Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from December 2005

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from December 2005

U.S. editorial excerpts -5-.(Editorial)
December 5, 2005... NEW YORK, Nov. 28 Kyodo Selected editorial excerpts from the U.S. press: OUT OF TUNE (Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles) Sony BMG, the world's second-largest record company, shot itself in the foot so badly this month that it may...

LEAD: NEC teams up with Philips Electronics in office networking business.
December 5, 2005... TOKYO, Nov. 29 Kyodo (EDS: CHANGING ATTRIBUTION, RECASTING THROUGHOUT) NEC Corp. announced Tuesday it has reached a basic agreement with Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands to jointly set up a company to provide office...

Gold, silver euro coins with 'Hello Kitty' images to be sold.
December 5, 2005... TOKYO, Nov. 30 Kyodo Coin-importer Taisei Coins Corp. and Sanrio Co. said Wednesday they will jointly sell three euro coins with images of the latter's ''Hello Kitty'' character on them, beginning Monday. A 1-ounce gold coin with a...

PlayStation 2 shipments top 100 mil. units at record pace.
December 5, 2005... TOKYO, Nov. 30 Kyodo Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday worldwide shipments of its PlayStation 2 game console topped 100 million units as of Tuesday, clearing the threshold in only five years and nine months since its March...

Softbank to sell modem leasing business of Softbank BB.
December 5, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 1 Kyodo Softbank Corp. said Thursday it has decided to sell the modem leasing business of its wholly owned broadband communications service subsidiary, Softbank BB Corp., for 85 billion yen. The decision is in line with a...

Toppan Printing to deliver art show via iPod.
December 5, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo Toppan Printing Co. said Friday it is due to release on Dec. 9 CD-ROMs that let users view artwork by nine popular contemporary Japanese artists via Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod(R) portable music player. The product,...

3 firms to offer 'Tamagotchi' Web pet game to European mobile users.(Living Mobile GmbH, Bandai S.A., Bandai Networks Co.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 5 Kyodo Two Namco Bandai Holdings Inc. units and a German business ally said Monday they have agreed to cooperate to offer a ''Tamagotchi'' virtual pet-raising video game to mobile phone users in Europe via mobile providers....

Microsoft sued over alleged Xbox 360 glitch: report.
December 12, 2005... NEW YORK, Dec. 5 Kyodo A Chicago man who bought Microsoft Corp.'s new Xbox 360 has sued the world's largest software maker, saying the new video game console has a design flaw that causes it to overheat and freeze up, Reuters news...

Microsoft fined $31 million for antitrust violations in S. Korea.
December 12, 2005... SEOUL, Dec. 7 Kyodo South Korea's antitrust regulator on Wednesday ordered Microsoft Corp. to unbundle tied products like Windows Media Player and pay 33 billion won (US$31 million) in fines for violating fair trade rules. The Korea...

LEAD: Microsoft's Xbox 360 debuts in Japan.
December 12, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 10 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING INFO IN 3RD-4TH GRAFS) Microsoft Corp. started selling the next-generation video game console, Xbox 360, in Japan on Saturday ahead of its two major Japanese peers, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc....

NEC group's Indian software house begins operation.
December 12, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 12 Kyodo NEC Corp. and its wholly owned software arm NEC System Technologies Ltd. said Monday their joint venture with a major Indian information service firm began operations on the outskirts of New Delhi the same day. ...

Rakuten opens online shopping mall targeting teenage girls.
December 19, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 14 Kyodo Japan's largest online shopping mall operator Rakuten Inc. on Wednesday opened an online mall targeting teenage girls. ''Rakuten Ichiba girls'' offers some 15,000 items, including accessories and clothes, for...

Internet audio library eyed for sight-impaired people.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 17 Kyodo A government agency plans to have the Copyright Law revised to create an audio library on the Internet in fiscal 2006 for sight-impaired people to listen to CDs and other materials in Braille libraries without...

LEAD: Yahoo, Softbank start video distribution service via Internet.
December 19, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 19 Kyodo (EDS: CLARIFYING 1ST GRAF) Yahoo Japan Corp. and its parent Softbank Corp., two of Japan's major Internet firms, on Monday launched a new portal for distributing some 100,000 video programs and items via the...

FOCUS: Internet users warned to be aware of spyware.
December 27, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 21 Kyodo Personal computer users surfing the Internet and making purchases or using banking services online are advised to be aware of a software called ''spyware'' that may be attempting to secretly steal their personal...

Fuji Photo Film to acquire Avecia Inkjet for 30.8 billion yen.
December 27, 2005... TOKYO, Dec. 26 Kyodo Fuji Photo Film Co. said Monday it will purchase British inkjet printing colorants maker Avecia Inkjet Ltd. outright for 150 million pounds, or 30.8 billion yen, by next February. The purchase of Avecia, which...

Sanyo to break into wireless broadband system market.
December 27, 2005... OSAKA, Dec. 26 Kyodo Sanyo Electric Co. said Monday it will begin marketing a wireless broadband communications system it has developed jointly with Soma Networks Inc., a U.S. venture business for broadband solutions. The new system...