Type of Article: MacMinute Web Site

Most of the 18 states suing Microsoft are set to reject the antitrust settlement reached this past Friday by Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department. Among the states that oppose the settlement are California and Massachusetts. Critics call the settlement rife with loopholes and say it also enables Microsoft to remain tight-lipped on the details of its anti-piracy, security, anti-virus or encryption technology.

Chronos LC today announced Group Organizer 4.0, a network organizer for Mac OS 8, 9, and X. According to Jerry Halls, V.P. of Sales at Chronos, “Group Organizer 4.0 is a dream come true for those who want to quickly and easily get their business organized. The new setup wizard literally makes it as easy as one, two, three.” Chronos calls its product the “Swiss Army Knife” of productivity software. A 30-day trial version of Group Organizer 4.0 can be downloaded from the Chronos Web site.

A recent San Jose Business Journal article, as noted by MacSurfer, discusses the risk that Apple is taking with the iPod by gambling on strong consumer demand during rough economic times.

Microsoft may lose as much as US$1 billion on its forthcoming Xbox video game console before the company breaks even, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst. The company will reach that break even mark in 2004, assuming the console is a success. Microsoft’s ambitious foray into the video game console market is backed by a $500 million marketing campaign.

4D Inc. has announced reduced pricing on its 4D WebSTAR Server Suite V, US$299, for all Mac OS X Server 1.x and Mac OS X Server 10.x users, as noted by MacCentral. The initial license provides one year of updates and support; additional support and updates are available for a membership fee of $179 per year. While unrenewed licenses will not expire, they will not accept updates, which are currently in development and add key new features to the suite.