Newsbytes Internet Week In Review

By Wendy Woods, Newsbytes
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.,
01 Feb 2002, 2:18 PM CST



These were the top breaking news stories in interactive services, the Internet, broadband and e-commerce, as reported by Newsbytes this week:

Court Orders Kazaa Closed, But Kazaa Stays Open

An Amsterdam district court has ordered Kazaa to stop offering its free Kazaa Media Desktop music-downloading software through its Web site, but the software is still available on the site, and it is still being downloaded at the rate of more than one copy per second, according to a counter on the Kazaa Web site. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174159.html

WeatherBug To Allow Users To Choose An Advertiser

WeatherBug, a local weather service owned and operated by AWS Convergence Technologies, has 7 million free users who look at ads in exchange for information on their neighborhood weather. WeatherBug also has 10,000 subscribers who pay $19.95 a year for ad-free content. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174133.html

50 Million In U.S. Have Downloaded Music - Survey

More than 50 Million U.S. residents - 23 percent of the nation's population - have downloaded music in MP3 or other formats from the Internet, according to a study by consumer behavior research firm Ipsos-Reid. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174156.html

Napster Case: Is Judge Turning Tables On Labels?

A judge's decision allowing Napster to pursue copyright misuse claims against major record labels seems to signal a sea change in the music industry's lawsuit against the peer-to-peer song-swapping service, according to a trio of legal experts. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174154.html

Most Web Users Find Online News Credible - Study

American Internet users believe that online news outlets are at least as credible as many traditional media sources including newspapers, television broadcasts and magazines, according to the Online News Association. More than 78 percent of Internet users said that cable television-operated Web sites were "credible," while roughly 67 percent said that Web sites operated by national television and newspaper outlets were credible. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174132.html

Ford Appeals Court Ruling On Domain Name Spoof

Ford intends to appeal a federal judge's ruling that an ongoing Internet prank involving Ford's main Web site does not violate trademark law. Ford sued 2600 over a prank in which a magazine bought the Internet address "f--kgeneralmotors.com" and configured it so that it linked directly to Ford Motor Company's real home page. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174127.html

FTC To Announce First Ever Crackdown On 'Spam'

The campaign would mark the first time the consumer-protection agency has specifically targeted spam as the focus of a law enforcement investigation, said Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174111.html

Ebay To Serve Up Sotheby's Online Auctions

Tony auction house Sotheby's says it will turn to Ebay to sell art and collectibles online, rather than continue to operate its own Web site for well-heeled bidders. The addition of Sotheby's will bring an end to Ebay's own brand of higher-end auctions, which it has been calling Ebay Premier. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174099.html

Motley Fool Goes From Free To Fee

Starting Feb. 14, Motley Fool users will have to pay $29.95 per year for access to its popular online discussion boards, according to a letter the company's founders, David and Tom Gardner, posted on the site Monday. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174094.html

Marketers Embrace 'Seal' Program For Commercial E-Mail

The new service, dubbed the "Trusted Sender" program, seeks to couple the reputation of TRUSTe's well-known "privacy seal" program with a new technology developed by the Philadelphia-based ePrivacy Group, a company created from an unusual alliance of marketing experts, privacy advocates and anti-spam activists. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174093.html

Dot-Com Job Cuts Continue To Slow

Dot-com job cuts slowed for the third straight month in January, falling to a 19-month low of 1,802, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174086.html

MusicMatch Opens Music Subscription Gates To Mac Users

MusicMatch, a digital jukebox maker that operates a subscription music service called "Radio MX," has become the first music subscription platform to operate on Apple's Macintosh computers. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174083.html

Dot-Coop Internet Domain Opens For Business

"Dot-coop," a newly minted Internet domain set aside for employee-owned businesses, went live, becoming the newest neighborhood in the Internet's worldwide addressing space. A co-op is a specific type of employee-owned business. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174082.html

Registrar Predicts Cold Reception For Dot-Com Resale Plan

Although Internet addressing giant VeriSign has tweaked its controversial domain-name redistribution proposal to make it more palatable to Internet registrars, an executive for one registrar predicted that his colleagues wouldn't warm up to the refurbished plan. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174077.html

Companies Still Struggle Using The Web For Business - Study

According to a new study by the Yankee Group, a lot of companies do not understand how to properly use the online channel to enhance their business. The study, which Melsted authored, recommends businesses follow six steps to offering their customers a great online experience. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174047.html

Investigation Sought Into Microsoft's Online Services

The Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center wants U.S. Attorney General Charles James and key congressional committees to launch an investigation into alleged privacy violations linked to Microsoft's ".Net Passport" system, which offers users a single sign-in for a range of Microsoft online commercial services. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174039.html

Google Denies Pop-Up Ads Are Its Fault

Although Google acknowledged that it posts several types of advertising in the main body of its pages, the company blamed the pop-ups on shady tactics by other sites and free software programs. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174036.html

Pressplay Adds Personalization Features

MediaUnbound, founded by some of the Harvard University students who put the school's radio station on the Web a few years ago, announced that its AudioInsight software will be used to recommend music to Pressplay subscribers based on their own listening preferences. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173986.html

Analysts See Online Ad Market Rebound This Year

After enduring months of shrinking revenues, online advertising will enjoy a bounce back year in 2002, according to a new study by CMR, a company that tracks the advertising market. Internet advertising will grow 8.8 percent from 2001 to 2002, the largest predicted percentage growth of any media, it predicts. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173971.html

Target Forces Targetshopper.com To Relinquish Name

Discount retailer Target and online electronics vendor Targetshopper.com have reached a settlement in their trademark infringement dispute, according to an attorney for Targetshopper.com. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173970.html