Tons of goodies today... as every day
Antitrust: Win XP threatened with delay
Lawmakers, trustbusters and competitors are turning up the heat on Microsoft, indicating they could seek to delay the company's Windows XP operating system, due to ship in October. During a Tuesday press conference, Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked federal and state trustbusters to consider taking action that would delay Windows XP's release. He also called on Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to hold hearings on the matter. Also on Tuesday, software maker InterTrust amended an existing lawsuit against Microsoft, asking for an injunction against Windows XP. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company charges that controversial product-activation technology found in Windows XP violates four InterTrust patents.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02
.Net: Microsoft targets college students
Microsoft hopes to recruit a new wave of developers loyal to its technology from colleges and universities. The software maker plans to ship software development tools aimed at college-level computer science students, a move the company hopes will result in a new wave of software programmers loyal to its technology. Microsoft on Tuesday announced plans to ship by year's end a version of its forthcoming Visual Studio.Net tools with features specifically targeted to educational use. Visual Studio.Net is the new version of Microsoft's development tools that will allow people to write and build Web-based software and services.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02
NASA robot to use Linux, Pentium III
NASA's Ames Research Center is building a "personal satellite assistant", powered by a Pentium III with the Linux operating system, to help out astronauts on space shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) missions. The robot is a six-inch sphere inspired by the sparring droid that Luke Skywalker fights in the movie "Star Wars", but NASA engineers say its functionality is closer to the "tricorder" tool used in Star Trek: it senses the pressure and temperature of the ambient atmosphere, and detects concentrations of gases like carbon dioxide and oxygen. It will also contain fans for movement and video cameras for sight, and will be able to be controlled from the ground, making it possible for mission controllers to have a "virtual presence" in orbit. Engineers also envision speech capabilities, a small LCD screen for displaying lists and a wireless network connection to the on-board computer.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02
Study: Women drivers do the talking 
Highway-safety officials say about 3% of the drivers on U.S. roads at any time of day are talking on hand-held cellphones. The survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found most of these 500,000 talkers are drivers of sport-utility vehicles and minivans on the road during nonrush hours. Female drivers are more likely than male drivers to talk on their mobiles, with female drivers of light trucks almost twice as likely to use their cellphones as males driving the same type of vehicles. User rates were higher for drivers during the week than on weekends, and more suburban drivers than rural ones used phones.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02
Disney moves to block movie trailers
The company that brought you "Lady and the Tramp" and "Pinocchio" is cracking down on online movie trailers, sparking a legal case that could help clarify how far film studios can go to compete with retailers by selling their own products on the Web. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, a unit of Disney, will go to court next week to ask a judge to stop trailer distributor Video Pipeline from providing some parts of its movie trailers online. Buena Vista, which is trying to increase its share of the home-video retail market, hopes to become a major online destination for people who want to buy its movies. If the company succeeds in getting a preliminary injunction, online movie retailers such as Netflix and others might not be able to offer some movie previews to their customers.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02
Wiring the help: My butler, my robot 
The Jetsons had it easy. After a refreshing ultrasonic shower, old George could dial up a dinner, delivered by a fork-tongued robot maid. While Rosie's attitude may not be on the menu just yet, you might be surprised to learn how far the home robot has come in the last decade. No longer glorified toys for children, personal robots are on the loose — and they only want to help. Today's robots can mow the lawn, serve drinks, and vacuum the floor. Some even climb stairs and negotiate roomfuls of furniture to make your life easier. And these mechanical servants don't just mutely multitask. Many include digital video cameras and teleconferencing technology, letting you look around the house, make sure the kids are doing their homework, and chat with the baby-sitter — all via remote computer connection. Some robots are capable of recognizing your voice or face, responding to verbal commands, and even showing "emotions."
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...781505,00.html
TV to double as digital-photo frame
Sharp unveiled on Tuesday a television built into a liquid-crystal display that can double as a digital-photo frame via a PC card slot. The TV set, added to Sharp's low-cost Aquos line of LCD TVs, is part of the company's aim to build flat-panel TVs into a core profit maker. "You no longer have to turn on your PC to see digital photos. It's an alternative to PCs that fits more nicely into a living room," Toshishige Hamano, a Sharp corporate executive director, told a news conference in Tokyo. LCD TVs are thin enough and light enough to hang on a wall or move around easily, and manufacturers hope their slender frame will make them a hit in Japan's notoriously cramped living spaces.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=mn_hd
Radio Free Virgin partners with RioPort
Internet radio service Radio Free Virgin on Tuesday said it has inked a deal with Internet music service provider RioPort to offer music fans the ability to buy digital music. Under the deal, the companies will offer a co-branded digital store at Radio Free Virgin, which will let listeners purchase a single download or an entire digital album provided by RioPort, or a hard copy through the Radio Free Virgin store. The announcement is the latest sign that companies and record labels are changing the face of online music by attempting to woo music fans from free file-swapping services. Last week, Scour.com, known as one of the early pioneers of controversial file-swapping services, partnered with online radio-programming provider RadioCentral to offer music fans Internet radio stations.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd
No easy way to protect content
The arrest of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov highlights the turmoil that the Internet has created in businesses intent on protecting their content. Businesses must find the right mixture of technical and tactical approaches. For allegedly writing software that could crack the copy protection used in Adobe Systems' e-book format, Sklyarov was charged with violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Sklyarov's arrest represents the lengths to which content owners will go to protect their copyrights -- whether the material is in digital form or hard copy. Publishers of software and digital books and music feel a growing threat to their businesses from an Internet environment that favors easy access and free content. Accordingly, they have become more aggressive in taking legal action against those they deem copyright violators. This approach largely represents a rearguard action.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201...html?tag=cd_mh
Playing on a TV near you 
A TV ad shows Martin Luther King Jr. entoning "I have a dream," and then the camera pulls back to reveal an empty Washington Plaza as TV viewers hear: "Before you can inspire, before you can touch, you must first connect. And the company that connects more of the world is Alcatel." Alcatel makes equipment for international telecom carriers such as Deutsche Telekom, AT&T Latin America and Telecom Italia, and it's a safe bet that most TV-watching consumers will never see an Alcatel product. Yet the company has invested millions into an ad campaign that includes print and TV spots. And Alcatel is not alone. Other technology companies such as Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, EMC and Applied Materials also have embarked on pricey TV advertising campaigns. Applied Materials will spend $30 million on a campaign that will run until the end of this year.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=cd_pr
Napster names new CEO for next phase
Napster on Tuesday tapped Konrad Hilbers, a Bertelsmann executive, as its new chief executive, replacing Hank Barry. Hilbers, who will lead the embattled music-swapping company into its new incarnation as a membership-based service later this summer, was most recently the executive vice president and chief administrative officer of BMG Entertainment, Bertelsmann's music division. With Tuesday's appointment, Barry steps down after serving as Napster’s "interim" chief for the past 13 tumultuous months at the company. He will remain on Napster's board of directors. "Napster and its founder Shawn Fanning created a cultural paradigm shift, using the Internet to bring together through file sharing the largest group of music fans ever assembled," Hilbers said in a statement. "
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh
It's only the beginning
