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Vendors Stick by New York
Soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani encouraged people and businesses to come back to the city. High-tech companies are doing just that.
Last week, Sun went ahead with plans to unveil the Sun Fire 15K high-end server at an event in the city. President and Chief Operating Officer Ed Zander said the company thought of moving it to San Francisco but decided otherwise after Giulianis request.
Still, the unveiling was downcast. An emotional CEO Scott McNealy, wearing a dark suit, spoke of the 340-plus Sun employees whose offices were in the World Trade Center and of Phil Rosenzweig, the director of the software division who died on one of the planes that crashed into the towers. “Our folks were victims, and they saw things they shouldnt have to see,” McNealy said.
Also last week, Microsoft said it was going ahead with its Oct. 25 launch of Windows XP in New York, a move that pleased Giuliani.
Napster Suit Comes to Terms
Embattled online file sharing service Napster last week reached a preliminary agreement with the National Music Publishers Association to settle the latters lawsuit against it.
The agreement calls for Napster to pay music creators and copyright owners $26 million in settlement of damages for past, unauthorized uses of music. Napster will also pay a $10 million advance against future licensing royalties to songwriters and music publishers.
The NMPAs licensing subsidiary will license rights, collect and distribute royalties, and monitor compliance under the agreement.
Napster plans to launch a membership-based file sharing service by the end of the year.
NASDAQ to Stop Delisting
The NASDAQ last week said it will suspend at least until Jan. 2 its rule of delisting companies whose stocks trade for less than $1 .
That will be welcome news to the several hundred companies—many of them in high tech—that were in danger of delisting. The NASDAQ, which made its decision in light of the terrorist attacks, said it will review the policy again after the first of the year.