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Microsoft under investigation
The European Commission is asking if Microsoft has been pressuring PC makers and software rivals over its antitrust case concerning Web browsers. The Commission, Europe’s top competition regulator, has sent around a questionnaire concerning its preferred remedy for restoring fair competition in the browser market. Three of the questions try to ascertain whether or not the software giant is trying to influence the outcome of a procedure known as market testing of the remedy.
Adobe begins its own “patch Tuesday”
Adobe has released critical security patches, fixing 13 bugs in its Reader and Acrobat software. The patches were released Tuesday, the same day as Microsoft’s monthly security update, making for a hectic day of patching for some system administrators. Microsoft patched a record 31 bugs, including critical flaws in Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer. Adobe’s software has increasingly been targeted by attackers who have found ways to use bugs in the code to install malicious software on computers. They do this by tricking a victim into opening a maliciously encoded .pdf file.
Motorola closes music stores
More online music stores are closing down. Motorola plans to shut its Soundbuzz music store in Singapore and its MotoMusic India service next month, according to messages posted on their respective Web sites. Soundbuzz will close on July 15, with users advised to download all of their purchased music and burn it to CD-ROM by that date. MotoMusic India will close the same day. Motorola acquired Soundbuzz in January last year, hoping to make it the biggest online music store in Asia. The acquisition was meant to complement its MotoMusic service, which was only available in China at that point. The Chinese store remains unaffected fr now.
HP releases new products for mega-server farms
Hewlett-Packard has introduced a new line of x86 servers for companies that operate massive computing facilities where shaving a few dollars off the energy or shipping costs for each system can add up to significant savings. The ProLiant SL servers are aimed at Web companies like Yahoo and Facebook, and also at enterprises that use giant server farms for tasks like modelling financial data or designing aircraft, HP said. The first three SL models, based on Intel’s Xeon 5500 Nehalem processors, are due to ship next month. The server boards have a new layout to optimize cooling, allowing HP to use four large fans at the back of each rack instead of one for each server, and to run the fans at lower speeds.
And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I’m Peter Sayer in Paris. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.