Ed Sutherland

A California man was sentenced to 87 months, or more than seven years, in prison and ordered to repay $5.4 million in what federal prosecutors called the largest U.S. software piracy operation. Virginia Eastern District Judge T.S. Ellis, III, also ordered Nathan L. Peterson, 27, of Antelope Acres, Calif., to forfeit assets, including homes, cars […]

UPDATED:Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors planned to meet Sunday to address the widening scandal over a press leak probe involving phone records of reporters obtained through “pre-texting.” The latest development comes just a day after a reeling HP  confirmed that it may have illegally obtained the phone records of nine journalists after hiring investigators to help […]

The BlackBerry, Research in Motion’s (RIM) flagship mobile e-mail device with a fervent following among business people, is stepping out of the boardroom and onto the consumer stage. For the first time, RIM will include a camera phone, MP3 player and more with its BlackBerry Pearl, available beginning Sept. 12 for $199 with a two-year […]

Microsoft said it has launched an investigation into reports of a new Trojan horse targeting Word 2000. While security vendors differ on the possible severity, the news has awakened the software giant. “Microsoft is investigating new public reports of limited ‘zero-day’ attacks using a vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000,” according to a Wednesday security advisory. […]

UPDATED: HP today filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an explanation of its investigation into corporate leaks and the resignation of a member of the company’s board of directors. The resignation of HP board member Thomas J. Perkins has attracted the attention of government regulators and California’s attorney general to methods used during […]

UPDATED: A New Jersey federal court dismissed a 2005 antitrust lawsuit brought by Broadcom against Qualcomm for its licensing of third-generation technology patents. The Irvine, Calif., chipmaker’s arguments “do not support an inference that competition in the UMTS chipset market is, or will be injured by Qualcomm’s licensing practices,” ruled Judge Mary Cooper. In dismissing […]

Sprint Nextel  said it has settled a lawsuit against tglo.com and Theglobe.com, two of the three companies it claimed infringed its voice-over-IP (VoIP)  patents. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but tglo.com (formerly known as VoiceGlo) and Theglobe.com will license Sprint’s technology for its own services going forward. “This settlement will not materially […]

You don’t have to draw a map to see where Finnish cell phone giant Nokia is heading. The company acquired privately-held German gate5 AG, a developer of navigation software. The purchase points to integration of GPS  in its phones next year. “Acquisition of gate5 will definitely enable Nokia to integrate the maps and navigation features […]

Yahoo’s suite of applications tailored for the small screen is now available to phones using Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. Yahoo Go for Mobile is a suite of Yahoo services, including mail, search, photos, and address book and calendar that can now be used with Windows Mobile-based devices. “We are working hard to build versions of Go […]

Microsoft said it has updated its Windows Media digital rights management (DRM) software to keep it locked. Microsoft confirmed to internetnews.com that it sent an e-mail to the engadget Web site alerting companies it had updated its Windows Media Format to protect “against a new circumvention tool.” The update is not yet available for Windows […]

Verizon  and Microsoft  deepened their alliance today, offering digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber optics service (FiOS) subscribers online services tied to Windows Live. Expanding on a 2002 deal with the software giant over co-branded DSL, Verizon said broadband customers will get a co-branded Live.com home page and Windows Live Search page, as well as […]

UPDATED: Realizing that companies aren’t waiting for certification of the next-generation 802.11 specification, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced phased-in approval of pre-standard 802.11n products. The Wi-Fi group said it would certify wireless gear based on a draft version planned for March 2007, although the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is not expected to approve […]