US State attorneys general may file another legal action against Microsoft over its new flagship software package, Windows XP. The Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, said last week that Microsoft "seems to be using much of its power to preclude competition on a new platform." Both Miller and the Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said they were particularly concerned about Microsoft's plans to bundle new features into Windows XP and to offer new web-based subscription services. "They certainly raise the prospect, if not the probability of the same dangers and potential harms that resulted from past practices that were proved at trial," Blumenthal said.
Last year, US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered Microsoft to be broken in two for anti-trust violations.He concluded the company unfairly tied its Windows operating system to its Explorer web browser to gain and keep a software monopoly. Microsoft says any talk of additional litigation is premature because most of the products cited by critics are not even finished yet. It says its goal is not to monopolise but to give customers what they want.
Green fingers: Ireland's most famous gardener, Gerry Daly, is the man behind a new gardening portal, www.garden.ie,. The idea for the well designed and fully functional site is to provide people with an easily-remembered access point for Irish gardening on the Web. It provides information service on how to grow plants, garden design, locate plants for sale, gardens to visit and where to find garden products and services, as well as discussion groups.
New best friends: Sony will handle the European distribution of games designed by Japanese videogame software maker Sega for PlayStation 2, reflecting Sega's efforts to bolster ties with former rivals. Under the agreement, the European unit of Sony Computer Entertainment - once one of Sega's rivals in the game hardware battle - will manufacture, distribute and market the games in five European languages.
Apple spurns Satan: Apple Computers, which coined the phrase "Think Different" has told the Church of Satan it does not want to be associated with it. The "Think different" slogan had until recently adorned a picture of Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey, on the group's site, but was pulled along with a "Made with Macintosh" Web badge at the request of the computer company, the group has said.
Splitting up: Talks between Microsoft and AOL-Time Warner to ship the AOL Internet service with the next version of the Windows operating system have failed. The plan was sunk by wrangling over legal issues, instant messaging and digital media. The two companies have been in talks for weeks over bundling the AOL Internet access service into Windows XP.
Digital future: One in three homes in the UK now has digital television, with the majority of households expecting to make the switch over by 2006, according to the latest government figures. It may sound like a massive take-up but the vast majority of digital TV owners have been given it free as part of cable and satellite packages. Industry insiders fear take-up will level off at around 75 per cent with the remaining households unwilling to buy the technology needed.
From mouse to house: Tesco's online shopping service in Ireland may have got off to an unfortunate start in March when its advertising slogan: "From Mouse To House" made its debut at much the same time as a branch in Dublin's Stoneybatter was forced to close by the Food Safety Authority because of a rodent infestation. Undaunted, the retailer has invested over £1.5 million in Internet shopping services in Ireland. Speaking at the EAN Ireland e-commerce seminar in Dublin last week, Paul Arnold, director of International e- commerce at Tesco.com, said that Tesco Ireland's average Internet shopping basket exceeds £100 per household, with system capacity to deliver up to 1,500 orders a week currently.
IBM in the clear: The European Commission has cleared IBM's proposed $1 billion purchase of the database business of Informix. The European Union's executive office said the deal would not violate EU competition rules. IBM announced in April it had reached a deal for Informix's database unit to bolster its data management business. Informix products process data for customers in retail, financial services, government and other industries.
Harsh 'justice': China has sentenced a man to three years in prison for posting anti-Communist Party articles on Internet chatrooms. Liu Weifang was sentenced in Xinjiang in northwestern China. Liu, a small business owner, posted several articles on Internet bulletin boards in 1999 and last year which "attacked" the Chinese Communist Party and China's top leaders and "slandered" the government's reform and "opening up" policies. He was convicted of inciting subversion against state power, the report said.
Jobs worth: A survey conducted by Lansdowne Market Research and commissioned by IrishJobs.ie indicates that 93 per cent of companies surveyed expected to maintain or increase their recruitment drive over the next three months. The survey also revealed that nearly 73 per cent of companies either use or intend to use the Internet in their recruitment drives.