AOL Is First in China
Wired News Report
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47773,00.html
10:55 a.m. Oct. 22, 2001 PDT
AOL Time Warner is taking Chinese state television into American homes in a
deal announced Monday that makes the company the first foreign broadcaster
given direct access to Chinese audiences.
AOL Time Warner (AOL) said broadcasts of its Chinese-language CETV channel
would begin next year on cable systems in Guangdong province.
CETV's programming is a mix of Chinese entertainment shows, cartoons, game
shows, movies and sports. It also carries versions of some U.S. shows like
Miami Vice and the cartoon Johnny Bravo dubbed into Chinese.
It will be the first time a foreign broadcaster will reach Chinese audiences
with the government's approval.
- - -
Patent suit: Macromedia is claiming it owns the patent to Adobe Systems'
Photoshop program, according to a suit filed in federal court Friday.
Macromedia (MACR) alleges that the technology behind Adobe's (ADBE)
Photoshop and GoLive programs was patented by Macromedia in 1998. The
programs are used for creating and editing websites and other uses.
The company is asking a judge to block Adobe from selling the software and
seeking "damages in an amount not yet determined." No court date has been
set.
- - -
PC sales slow: Worldwide sales of personal computers slowed for a second
consecutive quarter, with Dell Computer the only major PC maker to see an
increase in the just-concluded third quarter, two research firms said last
week.
Figures released in July showed that the worldwide PC industry shrank in the
second quarter of 2001 for the first time ever.
IDC estimated that 29.1 million PCs were shipped around the world in the
third quarter, down 13.7 percent from the same period in 2000 and by 0.8
percent from the second quarter. Dell (DELL) had 14.5 percent of the market,
followed by Compaq (CPQ), which had 11 percent, IBM (IBM) at 6.9 percent and
Hewlett-Packard (HWP) at 6.7 percent, IDC said.
Gartner Dataquest put the worldwide total at 30.5 million PCs, with Dell
registering 13.8 percent market share, Compaq 10.4, IBM 6.6 and HP 6.4.
- - -
Analysts praise Microsoft: Microsoft may be bruised by a flat personal
computer market and massive investment losses, but the company signaled in
its latest earnings release that such setbacks will not fell the software
company.
Analysts agreed, predicting that shareholders will flock to Microsoft (MSFT)
as other tech companies predict even bigger worries.
"I think what's likely to happen is that we'll see Microsoft ... become a
safe haven for technology investors," said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst with
Pacific Crest Securities. "It's got reliable earnings and it's a company
that's not going to blow up even though PC growth has slowed."
For its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, Microsoft saw earnings drop by
42 percent, but still managed to beat Wall Street's reduced expectations.
- - -
Yahoo enhances messaging: Yahoo is enhancing its instant-messaging service
with a variety of new virtual "environments" for online chats, in a bid for
more users and advertising revenue.
Beginning Monday, Yahoo (YHOO) is adding themed backgrounds to its messenger
service. The real-time chats will appear in new forms such as in frames or
thought bubbles in a comic strip.
The backgrounds are meant to make the service more fun to use and more
attractive to advertisers because they can include links to pages with
products for sale.
"It's a new way for users to express emotions and their thoughts," said Lisa
Pollock, Yahoo's director of messaging products. "We think this is going to
catapult us in usage."
- - -
Digital flirtation: Love is just a flick of the wrist away in Manhattan.
A new bar near the East Village mixes reality television, digital media,
joysticks, instant messaging and a dose of voyeurism to create a setting
that could revolutionize flirting in New York.
The result is Remote Lounge -- a bar with more than 100 screens, featuring
the goings-on of patrons on about 70 closed-circuit channels.
Several "cocktail" consoles that double as tables allow party-goers to
control any of the bar's 60 cameras with joysticks to scope out a potential
date or observe the couple in the corner.
- - -
Sony's new PDA: Sony has announced a new mid-range handheld, the PEG-T415, a
320-by-320 monochrome model.
It runs Palm OS 4.1 and has 8 MB of RAM and 4 MB of Flash ROM. It uses the
33 MHz Dragonball processor from Motorola. According to Sony, it is the
world's thinnest PDA at .41 inches thick.
It is the first Sony (SNE) model to come bundled with Documents to Go for
compatibility with Microsoft Office. Its infrared port has been enhanced to
allow it to be used as a TV/VCR remote and it has an improved speaker and
audio abilities.
It will be available near the end of November for $300.
AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
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