Microsoft has agreed to cut the cost and ease some restrictions it placed on competitors seeking to view the inner workings of its Windows program under last year's antitrust settlement with the government.
Following complaints from some rivals, Microsoft (MSFT) said it would make it cheaper and easier for other software companies to access key pieces of computer code that their server software needs to function properly with the Windows operating system.
The changes could be helpful to companies such as Sun Microsystems (SUNW) that are battling Microsoft in the market for software that runs servers.
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AMD swings Sledgehammer: Advanced Micro Devices will unveil a new microprocessor designed for powerful and pricey corporate servers, part of a bid to crack a lucrative market dominated by its larger rival, Intel.
Analysts said AMD's (AMD) rollout of its first 64-bit Opteron processors was crucial to both the company's financial recovery and its effort to force the pace of innovation as both servers and desktop computers shift to faster data-processing speeds.
AMD posted a $1.3 billion loss last year on revenue of $2.7 billion, one-tenth the annual revenue of Intel (INTC). To compete, AMD has had to ratchet up its innovation with Opteron, which analysts say has a technological edge.
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Grounded from the Web: Penn State deprived 220 students of high-speed Internet connections in their dorms after it found they were sharing copyrighted material, the university said.
Upon investigation, the university found the students had publicly listed copyright-infringing materials on their systems to other members of the university network, a Penn State spokesperson said.
Music and movie industry groups have urged universities to curb the sharing of copyrighted files and penalize violators. Students, who often have fast Internet connections and little cash, are seen as the vanguard in a wave of downloading that the entertainment industry claims is cutting into its profits.
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Cybersecurity adviser resigns: White House cybersecurity adviser Howard Schmidt announced his resignation Monday, the second person to leave the post in three months.
Schmidt was chief of security at Microsoft before taking the post in February. He succeeded Richard Clarke, who had spent 11 years in the White House across three administrations, and was the president's counterterror coordinator at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In an e-mail sent to staff and industry officials, Schmidt noted that many of his responsibilities had been transferred to the new Homeland Security Department. When Clarke announced his resignation, he warned of future attacks on the Internet and of reducing cybersecurity to a "second tier" issue.
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Chip jobs sliced: The worst-ever slump to hit chip-making equipment companies has come home to roost at the industry's leading trade organization.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, or SEMI, said it is cutting its North America-based work force by 15 percent, or 20 positions, citing the revenue decline resulting from the chip-equipment industry slump. SEMI is the industry association representing more than 2,500 companies in the semiconductor and flat-panel display equipment and materials markets.
SEMI said that it has expanded its staff in Asia to address developing markets for member companies doing business in China and other Asian regions. But even with those additions, SEMI said the association's work force worldwide since the beginning of 2002 has been cut 11 percent to 202 employees.
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Flextronics combating SARS: Contract electronics manufacturer Flextronics International said it has taken steps to prevent the deadly SARS virus from infecting employees at its facilities in Asia.
Flextronics (FLEX) said in a statement that it has imposed travel restrictions, brought medical personnel into some facilities to monitor employee health and directed employees returning from trips through Asia to go into "self-imposed isolation" for a minimum of 10 days before returning to work. SARS first appeared in China's southern province of Guangdong, where the Flextronics factory is located.
Flextronics is also screening all foreign visitors and requiring all proposed visits to their Asian operations be considered on an as-needed basis, according to a company spokesperson. Flextronics also denied a report from a New York-based labor rights group implying that one of its facilities in China had suffered an outbreak of the deadly disease.
China Labor Watch last week posted a report that more than 30 people in a Flextronics factory in Zhuhai City had recently exhibited flu-like symptoms and breathing difficulties.
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SEC probes AOL: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether America Online illegally boosted revenues from advertising by more than its parent company has disclosed, newspapers said.
Citing sources familiar with the probe, The Washington Post said the SEC was studying deals including a $100 million transaction between AOL, the Internet unit of media conglomerate AOL Time Warner (AOL), and online job search firm Monster.com.
Investigators are probing whether the transaction was actually a profitless "round-trip" deal in which the companies agreed to promote each other through ads on their respective websites, the report said.
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Listen real close: RealNetworks will acquire Listen.com and its Rhapsody digital music subscription business, the companies said. The deal deepens RealNetworks' offerings and expands its reach in the burgeoning business of offering music over the Internet.
"Tens of thousands of subscribers" can play, download and burn CDs over the Internet from Listen.com's library of more than 300,000 songs owned by the five major record labels and independent artists, the company said. Listen.com also has deals with 15 high-speed Internet network companies, including Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Verizon Online, to distribute its offerings.
The acquisition complements RealNetworks' own rapidly growing subscription service, RealOne SuperPass, said a company executive. That service sells monthly subscriptions to about 900,000 consumers for exclusive news, sports, computer games and other entertainment.
Compiled by Kari L. Dean. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
