The website of Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera was refused assistance when it sought help from Akamai Technologies in dealing with hacking attacks and massive interest from Web users.
In a prepared statement, Akamai (AKAM) said it "worked briefly this week with Al-Jazeera to understand the issues they are having distributing their websites," but decided not to continue the relationship.
Al-Jazeera said this week that steps were being taken to protect its servers against hackers. The English-language page was back online by Thursday evening U.S. time.
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Windows gets compatible: Microsoft has agreed to a request from the Justice Department for minor changes in its Windows operating system to make it easier for consumers to use software from rival companies.
The Microsoft program (MSFT), known as "Set Program Access and Defaults," lets consumers specify which company's software is routinely used for activities such as sending e-mails and instant messages, Web surfing and listening to music or watching movies through a prominent icon.
The placement change for the icon would save consumers a single mouse-click and make it visible each time a user clicks the Windows Start button. The icon presently is located on a sub-menu one level deep.
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Network's spending spree: Network Associates said it acquired Entercept Security Technologies for $120 million in cash -- its second acquisition in a week.
Entercept Security makes software that detects intrusions on a network and works to eradicate them before they attack computer servers, software programs and databases.
Network Associates (NET) will add the technology to its existing line of security products, which include the McAfee brand of virus and firewall protection software and corporate security-management services.
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Greenspan ponders law: As the fruits of ever-changing technology play an increasing role in the U.S. economy, the country must strike the right balance in developing legal protections for innovative ideas or "intellectual property," said Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.
Among the thorny issues raised by intellectual property rights is how to define precisely what should be legally protected by a copyright or patent.
The evolution of the Internet into a communications tool that people use at home and at work has raised intellectual property rights issues concerning musicians, movie makers and others in the digital world. Through the centuries, Greenspan said, predictable and enforceable laws have been a central factor in a country's economic success.
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Big boost for Veritas: Veritas Software boosted the bonus of its top executive 50 percent to $1.2 million last year and paid him a salary of $1 million, unchanged from 2001, according to a regulatory filing.
Veritas said the CEO bonus was based on his performance, including achievement of earnings-per-share and revenue-growth targets.
Veritas makes software that guards against the loss of data after computer crashes. It had 2002 revenue of $1.51 billion.
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Hacker issues warning: A convicted computer hacker told lawmakers Thursday that many attacks on companies that hold consumer financial information go undetected because of poor security.
Kevin Mitnick, whose federal probation on hacking charges ended in January, said businesses need to better protect their computers from newly discovered security flaws and train employees to spot the tricks of identity thieves.
Prompted by three recent cases of information theft involving the accounts of millions of people, two subcommittees of the House Financial Services Committee heard from law enforcement and corporate officials on the growing vulnerability of consumers' most sensitive financial information
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Racy radio station: Federal regulators told a Detroit radio station to clean up its act or face losing its broadcast license after airing explicit sex talk that included violence against women.
The FCC gave the station 30 days to pay the fine or challenge it.
The FCC said the company, a unit of media conglomerate Viacom (VIA), did not deny airing the material but argued that the agency's definition of indecency was unconstitutional. Federal law bars the airing of obscene speech and limits broadcasting indecent material that contains sexual or excretory references in a patently offensive manner.
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Mexican call centers surge: Call centers -- where customer service representatives field calls and e-mails, and telemarketers place calls -- are the bright spot in Mexico's otherwise slowing telecommunications industry, equipment providers and outsourcing companies said.
The Mexican branch of Canada's Nortel Networks (NT) equipment provider projects 30 percent growth in its call center revenues in Mexico this year, as new call centers open and big banks upgrade their call centers.
Atento, a unit of Spain's Telefonica (TEF) and a major Mexican outsourcer, expects sales growth of 20 percent or more this year. Outsourcers set up contact centers to handle client services and telemarketing for other companies.
AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
