NBC in digital video deal with Amazon
Amazon has agreed to give NBC Universal something that Apple would not: greater flexibility in the pricing and packaging of video downloads.

The Web is awash in anti-MP3 audiophiles.
Now there is a grass-roots following for "lossless" digital audio formats, or those that do some size-shrinking without losing sound quality.

Tech in Brief: Broadcom suit revived against rival Qualcomm
Also, Microsoft takes on Flash.

New technology helps researchers gather deep-sea data
The program, financed by the National Science Foundation, is meant to help oceanographers better understand how oceans affect life on land.

Microsoft's bid for 'open' document standard is rebuffed
A global technical panel refused to designate Office Open XML an international standard. One opponent of Microsoft's bid said the software maker's own lobbying may have backfired.

Tech in Brief: Thomson asks EU to approve Reuters deal
Also, Trademark lawsuit against Google dropped and Court rules for Motorola in case linked to Iridium.

CBS backs 'Kid Nation' despite outcry
The reality show places 40 children ages 8 to 15 in a "ghost town" to see if they can build a working society without the help of adults.

Box-office bonanza dampened by labor talks in Hollywood
Hollywood had one of its best summers in recent history, crossing the $4 billion mark in ticket sales for the first time. But executives say the business is closer to the edge of a cliff than ever.

Tech in Brief: Bertelsmann transfers U.S. media club units
Also, Sweden eyes proposal to fight file-sharing and PS3 narrows Wii's lead.

The music man
Columbia records is hoping that Rick Rubin, as the new co-head of Columbia Records, will save the company. And just maybe the record business.

As competition looms, Bloomberg TV cleaning up its on-air act
Within the television industry, Bloomberg TV is largely an afterthought in a lucrative genre dominated by CNBC. That could be changing as the marketplace for television business news heats up with the arrival in October of the Fox Business Network.

Microsoft to battle Google with software delivered through the Internet
In a strategy shift, Microsoft this week will this week make available free software that connects its Windows operating system to software delivered through the Internet.

Adblock Plus threatens the online revenue model
A free, easy-to-use program that deletes advertisements from Web sites is an unwelcome arrival after years of worry over whether such a model even existed.

Phone makers and Internet companies competing more on each other's turf
Nokia used to be just a cellphone maker. Google used to be just an Internet company. Now Nokia wants to be an Internet company and Google, according to rampant speculation among bloggers and technology analysts, may be about to enter the mobile phone fray.

Scrybe, an information manager to organize our many organizers
With a novel notepad that accepts text and images from the Web as well as the usual typed-in notes, Scrybe, a company based in Pakistan, offers a challenge to a market dominated by Microsoft, Google and Yahoo.

Persuading consumers to buy 'green' products
"Green" marketing is everywhere. Yet shoppers are still far more interested in factors like price, functionality and packaging than they are in the producer's environmental record, said Bart Becht, chief executive of the consumer product company Reckitt Benckiser. A new ad campaign aims to change that behavior.

Broadcom suit revived against rival Qualcomm

SAN DIEGO: A U.S. appeals court has revived part of Broadcom's antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm.

A U.S. judge in New Jersey had dismissed Broadcom's lawsuit last year, but a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed part of that decision Tuesday. The three-judge appeals panel ordered the lower court to reconsider two portions of Broadcom's suit.

Broadcom sued Qualcomm in July 2005, saying its rival thwarted competition for high-end cellphones based on WCDMA network technology.

The suit claimed Qualcomm promised to license its patents on "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms" and used discounts on royalties and other techniques that improperly benefited Qualcomm's chip business.

Both companies welcomed the ruling. Qualcomm noted only two of Broadcom's eight claims remain.

Microsoft takes on Flash

SEATTLE: Microsoft is releasing new online-video software that works on both its Windows operating system and the rival Linux software, stepping up competition with Adobe Systems's Flash.

The Windows version of the software, called Silverlight, is available for download, said Brian Goldfarb, a group product manager at Microsoft. The Linux version, called Moonlight, will be developed with Novell.

Microsoft is giving Silverlight away for free, planning to make money on sales of programs for designing Web sites.

NOKIA has begun working with Intel and Check Point Software Technologies to improve network security. The companies aim to create appliances that inspect network traffic and search for cyberattacks.

PALM has canceled plans to sell the Foleo, a compact computer much maligned by technology blogs, saying that it would focus on developing new software and smartphones. As a result, Palm said it would take a charge of "less than $10 million" to its earnings.

WPP Group, the advertising giant, bought 49 percent of PBN, which is based in Washington and has offices in the former Soviet Union, and a 51 percent stake in Gregg Sedgwick Creative Strategy, a consulting firm in Dubai.