European Tech Wire - May 23, 2005

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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - May 23, 2005
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To Subscribe: http://www.techwiremedia.com/europe

o EU: Microsoft Could Face Hefty Fines in "Matter of Weeks"
o Court Allows Tech Giants to Join Case against Microsoft
o Telenor Agrees to Acquire Bredbandsbolaget and Cybercity
o Ask Jeeves Acquires Excite Europe for Undisclosed Sum
o Locatel Europe Acquires Denmark-Based 2M Electronic
o Sweden's Mitrionics Secures 2.2-Million-Euro Investment
o Opening of "Revenge of the Sith" Drives Traffic to Movie Sites
o Briefly Noted: Microsoft UK-Edward Gibson, Vodafone Group-
Stripped Down Mobile Handsets, Ireland's Centre for Research in
Engineering Surface Technology, The Fixed-Mobile Convergence
Alliance, PPD-Scotland Expansion, EMS Technologies-U.K.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
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o EU: Microsoft Could Face Hefty Fines in "Matter of Weeks"

Brussels -- According to a spokesman for the European Commission,
Microsoft now has only weeks until the Commission decides whether
to fine the U.S.-based software giant as much as 4 million euro (£2.7
million) a day. Under the terms of a landmark ruling last year,
Microsoft was ordered to make its Windows operating system available
without Windows Media Player, as well as share protocol information
with rival server makers. "Within a matter of weeks, rather than
months, we will have to decide whether we are satisfied that they are
complying with the remedies to our satisfaction," Commission
spokesman Jonathan Todd said. "And if they're not, we'll have to
decide whether we'll begin the proceedings to begin daily fines." That
said, Todd added that the Commission had not yet reached the stage
where it would levy a fine.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/press_room/index_en.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp
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o Court Allows Tech Giants to Join Case against Microsoft

Brussels -- A European court announced that it has granted permission
to a group of large technology companies including IBM, Nokia,
Oracle, RealNetworks and Red Hat to join the European Commission's
antitrust case against U.S.-based software giant Microsoft. The
companies had asked to help the Commission to defeat a legal
challenge by Microsoft seeking to overturn last year's landmark
antitrust ruling. Late last week, the Court of First Instance in
Luxembourg ruled that the group, dubbed the European Committee for
Interoperable Systems (ECIS), would be permitted as an "intervener" in
the case. ECIS said it would support the Commission's efforts to keep
Microsoft from using its dominance in the PC operating systems
market to gain an unfair advantage in the related markets.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L3105602B
http://www.curia.eu.int/en/
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o Telenor Agrees to Acquire Bredbandsbolaget and Cybercity

Stockholm -- Telenor ASA, currently the largest telecommunications
operator in the Nordic region, announced that it has agreed to acquire
Bredbandsbolaget, a Sweden-based progressive telecommunications
firm, and Cybercity, a Denmark-based broadband supplier, for 652
million euro and 191 million euro, respectively. Telenor Executive
Vice President Morten Karlsen Soerby said his company made the
acquisitions in order to strengthen its regional market position.
"Bredbandsbolaget and Cybercity are both well-run companies, and
they improve Telenor's offering to both business and residential
customers in the Nordic region," he said. Soerby said his company
expected to close both deals by next month.
http://press.telenor.com/PR/200505/995348_5.html
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o Ask Jeeves Acquires Excite Europe for Undisclosed Sum

Oakland, California -- Ask Jeeves, a U.S.-based provider of Internet
search and advertising services, announced that it has paid an
undisclosed amount to acquire Excite Italia, the operator of Excite
Europe, a network of pan-European portal properties, from Tiscali. The
move comes a little more than year after Ask Jeeves acquired the U.S.-
operated Excite.com portal. The deal will give Ask Jeeves ownership of
Excite's Internet domains throughout Europe as well as control of
existing portal offerings in several major European markets including
Spain, Italy, France, the U.K., Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
"This deal is a next step in Ask Jeeves's European expansion strategy,"
said Ask Jeeves CEO Steve Berkowitz.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050520/sff019.html 
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o Locatel Europe Acquires Denmark-Based 2M Electronic

Copenhagen -- Locatel Europe Group, a U.K.-based provider of
interactive guest room systems, announced that it has acquired 2M
Electronic, a Denmark-based provider of interactive hotel guest room
technology, for an undisclosed sum. With the acquisition, Locatel
becomes Europe's leading provider of entertainment hospitality
systems, the company said. "2M Electronic's interactive guest room
video entertainment technology will complement Locatel Europe
Group's products and services and further positions our company as a
global industry leader," said Locatel President Xavier Negiar. "2M
Electronic will play an integral role in our long-term worldwide
expansion plans." Under the terms of the deal, Benny Meiritz, 2M
Electronic founder, will remain as 2M Electronic's chief executive
officer, as well as chair a Locatel technology committee.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?I61F42F1B
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o Sweden's Mitrionics Secures 2.2-Million-Euro Investment

Stockholm -- Mitrionics AB, a Sweden-based technology firm,
announced that it has raised 2.2 million euro in venture capital
financing. Oslo-based Teknoinvest and Stockholm-based Creandum led
the round, with existing investor TeknoSeed, a venture capital firm
focusing on start-ups with ties to academia and the research and
development community in southern Sweden, also participating.
Mitrionics has developed a technology for programming Field
Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for supercomputing applications.
"The Mitrion platform is shortly ready for a commercial release," said
Mitrionics CEO Anders Dellson. "Our primary target is the U.S., which
is the largest and most advanced market in the world for
supercomputing applications."
http://www.mitrionics.com/press050331.shtml
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o Opening of "Revenge of the Sith" Drives Traffic to Movie Sites

New York -- With the highly anticipated release of "Star Wars: Episode
Three, Revenge of the Sith", movie websites have seen greatly
increased traffic in recent days, according to new information from
Nielsen//NetRatings. Traffic to MovieTickets.com skyrocketed 85%
during the week ending May 15, with more than 600,000 unique
visitors logging on to view show times and pre-purchase tickets.
Movies.com and Moviefone also jumped by 16% and 12%,
respectively, and traffic to Fandango.com rose 9%. StarWars.com, the
official web site for all three movies, attracted 981,000 fans, spiking
32% compared with the week prior.
http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/
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o Briefly Noted:

(London) Microsoft announced that it has selected Edward Gibson to
replace Stuart Okin as its new chief security advisor in the U.K. Gibson
has worked for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an
assistant legal attaché for the U.K. and has an extensive track-record of
fighting money laundering, fraud, financial crime and IP theft,
Microsoft said. "(Gibson) brings to Microsoft a wealth of international
experience in fighting crime and fraud, both within the public and
financial sectors," said Nick McGrath, head of platform strategy at
Microsoft. "(He) will help ensure that enterprises and public sector
bodies more effectively integrate their security procedures, getting the
most out of their investments in security technologies."
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/

(London) U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc announced that it plans to
offer two stripped-down handsets in the U.K. for customers who want
only basic voice and text services. "We have many customers who want
the latest mobile phone with all the advanced services from full track
music downloads to video calling and mobile TV," said Vodafone
Chief Marketing Officer Peter Bamford. "We also have customers who
just want to make and receive calls and text messages on their mobile
phones." Vodafone said it has teamed up with Sagem, a France-based
telecommunications equipment maker, to develop the new phones,
which have large screens and three buttons for direct access to the most
commonly used services: the main screen, contacts and messages.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?F28E35F1B

(Dublin) Micheal Martin, Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade and
Employment, has opened the Centre for Research in Engineering
Surface Technology (CREST), based in the Dublin Institute of
Technology. Martin said that CREST would work in collaboration with
industry on research issues of medium-term interest to Irish-based
industry and provide improved access to technology. "The centre has
made a significant contribution to the development of an R&D
infrastructure for industry in Ireland, having been part of the former
Institute for Industrial Research & Standards, and having gained
extensive experience in R&D, advice and consultancy for
manufacturing industry," Martin said.
http://www.crestdit.com/main.html

(Paris) The Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance (FMCA) announced
that eight more telecommunications operators have joined its ranks.
The new members include Spanish operator Auna Group, Belgacom,
Cesky Telecom, Eircom, Hong Kong operator PCCW, Thai operator
TRUE, Telecom New Zealand and Telkom South Africa. Existing
members include AT&T Corp, Bezeq, Brasil Telecom, BT Group,
Cegetel, Korea Telecom, KPN, NTT Com, Rogers Wireless Inc. and
Wwisscom. With the new members, more than 240 million customers
worldwide stand to benefit from the development of so-called
convergence services, FMCA said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L12E52F1B 

(Glasgow) PPD, a U.S.-based scientific research services firm,
announced that it is to expand its operations in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
The expansion will create an additional 95 jobs by the year 2007 in the
fields of data management, biostatistics and clinical trials management
and monitoring, the company said. PPD also said it plans to consolidate
its Lanarkshire sites at Carnwath and Bellshill in purpose-built
premises in Strathclyde Business Park. Colin Shannon, executive vice-
president of international clinical operations for PPD, said his company
chose to expand its Lanarkshire operations because of the quality
workforce and business friendly environment.
http://www.ppdi.com/

(Norcross, Georgia) EMS Technologies, a U.S.-based wireless, satellite
and defence firm, announced that its Satcom unit has been awarded a
three-year maintenance contract with the U.K. Maritime and
Coastguard Agency (MCA) for the U.K. Search and Rescue system.
The three-year contract to provide lifecycle and mission-critical support
is worth about £1 million, the company said. "This is another
opportunity for us to demonstrate our leadership in the SAR field by
providing the most up-do-date software with the latest features, and the
timeliest support to the MCA's mission-critical operations," said Steven
Edgett, vice president of EMS SATCOM Emergency Management
Products Group.
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/050520/78575.html

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> 2nd Annual Popkomm Innovation in Music and Entertainment
Awards (IMEA)

Popkomm is one of Europe's leading Music & Entertainment - Industry
tradeshows and conferences. IMEA is chaired by Music Futurist Gerd
Leonhard (ThinkAndLink). IMEA's mission is to find, select and
present the best new business ideas, the brightest entrepreneurs and
startups in the music-, media - and entertainment-technology sectors,
worldwide, and provide a new platform for their discovery. Apply now
(it's free)
Contact: http://www.popkommawards.com  or gleonhard@gmail.com
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> IDEAlliance's XTech 2005 and The Gilbane Conference on Content
Mgmt.

Slated for 24-27 May in Amsterdam, XTech 2005 is the premier
European conference for developers and managers working with XML
and Web technologies, bringing together the worlds of web
development, open source, semantic web and open standards. The
Gilbane Conference is for IT managers, system architects, technical
business and project managers. Topics include: enterprise and web
content management, knowledge management, collaboration, enterprise
search, and document management. For more info visit
http://www.xtech.org  or http://www.lighthouseseminars.com
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Copyright: CapWire Inc. 2005