New and Noteworthy: Microsoft's Mac Internet Explorer plans in doubt?; KaZaa will pay users to swap files; more
New and Noteworthy: Microsoft's Mac Internet Explorer plans in doubt?; KaZaa will pay users to swap files; more
Microsoft's Mac Internet Explorer plans in doubt? Based on comments made by a company representative, it seems that Microsoft is not necessarily commited to producing an new version of Internet Explorer for the Macintosh platform. Brian Countryman, IE program manager, said in a May 7 Web chat posted to Microsoft's Web site that the software maker is phasing out standalone versions of its Web browser - and not exclusively on Windows. More.
KaZaa will pay users to swap files According to CNET, Kazaa parent Sharman Networks and Altnet will jointly release a new bundle of file-swapping software that will include components of a new high-security peer-to-peer network and a program that will pay users to be a part of it. "The idea, says Altnet CEO Kevin Bermeister, is to harness the computing resources of the tens of millions of Kazaa users to distribute authorized files such as games, songs and movies. Giving people an incentive to host and trade paid files could create a powerful medium for distributing authorized content and could diminish file-trading networks' role as hubs of online piracy, he said." More.
AOL lost 1 million subscribers in the past year America Online has lost more than 1 million dial-up customers since the dramatic decline in its subscriber base began late last year, according to a Washington Post article. "The Dulles-based firm is rapidly losing customers to NetZero and other lower-priced bare-bones Internet services, as well as to higher-priced high-speed cable and telephone providers." More.
Linux poses a "threat" to Redmond Microsoft Corp. faces significant challenges from Linux free software and slower corporate spending on information technology, Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive of the world's largest software maker, said on Wednesday. "In this environment of lean IT budgets and concerns about Microsoft's attention to customers, non-commercial software such as Linux and OpenOffice is seen as interesting 'good enough' or 'free' alternatives," Ballmer wrote to Microsoft's 50,000-plus employees in an internal e-mail obtained by Reuters. More.Resources