Ryan Naraine

As part of plans to expand into the mobile computing space, Symbol Technologies on Wednesday announced an all-stock deal to acquire Menlo Park, Calif.-based Covigo, Inc. Symbol, which is the subject of a wide-ranging fraud investigation that has led to the resignation of its chief counsel, said the Covigo purchase would help develop systems that […]

Looking to maintain market momentum for video compression software, New York-based On2 Technologies on Wednesday announced a deal to integrate its newest VP6 codec into video-on-demand (VOD) systems built by PERFECTV. On2, which already has lucrative licensing deals with America Online, Sony and Intel, said the partnership with PERFECTV would create systems that deliver high-quality […]

NEW YORK — Larry Kenswil, the president of Universal Music Group’s (UMG) eLabs unit, is defending the recording industry’s decision to use Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology alongside a litigation strategy to stamp out music piracy, arguing that the survival of the industry was dependent on copyright protection initiatives. In a lively keynote presentation at […]

NEW YORK — As executives huddle here to brainstorm business models for the online music sector, another competitor in the space announced plans to hawk digital tracks via the a la carte option. San Diego, Calif.-based MusicMatch hopped aboard the subscription-free wagon at the Jupiter Plug.IN conference & Expo, announcing a slew of download sale […]

NEW YORK — Digital media software firm Roxio plans to bundle the reborn Napster 2.0 service with its popular CD/DVD burning tools and roll out what it calls the first online music play offering unlimited a la carte downloads alongside a subscription option. Roxio chief executive Chris Gorog used the spotlight of the Jupiter Plug.IN […]

Oracle has issued patches to plug three security holes in its software suite, including two potentially serious flaws affecting its E-Business and Applications products. The most serious issue was detected in the Oracle Applications Web Report Review (FNDWRR) program, which is implemented as a CGI. In an advisory, Oracle said a buffer overflow exists in […]

Microsoft late Wednesday released a trio of security patches to plug holes in software products used by millions of customers. The most serious flaw involves a buffer overflow in DirectX, which is used for multimedia support in Windows programs, including most games running on Microsoft platforms. Microsoft warned that the vulnerability, which carries a ‘critical’ […]

Online movie download service MovieLink has announced a pact with Disney-owned Buena Vista Pay TV to add new releases and select titles from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, Miramax and Dimension films. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based MovieLink, a joint venture of Vivendi Universal, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., said the addition of the […]

Looking to sink its teeth deeper into the content syndication business, San Francisco-based MarketWatch.com on Wednesday shelled out $103 million in cash and stock to acquire Pinnacor, Inc. (formerly ScreamingMedia). For MarketWatch.com, which already dabbles in the paid content space with its BigCharts.com subsidiary and other paid subscription newsletters, the Pinnacor acquisition adds a major […]

Web retail giant Buy.com on Tuesday raised the curtain on its subscription-free music store that offers digital downloads for as little as 79 cents per song. The Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based firm said its BuyMusic subsidiary running the store would be powered by Microsoft technologies, including Windows Media 9 Series and Microsoft .NET framework. Unlike competitors […]

Pop legend Michael Jackson on Monday slammed a new bill that seeks prison time for file-swappers, arguing that music fans are the ones who drive the success of the music industry. “I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to illegally download, but the answer […]

Spring Street Networks, the firm that provides the technology powering hundreds of online matchmaking sites, on Monday announced a $6 million round of funding led by Mass.-based Battery Ventures. It is the first institutional financing round for Spring Street, which was spun off from Nerve.com in 2001. The latest funding brings the total raised to […]