Colin C. Haley

Microsoft , whose dominant products are a prime target of software piracy and intellectual property thieves, praised President Bush and congressional leaders for enacting a software anti-counterfeiting law. The measure, which was signed into law late last week, prohibits knowingly trafficking in software, audio or video content with counterfeit labels or packaging. It also expands […]

President Bush has signed a bill to free up money for a program to fund Internet access for libraries and schools, according to the White House. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held up money for the E-Rate initiative earlier this year out of concern that the dispursements were at odds with provisions in the federal […]

In a merger that will add more deep technology experience to its ranks, information technology research firm Gartner is buying tech research firm META Group for $162 million in cash. The Stamford, Conn.-based companies made the announcement Monday. Gartner said it would use cash on hand to pay the $10 per share purchase price, plus […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has increased the value of spectrum that Nextel is exchanging with the government by $452 million, the agency announced Wednesday. In July, the regulatory agency approved a spectrum swap with the wireless carrier to alleviate congestion of airwaves used by police and fire departments. Under the pact, Nextel will license […]

To better position itself in a booming sector, Loudeye , which makes software to power online music stores for MTV and others, said it has raised $25.2 million in a private placement of its stock. A spokeswoman for the Seattle company was not immediately available for comment. In a statement, Loudeye said net proceeds will […]

UPDATED:The number of home and business broadband lines in the United States jumped 15 percent to 32.5 million during the first half of 2004, according to new data released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The adoption rate was off slightly from the preceding six months, when broadband lines soared 20 percent, from 23.5 million […]

Padding its financial services client roster, IBM has signed a $56 million IT outsourcing contact with Manulife Financial Corp. , the companies announced today. Over the next four years, Big Blue will manage 3,000 desktop PCs and 200 mid-range servers for Manulife’s recent acquisition, Maritime Life. The pact features variable pricing and the ability to […]

Cingular Wireless customers in parts of eastern Texas experienced a network outage on Monday caused by “hardware and software issues,” the company confirmed today. “The disruption was restricted to Dallas and Houston GSM customers and lasted from a quarter to five Central time to seven Central time,” Mark Siegal, a Cingular spokesman, told internetnews.com. Siegal […]

Slate, an online news magazine with an eight-year history of critical acclaim and financial struggle, has a new owner. The Washington Post Co. announced today that it has bought Slate from Microsoft for an undisclosed sum. The magazine’s business operations will be run by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), the newspaper’s Internet arm. Cliff Sloan, vice president, […]

UPDATED: InterActiveCorp (IAC) plans to spin-out Expedia and its other travel-related sites as a separate company next year, the company announced today. Expedia will be packaged with 13 sites, including Hotels.com, Hotwire, TravelNow.com and TripAdvisor. IAC chairman and CEO Barry Diller will also be chairman of Expedia. Dara Khosrowshahi, the travel site’s senior executive, will […]

Intellisync has expanded its mobile-carrier platform, adding new e-mail and productivity tools for the consumer market. The San Jose, Calif., company said its goAnywhere suite now provides on-demand and push e-mail, personal information management synchronization, device management and secure file access. “[This upgrade] enhances our offering for carriers,” Rip Gerber, Intellisync’s chief marketing officer, told […]

UPDATED: Cisco will open a new R&D center in Tokyo in February to aid in developing its high-end router and software efforts, the company announced today. The San Jose, Calif., networking giant has earmarked at least $12 million over the next five years for the facility, which will employ 10 engineers to start. Japan is […]