Business

Nokia and Microsoft are partnering up to increase revenue from web services. The device uniting them is from Nokia, as the mobile manufacturer plans to pre-install Microsoft Internet applications on its new phones early next year. The ... Microsoft/Nokia relationship is not just for North Americans, but will be available in eleven countries, including Britain, France, Spain, and Germany. In the past, Nokia phones were equipped with a few Microsoft products such as Windows Media DRM10, which enforces copyright protection for audio files. Now, a whole range of Microsoft programs will dial their way ... (view more)

You didn't expect retail glutton Wal-Mart to sit idly by while iTunes, Napster, and the new LimeWire shared in all the legal download dollars, did you? Of course not. That's why it's very little surprise that the omnipresent American chain has ... announced it will be going online in a big way when it comes to music. Like its deals on anything from t-shirts to tea, Wal-Mart has begun offering bargain basement prices for downloads to a variety of devices, including the Apple's iPod, iPhone, and Microsoft's Zune. Just how low can Wal-Mart go? To 94 cents, apparently. That's the price of the average ... (view more)

A lot of things have been written about Windows Vista...some good, some bad. As with everything else, Vista has its good and bad points. Some have even compared Vista to the Ford Edsel, and to Windows Millenium (ME) at its worst. Now Vista has sunk ... to a new catastrophic low...it's now being referred to as the second Titanic, which if you'll recall, sank on its maiden voyage. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes made the comparison in an article published on Earthweb.com. He also writes for zdnet.com. "An operating system (OS) isn't a stand-alone item" he writes. "For an operating system to be successful it ... (view more)

Microsoft has reportedly begun showing U.S. automakers Tellme, an alternative software for in-car navigation and assistance currently being offered exclusively by General Motor Corp.'s OnStar communications service. The technology was obtained by ... Microsoft in May, when the company acquired Tellme Networks Inc., a phone software company. Microsoft recently displayed the voice-recognition software, which allows mobile phone users to receive spoken data from a database, at an auto industry conference. Please, 'Tellme': How does it work? The Tellme service would connect through a Bluetooth- ... (view more)

Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, is asking the United States to stop importing all chipsets made by Qualcomm Inc. along with any other phones and products made by the company. Nokia is also asking the U.S. International Trade ... Commission to start a full-fledged legal investigation of Qualcomm. Why? Nokia claims that Qualcomm has perpetuated unfair trade practices by infringing on their patents. This complaint comes amidst a multinational legal battle between Nokia and Qualcomm that started after the recent expiration of a licensing agreement between the two companies. The ... (view more)

Google is taking advertising to new levels by partnering up with popular television icons and inventors. Soon Google's AdSense network will feature online videos from Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the animated TV show "Family Guy," as well as ... Raven Symone, who stars in the show "That's So Raven." The company supporting the projects, Media Rights Capital, financed last year's Brad Pitt flick, "Babel." It sounds entertaining, but if you fear change then these ads might not impress you. What's more, if you were hoping to spend time on Google with the Griffins, think again. MacFarlane will ... (view more)

Two American powerhouses are looking to improve the national health care system in the United States, surprising when you consider the two "powerhouses" are not political, but technological. By combining more effective Internet search tools, the ... vast resources of the web, and a host of online personal health records, Google and Microsoft are finding new ways of helping the average U.S. citizen make better choices concerning their medical care and personal health habits. (Source: nytimes.com ) Industry analysts are not completely confident that either company will make significant steps ... (view more)

A new study by Forrester Research shows that businesses that had been thinking of making a quick move to Microsoft Windows Vista seem to be doing an about-face and delaying deployment. In a report issued this week, Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray ... said "IT managers are finding themselves pulling back their initial Windows Vista deployment plans." Forrester did note that it's not like most businesses are really going to skip over Vista. "For the vast majority of businesses, Windows Vista is a matter of when and how, not if. This is thanks in large part to Microsoft's dominance in the corporate ... (view more)

Microsoft has revamped Hotmail once again, this time providing more storage and a slew of new features. Free accounts will now have a 5 GB storage limit, a large increase from the previous 2 GB limit. Paid subscribers will see their storage limits ... upped from 4 GB to 10 GB. (Source: betanews.com ) The added storage puts Hotmail ahead of Google, which offers 2.8 GB of storage, but still behind Yahoo's unlimited storage. (Source: windowsitpro.com ) Additional features include vacation replies and the ability to disable the 'Today' screen. Further, Microsoft responded to consumer comments and ... (view more)

LimeWire Store is coming to a network near you. Lime Wire LLC -- the company behind controversial LimeWire file-sharing software -- will make itself legitimate by creating a digital music store. Users will be able to search for and purchase music ... directly from the LimeWire program. Since convenience is a priority, a few different payment options will be accessible. For those who buy music frequently, monthly subscriptions will work in their favor. Customers making individual track purchases will pay between 99 cents and $1.29 per song. As well, all songs will be in MP3 audio format. (Source: ... (view more)