DTV lift off around the corner

Digital TV market in Europe about to take off, says forecaster. Internet research firm Jupiter MMXI believes low cost set-top boxes could kick start an under-estimated demand for digital TV. In its latest report the company predicts that by 2006 more European households will be watching digital TV than using the Internet. ...more

Analysis: Patent expert scoffs at fears that Open Source community under threat

A patent expert has scoffed at fears from the open source community that a recently exhumed memo from a high ranking HP exec foretells an imminent legal campaign against the software community based on patent claims. In a two-year-old memo sent by Gary Campbell, then vice president of strategic architecture, to a number of other HP execs, he said he feared 'Microsoft could attack Open Source Software for patent infringements against OEMs, Linux distributors, and least likely open source developers.' However Greg Aharonian, a patent expert who run the patnews service said: 'The memo was written two years ago, and not much has happened, not surprisingly. ...more

AOL pursues Nazi Spammer's gold

AOL wants to dig up the garden of the parents of the notorious Nazi Spammer, convinced that he has gold and platinum buried there. The Internet company successfully sued Davis Wolfgang Hawke last year for $12.8 million. ...more

NTT DoCoMo pulls investment out of UK 3G service

NTT DoCoMo is to offload its 20 per cent share in Hutchison 3G UK, the network operator of 3 which is the UK's first third-generation mobile network. DoCoMo will receive ?120mn for its shares over three installments until December 2006. The sum will be paid in either cash or shares in another Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary if that is publicly listed in time. ...more

DoJ eyes online music pricing

The world of online music pricing could come under investigation from the US Department of Justice. The DOJ examination would follow in the footsteps of a similar investigation into music downloads by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, according to Reuters. Quoting unnamed sources, the news agency reports that some subpoenas may have already been issued. ...more