Dell may binge on quad-core Opterons

In Texas terms, Dell has gone piglet with its Opteron server line rather than going the whole hog. That, however, could change with AMD's release of the four-core "Barcelona" processors.

Dell today promotes two Opteron systems - the four-socket PowerEdge 6950 and the two-socket SC1435. And getting those two boxes wasn't easy. It took an army of consultants, hypnotists, savvy executives and customers to persuade Dell of Opteron's merits.

When AMD's four-core chip ships mid-year, Dell may end up as the leading vendor out of the gate with the new chips.

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Video: Explore the world with Google Earth 4

VIDEO - With the release of Google Earth 4, Google has stepped up the mapping software with new features and sharper graphics. CNET News.com's Neha Tiwari takes a look.

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Wal-Mart eyes Microsoft for Web build-out

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores is contracting with Microsoft and Novell--Microsoft's preferred Linux partner--to build out the company's Web operations, according to a Wal-Mart executive.

On Tuesday, Microsoft and Novell are expected to announce that Wal-Mart is the latest customer to purchase both Microsoft software and support certificates for Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server.

In an interview arranged by both companies, Wal-Mart's senior vice president and chief technology officer, Nancy Stewart, provided some details on the project involving Wal-Mart, Microsoft and Novell.

Stewart said Wal-Mart is in the midst of expanding its Web presence globally. The partnership between Microsoft and Novell, announced last November, provides "a fine support structure" for the project, she said.

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McAfee VirusScan upgrade hobbles Lotus Notes

People who use both IBM Lotus Notes and McAfee VirusScan Enterprise may want to hold off on upgrading to the latest version of the McAfee software.

Installing McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.5i on a PC that also runs the Lotus Notes e-mail client can lock people out of their mailboxes, the two companies have confirmed. Lotus Notes is a commonly used e-mail application, particularly in larger organizations. McAfee, the world's second-largest antivirus company, released VirusScan Enterprise 8.5i late November.

"The upgrade locks people out and is causing Notes errors where we can not even restart Notes, but need to reinstall," said one IT administrator for a California company, who asked not to be identified. "This issue has created a higher-than-normal demand on our helpdesk; the cost to our company due to this issue is increasing every hour."

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Music industry divided over digital future

With global music sales down for a seventh straight year, the talk at an annual industry meeting in Cannes, France, has become heated over how to develop digital sales against competition from the dreaded F word--free.

Global sales are expected to be down again for 2006 despite digital sales almost doubling to $2 billion and the popularity of music being as strong as ever.

Critics of the major players in the industry argue that they have been distracted by the fight against piracy and in doing so, hindered the growth of the legal business.

In response, the accused argue that they had little choice.

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AOL co-founder Case opens online health site

AOL co-founder Steve Case launched a health Web site on Monday that will offer free and paid services including social networking tools for sharing information on doctors, insurance and other health topics.

In a statement, the new site, Revolution Health, bills itself as an online location for resources on health conditions and healthy-living topics combined with community and social-networking features.

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eMusic hears sweet sound of success in Europe

eMusic, the digital music download service, says it is eyeing Asia after a successful launch across Europe last year.

eMusic became the first service to launch in all 27 European Union member states when it kicked off in September, taking on iTunes in some of the big markets such as Britain and Germany.

In its search for further expansion, New York-based eMusic is looking toward Asia--and Japan in particular.

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MySpace sues 'Spam King' Richter

MySpace.com has filed a lawsuit against Scott Richter, the so-called "Spam King" who allegedly sent out millions of unsolicited "bulletins" to MySpace members, the site announced Monday.

The News Corp.-owned social-networking site cited violations of multiple state and U.S. antispam laws, including California statutes and the federal Can-Spam Act, in its case against Richter, who was the proprietor of a site called OptInRealBig.com. According to MySpace, Richter gained access to MySpace user accounts via phishing schemes, or took control of accounts that had already been phished, and then used the service's bulletin feature, which sends messages to all of a user's "friends," to churn out unsolicited messages that advertised products ranging from Polo shirts to cell phone ringtones.

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SpiralFrog loses CEO, other executives

SpiralFrog's chief executive officer, at least five members of his executive team and three board directors have left the fledgling music store, according to sources connected to the company.

Robin Kent, the former CEO of advertising agency Universal McCann Worldwide, was ousted the day after Christmas at the conclusion of a company board meeting, according to three former SpiralFrog executives who requested anonymity.

What ensued was a widening of the fracture in the company's leadership. Three directors with strong music-industry ties resigned almost immediately after Kent's departure, sources said. In the days following, more directors walked out as well at least six members of SpiralFrog's senior executive team, including the chief marketing, strategy and operating officers, sources said.

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MIT-led study finds geothermal energy potential untapped

A study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has concluded that geothermal energy is a largely untapped resource for electricity in the United States.

The study (PDF), issued Monday, was sponsored by the Department of Energy and included the participation of 18 experts in geology, drilling and energy.

With geothermal energy, or "heat mining," electricity is generated from hot rocks thousands of feet beneath the Earth's surface. Water is flowed into drilled wells, creating a heat exchanger that can produce hot water or steam to run electrical generators on the surface, according to MIT.

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'Grand Theft' maker finds major options backdating

Take-Two Interactive Software said Monday that an internal review of stock option grants found a significant number of grants backdated between April 1997 and August 2003.

In a regulatory filing, the publisher of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto video game franchise said former Chief Executive Ryan Brant was responsible for backdating the options during the period.

Take-Two added that there was no evidence the current senior executive management engaged in any conduct that raised concerns about the reliability of their representation to the company's auditors.

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