16
November
2007
|
07:15 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch 11.16.07: GOOG goes for the spectrum

GOOG to go it alone in auction bid

[WSJ] Google is prepared to bid on its own without any partners, say people familiar with the matter. It is working out a plan to finance its bid, which could run $4.6 billion or higher, that would rely on its own cash and possibly some borrowed money.

Amazon to launch book reader Monday

[News.com] The Kindle is equipped with a Wi-Fi connection that taps into an Amazon e-book store, which users can access to purchase new electronic books--and Amazon has reportedly signed onto a deal with Sprint for EVDO access. Additionally, the device comes with a headphone jack for audiobooks, as well as an e-mail address.

Video company petitions FCC over Comcast throttling

[ZDNet] So things are really heating up on the Comcast front. Vuze, an open platform for video distribution that uses BitTorrent, has filed a formal petition for the FCC to make some rules about what Comcast is doing. And this comes just a day after a Comcast consumer filed a lawsuit in California court against Comcast, accusing it of deceptive business practices and false advertising.

Singapore lifts ban on game with lesbian scene

[USAToday] Censors had banned the game because of a lesbian sex scene between two characters, but The Straits Times says officials announced today that they will let retailers sell the futuristic Xbox title in Singapore. It will carry an M18 rating, the paper says.

Adu Dhabi takes 8% of AMD

[NYT] The infusion of cash comes as A.M.D. is struggling to control costs as it refocuses its research and development efforts amid intense competition from Intel, the leading chip maker. The Mubadala Development Company, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, received 49 million newly issued shares at $12.70 per share, the closing price on Thursday. Mubadala will not receive a board seat as part of the deal.

In ID theft, some victims see opportunity

[NYT] A raft of new companies like Debix, LifeLock and TrustedId say they can make it easier for consumers to protect themselves — for a monthly fee of about $10. “We take a miserable and painfully confusing process and make it as easy as we can, given the constraints the credit agencies put on us,” said Scott Mitic, chief executive of TrustedID, which is based in Redwood City, Calif.

Senate to debate telecom immunity

[WaPo] A battle over legal immunity for telecommunication companies that participated in a controversial Bush administration counterterrorism surveillance program landed on the Senate floor yesterday, after the Judiciary Committee voted to preserve protections for companies who help the government.