2006.

Sprint Inks Cell Deal with Top Cable Co.’s

Stacking the deck against telecoms offering video programming, the top three U.S. cable companies have reached deals with Sprint them to resell mobile phone services.

Gartner: PDAs Up 21 Pct Worldwide in Q3

A new Gartner report finds PDA shipments were up 21 percent during the third quarter of 2005, with RIM still top vendor but Microsoft dominating the PDA OS market.

Samsung Planning to Compete with iTunes

Korea's Samsung Electronics has confirmed it's looking to bolster its share of the digital music player market by creating its own digital music store.

Apple’s Already Sold Over 1 Million Videos

Apple says the iTunes Music Store has sold more than 1 million videos since the company introduced its new video-capable iPod on October 12.

Sprint Launching Wireless Music Service

Mobile service operator Sprint has launched its Sprint Music Store, a wireless music download service which lets users buy songs for certain phones at $2.50 a pop.

AOL Founder Steve Case Leaves Time Warner

Capping a long line of executives who have departed following Time Warner's merger with AOL, AOL co-founder Steve Case hands in his resignation.

New Orange Windows Handhelds for Europe

Orange adds two business-oriented Windows Mobile handhelds to its European product line.

No Windows for South Korea?

Microsoft may withdraw its Windows operating systems from South Korea if the country's antitrust agency requires the company to unbundle messaging and media player software.

Faulty Sony CCDs Fail in Dozens of Cameras?

Seven digital camera makers have issued recent advisories about faulty CCDs in their digital cameras: it looks like a Sony part may be the root of the trouble.