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Intel and DreamWorks Animation on Tuesday announced a strategic alliance designed to power up the movie studio's 3D authoring tools.

Faced with increasing demand for 3D animated feature films, DreamWorks will receive access to Intel's latest and future high-performance chips, including those with multiple processing cores. Intel's software engineers will also work with DreamWorks to tweak the studio's applications to run on an Intel-based computing infrastructure.

"Technology plays a significant role in enabling our artists to tell great stories. By utilizing Intel's industry-leading computing products, we will create a new and innovative way for moviegoers to experience our films in 3D," Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks' chief executive, said in a statement.

One of the first projects from the alliance will be DreamWorks' upcoming Monsters vs. Aliens film, which is scheduled for release March 27.

That film is part of DreamWorks' effort to produce only stereoscopic 3D feature films beginning next year.

XML, it seems, has run out of steam for Google.

Google said Monday that it has created an open-source project for a data interchange format called Protocol Buffers.

The software is meant to solve the problem of sharing information in a wide range of formats between servers at high speed. It's also designed to let companies like Google upgrade software on a network of connected servers without causing hiccups.

Google thought of using XML as a lingua franca to send messages between its different servers. But XML can be complicated to work with and, more significantly, creates large files that can slow application performance.

Protocol Buffers is an alternative way of describing the format of data that is being sent over the network or stored to a hard drive. Unlike XML, it's a compact format and is designed to be simple to use, according to Kenton Varda of Google's Software Engineering Team.

Varda wrote in the company's open-source blog:

Protocol Buffers allow you to define simple data structures in a special definition language, then compile them to produce classes to represent those structures in the language of your choice. These classes come complete with heavily-optimized code to parse and serialize your message in an extremely compact format. Best of all, the classes are easy to use: each field has simple "get" and "set" methods, and once you're ready, serializing the whole thing to--or parsing it from--a byte array or an I/O stream just takes a single method call.

Matt Cutts, a software engineer who heads Google's Webspam team, said in a blog late Monday that Protocol Buffers automatically generates Java, Python, or C++ code:

Think of Protocol Buffers as a very compact way of encoding data in a binary format. A programmer can write a simple description of a protocol or structured data and Google's code will autogenerate a class in C++, Java, or Python to read, write, and parse the protocol. Given a protocol buffer, you can write it to disk, send it over the network wire, and do any number of interesting tricks. Any medium-sized company (and quite a few startups!) should find Protocol Buffers very handy.

The software is available the Apache Software License 2.0.

Like a lot of what Google's engineering team does, this seems to make sense. XML has long been criticized as being too slow, which has led to controversial efforts to standardize XML compression.

But given the huge investment in XML, it doesn't look like Protocol Buffers will replace it. Instead, it will be used--certainly by Google and likely others--for Web applications that need a very efficient way to move around data in multiple formats.

Microsoft detailed on Tuesday its road map and pricing for Web-based software suites built for big companies and growing businesses.

Enabling telecommuting, which many employers and workers increasingly favor, is likely to be a selling point for the productivity and "deskless worker" tools within the Microsoft Online Services lineup.

The move is part of Redmond's push to integrate online and desktop software, shifting much of the heavy lifting to the "cloud."

"Microsoft Online Services is a key component of the software plus services initiative, and we're seeing customers, partners and even competitors embrace this flexible approach to the cloud," Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division, said in a statement.

Details were unveiled Tuesday in Houston at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

Microsoft's per-user monthly fees for its online business services.

(Credit: Microsoft)

For $15 per month per person, the business productivity suite offers an Outlook-integrated Exchange Online for e-mail and calendars, Office SharePoint Online collaboration, messaging via Office Communications Online, and Office Live Meeting video-enabled Web conferencing.

The software giant will charge another $3 per month per user for the Deskless Worker Suite, which combines flavors of SharePoint Online and Exchange Online. The SharePoint portal offers access to internal company sites and search. E-mail, calendars, security filters, and Outlook Web Access Light are included with Exchange Online Deskless Worker.

Microsoft aims to simplify otherwise complex corporate tasks managed by engineers or IT technicians. For instance, a WYSIWYG interface would enable an IT worker to give a new employee access to the company tools in a series of steps that could be shorter than setting up, say, a free Hotmail or Yahoo e-mail account.

One can sign up online to try the beta services.

Exchange Online and Office SharePoint Online remain in beta, with final availability set for sometime in the second half of 2008, when Office Communications Online beta is also due. Microsoft plans for international availability in 2009.

The company offers to pay resellers of its Online Services 12 percent of the price of each contract secured during the first year, and 6 percent per subscription year thereafter. Interested companies can learn more at Microsoft's QuickStart Web site.

Microsoft partners and resellers of Online Services include Accenture, CDW, and Unisys. Nokia is among the companies using the online tools for messaging and collaboration.

Microsoft Online Services includes these tools.

(Credit: Microsoft)

(Credit: Apple)

Update at 10:08 a.m. PDT, with clarification on how users' e-mail will be handled.

Apple's MobileMe service is primed to be relaunched this week, ahead of the Friday launch of the iPhone 3G. That means subscribers to .Mac will find the service taken offline for a six-hour stretch as Apple makes the transition, according to a post in MacRumors.com.

The www.mac.com site will go down on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. PDT, leaving .Mac subscribers unable to access the site or use .Mac services, except for .MacMail via their desktop applications, iPhone or iPod Touch. In fact, existing .Mac users may have already noticed the ability to receive and send e-mail at an @me.com address if they so request. Other mac.com subscribers will be grandfathered in, allowing them to continue receiving e-mail at their mac.com address, while also receiving a new me.com address.

When the site relaunches as MobileMe, users will find a few changes, according to MacRumors.com:

The revamped .Mac service will offer Web-based e-mail, calendar, address book, photo gallery, and storage capabilities as well as "Push" sync services.

A one-year subscription to MobileMe will cost $99, which is similar to the .Mac price, but purchasers of an iPhone 3G will be able to score a subscription for $69 on Friday, the report notes.

Google's Orkut social network isn't just big in Brazil. It's also popular in India, especially among software developers, according to a new survey.

Despite Facebook's efforts to promote that social network as the platform of choice for third-party application developers, Orkut is used by twice as many software programmers in India than either Facebook or MySpace, according to an Evans Data survey of more than 300 developers in India. Software programmers in that country are heavy users of social networks in general.

Seventy-three percent of those surveyed said they had used Orkut, compared with 35 percent for Facebook and 32 percent for MySpace.

"Capturing mindshare with developers in fast-growing emerging development markets like India and Brazil gives them (Google) a strategic advantage going forward in further cultivating this very important community," Evans Data Chief Executive John Andrews said in a statement.

Google has released new domains specific to India and Brazil as a result of the popularity in those countries.

The independent survey was conducted in late May and early June.

Despite winning an important legal victory against Google last week, Viacom's public image is taking a beating.

Ever since Viacom, parent company of MTV and Paramount Pictures, filed a $1 billion copyright suit against Google's YouTube last year, Google has won kudos for championing the rights of Internet users. On the other side, Viacom was blasted by critics who accused it of trying to lock down information and block people from enjoying South Park and The Daily Show.

Neither of these two perceptions is entirely accurate. But what is true is that there is little Viacom--or any other big media firm trying to enforce its copyright online--can do to avoid being saddled with the image of a corporate bully. Companies considering whether to follow Viacom's lead should carefully weigh the risks of potentially alienating consumers.

Last week, Viacom was widely criticized on the Web after a judge ordered Google to turn over information that included YouTube usernames, Internet Protocol addresses and the viewing histories of YouTube's users. Viacom representatives denied that the company had ever requested any personally identifiable information.

By then, the damage was done. Viacom was branded an enemy of the Internet and of privacy. This kind of public relations drubbing shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Advantage: Google
Look at what Viacom is up against. Many Internet users have simply come to think of free Internet content as their right. Any attempt to restrict access is perceived as an attack on Web freedom. Google, which has a long history of facing down copyright owners, including book publishers, newspapers, and Hollywood studios, has earned respect from those who see content owners as money grubbers and many copyright laws as anti-consumer.

Google is also savvy when it comes to public-relations scuffles, say critics. Not all of Viacom's image problems are self inflicted, says Louis Solomon, an attorney representing a group of copyright holders who have sued YouTube for copyright infringement and are working with Viacom.

"I think there is little doubt that Google has been trying to be effective in its use of the press," Solomon said. "How else do you explain why they have been collecting and using IP addresses to monetize their site (for a while now), yet only now, with great self righteousness, claim to be concerned about producing IP addresses?"

Responding to Solomon's assertion, Ricardo Reyes, a Google spokesman, said Viacom's ailing public image can be traced to another Google advantage.

"The law is on our side," he said.

A judge will be the one to determine that. What is more certain is that Google has been more willing than Viacom to debate the case in public.

Last year, Google CEO Eric Schmidt made news several times by suggesting that Viacom was overly litigious. At a conference in April, Schmidt said this about Viacom: "You're either doing business with them or being sued by them."

At a retreat for media and tech CEOs, Schmidt claimed Viacom was a company "built on lawsuits."

And this week, Viacom's supporters, such as Solomon, accused Google of helping to whip up controversy over the privacy issue.

Google-Viacom deal in the offing?
On Monday evening, sources close to the discussions between Google and Viacom said they were close to reaching an agreement which would allow YouTube to redact IP addresses and usernames.

Did the bad PR affect Viacom's decision? A company's public image certainly can impact business.

Companies dueling it out in court often hire public relations firms to take their case to the masses. They may sense that their opponent is sensitive to negative press. A well-designed PR strategy can hurt the other guy's bottom line, and possibly bring on a settlement.

One way Viacom could instantly improve relations with Internet users is to simply drop the lawsuit, according to Erick Hachenburg, the CEO of Metacafe, a video-sharing rival of YouTube's.

Hachenburg argues that content companies have to decide between one of two ways to handle copyright issues on the Web.

He said the first way is the one chosen by Hulu, the video portal created by News Corp. and NBC Universal. Hulu allows users share videos and the company has syndicated content across the Web (Viacom has traditionally preferred to host its own content but has recently been boosting the number of syndication deals).

The alternative to the Hulu-esque strategy is to follow in the footsteps of the Recording Industry Association of America and solve problems with lawsuits.

"I hope Viacom doesn't use the (YouTube user) information to sue consumers," Hachenburg said. "Clearly there is an underlying question: how much do you want to adapt your strategy to live in Web. 2.0? Hulu is embracing Web 2.0 ideas, and I think they are finding success."

Investor activist Carl Icahn needed a sign, a tangible sign, that Microsoft was still interested in buying Yahoo, or at a minimum, its search business, if he were to increase his chances of winning his proxy fight to unseat the company's entire board of directors.

On Monday, in a coordinated effort, Microsoft delivered that sign. The software giant issued a public statement that it was not only willing to discuss a potential buyout of Yahoo's search business, but also, alternatively, a renewed bid for the entire company--providing a "new" board was elected at Yahoo's August 1 shareholders meeting.

Despite this significant turn of events, Icahn has yet to pull the trigger and announce whether he will ultimately run a full slate of dissident directors against Yahoo's nine-member board to take control of the company, or only put forth a partial slate to go for less than a majority of the seats on the board. Until Icahn files his definitive proxy, he isn't able to distribute proxy cards asking Yahoo investors to vote for his nominees, or to hit the investor road show circuit touting his candidates.

Although there could be a variety of reasons why Icahn has not yet filed his definitive proxy, ranging from addressing any last-minute changes requested by the Securities and Exchange Commission to unexpected delays over Fourth of July weekend, it could provide the investor activist with an additional bargaining chip in achieving a friendly Yahoo-Microsoft deal before he finalizes his proxy plans.

To increase its chances of later entering into a Yahoo transaction, Microsoft needs Icahn to successfully run a full slate. And to bolster his chances of unseating Yahoo's current board, Icahn needed Microsoft to publicly state it is still interested in buying Yahoo.

But Icahn, an experienced fighter on the proxy front, is aware he can also lose and may wish to leverage his potential bargaining chip to push the parties to narrow the gap on a transaction that both can live with. Last month, Icahn lost his bid for three out of four seats on Biogen Idec's board.

In the Yahoo-Icahn proxy fight, the longer Icahn waits to file his definitive proxy, the less time he'll have to circulate the materials among Yahoo investors before the August 1 annual shareholders meeting.

"The longer he waits, he'll lose on getting votes to retail (mom-and-pop) investors," said one proxy solicitor. "But it may not hurt him if he's concentrating on only large institutional investors. They tend to wait one or two days to vote before a meeting anyway."

Institutional investors include mutual funds, pension funds, and asset management firms.

These large investors, specifically pension funds and index funds, often rely on institutional investor advisory firms for recommendations on how to vote on proxy matters. As a result, these advisory firms can wield a lot of influence in proxy contests and typically give their recommendations to their clients a week or two before an annual shareholders meeting.

One source with an institutional investor advisory firm said Icahn still faces a challenge in winning a recommendation from advisory firms, despite Microsoft publicly stating it would work with a "new" Yahoo board and would be interested in discussing a potential deal.

"We would base our recommendation on how the board has performed and what value it has brought to shareholders," said the institutional investor advisory source. "Sure, we'll pay attention to Microsoft's statement it's willing to work with a new board, but that won't be our main consideration."

But institutional advisory firms may, or may not, have as much of an effect in Icahn's proxy fight.

"Shares of Yahoo are now trading in the hands of fast money," said the proxy solicitor, noting that arbitragers don't rely on institutional investor advisory firms for advice.

Hans Reiser, the Linux programmer convicted in April of murdering his estranged wife, has led police to what is believed to be her body, authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.

The remains were found Monday afternoon buried next to a deer trail in the hills of Oakland, Calif., Reiser's defense attorney, who accompanied his client to the site, told the newspaper. Police said the body has not been identified. A news conference is planned for Tuesday.

In April, following a drama-filled six-month trial, a jury found Reiser, 44, guilty of first-degree murder in the 2006 killing of Nina Reiser, with whom he was undergoing a bitter divorce. Reiser is currently being held without bail pending his sentencing scheduled for Wednesday.

Hans Reiser

(Credit: via Stanford University)

Throughout the trial, Reiser maintained his innocence. Arguing the so-called "geek defense," his attorney maintained that while Reiser may be strange, arrogant, even abnormal, his odd behavior following Nina's disappearance wasn't evidence of murder.

However, Wired reported in June that a deal was in the works in which Reiser would lead authorities to his wife's body in exchange for a reduced sentence. Wired writer David Kravets quotes an anonymous source familiar with the deal who says Reiser's cooperation could reduce his April conviction from first-degree murder to second degree. A second-degree conviction in California carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years to life, Kravets wrote.

Reiser is known to the technology world as the founder of the ReiserFS file system software, which is available for Linux. Nina Reiser, then 31, was last seen alive on September 3, 2006, in Oakland, as she was dropping off the couple's two children for the Labor Day weekend. Despite exhaustive searches by authorities, Nina's body was not found before the trial.

CNET News.com's Michelle Meyers contributed to this report.

Ever since Microsoft first stated its intention to purchase Yahoo in February, and Yahoo said no, it's been a roller coaster as the deal goes through its on-again, off-again phases. On Monday's edition of the Daily Debrief, I sat down with reporter Dawn Kawamoto to get the scoop on the latest news that Microsoft might again be interested in acquiring the company, or perhaps just the search portion.

In a one-two punch type of delivery system, investor Carl Icahn and Microsoft appear to have teamed up to oust Yahoo's board. Kawamoto explains why this technique may be the most effective of all and why it could have broad appeal to shareholders. While Icahn has unveiled this portion of his plan, he has yet to name the members of the dissident slate. I hope everyone is still hanging on tight as our coaster has yet another hill to climb with the end of the ride nowhere in sight.