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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - Nov. 24, 2004
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To Subscribe: http://www.europeantechwire.com
o EU Judge Calls Microsoft to Closed-Door Meeting
o Torvalds-Led Group Slams Software Patents Directive
o Report: U.K. to Spend £400 Million on TV Switchover
o Western European Mobile-Phone Market Grows by 24%
o BT Group and Blueprint Team Up on Digital Music Hosting
o Thomson and VeriSign Partner on Secure E-Commerce Service
o EMI: Digital Music Sales Up 300% for First Half of 2004
o Briefly Noted: Suomen 3G-Finnish Government, Telefonica
UK-End of Narrowband, Google Europe-Nikesh Arora,
Filmnight-Vodafone UK
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o EU Judge Calls Microsoft to Closed-Door Meeting
Brussels -- The European judge hearing Microsoft's appeal against a
recent anti-trust ruling by the European Commission has called the
U.S.-based software giant to a closed-door meeting on Thursday. Judge
Bo Vesterdorf said he called the meeting to discuss "procedural
matters" after holding hearings on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 to consider
whether to suspend sanctions that would force Microsoft to sell
Windows without Media Player. News of the urgent meeting comes
two weeks after U.S.-based Novell and the Computer and
Communications Industry Association (CCIA) dropped their respective
cases against Microsoft after reaching out-of-court settlements for
approximately £286 million and £10.6 million, respectively. Both
Novell and the CCIA had supported the Commission's case against
Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp
http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm
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o Torvalds-Led Group Slams Software Patents Directive
Brussels -- A group led by Linus Torvalds, Michael Widenius and
Rasmus Lerdorf -- the creators of Linux, MySQL and PHP,
respectively -- have spoken out against the current form of the
European software patents directive, describing it as deceptive,
dangerous and democratically illegitimate. The controversial directive
is expected to be passed, sans debate, on Nov. 25 at the next meeting of
the EU Council. However, voting weights in the Council have changed
considerably: Germany and the Netherlands have openly criticised the
current form of the directive, and Poland has withdrawn its support for
it altogether. In light of these developments, Torvalds and his group are
calling for a revote. "Software patents are dangerous to the economy at
large, and particularly to the European economy," they said.
"Lawmakers should heed the warning of such reputable organisations
as Deutsche Bank Research, the Kiel Institute for World Economics
and PricewaterhouseCoopers."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U6F713CD9
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o Report: U.K. to Spend £400 Million on TV Switchover
London -- According to a new report released by the Consumer Panel,
the U.K. government can expect to pay as much as £400 million when
it makes the switch from analogue to digital TV. Set up by
communications and media watchdog Ofcom, the independent panel of
experts said practical help and support for society's "most vulnerable
members" would cost about £110 million, while financial assistance for
the switchover, which could occur as early as 2012, could cost as much
as £270 million. The panel went on to say that informing the public was
even more important that financial assistance when it came to reaching
the elderly, the disabled and people with poor English. It urged the
government to start a public information campaign on digital TV
immediately.
http://www.ofcomconsumerpanel.org.uk/dso.htm
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o Western European Mobile-Phone Market Grows by 24%
Paris -- According to a new report released by market analysis firm
IDC, the mobile-phone and converged-device market in Western
Europe grew by 24% in the third quarter year on year. Total shipments
came to more than 34 million units, compared to 27.6 million units
shipped during the third quarter last year. While converged devices
showed the largest growth (70% year on year, compared to 23% for
mobile phones), standard mobile phones still accounted for the lion's
share of the market -- more than 95% in the third quarter, IDC said.
"Despite enjoying year-on-year growth of over 70%, smartphones still
represent under 5% of the total mobile phone market," said IDC
research analyst Geoff Blaber. "With standard mobile phones becoming
increasingly advanced in terms of hardware features, most consumers
cannot identify any significant differences between the handsets."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q22732CD9
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o BT Group and Blueprint Team Up on Digital Music Hosting
London -- BT Group, a U.K.-based telecommunications company,
announced that it has teamed up with Blueprint, a London-based digital
rights management firm, to provide a new service that offers hosting,
management and distribution of digital music and related content
online. The services -- Open Royalty Gateway and Song Centre --
allow artists, writers, publishers and record companies to host their
songs, videos, ringtones and other digital media files, and establish
direct commercial relationships with online retailers. Content owners
using the services will be able to distribute their media directly to PCs,
digital audio players and mobile phones. The joint BT-Blueprint
service has already been used for the release of artist Robbie Williams'
single "Radio" with music retailers in Australia and New Zealand. The
service is also powering Williams' digital download store.
http://www.broadcast.bt.com
http://www.blueprint.net
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o Thomson and VeriSign Partner on Secure E-Commerce Service
Paris -- Thomson, a France-based provider of video equipment to
media and entertainment firms, announced that it has partnered with
VeriSign, a provider of e-commerce security software, to create an on-
demand content authentication and authorisation service to support the
secure delivery of music, movies, games and other media over the
Internet. The companies say they have already demonstrated the service
with entertainment, telecommunications and technology firms and plan
a commercial launch by mid-2005. Paris-based Thomson and
California-based VeriSign are also developing proprietary technology
to provide secure authentication and authorisation of digital content
over home networks and devices like PCs, digital video recorders and
recordable media.
http://www.thomson.net
http://www.verisign.com
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o EMI: Digital Music Sales Up 300% for First Half of 2004
London -- EMI Group Plc, the world's third-largest record label,
reported that sales of digital music increased 300% in the first six
months of its fiscal year to £12 million, or just over 2% of the
company's £851 million in total sales. The U.K.-based company
credited the recording industry's legal campaign against illegal
downloading, although during the period the market also saw the
launch of Apple's iTunes Stores in the U.K., France and Germany, and
Napster's launch in the U.K. "The legitimate digital music market
continues to expand rapidly and we remain confident that digital
represents a key driver for future industry growth," said EMI chairman
Eric Nicolli.
http://www.emigroup.com
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(Helsinki) The Finnish government may revoke the 3G mobile network
license of Suomen 3G, an operator owned by Nordic
telecommunications firm Tele2, according to a report by Reuters. The
Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications said Suomen 3G
had failed to meet network construction requirements outlined in the
initial license agreement stipulating that the firm must cover at least
35% of the population. Suomen now has until Jan. 7, 2005, to explain
the delay. If the company's answer is unsatisfactory, the government
could revoke its license, Reuters reported.
http://www.suomen3g.fi/indexx.htm
http://www.mintc.fi/www/sivut/english/default.html
(London) Telefonica UK, a subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications
giant Telefonica, announced on Wednesday that it will no longer
provide dial-up Internet services in the U.K. As of Dec. 16, Telefonica
UK will cease to supply unmetered and dial-up wholesale narrowband
services. "All clients affected by this change have been made aware of
the circumstances, and Telefonica UK is working closely with them to
ensure a smooth transition and minimal disruption to their businesses,"
the company said. The Internet service provider (ISP) said the decision
was part of its plan to focus on the provision of broadband services to
the ISP and corporate market.
http://www.uk.telefonica.com/
(London) Web search giant Google announced on Wednesday that it
has appointed Nikesh Arora as head of London-based Google Europe.
Arora, the former chief marketing officer at T-Mobile, becomes
Google's first vice-president outside the U.S. Prior to joining T-Mobile,
where he managed product development and brand and marketing
activities, Arora held management positions at Putnam Investments and
Fidelity Investments. "(Arora's) proven track record of leading high
performance teams and driving businesses make him the ideal
candidate to take Google's European operations to the next phase of
growth," said Omid Kordestani, senior vice president of Google's
Worldwide Sales and Field Operations.
http://www.google.co.uk/press/pressrel/arora.html
(London) U.K.-based online movie retailer Filmnight announced that
wireless carrier Vodafone UK will use its content on the newly
launched Vodafone live! 3G wireless service. In addition to movie
trailer downloads and movie news, Filmnight will provide U.K.
mobile-phone users with the ability to buy DVDs, wallpapers and
ringtones.
http://www.filmnight.com
http://www.vodafone.jp/english/live
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