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Nokia plans to buy Oz Communications, a Canadian company that develops mobile phone software for accessing instant-messaging services from AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft. Mobile users can see at a glance if their buddies are available and take part in several instant messaging conversations simultaneously. The software is designed to work on a wide range of phones, including low-end handsets. Nokia said it will continue to support Oz’s existing handset and mobile operator customers.
RealNetworks and the Motion Picture Association of America have filed dueling lawsuits against one other over a product that allows people to copy DVDs. The MPAA accuses RealNetworks of allowing buyers of its RealDVD software to illegally copy DVDs. RealNetworks filed its own lawsuit Tuesday, responding to threats of a lawsuit by MPAA members. RealNetworks says its software “fully complies” with the DVD Copy Control license agreement because it locks the DVD copy to a single computer. Kaleidescape, the maker of a similar product, prevailed in a March 2007 ruling on a lawsuit brought by the DVD Copy Control Association, RealNetworks notes.
Advanced Micro Devices said its Shanghai processor is on track to ship in servers by the end of the year and sought to reassure customers that the problems that delayed its previous server chip, Barcelona, are a thing of the past. AMD said it has overhauled its testing process to avoid similar problems with Shanghai, another four-core processor that is being manufactured with a more advanced, 45-nanometer process. It says the new chip will give a 35 percent performance boost over Barcelona and consume 35 percent less power.
NTT DoCoMo’s Separate Phone prototype dramatically rethinks what a cellular phone can be like, but the handset isn’t for the absent minded. The Separate Phone comes in two parts, one with a touch-sensitive display and another with a keypad. The two communicate over a Bluetooth wireless connection. The parts can be attached magnetically, allowing the phone to take the shape of a standard clamshell handset. The idea is to make it easier to access data on the phone while using it to talk. A working prototype of the Separate Phone was on display at the Ceatec exhibition in Chiba, Japan.
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.
