Seattle - Microsoft has settled a long-running patent dispute with Eolas Technologies, a University of California spin-off that develops browser technology and was previously awarded a judgment of over $500 million for patent infringement, the Seattle P-I reported. [more..]

Tokyo - Sony plans to shutter its Connect digital music service in North America and Europe next year, and end its portable players' reliance on the company's proprietary ATRAC file format. [more..]

New York - The estate of reggae legend Bob Marley intends to sue Universal Music Group and mobile carrier Verizon Wireless, over the distribution of Marley master recording ringtones, Billboard reported. [more..]

New York - Time Warner's CNN cable TV news network on Thursday announced it will end its 27-year relationship with the Reuters news service, opting to cut costs and instead focus investment on its own news-gathering, Reuters reported. [more..]

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital civil liberties group, on Thursday released a 20-page white paper that chronicles the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) four-year legal campaign against illegal file-sharing. [more..]

Washington - Fighting to win over leery lawmakers and federal regulators, DC-based XM Satellite Radio and New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio spent a combined $810,000 during the first half of 2007 on lobbying efforts in support of their planned $4.7 billion merger, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. [more..]

London - Telcogames, a developer and publisher of mobile games, announced on Thursday that it has acquired Australia-based mobile multiplayer game developer Viva La Mobile for an undisclosed sum. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - SayNow, the developer of a service that allows entertainers, politicians and community leaders to connect with fans via personalized voicemail and text messages, has secured $7.5 million in its first round of venture capital financing, led by Shasta Ventures, TechCrunch reported. [more..]

San Francisco - Mogad, the developer of a Web browser plug-in that lets users share interesting website bookmarks, has raised $500,000 in its first round of funding, led by Felicis Ventures, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

Nokia made headlines yesterday with its new "iTunes killer" gear, and here's an ad for the new phone that looks suspiciously familiar, Scott Goldberg points out. But is that a bad thing? [more..]

The ripples of the subprime mortgage mess is expected to reach the internet advertising market, Scott Goldberg reports. [more..]

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Rohit Bhargava suggests guiding principles for engaging in social media and blogging. [more..]

What's Miss South Carolina up to following the 9 million views she's had on YouTube since the Miss Teen USA contest? A lot... [more..]

Beverly Hills, Calif. - Fox said on Thursday that next week it will make episodes from the first and second season of its animated comedy "Family Guy" available for purchase and download to Xbox 360 owners, through Microsoft's Xbox Live online service. [more..]

New York - SpiralFrog, the developer of an ad-supported, free music download service, announced on Thursday that it has signed new licensing agreements with Universal Music Publishing and Universal Music Canada. [more..]

Berlin - The Blu-ray Disc Association said on Thursday that Taiwan-based PC and consumer electronics maker Acer has joined its ranks. [more..]

Santa Monica, Calif. - Publishers Activision and id Software, and developer Splash Damage announced on Thursday that their "Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars" PC game has gone gold, and will ship to retailers in Europe and Australia on Sept. 28, and in North America on Oct. 2. [more..]

Los Angeles - Video game developer and publisher Conspiracy Entertainment said on Thursday that it has signed an agreement to distribute German developer RTL Games' titles in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. [more..]