January 12, 2003

Microsoft in $1.1 billion class settlement InfoWorld - HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Californians and California schoolchildren could benefit from an estimated $1.1 billion settlement by Microsoft in a class-action antitrust suit announced late on Friday. The deal calls for Microsoft to offer vouchers, ranging in amount from $4 to $29, to California customers who purchased Microsoft software between Feb. 18, 1995, and Dec. 15, 2001. Two-thirds of the amount not claimed by individuals will be donated to 4,700 of California's neediest schools, according to Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel, and Eugene Crew, lead counsel for Townsend and Townsend and Crew, the San Francisco-based firm that brought the suit nearly four years ago. 6:01:50 PM

Morons in the News: Microsoft Plays Fair, Competitors Cry Foul Wouldn't it be nice if someone made some great technology, and licensed its use on non-Windows desktops for $0.10? The owners of MPEG technology don't think so. Microsoft recently released a new product called Windows Media 9 Series. Not just a player, as some people would think, Windows Media 9 series is a complete set of technologies for encoding, serving, and viewing digital media. This technology includes some real breakthroughs in streaming of digital media, and in compressing it. And this is what MPEG-LA doesn't like: It's better than MPEG-4. And it's cheaper. Now, any time in a capitalist society that someone makes something cheaper and better, it's considered a good thing. After all, we all like things to be better, and we all like them to be cheaper. And if you'd like them to be on an Apple or Linux desktop, Microsoft can deal with that too. Instead, in a childish move, MPEG-LA is resorting to logical fallacies, lies, and playing with people's feelings to complain, nag, and generally be annoying about the whole issue. To know what I'm talking about, go read this report at C|Net News.com. 5:59:08 PM

'Who' star in porn probe News24 - London - Rock legend Pete Townsend faces more questions after he admitted paying to look at child porn on the Internet. 5:56:19 PM