Microsoft bids to overturn record EU fine

Microsoft is to go to the European Courts this week in a bid to overturn the record fine and conditions imposed by the EU after it found that the company had engaged in anti-competitive practices. Following the decision Microsoft was fined a record half a billion euros and told to open the Windows APIs to rival server manufacturers such as Sun Microsystems and remove Media Player from copies of Windows XP shipped in Europe. In a statement a Microsoft spokesman said 'As we indicated in March, when the European Union issued its decision, Microsoft will appeal the ruling. ...more

US record industry to sue music swappers

The body that represents the US music industry has announced that it will sue anyone that it discovers has been sharing music files over the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will be gathering evidence against individual US computer users who are illegally sharing 'substantial amounts' of music from their computers over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks such as Kazaa or Grokster. The organisation believes that its investigation could result in the filing of thousands of lawsuits as soon as August this year. ...more

INTERVIEW: Through the Looking Glass - a perspective on Sun's Desktop Strategy

Sun's Java Desktop has been something of a surprise hit, both for Sun and the Linux desktop arena. With major deals such as 200 million seats sold into China already brokered, it is already proving itself a successful alternative to Windows. With a recent refresh, in the form of JDS2, and much enthusiasm for the three-dimensional Looking Glass desktop, it seemed a good time to get to the bottom of Sun's desktop strategy. ...more

UK games chart: Burnout Revenge burns off The Sims

EA's Burnout Revenge - the sequel to 2004's award-winning Burnout 3: Takedown - is number one in this week's ELSPA UK games. For the PS2 and Xbox, it sees gamers getting revenge on rush hour traffic and driving irresponsibly in an urban setting. It rams The Sims 2: Nightlife down to second place. ...more

Steve Jobs to preview Mac OS X Leopard at WWDC 2006

Steve Jobs and other Apple executive will be previewing Mac OS X 'Leopard' at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to be held in San Francisco in August. Apple has confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs will be giving a keynote at the conference, which will put a spotlight on the technologies in the next-gen operating system. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, Bertrand Serlet, senior VP of Software Engineering; and Scott Forstall, VP of Platform Experience, will also be taking part. ...more