Apple's chief calls for end to music copy protection
Steven Jobs is calling on the four largest music companies to license their music for distribution without digital anti-piracy protection.

Sony Ericsson unveils a slimmer Walkman phone
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications introduced a raft of new products Tuesday, including a Walkman phone that is its slimmest ever and two Cybershot-branded camera phones.

Jeff Zucker appointed chief of NBC Universal
The new chief will have to deal with the rapid technological and financial changes that are throwing many traditional media businesses into upheaval.
- Meeting of NBC Universal's board may mean change at the top

Briefing: Kodak challenges HP with low-cost printers
Also: Cellphone operators to set child safety code; Reding expects a deal on roaming by summer; More.

Wal-Mart is forming a partnership with major Hollywood studios for video downloading
The company will be the first traditional retailer to join the downloading war. It will compete with established sites such as Amazon.com and iTunes.

Microsoft won't intercede in Russian software piracy case
The company rejects an appeal to Bill Gates from Mikhail Gorbachev to aid an accused Russian school principal.

Two Apples settle dispute
The long and winding road has come to an end for the Beatles, at least as far as the dispute over their Apple logo is concerned.

Kodak enters inkjet-printer market
Eastman Kodak elbowed its way into the crowded inkjet printer market Tuesday, unveiling a trio of home printers that produce documents and photos using ink cartridges that cost roughly half as much as the competition's.

In Super Bowl ads, violence lingers below the surface
The war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of the television commercials this year.
- On Advertising: Sitting out the Super Bowl

Briefing: Nielsen to purchase all NetRatings shares
Also: Ericsson and Turner agree on mobile project; First 'cellular book' set to appear this year; TI puts Net, Bluetooth and FM on one chip; Saatchi finds new niche

In China's virtual world, an Internet powerhouse
Instant messaging and game-playing are major obsessions, now central to Chinese culture.

Cisco Systems, the world's biggest maker of computer-networking equipment, said Tuesday that second-quarter profit rose 40 percent as customers upgraded their communications systems for video.

Net income in the period ended Jan. 27 increased to $1.92 billion, or 31 cents a share, from $1.38 billion, or 22 cents, a year earlier, the company, based in San Jose, California, said. Sales climbed 27 percent to $8.44 billion, beating most analysts' estimates.

"The network-spending environment picked up last year so they've got some wind at their back," said Nikos Theodosopoulos, an analyst at UBS. $@

Kodak challenges HP with low-cost printers

NEW YORK: Eastman Kodak introduced a line of desktop printers that use low-cost replacement ink cartridges, entering a market dominated by Hewlett-Packard.

Kodak will start sales in March of EasyShare All-in-One 3-series printers, for $150 to $300. Black replacement ink cartridges will sell for about $10, and color cartridges for about $15, about 50 percent less than for rival products, Kodak said. It said it would profit on sales of both printers and ink. $@(Reuters)

Cellphone operators to set child safety code

BRUSSELS: Vodafone Group, Hutchison Whampoa and other cellphone companies operating in the European Union will adopt a voluntary code to make their products safer for children, EU regulators said.

The companies said they would help to control adult content, raise awareness for parents and children, classify advertising content according to national decency standards and fight illegal content.

$@(Bloomberg)

Reding expects a deal on roaming by summer

BRUSSELS: Viviane Reding, the European Union's top telecommunications official, said that she expected a deal to cap mobile phone roaming charges for cross-border calls within the EU by this summer.

EU telecommunications ministers gave initial backing in December to the European Commission's plans to cut the cost of international mobile calls, but they said fixing consumer prices should be a last resort. Companies criticized the proposals as unnecessary. $@(Reuters)

EBAY will let U.S. used-car sellers list their entire inventories on the company's eBay Motors site as part of an effort to increase auction revenue. EBay said it would charge sellers $1,000 a month, plus $50 per sold car, to list cars for sale within 100 miles, or 160 kilometers, of prospective customers. $@(Bloomberg)

BT GROUP, the former British phone monopoly, agreed to buy i2i Enterprise, an India-based Internet communications services business, for an undisclosed sum. Andy Green, chief executive of BT Global Services, said the deal would make it the "biggest foreign global carrier operating in India today." $@(AP)