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In the latest chapter of the Microsoft antitrust saga, AOL-owned Netscape Communications has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft seeking damages for its alleged anticompetitive behavior during the so-called browser wars that saw Netscape's market share shrink dramatically. Netscape was the top internet browser until Microsoft began bundling its Internet Explorer browser with its Windows operating system and encouraging users to download it at no cost. Internet Explorer is now far and away the most commonly used browser, and Netscape, which was acquired by America Online before its merger with Time Warner, is struggling. The lawsuit seeks undetermined damages. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, where deliberations are underway for other Microsoft antitrust suits. Two federal courts have already found that Microsoft exercised anticompetitive practices against rivals, including Netscape.
Yahoo introduces pay-for-search service
Yahoo’s struggle to become truly profitable amid dismal advertising sales has taken another turn. The portal is introducing a high-end search service that requires a toll for each use. With the so-called Premium Document Search, consumers will be able to comb the internet for articles from newspapers, trade journals and other publications, but they’ll have to pay to see the documents. The service is similar to search engine Northern Light’s service, which has a reputation for offering access to high-quality material. Northern Light recently stopped offering free searches. In fact, Divine, the company that picked up some of Northern Light’s assets, is Yahoo’s partner in offering the pay-for-search service.
Enlisting idle computers in search for ’thrax cure
Following the old saw, “Two heads are better than one,” a group of researchers has called upon people to tap the processing power of their idle computers in search of a cure for anthrax. The technique, called “distributed computing,” previously has been applied in the search for life in outer space and a cure for cancer. The anthrax project is being led by scientists at Oxford University. As with other distributed computing projects, participants download a screen saver that kicks in whenever a personal computer is idle. The computers’ processors, which would not be doing anything useful otherwise, are put to work processing data on some 3.5 billion molecular compounds that potentially could stop anthrax bacteria from producing the toxins that kill the infected.
Pope: The internet rules, but it needs more rules
Yesterday was World Communications Day and, as long promised, Pope John Paul II took the opportunity to proclaim his thoughts on the internet. The Catholic Church needs to expand its internet presence if it plans to stick around, the Pontiff says. Cyberspace, he believes, is an excellent medium for evangelizing and spreading the faith. He also declared that the internet can be deployed to further peace, unity and understanding. But at the same time, the Pope believes that the internet must be more tightly regulated, in part because it is too easily put to uses contrary to the values of Christianity. The admittedly technophobic Pope began taking steps to lead the Church onto the web last fall, when he apologized online for sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic clergy.
St. Louis portal chops staff as head resigns
STLToday.com, a portal for the city of St. Louis and the web site of the Pulitzer Inc.-owned St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is experiencing a bit of downturn-related turmoil. The company is laying off 15 members of its workforce, and top executive Collette Hogan is stepping down. The publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was quoted in the newspaper as saying that the web site was not bringing in enough ad revenue to sustain itself. The site has not become profitable, even though it gets about three million page views a week. SLToday.com was launched in March 2001 as the successor to the paper’s first web site, Postnet.com.
January 23, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
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