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Microsoft is dropping Internet Explorer for Macs, and West Virginia is dropping its anti-trust case against Microsoft. Both developments came Monday, when West Virginia’s attorney general decided to accept the antitrust settlement reached last year with the other states that challenged the company’s monopoly. That leaves Massachusetts as the only state pursuing an appeal for tougher sanctions. The settlement ensures that Microsoft will offer up to $18 million in vouchers to state residents who have purchased its software and that the company will contribute $1 million for state schools. Microsoft’s other Monday revelation was a concession of sorts to Apple, which launched its own browser in January after an agreement with Microsoft lapsed. Though Microsoft will continue to produce Mac Office products, it will not produce new versions of Explorer.
Hackers make Labour Party doggone mad
Is Tony Blair President Bush’s bitch? Quite literally, according to hackers who briefly hijacked Britain’s Labour Party web site Monday. An image of George Bush carrying a dog with British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s head pasted onto it blinked onto the ruling party’s web site this week. Party higher-ups quickly noticed and removed the image. Still, the joke made headlines across the country, where many criticized Blair for his support of Bush’s Iraqi invasion when much of the rest of the world opposed it. The Labor Party promised to improve site security in the wake of the hack.
Fox IQ quiz show spurs traffic to test site
Fox’s “Test the Nation” special last week, hosted by Leeza Gibbons, wasn’t just a surprise ratings hit. The show also attracted a Fox interactive television record, spurring massive traffic to the network’s tie-in web site. The show featured an IQ quiz taken by members of the in-studio and at-home audience, available to the latter on TestonFox.com. More than 463,000 users logged on to take the quiz, which was synchronized across the country. The site received 8.2 million page views from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Eastern time. Fox claimed that that made it the most successful interactive quiz show ever, not that there have been all that many, with numbers better than ABC, CBS and NBC.
Nearly 2,000 fans pay for historic Clemens game
Those who missed Roger Clemens’ historic 300th career win against the St. Louis Cardinals last week, or those who want to see it again, have been flocking to mlb.com to download a copy of the game. Major League Baseball reports that 1,700 fans thus far have paid $3.95 apiece for the Friday game, which became available on Saturday. The site had already gotten several hundred reservations for the game before it was actually played. It’s the second game available thus far in baseball’s new project. The first, the Houston Astros’ no-hitter against the New York Yankees last week, has sold about 500 copies. This week video of an April 27 no-hitter thrown by Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kevin Millwood went on sale. Mlb.com will offer what it terms “instant classics” for sale the rest of the season before offering as many games as possible next season.
NAA and comScore team for local paper studies
The Newspaper Association of American (NAA) and comScore Networks have paired for a new initiative that will analyze buying and visiting behavior of online newspaper readers. The new service, called LocalScore, will focus on 78 markets. It will track things such as how much readers of the Minneapolis StarTribune.com spend on dining out ($925 million in 2002). The NAA hopes that the information will help papers target advertisers who do not advertise in the print editions as exclusive online advertisers. ComScore has a network of 1.5 million global users.
June 18, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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