n For the third time since 2001, a federal judge has ordered the U.S. Interior Department to shut down most of its Internet access and public Web sites as part of a case involving the department's failure to secure data about potentially millions of dollars owed to Native Americans for grazing, energy and mineral royalties. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's decision covers computer connections and Web sites in the Inspector General's Office, the Minerals Management Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Office of the Special Trustee, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Surface Mining and the National Business Center. In the past, Interior's Internet shutdowns have made it difficult for people to get online information about national parks and monuments, and for departmental offices to communicate with each other.
n The European Commission's competition talks with Microsoft have collapsed, European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said last week. In a statement read to journalists, Monti said that despite Microsoft's strenuous efforts to meet the European Commission's concerns, a settlement of the case "has not been possible. Therefore we will propose [on March 24] that the Commission adopts a decision." Monti added that a precedent-setting legal ruling is in the best interest of consumers and competition. This week's ruling is expected to demand that the company sell two versions of Windows to PC manufacturers in Europe: one with Media Player and one without. This remedy is intended to restore fair competition in the market for audio and video playing software. The commission also is expected to force Microsoft to share more Windows code. Microsoft has promised to appeal the ruling.
n A revolt by shareholders at HP's annual meeting last week could push the company to become one of the first in the high-tech industry to change its accounting to reflect the cost of stock-option grants. Over management objections, HP shareholders narrowly passed a shareholder-initiated proposal requesting that HP's board establish a policy of expensing options in the company's annual income statement. About 1.2 billion shares were voted in favor of the resolution, while 921 million were voted against it. The issue has attracted the attention of investors in the past few years and become a cause celbre for some corporate-governance watchdogs concerned about extensive options grants and the sometimes hidden nature of options' cost. Technology companies frequently use stock options to motivate employees and executives, and generally have resisted calls to record option costs as an expense in their financial statements.
n Google last week announced it has launched a beta version of a service that lets users conduct Internet searches with geographical parameters, letting them query Google, for example, for restaurants in and around a particular city or zip code. Called Google Local, the service returns business listings, maps, driving directions, street addresses, phone numbers and related Web pages. The results can be narrowed down to 1 mile of the specified geographical reference chosen by the user or expanded out to a 45-mile radius. Google Local currently searches locations in the U.S., but the company plans to expand it to international markets in the coming months.
n 3Com last week reported a net loss of $86 million in its third fiscal quarter, a 21% decline in sales from the same quarter last year. The network equipment maker's loss for its third fiscal quarter was about $6 million more than the same quarter a year ago. Sales were down about 5% from the previous quarter, although 3Com's losses in the previous quarter were greater, at $138.9 million. 3Com also reported a $40 million restructuring charge during the quarter. Its workforce was about 2,100 at the end of the third quarter, down from approximately 2,900 from the previous quarter. The company also closed a manufacturing plant in Dublin, Ireland, moving the production to an outsourcer. A bright spot for the firm was 10% sequential growth in its Wi-Fi, VoIP and security product lines.
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