Thursday in the Big Smoke

Live from Toronto, it's Thursday night! From now on I'm drinking my Krispy Kremes.

1. No go for SCO. A Michigan judge has tossed out most of the SCO suit against Chrysler for using Linux. SCO is "satisfied" with the judgment saying they got what they wanted all along: Chrysler's compliance with the UNIX license. You mean you didn't want a pile of money?
2. Prices are dropping for plasma TVs and notebook computers according the the NPD Group. Prices of consumer electronics in general have dropped 17.4% over the last 12 months.
3. A 45-year-old Florida hacker has been indicted on 144 counts for breaking into marketing company Acxiom and stealing customer database records.
4. Microsoft's earnings were up 82% in Q4, disappointing the financial markets who expected better. In the three month period ending June 30, Microsoft earned $2.69 billion. However do they survive? Microsoft investors will be paid out $75 billion over the next four years in dividends and stock buybacks. Gates will get $3.3 billion - which he'll donate to his charitable foundation - Ballmer $1.2 billion, which he'll use to buy Seattle.
5. Verizon has joined Vonage, Lingo, and AT&T with their own Internet telephony or "VoIP" product. VoiceWing will work much like Vonage and cost $40/month.
6. After receiving word that a CD of U2's new album, Vertigo, had been stolen during a photo shoot, the group has decided to rush release it to the iTunes Music Store if copies show up on Kazaa. Bono told the London Daily Telegraph, "If it is on the Internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download. Once it's out, it's out.