AOL has filed five federal lawsuits targeting spammers it accuses of sending some 1 billion junk e-mail messages promoting mortgages, steroids and pornography to its subscribers.
The case resulted from about 8 million individual spam complaints from subscribers, most of whom used a "Report Spam" feature AOL (AOL) introduced last fall.
The lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court are the first anti-spam cases AOL launched since May 2001. They seek damages of more than $10 million plus an end to the messages.
Most of the defendants are "John Doe," meaning AOL could not determine their identities. However, filing the lawsuits gives AOL additional authority to subpoena service providers and others to try to track down the spammers.
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Intel halts chips: Intel said it has temporarily halted shipment of a new Pentium 4 processor targeted for video editing, high-end gaming and other computing-intensive applications, after detecting a problem in a small number of the chips.
The shipment was halted after Intel (INTC) found that a "very small number" of the new Pentium 4 chips, which run at a clock speed of 3 GHz, may not have been performing as expected.
Intel said earlier that the new Pentium 4, with an 800-MHz system bus and a new 875P chipset, was aimed at the high end of the computing market. Halting shipments of the processors will likely affect the availability of new systems based on the chip, Intel said.
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Microsoft class action capped: A judge has limited the number of consumers who can participate in a class-action suit alleging that Microsoft violated state and federal antitrust laws.
A U.S. District judge issued a written opinion stating that only consumers who purchased Microsoft's Windows software through its website can join the class action.
Lawyers representing several states had asked that customers who purchased large volumes of software directly from Microsoft (MSFT) and large account resellers be included in the suits.
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3G phone arrives: Global telecom giant Hutchison launched a third-generation mobile-phone network in Australia under a strategy that analysts described as a gamble.
Hutchison Australia has committed AU$3 billion ($1.8 billion) to create the first third-generation network in Australia, trumping larger rivals Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.
The company hopes to have affluent professionals queuing up for the high-tech 3G service, which offers users video calls and services such as news and sport clips via their mobile handsets.
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__ FCC rule challenged:__ Cell-phone companies asked a federal court to block a regulation that would force them to let consumers keep their phone numbers when switching wireless carriers.
Consumer advocates say not being able to retain numbers is one of the biggest barriers preventing more cell-phone users from switching in search of better service and prices. Wireless companies say the FCC requirement and its Nov. 24 deadline will raise costs while doing little to increase industry competition.
A lawyer representing cell-phone companies told the three-judge panel of the U.S. Appeals Court that the FCC overstepped its authority by imposing the requirement. A court ruling is not expected for several months.
Congress decided in 1996 that people can keep their traditional local phone numbers when they change phone companies. The FCC decided that wireless carriers would have to offer the same service in the top 100 U.S. cities by June 1999.
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Hilton, Expedia team up: Hilton Hotels, striking back at discount hotel Internet sites, said it agreed to give online travel-service Expedia access to its central reservation system.
The two-year partnership is part of a strategy aimed at eliminating deeply discounted Hilton hotel (HLT) rooms online.
In return, Expedia (EXPE) has pledged not to undercut Hilton's own prices and agreed to cut significantly its commissions to the hotel operator.
Compiled by Gabe Friedman. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
