The controversial French law which would have forced Apple to make music from its iTunes online shop playable on any device has been rejected by the French Constitutional Council. The whole law may have to be rewritten.

Both houses of the French parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly, last month passed copyright legislation which has severe implications for Apple. The law sought to force online shops to sell music that would play on any device and devices that played music from any other shop.

Source: The Register

SanDisk Corp., a maker of flash memory used in cell phones and digital cameras, said on Sunday it would buy Israel-based Msystems for $1.55 billion in stock.

SanDisk, based in Milpitas, California, said that under the deal each share of Msystems would be converted into 0.76368 of SanDisk common stock.

Users of Symantec Norton Antivirus 2006, or any product that contains Norton Antivirus 2006, such as Norton Internet Security 2006, or Systemworks 2006, may have experienced difficulties due to an faulty update sent via Norton LiveUpdate over the weekend.

Users reported getting on screen messages stating that “Norton AntiVirus 2006 does not support the repair feature,” asking that they uninstall and reinstall Norton Antivirus.

Symantec has posted a workaround, detailing how to turn off the messages.

Source: News.com

Dolby Laboratories, best known for its movie theater surround-sound systems, on Monday said it has teamed up with German virtual reality company Infitec GmbH to develop a three-dimensional theater projection system for theaters.

Dolby will integrate Infitec’s 3-D technology, designed by Daimler Chrysler for automotive design, with the digital cinema playback system it developed for movie theaters converting to digital projection systems from 35-millimeter film projectors.

Source: Reuters

AOL plans to announce on Monday it will test launch a new Internet video service in an attempt to demonstrate how much it has learned from mistakes that cost the once reigning king of the online world its leading position.

The new service, AOL Video, aims to be the one-stop shop for online videos and will let users search for videos across the Web, upload their own, or buy or watch for free thousands of TV shows from any one of 45 video-on-demand channels on nearly any device.

Users will also be able to subscribe and rent videos later this year, executives said.

These channels will include shows licensed from Viacom Inc.’s MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central networks, A&E Television Networks, and corporate sibling Warner Bros.

Source: Reuters

Apple Computer has initiated a voluntary recall for some of its 15-inch MacBook Pro batteries, citing performance concerns with the rechargeable batteries.

Under its free Battery Exchange Program, Apple will replace the batteries for 15-inch MacBook Pro systems sold between February and May 2006. The batteries do not pose a safety hazard, so customers are allowed to use them until their replacements arrive.

Source: News.com

Time Warner Inc.’s CNN plans to standardize how it solicits and handles user-contributed news amid an industry-wide move to let consumers play a more prominent role in the news gathering process.

The cable news network on Tuesday plans to announce it has created a new program to let users send in digital audio and video from breaking news events in their region. Users can e-mail or upload these so-called “I-Reports” directly from CNN’s site.

Contributions are vetted by seasoned editors much in the same way all news tips are followed up, Susan Bunda, senior vice president of news at CNN/U.S. said in an interview.

The news network also has created a new Web site, CNN Exchange, which will house user-generated audio and video submissions.

Source: Reuters

Verizon Wireless is eliminating the monthly $15 fee for its music download service in conjunction with the launch of a cell phone featuring an iPod-like click wheel and a memory card that can hold up to 1,000 songs.

The new “Chocolate” handset, made by LG Electronics Inc. of Korea, features software that will let users play their own MP3-format music on the device in addition to songs purchased from Verizon’s music store - avoiding the mini-controversy that accompanied the launch of that service early this year.

Source: AP