Archives

Google Doubles Gmail Service E-Mail Storage to 2GB

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2005 - 4:48am.
Mountain View, Calif. -- With the cost of online storage space dropping rapidly, search engine giant Google plans to double the storage capacity for users of its free e-mail service, Gmail, from 1GB to 2GB -- and plans to increase that capacity daily. Gmail product management director Georges Harik said that the company is boosting storage for the one-year-old service, which will remain in beta testing for the immediate future, as some heavy users approach the 1GB limit. "People have been asking us what happens when we reach the 1 gigabyte limit," Harik told reporters. "One gigabyte did seem like a lot, but it turns out there are a lot of heavy users of mail. They send attachments, share photos. It all adds up… We want to move away from a fixed amount of storage." Google launched the e-mail storage race a year ago with Gmail, which at 1GB quadrupled the average 10MB offerings of competing free services like Yahoo and Hotmail. Yahoo said last week that it will soon increase the storage for its free e-mail users to 1GB
tags: Google | Doubles Gmail | E-Mail Storage | 2GB |

Sony PSP Selling Briskly in First Week, But Retailers Not Sold Out

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2005 - 4:46am.
Los Angeles -- Sony's new PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld video game console sold well during its first week of availability at North American retailers, but analysts note the device did not sell out at an impressive number of outlets, Reuters reported. Gartner analyst P.J. McNealy estimated that 575,000 were sold during the week, leaving another 300,000 of Sony's initial shipment still on store shelves, while American Technology Research said just 50 of 150 retailers it surveyed this week were sold out of the PSP. Sony delayed its planned PSP launch date in Europe as it strove to supply 1 million units for the North American launch. "The PlayStation Portable (PSP) has been solid but not spectacular," McNealy said in a note. "We believe that the PSP launch, while not the blow-out event expected, will be considered successful as retailers continue to sell through existing inventory levels."
tags: Sony PSP | Retailers | Selling Briskly |

Appeals Court Declines Review of $65 Million Sex.com Domain Verdict

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2005 - 4:44am.
San Francisco -- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal of a $65 million judgment against Stephen Cohen, who was ruled to have stolen the domain name Sex.com from its rightful owner and profited some $40 million over five years, USA Today reported. Gary Kremen bought the rights to Sex.com in 1994 from registrar Network Solutions, which then in 1995 turned the domain over to Cohen, after he claimed in a forged letter than Kremen approved of the exchange. Kremen sued, and in 2001 a court ruled in his favor and returned the domain, along with $65 million in damages. Following the ruling, Cohen fled the country and remains a fugitive. He has still not paid Kremen, who says he now makes about $8 million a year in ad revenue from Sex.com. Cohen told USA Today this week that he plans to appeal last week's ruling from the 9th Circuit to the Supreme Court.
tags: Law | Court | Sex.com | Domain Verdict | Declines Review |

HP and Dell Express Indifference to European Stripped-Down Windows

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2005 - 4:42am.
Brussels -- HP and Dell Inc., two of the largest PC makers in the world, have thrown a recent EU ruling against Microsoft into question after they expressed indifference to the stripped-down version of the Windows operating system, due to hit stores within weeks. In a recent interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Dell said it had no plans to offer Windows XP Home and Professional Edition N -- which come without Microsoft's Media Player -- at all. HP said it might offer the versions, but added that it did not expect them to be in great demand, as there is no price difference between versions with Media Player and those without. Because Windows Media Player is a free download from Microsoft's website, many pundits argue that it makes little sense to sell the N version more cheaply. The European Commission said it was still considering pricing issue and that it could fine Microsoft if it decides the software maker has acted in bad faith.
tags: HP | European | Dell | Stripped-Down Windows | Indifference |

Mobile Carriers Balk at Anti-piracy Software Fees, May Seek Alternative

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2005 - 4:39am.
Amsterdam -- A consortium of mobile network operators has threatened to abandon the current standard for cell phone anti-piracy software, arguing that licensing and royalty fees are too high, Reuters reported. The GSM Association of mobile operators -- which includes Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and NTT DoCoMo -- objects to the Open Mobile Alliance's (OMA) $1 per phone fee and per transaction cut of the price of each downloaded song, game or movie clip. The OMA's anti-piracy standard is based on patents owned by firms including InterTrust and ContentGuard, which are represented in licensing negotiations by MPEG LA. "The GSM Association believes that members not only view the 'per device' fee, as proposed by MPEG LA, as unreasonable and excessive but they also consider the 'per transaction' fee as unworkable in the market," the group said in a statement. While the statement puts pressure on the patent holders, a move by the GSM Association to abandon the OMA standard and choose other digital rights management software would likely run into the problem that any such software would still have to rely on the same patents held by MPEG LA.
tags: Anti-Piracy Software | Mobile Carriers | Fees | Seek Alternative |

Thomson Acquires Digital Watermarking Developer MediaSec

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2005 - 4:36am.
Paris -- Thomson, a France-based provider of equipment and services to the broadcast and media industries, announced this week that it has acquired MediaSec Technologies, a German developer of digital watermarking and copy detection technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. MediaSec's technology embeds invisible and inaudible digital watermarks into media files like video, images or audio, so that the files may be tracked and authenticated by copyright holders. Thomson, which also this week acquired Inventel -- a provider of voice and data services to telecoms and ISPs -- said that MediaSec will be integrated in its software and technology solutions business unit. "MediaSec's portfolio of patents and software products will be adapted to the needs of the Media & Entertainment industries and complement Thomson's existing content protection offer," said Thomson senior executive vice president Jean-Charles Hourcade. Thomson, along with partners Microsoft and Time Warner, also recently acquired joint ownership of digital rights management firm ContentGuard.
tags: Thomson | Acquires | Digital Watermarking Developer | MediaSec |