Take-Two Interactive Software and its Rockstar Games subsidiary are being sued in federal court in Manhattan over hidden sexual content in their popular Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York, is seeking class-action status for purchasers of the games. A Take-Two Interactive spokesman didn't immediately have a comment.
The plaintiff, Florence Cohen, claims in her lawsuit that she purchased the game for her teenage grandson in or about late 2004 when the game was rated "M" for mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. She says she was damaged when it came to light that sexually explicit scenes believed to be inaccessible by players were left in the game by developers.
A Dutch programmer cracked the code that locked players out of the explicit scenes and has distributed software on the internet that allows players to retrieve that content. The game's rating has since been changed to adults only.
The lawsuit makes claims of unfair business practices, consumer deception and false advertising against Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games.
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Off and running: Microsoft (MSFT) began offering software developers and technology partners a trial version of its next major upgrade to Windows on Wednesday.
The beta version of Windows Vista -- formerly code-named Longhorn -- is aimed mainly at software engineers who will be writing programs that run on the software.
Those developers, who will work on a beta that lacks the main graphics interface, will report bugs and other issues that need to be fixed before the software is released in the second half of 2006.
Microsoft said it would release a second trial version, or beta 2, before the targeted launch date.
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Motorola, Yahoo gambit: Motorola and Yahoo say they are teaming up to offer Yahoo's online content and services on mobile devices made by Motorola, including the company's upcoming iRadio product.
Users will be able to access Yahoo's offerings on Motorola's Linux-based mobile devices and other high-speed internet products, including iRadio, a new device that can play internet radio channels and the user's personal digital music collection. Motorola plans to launch iRadio later this year.
Yahoo (YHOO) said the deal with Motorola will extend its reach beyond desktop computers into the wireless market. Motorola-made devices carrying Yahoo content will be available to consumers starting next year, the company said.
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Secure with Big Blue: Trying to stay atop the market for corporate computer servers, IBM (IBM) renewed its lucrative line of mainframe computers Tuesday with a new system aimed at helping banks, government agencies and other big customers keep data secure.
IBM spent $1.2 billion over the past three years developing the new mainframe, the z9, which is twice as powerful as Big Blue's current top model. The price starts around $1 million.
Like previous mainframes -- enormous, centralized computers that date to the early days of the digital era -- the z9 can encrypt data. But IBM contends the new machines make encryption more of a priority by spreading that capability throughout the system instead of just in the central processor.
As a result, IBM executives said, banks and other customers that traffic in sensitive data will find it easier to encode backup tapes and other records that often are transmitted or stored in clear text. That flaw has been at the heart of some of the recent data breaches that have garnered widespread attention.
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AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
