Sing It Supremes
Microsoft asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out Judge Thomas Penfield Jacksons ruling that it illegally abused its monopoly power, charging that his clandestine press interviews during the trial proved judicial bias. The Department of Justice Aug. 10 asked that the appeals court not delay seeking penalties from Microsoft while the Supreme Court considers the case.
Space Battle
The future control of satellite TV service depends on which company wins the bidding for Hughes Electronics DirecTV service. A bid by rival satellite broadcaster EchoStar Communications last week was considered a long shot to beat out longstanding efforts by Rupert Murdochs News Corp. to take over the direct broadcast satellite provider.
Sea-Worthy
TAT-14 — an undersea cable network connecting Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. — has been completed, at a cost of $1.4 billion. The ring gives 48 participating carriers — including Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Sprint and WorldCom — 640-gigabit-per-second capacity.
Net Ads
Online advertising revenue is expected to reach $5.7 billion this year — up from last years $5.4 billion, but down from earlier projections, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. The forecast, released last week, predicts Internet spending of $12.9 billion in 2005.
Costly Worm
Its official: Code Red is the most expensive worm in history. The cost so far is $2 billion, and its rising by $200 million per day, according to research firm Computer Economics. Microsofts Hotmail service was infected, as were AT&T and FedEx. On Aug. 10, reports from South Korea said Code Red had mutated to a third variant.
