Microsoft said it had filed its first-ever breach-of-contract lawsuits against several members of a software subscription service.
The company alleges that nine people in California, Maryland, New York, Texas and Virginia obtained Microsoft Action Pack Subscriptions, then tried to sell the software on internet auction sites.
Microsoft said the alleged abuses involved falsifying information to receive program benefits and software titles multiple times.
The MAPS program provides partners with discounted Microsoft software for product evaluation and internal use, not for resale.
"Our honest partners have asked us to intervene to help protect those who abide by laws and rules governing software use and distribution," Mary Jo Schrade, a senior attorney at Microsoft, said in a statement. "We want to protect the business of honest resellers and try to ensure a level playing field for our partners."
Microsoft also sued three companies, in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, accusing them of pirating software.
- - -
Talking Ms. Daisy: The number of people who use their cell phones while driving continued to increase in 2005, according to a government survey.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey found that 974,000 vehicles -- or 10 percent of those on the road during the day -- are driven by someone using either a handheld or hands-free phone.
The figure is up from 8 percent in 2004. And the use of cell phones increased among both young and old drivers in 2005, and among both men and women.
Six percent use handheld devices to their ear, another 4 percent use hands-free devices.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia are the only jurisdictions that ban the use of hand-held phones while driving. Several other states impose restrictions on the practice.
- - -
Go-mail: Google has created a special version of its Gmail e-mail service that provides mobile phone subscribers with quick access to their e-mail.
The service works on the subset of more advanced mobile phones that offer an internet browser. Users can view attached photos and documents from their phone, and reply-by-call to people whose phone number is stored in their Gmail account.
Gmail messages are automatically synchronized between their mobile phones and computer accounts, regardless of whether Gmail is accessed from Gmail Mobile or the web.
- - -
Berry costly: The stakes in a bitter legal feud over the BlackBerry wireless e-mail service just got a bit higher.
This week, a tiny patent holding firm battling the device's creator, Research In Motion (RIMM), announced a license agreement with RIM rival Visto. With the deal in hand, Visto went straight to court and sued Microsoft for similar infringement claims.
The announcements could put more pressure on RIM to settle with its little challenger, NTP, perhaps for up to $1 billion. Both sides, however, show no signs of letting up, even with the looming threat of a court-ordered shutdown of U.S. BlackBerry service.
Indeed, things have heated up since last month's news that a federal judge in Richmond could soon consider an injunction, perhaps within the next several weeks. Analysts believe the odds of a BlackBerry e-mail blackout are very low because RIM will settle or try to make changes to work around NTP's patents. Even if the judge orders a shutdown, he's likely to give users 30 days or more to switch to other devices.
- - -
Compiled by Keith Axline. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
