Filter looks at the day's top technology news through snapshots and analysis of what the world's media outlets are covering. Washingtonpost.com's new Mon.-Fri. feature is penned by technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb. If a technology story breaks, a company falters or triumphs, or there's a new trend in technology, Filter wants you to know about it.
The Seattle Times talked about some of the cuts underway at Microsoft. "In May, as part of a plan to save $60 million, the company trimmed some health-care benefits, reduced new-employee vacations from three weeks to two and stopped giving temporary workers free bus passes. Last week the company stopped providing towels in locker rooms for employees who bicycle to work or exercise during lunch. And yesterday Ballmer confirmed that even Microsoft's vaunted free soda pop may undergo changes," the paper said.
Ballmer waxed philosophical about employee concerns in an interview with The Seattle Times. "Ballmer said Microsoft employees are content and well compensated. From his perspective, employees are not griping as much as they are getting involved in changes at a place they love. 'People aren't saying let's not change, people are saying let's make sure we're getting better,' he said. 'People see this as a change, and they want to know, 'Why, why, is there another shoe that's going to drop? What should I be thinking? Why are you optimistic and at the same time you're working on our cost structure?'" the paper said. Kool-Aid, anyone?
• The Seattle Times: Microsoft CEO Tries To 'Rally The Troops' In Cost-Conscious Time
Expect more news from Microsoft later this month, potentially on a much-anticipated stock buyback plan that could address concerns about what Microsoft is going to do with some of its cash. Ballmer told The New York Times: "By the end of this month, we will try to give a clear strategy on cash to our shareholders." More on this from the Journal today: "In an interview yesterday, Mr. Ballmer wouldn't comment specifically on Microsoft's plans for its cash. But he said the company had previously set expectations among shareholders that pending resolution of several major lawsuits against it, Microsoft would 'try to have something to communicate to our shareholders by our financial analysts meeting' at the end of the month. Last week a U.S. appeals court approved Microsoft's 2001 antitrust settlement with the Justice Department, a ruling that Mr. Ballmer said 'represented the final hurdle' before disclosing more details on its cash plans."
The Long Wait for Longhorn
The Financial Times noted that Ballmer's e-mail addressed worries about the delayed release of the company's next version of its operating system, dubbed Longhorn, from this year to possibly the end of 2005. "We have a lot of hard work yet to do on Longhorn to deliver the right capability," Ballmer wrote. "We decided to release a number of products before Longhorn in order to get it right."
Microsoft's Legal Woes Continue
Despite Microsoft's recent spate of lawsuit settlements, it still faces an antitrust challenge in Europe. "The European judge presiding over Microsoft Corp.'s appeal against antitrust penalties has called a July meeting between the companies involved and regulators, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday," The Wall Street Journal reported. "Bo Vesterdorf, the president of Europe's Court of First Instance, has invited Microsoft, the company's rivals and European Union regulators to attend the talks, the person said. An 'informal meeting' will be held at Judge Vesterdorf's Luxembourg-based court."
• The Wall Street Journal: Judge Invites Microsoft, EU Regulators To Meet (Subscription required)
In other legal news for the company, Microsoft's ergonomic keyboard is attracting some more attention. "A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a jury should decide whether Microsoft Corp. violated patents held by a small California company when it made v-shaped ergonomic computer keyboards," the Associated Press reported. "TypeRight Keyboard Corp. of Carlsbad, Calif., sued Microsoft in 1998, claiming that Microsoft's keyboard, which splits the layout of keys into two sections and includes a large wrist rest, violated two of its own patents. A federal court in San Diego granted Microsoft's motion for summary judgment in 2000, siding with Microsoft's contention that drawings from a German company that show the basic v-shaped keyboard design predated TypeRight's patents by several years." But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington yesterday said a jury should decide the credibility of witnesses who testified in the earlier case, the AP reported.
• Associated Press via washingtonpost.com: Court Overturns Keyboard Patent Ruling (Registration required)
"The court, which specializes in U.S. patent law, didn't preclude a new ruling of invalidity by a jury or the federal judge in San Diego and said Microsoft can continue to argue that there was no infringement," Bloomberg reported. Microsoft is sticking to its guns. "We continue to believe the patents in question are invalid," Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake McCredy told the wire service.
• Bloomberg via The Seattle Times: Microsoft Patent Case Reversed
Finding an Eminent Domain for Kerry-Edwards
This year's presidential campaign has already been touted for being the most wired to date, and not just for the candidates. Internet domain name speculators are hoping that the Kerry-Edwards campaign will pay them thousands of dollars for Web addresses they might want to use. Among them is Kerry Edwards of Indianapolis, who bought his address six years ago just so he could have his name on the Internet. "Yesterday, shortly after presidential candidate John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) announced that Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) will be his running mate, the 34-year-old bail bondsman and owner of Kerryedwards.com said he took down the picture of his child that graced the Web site and put up a for-sale sign. It didn't take long for the phone to ring," washingtonpost.com reported. "'Our campaign did inquire about KerryEdwards.com, but because of the money they were asking for, we took a pass,' said Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan. He said Edwards wanted a five-figure payment." The campaign will continue using www.johnkerry.com for now, the article said. "Other obvious choices for a campaign Web site -- including KerryEdwards04.com, KerryEdwards2004.com, and KerryEdwards-2004.com -- have already been registered, according to publicly available Internet records."
• washingtonpost.com: JohnKerry.com May Have to Do Without 'Edwards' (Registration required)
Google Meet Googles
Google is facing a challenge from the operator of Googles.com, a children's Web site. Operator Stelor Productions Inc. "is trying to block Google, the Internet search-engine giant, from expanding into new businesses aimed at children," The Wall Street Journal reported. "In documents filed yesterday with the U.S. Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, Stelor contends that Google is traipsing on its turf, confusing potential investors and customers. 'Google is unfairly infringing on our trademark rights,' says Steven A. Esrig, president of Stelor, based in Darnestown, Md."
More from the article: "Although the popular Google search engine and the children's site have co-existed for years, Stelor contends that Google 'has been a growing annoyance as the Google search engine has become more and more successful and well-known.'" Google didn't comment to the paper, though with a mammoth IPO on tap, Googles may be stuck on second fiddle for quite some time to come.
• The Wall Street Journal: Children's-Site Owner Complains Google Is Infringing Trademark (Subscription required)
Tarnished Apple?
It seems that some people don't want Apple's digital music project to ripen. "Love the iPod, but don't jump too hastily to fill it with thousands of dollars of iTunes. The tracks are not carbon copies of the CD originals, but compressed versions. The smaller files are handy for speedy downloads, space-saving for storage and perfectly serviceable for listening through ear buds when riding on the subway. Not what you will want, however, when your desktop computer becomes the home jukebox and wirelessly sends these simulacra to the entertainment center in the living room," Randall Stross wrote in a piece in Sunday's New York Times. "This music lite is a response to the data transfer problems entailed in downloading the music that resides on anyone's collection of CD's. With about 10 megabytes needed to store one minute of music, albums eat up space quickly on a hard drive. Credit Apple for Step One: persuading the major music labels to make individual tracks available inexpensively, à la carte. By buying only the hit tracks and ignoring the rest of the album, storage needs drop by 90 percent. Apple has yet to put into effect the second part of the ideal solution: distributing music that is compressed only temporarily, a process called lossless data compression."
• The New York Times: From A High-Tech System, Low-Fi Music (Registration required)
Meanwhile, a recent Reuters article noted that the iTunes digital music download store is absent from Asia. The wire service said "while competition is brutal in the European and North American online music download markets, fee-based services are virtually non-existent in Asia. Few Asian music labels are willing to release digitized music, often fearing piracy. Apple has yet to announce plans for an Asian iTunes online music store, while Sony said on Tuesday it had no plan to build an Asian version of its 'Connect' music stores, although it sells some music online through a PlanetMG.com site in Singapore. But music labels are clamoring for growth in a region dominated by music piracy syndicates."
• Reuters: Fee-Based Web Music Hits Asia. But Where Is Apple?
The iPod is being targeted as a potential security risk for computer networks. "Companies should consider banning portable storage devices such as Apple's iPod from corporate networks, as they can be used to introduce malware or steal corporate data, according to an analyst. Small portable storage products can bypass perimeter defenses like firewalls and introduce malware such as Trojans or viruses onto company networks, research company Gartner said in a report issued this week," CNET's News.com reported.
And there's more trouble in paradise for the iPod. "Apple's sleek digital audio device is one of the most successful tech toys, selling more than 3 million units since November 2001. But its future, with that of other new tech gadgets, could be in trouble if a controversial congressional bill passes. That's according to opponents of the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act in the Senate. It would make operators of media-swap networks such as Kazaa and Grokster liable for users' actions. It also would make it easier for entertainment companies to sue tech firms for copyright infringement," USA Today reported. "Opponents say the language is so broad it could apply to makers of MP3 players, such as iPod, and CD and DVD recorders, as well as to media organizations that give consumers tips on using digital content. The recording and movie industries support the bill to help curb piracy."
• CNET's News.com: Analyst: iPods A Network Security Risk • USA Today: Copyright Bill Poses Threat To iPod's Future
Despite these problems, iPods remain hard to come by, especially the mini versions. People are even making up new words about selling iPods. Richard Doherty, research director of New York-based Envisioneering, told the San Jose Mercury News that Apple has tapped into "unobtainium." "That's when you've identified it and coveted it and you want it, but no one seems to have it," Doherty said. "Indeed, a scarcity of 4-gigabyte hard drives has left Apple's colorful digital music players in such short supply that online buyers are cooling their heels for up to two months before getting their hands on one. Apple's own stores can't keep the credit-card-size mini in stock. When shipments come in, they sell out within a day or so. And don't bother getting on a waiting list -- they've stopped keeping them," the paper said.
• San Jose Mercury News: iPod's Scarcity Adds To Cachet) (Registration required)
Filter is designed for hard-core techies, news junkies and technology professionals alike. Have suggestions, cool links or interesting tales to share? Send your tips and feedback to cindyDOTwebbATwashingtonpost.com. (Yes, those spammers have been having a lot of fun with my e-mail address lately.)
