Red Hat drops Linux OS plans
Red Hat has dropped plans, disclosed last year, to develop a version of the Linux operating system for consumer PCs - in part because of Microsoft's dominance over the market, reports InformationWeek.
"The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative," Red Hat officials said in a blog post on Wednesday.
"Building a sustainable business around the Linux desktop is tough, and history is littered with example efforts that have either failed outright, are stalled, or are run as charities," they said.
Silicon Valley hosts Net neutrality hearing
Silicon Valley hi-tech entrepreneurs told the Federal Communications Commission yesterday that there needed to be more oversight of phone and cable companies at the agency's second off-site hearing on broadband Internet rules, says The Washington Post.
The agency heard from legal scholars, Web start-ups, the Christian Coalition and the Songwriters Guild of America, and debated the impact of Web regulation on hi-tech innovation and investments, copyright protections and freedom of speech.
At issue is whether the Internet needs rules that mandate it remain open and unfettered by network operators.
Xbox 360 claims 42% of Euro market
Microsoft's Xbox 360 next-generation games console now accounts for 42% of the total European market, according to Chartrack and Gfk data, reports siliconrepublic.com.
Without revealing actual numbers, Microsoft said sales of the Xbox 360 actually doubled since the company last month cut the retail price of the game console family by 80 euros.
When asked how many Xbox 360 devices have been sold in Ireland to date, a spokesman for Microsoft in Ireland told siliconrepublic.com that Microsoft as a rule does not break out actual sales figures for each country.
Inmate files restraining order against PC game
John Lee Riches, an inmate in South Carolina, has filed a request for a restraining order against Rockstar Games, GTA publisher Take-Two Interactive and Grand Theft Auto itself, claiming the group is responsible for his current prison sentence, reports Game Life.
The group "contributed to Plaintiff committing identity theft. Defendant's games show sex, drugs and violence which offends me," according to the hand-written request Riches handed to prison officials on 9 April.
The suit also includes action against FCI Williamsburg, the medium-security prison where Riches is being held.