Microsoft Corp

Launching a new attack on industry piracy, Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday that it has sued three Southern California computer assemblers, the result of "continuous sweeps" at swap meets and other sales venues. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant, whose Windows 95 system runs most personal computers, accused the companies in federal lawsuits filed in Los Angeles of copyright and trademark infringement.

Microsoft Corp., Time Warner Inc. and Xerox Corp. were sued by the chief executive of ContentGuard Holdings Inc. over a plan to buy the company, which makes software to block illegal copying of music and films.

It's being billed as the biggest day in entertainment history. When "Halo 3" comes out Tuesday, the video game is expected to pull in more than $150 million in sales in 24 hours.

Two years ago, California public schools received an unexpected gift: a grant of $250 million for new computers, software and training. The windfall was part of a $1.

Sun Microsystems Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. today will announce a Java operating system designed for network computers in a bid to define a standard that could help boost the fledgling NC market.

Microsoft Corp. estimates it lost about $14 billion last year to software piracy -- and those may prove to be the most lucrative sales never made. Although the world's largest software maker spends millions of dollars annually to combat illegal copying and distribution of its products, critics allege -- and Microsoft acknowledges -- that piracy sometimes helps the company establish itself in emerging markets and fend off threats from free open-source programs.