Microsoft has filed a second appeal against a European Union ruling that ordered it to share code with open-source software companies.
Microsoft (MSFT) spokesman Tom Brookes said the new appeal before the EU's second-highest court comes in the wake of a June agreement with the EU head office to let the courts decide the source-code issue.
EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said the interoperability protocols of Microsoft software were not eligible for intellectual property protection and should be able to circulate among open-source companies according to their usual business licenses.
A date has not yet been set for the first appeal against the EU's order for Microsoft to pay 497 million euros ($620.41 million), Europe's largest-ever antitrust fine.
The EU claimed the software giant had abusively wielded its Windows software domination to lock competitors out of the market. It ordered Microsoft to sell a version of its Windows software without its Media Player and compelled it to share technology with competitors that make server software so their products can better communicate with Windows-powered computers.
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Costly mobility: Cell phones may become the new way for the iPod masses to download and listen to music in the coming years, but wireless companies may not see much of a boost to their profits from selling such services.
Despite all the excitement about wireless song purchases, such mobile music is likely to deliver much poorer profit margins than wireless carriers are used to from phone calls or other services such as ring tones.
Pricing these services could require a tough balancing act between profitability and creating widespread demand since iTunes, Apple Computer's (AAPL) high-profile digital music service, charges only 99 cents a song.
Subscription services that let consumers pay a monthly fee to play an unlimited number of songs without actually buying the song could give carriers a greater share of the revenue from such services. Carriers could also ask for as much as $4 for a package that could include a full song, a musical ring tone and maybe some graphics, all related to the same song.
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Tiny on the go: Scientists have made a breakthrough in nanotechnology that could hasten the development of molecular machines that could act as artificial muscles or drug-delivery systems in the body.
Chemists at Edinburgh University said they had built molecules that can move objects larger than the size of an atom in an advance in the technology that deals with manipulating materials on a minuscule scale.
The chemists used ultraviolet light to stimulate the man-made molecules to propel small droplets of liquid across flat and sloped surfaces.
The achievement, according to the researchers, is equivalent to a conventional machine lifting an object to more than twice the height of the world's tallest building.
Researchers predict the technology could lead to more powerful computers, very light but strong materials, advanced medical techniques and longer lasting, more effective medicines.
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Any time, anywhere: South Korea has developed new software that would allow the same computer game to be played on multiple devices, not just personal computers.
The Ministry of Information and Communication revealed its new software, known as the Cross-Platform Game Engine, which it said provides compatibility among diverse gadgets for electronic games so they can be used on mobile devices and video-game consoles.
The software would allow South Korea's game market to move beyond personal computers as its main platform, and would bring in 150 billion won ($146.1 million) a year in revenue for South Korea.
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Compiled by Keith Axline. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
