Clare Haney

Although the ongoing slump in the U.S. economy is already having a negative impact on the growth of global IT spending, worldwide spending on technology will not be hurt drastically by of the downturn in the United States, according to market analyst company International Data Corp. (IDC).

Microsoft Corp.'s lawyers Thursday sent a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals pointing to a precedent for removing a judge who had commented publicly on a pending court case.

Wireless networking provider Proxim Inc. announced Tuesday it plans to acquire broadband Internet equipment vendor Netopia Inc. in a stock-for-stock merger valued at US$223 million.

Chief executive officers in North America, Europe and Asia see dealing with the Internet as a growing challenge, according to a study released Wednesday by consulting organization Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, and business membership and research body The Conference Board Inc.

America Online Inc. (AOL) and a trio of high-tech industry groups on Friday filed an amici curiae (friend of the court) brief asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold a U.S. District Court judge's ruling to split Microsoft Corp. in two. The brief came on the same day as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed court papers in which it also defended the judge's order.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the multi-billion dollar merger of America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc., FCC Chairman William Kennard announced late Thursday at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Intel Corp. announced on Wednesday it would delay the opening of a wafer fabrication plant in Ireland for nine months to a year in order to support a new wafer production technology. The chip giant denied the move was related to a recent downturn in demand for its products.

The delayed U.S. presidential election results provided the heads of Microsoft, Oracle and Hewlett-Packard with comic material for their presentations at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas.