Patent infringement probe won't delay Acer launch

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Patent infringement probe won't delay Acer launch
News: AMD strikes back at Intel with Puma notebooks
News: Zango sues antispyware vendor PC Tools
News: FCC approves iPhone
News: Dell sharpens market approach to match HP, IBM
News: Microsoft, Clinton develop emissions tracking software
News: Wall Street Beat: HP, Dell underscore confidence
News: Hilf: Microsoft won't sue over Linux, for now
Related Reading: Microsoft's patent claims jar open-source backers
Related Reading: Microsoft backs adding ODF to ANSI standards
Related Reading: Microsoft asserts patents, wants weaker system
News: Nanoscale researchers work on hard drive replacement
News: Oracle looks to raise PLM profile with Agile purchase
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NEWS UPDATES

Patent infringement probe won't delay Acer launch
An investigation into patent infringement allegations against computer maker Acer Inc. won't delay the launch of new notebook models, an Acer executive said Thursday.


AMD strikes back at Intel with Puma notebooks
Hustling to keep up with Intel Corp.'s "Santa Rosa" notebook PC system, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said Friday it planned to launch its own new bundle of mobile processors and chipsets, code-named "Puma."


Zango sues antispyware vendor PC Tools
Adware maker Zango Inc. has sued PC Tools Pty Ltd., makers of the popular Spyware Doctor software, in a dispute over the way the antispyware program flags and removes Zango's technology.


FCC approves iPhone
The Federal Communications Commission approved Apple Inc.'s iPhone, clearing the way for the combined phone and music player to hit the shelves. Apple expects to begin selling the phones in late June.


Dell sharpens market approach to match HP, IBM
Dell Inc. will try to shake its reputation as a simple pusher of computer boxes with a new program for enterprise customers that combines hardware, software and services, as well as a focus on energy efficiency and virtualization.


Microsoft, Clinton develop emissions tracking software
Microsoft Corp. will work with the Clinton Foundation to develop free Web-based software and services that cities around the world can use to monitor their carbon emissions and share ideas about environmental protection.


Wall Street Beat: HP, Dell underscore confidence
What's wrong with this picture: Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) reports great sales, and its share price immediately drops, while beleaguered Dell Inc. gets hit with a New York state fraud lawsuit, and shares go up?


Hilf: Microsoft won't sue over Linux, for now
Microsoft ignited hostility following its assertion in Fortune magazine on Monday that Linux and other open-source software infringe on 235 of the company's patents. The software giant, which signed a controversial patent cross-licensing deal with Novell Inc. last November, is encouraging other companies to reach licensing agreements to resolve intellectual property claims. It has made companies nervous about whether they could eventually be targeted by lawsuits from Microsoft.

Related Reading: Microsoft's patent claims jar open-source backers
Microsoft Corp.'s bold patent claims against Linux could complicate the company's efforts to get along better with the open-source community and develop more interoperable products.

Related Reading: Microsoft backs adding ODF to ANSI standards
Days after declaring its intention to aggressively collect patent royalties from open-source distributors, Microsoft Corp. backed adding ODF, the document file format used widely in open-source alternatives to Microsoft Office, to a list of business standards.

Related Reading: Microsoft asserts patents, wants weaker system
To some observers, Microsoft Corp. seemed to have an odd sense of timing when it complained recently that open-source projects have allegedly violated 235 of its patents.


Nanoscale researchers work on hard drive replacement
Scientific researchers claim to have discovered a storage technology that could combine solid state size, speed and reliability with hard drive capacity but without spinning hard drive mechanisms. The technique is experimental and depends upon almost perfect material consistencies at the nanoscale level. Don't sell your Seagate stock though; it isn't going to happen any time soon.


Oracle looks to raise PLM profile with Agile purchase
Oracle Corp. is wagering serious money that PLM (product lifecycle management) software will become more critical to all kinds of IT customers with its US$495 million bid this week for PLM specialist Agile Software Corp.


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