Vista Capable sticker lawsuit gets class-action status

It looks like that little lawsuit over "Vista Capable" stickers on PCs could now be about to get quite a bit bigger, as a federal judge has now bestowed class-action status on the suit, which accuses Microsoft of misleading marketing. More specifically, as the AP reports, the suit alleges that the "Vista Capable" stickers slapped on PCs during the 2006 holiday season created an "artificial demand" for the computers, and "inflated prices for computers that couldn't be upgraded to the full-featured version of Vista." As we've seen, those stickers even took in at least one higher-up at Microsoft itself, who has made his thoughts on the program quite well known. While things are still obviously in the early stages, the law firm that filed the suit is now looking for others that feel they've been burned by the stickers, and ComputerWorld has the details on you can get involved at the link below.

Anxiety rises on Delta-Northwest deal

Delta (DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NWA) still can’t get together. The carriers are close to agreeing on a merger, but plans continue to be hung up on the question of pilot seniority, The Wall Street Journal reports. Pilots at the two carriers can’t agree on a formula for determining how their ranks will be combined. The standoff, which stems from pilot anxiety about career advancement — no one wants to get stuck flying regional jets — caused top execs at the two companies to break their silence on the talks. Northwest said for the first time that it is “prepared to consider positively a transaction” that’s good for workers, investors and passengers. Delta, engaging in a bit of posturing, told workers in a memo that no “potential transaction meets all our principles” at the moment.

The waiting is making Wall Street anxious. Investors have sent shares in Delta and Northwest down 14 percent since Feb. 7, when a deal appeared imminent. Still, observers expect the merger to happen, because a combined carrier would be more robust in the face of rising energy prices and tough competition. “We will eventually get an agreement,” airline consultant Julius Maldutis tells Bloomberg television. He says that despite the problems now, he expects to see a merger announced “over the next several days.”

World powers mull changes to Iran nuclear offer

BRUSSELS: World powers are mulling whether to reformulate an offer to Iran to persuade it to suspend uranium enrichment, even as they discuss new UN sanctions, an EU diplomat said Wednesday.
"The package of incentives for Iran could be repackaged to make it more attractive, but that does not mean we are going to add things to it," he added.
On Monday, officials from the major powers -- UN Security Council permanent members the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, plus Germany -- discussed a new report on Iran's nuclear activities and possible next steps.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has, for more than 18 months, been trying to persuade the Islamic republic to suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for a vast package of political, trade and economic incentives.
As he held out this diplomatic carrot however, pressure has mounted at the UN Security Council, which has slapped two sets of sanctions on Iran and is in the process of preparing a third.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Follow the Leader

The New York Times and USA Today lead with new national polls that show voters think Sen. Barack Obama has a better shot at beating Sen. John McCain. In both polls Obama beat out Sen. Hillary Clinton by a significant margin for the first time (extra credit goes to the NYT for mentioning USAT's survey). In the NYT/CBS poll, 54 percent of Democratic voters said they would want to see Obama nominated compared to 38 percent who preferred Clinton, while the USAT/Gallup poll shows a 51-39 percent lead for Obama. USAT's poll shows Republicans agree with Democrats that McCain would have an easier time if he were to face off against Clinton.

The Los Angeles Times leads with a plan by Senate Democrats to change the bankruptcy law in order to give judges the authority to change the terms of a mortgage. Under the terms being discussed, a judge would be able to reduce a mortgage or its related interest rates, during bankruptcy proceedings. The country's lenders, largely backed by Republicans, are deeply against this proposal and contend that it would force them to increase mortgage rates in order to cover the added risk. "If this proposal becomes law, it will amount to a new tax on homeowners," the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association said. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with the suicide bomber that assassinated a top Pakistani Army general in a day that saw the first major outburst of violence since the elections. He was the most senior military officer to be assassinated in recent times. The Washington Post leads locally but off-leads a look at how Obama's rise is due in large part to his speeches and general oratory skills, which is opening up a new line of attack from his opponents. Not since Franklin D. Roosevelt "has a presidential candidate been propelled so much by the force of words," says the Post.

Polaroid To Abandon Instant Film Products

Polaroid Corp., which introduced its first instant camera in 1948, is officially getting out of the instant film business, announcing today that once it produced enough film to last through 2009 it would shutter its last facility that makes the iconic develop-as-you-watch prints.
Like other companies long successful and entrenched in the film-making business, Polaroid has had its ups and downs in the digital age. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2001 as it tried to pursue a digital imaging future and was acquired by a private investment firm called the Petters Group in 2005. They stopped making instant film cameras for consumers a year ago.
As a result of this latest decision, the company is closing two production facilities in Massachusetts and laying off about 150 workers.
Now the company's name and famous logo appears on digital cameras, photo printers, and even LCD TVs. Its inkless digital photo printer introduced at CES has captured some early praise, although the market for home photo printers is uncertain.

Yahoo Board to Spurn $44B Microsoft Bid

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Yahoo Inc.'s board will reject Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid after concluding the unsolicited offer undervalues the slumping Internet pioneer, a person familiar with the situation said Saturday.
The decision could provoke a showdown between two of the world's most prominent technology companies with Internet search leader Google Inc. looming in the background. Leery of Microsoft expanding its turf on the Internet, Google already has offered to help Yahoo avert a takeover and urged antitrust regulators to take a hard look at the proposed deal.
If the world's largest software maker wants Yahoo badly enough, Microsoft could try to override Yahoo's board by taking its offer - originally valued at $31 per share - directly to the shareholders. Pursuing that risky route probably will require Microsoft to attempt to oust Yahoo's current 10-member board.
Alternatively, Microsoft could sweeten its bid. Many analysts believe Microsoft is prepared to offer as much as $35 per share for Yahoo, which still boasts one of the Internet's largest audiences and most powerful advertising vehicles despite a prolonged slump that has hammered its stock.
Yahoo's board reached the decision after exploring a wide variety of alternatives during the past week, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press. The person didn't want to be identified because the reasons for Yahoo's rebuff won't be officially spelled out until Monday morning.
Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment Saturday on the decision, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on its Web site.
Yahoo's board concluded Microsoft's offer is inadequate even though the company couldn't find any other potential bidders willing to offer a higher price.
Without other suitors on the horizon, Yahoo has had little choice but to turn a cold shoulder toward Microsoft if the board hopes to fulfill its responsibility to fetch the highest price possible for the company, said technology investment banker Ken Marlin.
"You would expect Yahoo's board to reject Microsoft at first," Marlin said. "If they didn't, they would be accused of malfeasance."
But by spurning Microsoft, Yahoo risks further alienating shareholders already upset about management missteps that have led to five consecutive quarters of declining profits.
The downturn caused Yahoo's stock price to plummet by more than 40 percent, erasing about $20 billion in shareholder wealth, in the three months leading up to Microsoft's bid.
Seizing on an opportunity to expand its clout on the Internet, Microsoft dangled a takeover offer that was 62 percent above Yahoo's stock price of just $19.18 when the bid was announced Feb. 1. Yahoo shares ended the past week at $29.20.
Led by company co-founder and board member Jerry Yang, Yahoo now will be under intense pressure to lay out a strategy that will prevent its stock price from collapsing again. What's more, Yang and the rest of the management team must convince Wall Street that they can boost Yahoo's market value beyond Microsoft's offer.
Yahoo's shares traded at $31 as recently as November, but have eroded steadily amid concerns about the slowing economy and frustration with the slow pace of a turnaround that Yang promised last June when he replaced former movie studio mogul Terry Semel as Yahoo's chief executive officer.
This isn't the first time that Yahoo has spurned Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash.-based company offered $40 per share to buy Yahoo a year ago only to be shooed away by Semel, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person didn't want to be identified because that bid was never made public.
Yahoo now may want that Microsoft to raise its price to at least $40 per share again. That would force Microsoft to raise its current offer by about $12 billion - a high price that might alarm its own shareholders.
Microsoft's stock price already has slid 12 percent since the company announced its Yahoo bid, reflecting concerns about the deal bogging down amid potential management distractions, sagging employee morale and other headaches that frequently arise when two big companies are combined.
Although it isn't involved directly in the deal, Google is the main reason Yahoo is being pursued by Microsoft.
Yahoo has struggled largely because it hasn't been able to target online ads as effectively as Google.
Microsoft believes Yahoo's brand, engineers, audience and services will provide the company with valuable weapons in its so far unsuccessful attempt to narrow Google's huge lead in the lucrative Internet search and advertising markets.
As it examined ways to thwart Microsoft, Yahoo considered an advertising partnership with Google - an alliance long favored by analysts who believe it would boost the profits of both companies. It was unclear Saturday if Yahoo's plans for boosting its stock price include a Google partnership, which would probably face antitrust issues.
A Microsoft takeover of Yahoo would also be scrutinized by antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe. The antitrust uncertainties could be cited as one of the reasons that Yahoo's board decided to spurn Microsoft.

Vista SP1 - Day 1

Although the code has been finalized, Windows Vista users won’t start to get their hands for a few weeks. I’ve been fortunate to be sent the SP1 installer files, along with a complete copy of Vista with SP1 integrated into it. It’s time to fire up a test system and see what happens.
Given the fact that my ZDNet blogging colleague George Ou had some pretty negative experiences with installing SP1 (one machine seems to have eaten a dirt sandwich, which another is ill after having taken a few bites) I demonstrated great restraint in not throwing caution to the wind and installing the update straight onto my main work system. Instead I chose a test system that’s reserved for these kinds of things.
For those interested in such things, here’s the spec of the system:

On Monday the 4th of February Microsoft announced that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 had been released to manufacturing.

* Pentium 950D processor (3.4GHz)
* 4GB of RAM
* 250GB Maxtor hard drive
* 32-bit Windows Vista Ultimate
This system scores a 4.5 on the Windows Experience Index. The Windows Vista installation on this system is relatively fresh and the system is very reliable when in use at present. The system in up-to-date on all patches.

Installation

For this first test I decided to apply SP1 to the existing installation - the way that most people will be taking their SP1 pill. I carried out no preparatory work prior to installing SP1 (that would be cheating). The installation was carried out off the CD that I was sent by Microsoft.
I can report that the installation went without a hitch. The process took 52 minutes (from running starting to run the installer to getting back to a usable Windows desktop). The system rebooted five (yes, you read that right, 5) times.

Pak counters US report; nukes safe

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Ministry Wednesday rejected a US intelligence report that "vulnerabilities exist" in the military's control of its nuclear weapons. The report in its annual threat assessment said the situation in the country had "not seriously threatened the military's control of the nuclear arsenal, but vulnerabilities exist."

Foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said there should be no concern. "Pakistan's nuclear assets are safe. There should be no cause for concern over hypothetical scenarios which have zero probability," he told a weekly briefing.

He also rejected criticisms in the Western media of Pakistan's record in tackling militancy. "What Pakistan has done to counter the challenge of al-Qaeda and terrorism is well known. We do not need to repeat that. Pakistan has given more sacrifices than any other country in this war," he said.

Answering a question on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project, the spokesman said the negotiations on the project were under way. He said there were reports that Indian minister will visit Iran but later it was rescheduled and now Pakistan is also waiting fresh date for the visit.

Regarding reduction in the bus or train service between Pakistan and India, the spokesman said a meeting between the officials of the two countries will be held on February 13 and 14 only to merge non-commercial routes, adding that there is no plan to reduce the bus service.

Answering a question about any observer from Israel, the spokesman said, as Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Israel, therefore, there is no possibility to receive any observer from that country.

To a query about denying visa to members of International Republican Institute (IRI), the spokesman clarified that visa of some of the officials working in Pakistan was going to expire but after the elections, therefore, there is no question of denying visa to any member of the IRI.

The spokesman said as Pakistan's membership to Commonwealth is suspended, therefore, there is no question of any observer from Commonwealth.

To a question, he said the government has issued visas to over 500 observers from different countries to observe the election being held on February 18 and not a single visa to any observer has been refused.

"About 500 foreign observers from different countries including USA and EU requested visa, for the forthcoming general elections and their requests have been processed and issued visas," said Muhammad Sadiq.

The spokesman giving details of the foreign observers said European Union has increased the number of its observers from 70 to 110 while Democracy International of USA has also been sending 35 observers while four observers are from OIC.