Mark Hachman

Maxtor Corp. subsidiary MMC Technology this week plans to announce that it believes it can manufacture next-generation hard-disk platters using todays equipment, helping keep future storage costs down. By 2005, MMC believes, the industry will have switched over to a new storage technique called “perpendicular recording”, maintaining the steady increases in storage capacity the hard […]

Manufacturers of DVD media this week announced details of forthcoming dual-layer recordable discs that will expand capacity to 8.5GB. However, compatibility with older drives may be an issue. Supporters of the DVD-R/RW format, lead by Pioneer Corp. this week announced a 8.5GB disc at the CEATEC Japan 2003 expo in Makuhari Messe, Japan. Likewise, the […]

Intuit Corp. hopes to close the book on its TurboTax fiasco on Thursday, placing ads in major newspapers that will apologize to its customers. Intuit, which has said it will end its e-activation scheme on the latest version of its TurboTax tax software, felt it was necessary to publicly note the change. The company will […]

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Macrovision Corp. launched the next iteration of its software licensing platform, promising that software publishers will have the freedom to select from multiple business models including utility pricing. Macrovisions launch of its new FlexNet platform formed the centerpiece of Mondays SoftSummit e-licensing show here. Macrovision will launch FlexNet with a variety of partners, […]

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Oracle Corp. has a message for those obsessed with software piracy: relax. While most of the software industry has begun doggedly tracking down and stamping out instances of illegally copied software, Oracles top licensing executive said that her company will tolerate scattered instances of piracy if it means keeping an enterprise customer up […]

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari to Infineon Technologies in its case against Rambus Inc., a definitive move which clears the Rambus/Infineon infringement trial to move forward. What both sides agreed upon was the decision now allows a federal court in Virginia to retry the case by jury trial. Rambus […]

SAN JOSE, Calif.—More and more, evolving licensing models will determine the direction and success of the software industry, a top Macromedia Inc. executive said Monday. Macromedia, which took great pains to describe the e-licensing model the company rolled out earlier this year, said that its activation strategy has been a success. In terms of revenue, […]

Motorola Inc. said Monday it will spin off its chip operations into a separate company, prepping the spin-off for a public offering at a future date. The spin-off will give the companys Semiconductor Products Sector (Motorola SPS) the freedom and leverage to conduct its own business deals, using capital it can raise from the public […]

Seeking a way to improve the reliability of Windows, BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies LLC and Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced an agreement to develop device-level management services for future versions of the Windows OS. The deal will tie together the Phoenix “Core” BIOS software more closely to the Microsoft OS. These forthcoming services will deliver […]

The dust hadnt settled following Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s launch of its new Athlon 64 chip earlier this week, when online reports began to circulate about its availability. Analysts and OEM system vendors werent troubled by the rumors, and Fujitsu Ltd. offered a glimpse into its plans for the processor. Meanwhile, AMD is already looking […]

Intel Corp. today announced that it had invested $450 million in DRAM maker Micron Technology Inc., in a bid to boost the production of next-generation double data rate memory modules. “The availability of high-performance memory is critical as we continue to develop advanced microprocessors and communications components,” said Intel CEO Craig Barrett, in a statement. […]

Seagate Technology Inc. entered the external hard drive market last week, announcing 160-GB and 200-GB models that have already begun to ship to retailers. The drives come with button for automatic backup. Seagate follows both Maxtor and Western Digital into the external drive market, which consumers are beginning to use as a convenient means of […]