July 2 - 4:50pm EDT   MCS Music America has filed a lawsuit against Real Networks, Yahoo and Microsoft over alleged music copyright infringements earlier this week. The copyright administration company claims the defendants breached copyright on several pieces of music and their artists. MCS represents a large number of other plaintiffs and says streaming music services such as Rhapsody, Zune and Yahoo Music allow users to retain the copyrighted tracks for an extended period of time, saying the defendants are required to obtain the rights for such a form of distribution. [full story]

June 3 - 10:50am EDT   The Justice Department is investigating the hiring strategies of some of America's largest high-tech corporations, according to the Washington Post. Companies involved in the probe include the likes of Apple, Google, Yahoo and Genentech, which are accused of making agreements to avoid recruiting from each other, thereby cementing their powerbase. Should allegations prove to be well-founded, the companies could be considered in violation of antitrust laws meant to ensure fair competition. [full story]

May 28 - 12:10pm EDT   Microsoft today tried to rekindle its search engine efforts through Bing (link active soon), a new service it hopes will fix problems with conventional search. The new tool is organized around common tasks like shopping or trip planning and has an Explore Pane that automatically suggests navigation and searches; it also has a "best match" to highlight what Bing thinks is the best answer and, in certain cases, shows the information the user was looking for on the page itself rather than requiring an additional click. [full story]

May 25 - 1:20pm EDT   A rumor today suggests Microsoft is planning to partly repeat its anti-Apple ad strategy when it launches a major new search engine. AdAge hears that Microsoft plans to spend between $80 million to $100 million advertising Bing, the final version of a radically revised search engine codenamed Kumo and meant to compete with Google, Yahoo and other top-tier search engines. At least initially, the ads created by marketing firm JWT won't target Google directly but will instead suggest something wrong with today's search engines and push Bing as the alternative. [full story]

May 18 - 10:15pm EDT   Yahoo has announced it will be abandoning its mobile application development for the Blackberry on May 20th. The company plans to focus on the development of its iPhone application, says TechCrunch. Yahoo Mobile was updated for the iPhone in April, combining features such as email, mobile search, IM, social messaging streams, and personalized Yahoo content such as news, sports, stocks, and RSS feeds. [full story]

May 11 - 4:55pm EDT   The world's largest software vendor, Microsoft, is selling bonds for the first time as of today. Despite having $25 billion in cash, the company has at least enough demand for $15 billion in bonds, an investor says. According to a Monday WSJ report, the company will sell notes that mature in five, 10 or 30 years. The prospectus says net proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes such as working capital, capital expenditures and repurchases of capital stock. [full story]

May 11 - 12:05pm EDT   Sharp made a push in earnest into Internet-capable TVs on Monday with the launch of the AQUOS D series in its home country of Japan. The new sets add support for a Yahoo video service that streams multiple content channels online using a built-in Ethernet link. They also bring 1080p, faster 120Hz panels and 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios for every set. [full story]

April 21 - 10:55am EDT   Microsoft and Yahoo are now deeper into talks about possible ad and search deals, new tips show. All Things D understands that the initial exploratory talks are now "hot and heavy" and that an agreement could be struck "sooner than some expect." Most of the eagerness is said to be on Microsoft's side, where the company is most interested in a deal; Yahoo is receptive but more cautious. [full story]

April 16 - 12:00pm EDT   The Internet-connected Verizon Hub home phone may soon get its own applications store, according to a Wednesday report. The phone, launched in the US on February 1st, already gets updates through the Internet for weather and traffic information, and users can watch videos via Verizon's V CAST service, but is now set to open to third-party software that would enable new tasks using the Internet, GPS or both. One new use for it would be to give users the ability to access Internet radio stations, for example. [full story]

April 10 - 10:35am EDT   Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz has resumed talks with Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer about possible deals for ads, search or more, according to sources of journalist Kara Swisher. Those close to Yahoo reportedly say that Bartz, Ballmer and other officials have been investigating deals that could not only involve web ad or search partnerships but also future, broader business relationships. One example plan would have Yahoo take over display and "premium" ads while Microsoft runs search ads. [full story]

April 9 - 11:55am EDT   Hitachi Japan recently announced the upcoming release of no less than 11 new HDTV models in two series, including four LCDs in the Wooo UT800 series as well as four plasmas and three LCDs in the Wooo 03 range. The ultra-thin UT800 LCDs are all about 1.4 inches thick and all sport 1080p resolutions. Their thin profile is achieved thanks to the use of Ultra Wideband wireless tuner boxes, called Wooo Stations, that sit away from the HDTVs. Apart from dual tuners, the Wooo Stations also house a 250GB hard disk drive, an iVDR-S slot for removable DVR recordings and an SDHC memory card slot. They are available in 32-, 37-, 42- and 47-inch sizes. [full story]

April 6 - 2:10pm EDT   Yahoo today unveiled a reworked, public beta version of Yahoo Music that significantly changes the company's philosophy on content. The new version serves as a central hub for third-party music services and will let users buy songs from a number of sources, including Amazon and iTunes. It likewise collects Internet radio streams from Last.fm and Pandora as well as music videos on YouTube. [full story]

March 19 - 12:20pm EDT   Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer in an interview Thursday revealed the company's current approach to competing with rivals, particularly Apple. The executive noted he believes that Apple may have difficulties as smartphones gain market share as the iPhone is relatively expensive to make. Where Ballmer estimated that an iPhone costs about $500 before factoring in carrier subsidies, he saw the "sweet spot" as being phones that have a pure cost between $150 and $200, which are more likely to include Windows Mobile. [full story]

March 18 - 5:00pm EDT   A survey of web surfers in Europe paid for by Google, Yahoo and Skype showed 90 percent of those polled want their Internet service providers to allow unrestricted access to the Internet, says a Wednesday report. The survey polled 944 consumers in France, Germany and the United Kingdom and was conducted by market research firm Synovate, and coincides with the ongoing process of the European Parliament and the EU's to invoke an Internet freedom law. [full story]

March 2 - 10:40pm EST   Uncharacteristically launching TVs outside of CES, Sony on Monday night unveiled the BRAVIA W5100 series. The refresh is a deliberately lower-cost option that brings the same Internet features as the Z5100 and XBR9 but without the expensive panel technology. Any W5100 set can access Flickr and news widgets through Yahoo's industry-wide interface when connected over Ethernet. They can also tap into Amazon VOD, YouTube or Sony's internal movie and music services to stream video. [full story]