Technology Briefing

NATIONAL NEWS

Sirius, XM Radio detail pricing plans for combined service

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The top executives at the nation's two satellite radio companies detailed pricing plans Monday that they said would let customers choose which channels they want to receive if the two firms are permitted to merge.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio announced the $4.7 billion merger in February. The combination requires approval from antitrust regulators and the Federal Communications Commission.

The pricing plans announced Monday range from $6.99 a month for 50 channels offered by one service to $16.99 a month, where customers would keep their existing service, plus "chose from the best" of channels offered by the other service.

Judge dismisses Perfect 10's suit against Google, Amazon

Google Inc., owner of the world's most popular search engine, and Amazon.com Inc. won a bid to dismiss Perfect 10's claim that the companies electronically circumvented the adult publisher's copyright-protection systems.

U.S. District Judge Howard Matz dismissed the claim Monday at a hearing in Los Angeles federal court, saying there was no basis to justify the allegation.

Perfect 10 lawyer Daniel Cooper didn't say whether the company will appeal.

Closely held Perfect 10 sued Google in 2004, asserting 12 infringement claims, including circumvention of copyright-protection systems. Matz last year granted Perfect 10's request for an order temporarily preventing Google from displaying thumbnail images that link to third-party Web sites with Perfect 10's full-size pictures. Matz denied a similar request to prohibit Amazon.com, the world's biggest online retailer, from showing the thumbnails.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on May 16 reversed Matz's ruling against Google and asked the judge to determine whether Google and Amazon.com knew they were infringing the copyrights and failed to take reasonable steps to refrain from providing access to the images. Perfect 10 has asked for a rehearing by a larger panel of appellate judges.

Wii outsells Xbox 360 by ratio of nearly 2-to-1 last month

Nintendo Co.'s Wii video-game console outsold Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 by a ratio of almost 2-to-1 in June as consumers continued to snap up the popular player.

Nintendo sold 381,800 Wii players in June, according to an e-mailed report from NPD Group Inc., a Port Washington, N.Y.-based researcher. Microsoft sold 198,400 Xbox 360 players, and Sony Corp. sold 98,500 PlayStation 3 consoles.

Wii has emerged as the top-selling player among the new generation of consoles, with a $249 price tag and a motion-activated controller that lets players mimic golf and tennis swings. The console's lower price and simpler games have helped Nintendo outsell more technologically advanced rival systems.