Dell Inc. said Tuesday it had reached a deal to supply Google Inc. with customized computer servers the search engine company will sell to corporate customers.

Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn said the products are based on the company’s server platform but will feature Google-branded logos. The systems will be sold to Google’s corporate clients as the Google Search Appliance.

Source: AP

Harvard-affiliated researchers said Tuesday they have begun efforts to create stem cells by cloning human embryos, joining the race among a small group of scientists in this controversial pursuit.

Source: AP

Sony Corp. unveiled its first digital camera with interchangeable lenses Tuesday, marking a late entry into the high-end of the photography market for the company that was first to offer a point-and-shoot model 25 years ago.

The Alpha DSLR-A100 camera is a culmination of Sony’s yearlong collaboration with Japanese precision-equipment maker Konica Minolta Holdings Inc., which pulled out of the camera business in January and sold the assets to Sony.

Source: AP

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the release of Microsoft Antigen e-mail security products — including Antigen for Exchange, Antigen for SMTP Gateways, Antigen Spam Manager and Antigen Enterprise Manager — available to customers July 1, 2006.

Microsoft Antigen e-mail security products use multiple scan engines to help provide comprehensive protection from viruses, spam and other security threats. In addition to scan engines from industry-leading security companies AhnLab Inc., Authentium Inc., CA Inc., Kaspersky Lab, MailFilters.com Inc., Norman Data Defense Systems Inc., Sophos Plc and VirusBuster Ltd., all Microsoft Antigen e-mail security products now include the new Microsoft anti-virus engine.

Apple on Tuesday introduced a new iPod U2 Special Edition. It’s a 30GB, video-capable iPod that features a black stainless steel enclosure, red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. It costs $329.

Source: Macworld

The Super Bowl. The World Cup. The Masters. The Video Game World Series. Yes, you heard that right: USA Network, which reaches about 90 million cable subscribers in the U.S., announced in April that it will broadcast the entire season of tournaments produced by Major League Gaming (MLG), the four-year-old professional video game league.

Source: NewsFactor Network

A French publishing group is suing the US search engine Google for piracy over its controversial effort to digitise millions of books for online viewing.

La Martiniere, which owns publishers Le Seuil in France, Delachaux and Niestle in Switzerland and Harry N. Abrams in the United States, accuses Google of “counterfeiting and breach of intellectual property rights”.

The lawsuit, to be filed in a Paris court, targets both Google France and its parent company, the US group Google Inc.

Source: AFP

Web media is the dominant at-work media and No. 2 in the home, according to a new report from the Online Publishers Association.

The Web also ranked as the No. 1 daytime media.

A research project, conducted by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design, tracked the media use of 350 people every 15 seconds. The subjects represented each gender, about equally, across three age groups: 18 to 34, 35 to 49 and 50-plus. The people were monitored by another person for approximately 13 hours, or 80 percent of their waking day.

Source: News.com

Hewlett-Packard announced a voluntary recall of HP Photosmart R707 Digital Cameras. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

HP sold About 224,000 (about 679,000 worldwide) cameras from August 2004 through April 2006.

The digital camera can cause certain non-rechargeable batteries, such as the Duracell CP-1, to overheat when the camera is connected to an AC adapter or docking station, posing a fire hazard. HP has received one report of a camera catching fire, damaging the camera and its docking station, and causing minor smoke damage to the room. No injuries have been reported.

HP developed a firmware update that prevents the camera from applying a charge to a non-rechargeable battery. Consumers can download this update or contact HP directly. HP asks users not to use single-use, non-rechargeable batteries until the firmware has been updated. Consumers are encouraged to update the firmware even if they do not use or intend to use a non-rechargeable battery.

Google released an online spreadsheet as a beta site (available now). You’ll need to signup and wait for an invitation from google to join.

Motorists cringing at the cost of fuel can now at least fill up on current news and information while tethered to the pump.

Internet-enabled Gas Station TV formally launched its digital television network Monday featuring ABC programming and original content including local news, sports, weather and traffic. The network will air constantly updated content to refueling motorists on 20-inch high-definition LCD monitors embedded in gas dispensers.

GSTV already has conducted a test pilot in Dallas and expects to reach 100 locations of the Wal-Mart-based retail gasoline chain Murphy USA by September and 400 stations in the top 10 U.S. markets by next year.

Source: reuters

Windows 2003 Server is a more reliable server operating system than Linux, a research firm said Monday.

According to the Yankee Group’s annual server reliability survey, only Unix-based operating systems such as HP-UX and Sun Solaris 10 beat Windows on uptime. Windows 2003 Server, in fact, led the popular Red Hat Enterprise Linux with nearly 20 percent more annual uptime.

Source: TechWeb