Software Applications

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday that he will probably meet with Steven Spielberg and other media moguls who are setting up a new Hollywood film studio to discuss how his software would fit into their vision. In an interview, Gates denied speculation that he has already discussed cooperating with Spielberg, former Walt Disney Studios head Jeffrey Katzenberg and music mogul David Geffen. The three announced plans to form their own studio last week.

SAN FRANCISCO - Could the next Martha Stewart come from Silicon Valley? The East Coast tastemaker who for decades ruled the lifestyle category with her tireless pursuit of domestic perfection seems to be losing her elegant grip on younger viewers and consumers searching for something a bit more accessible. Enter Brit Morin, a 26-year-old Google alum fashioning herself as a youthful cross between hacker and homemaker. Her edge: She resonates with the iPhone generation for whom the hottest accessory is the latest gadget.

SAN FRANCISCO - Could the next Martha Stewart come from Silicon Valley? The East Coast tastemaker who for decades ruled the lifestyle category with her tireless pursuit of domestic perfection seems to be losing her elegant grip on younger viewers and consumers searching for something a bit more accessible. Enter Brit Morin, a 26-year-old Google alum fashioning herself as a youthful cross between hacker and homemaker. Her edge: She resonates with the iPhone generation for whom the hottest accessory is the latest gadget.

Most people think of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle as a slim piece of hardware the size of a very thin paperback book. In fact, Kindle is also a piece of software that displays digital books on any device Amazon chooses. On Thursday, the Seattle online retailing giant unveiled a Kindle version for computers. The application was part of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system launch event Thursday in New York. Expected to be released in November, the program will also run on Microsoft's earlier operating systems, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Best Software Inc. said it would pay $110 million in cash to acquire Accpac International Inc., another maker of software applications designed for small and medium-size businesses. The deal unites two software makers that operate as subsidiaries of larger companies. Irvine-based Best Software is owned by England-based Sage Group. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Accpac is controlled by Islandia, N.Y.-based Computer Associates.

MAI Basic Four, the Tustin-based computer-products company, said Tuesday that it signed a $7.5-million agreement to resell computers made by Hewlett-Packard Co. Under the agreement, MAI will buy about $7.5 million worth of HP 9000 minicomputers and resell them with software designed for use in specific manufacturing applications.

Tired of looking over the shoulder of the nearest newspaper reader or grubbing through trash cans to catch a glimpse of the day's headlines? Life is so rough for the tech-impaired. If you have a hand-held computing device, you can simply turn to AvantGo, a free program that provides news, movie listings, maps, stock quotes and weather information. Here's how it works: Go to http://www.avantgo.com and pick the device being used (typically a Palm OS or Windows CE device).

Japanese manufacturers are delaying the launch of a new DVD audio machine touted as the next generation of home music entertainment after a European hacker cracked codes that are supposed to prevent DVDs from being copied.

The six big motion picture studios Tuesday won a major legal victory against DVD copying. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the sale of RealDVD, a controversial software application that allows consumers to copy DVDs to a computer's hard drive. The standard anti-piracy software on DVDs blocks consumers from taking the movie file off the disc. The studios filed suit in September in District Court in San Francisco when the RealDVD software went on sale, alleging that it illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form.

Most people think of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle as a slim piece of hardware the size of a very thin paperback book. In fact, Kindle is also a piece of software that displays digital books on any device Amazon chooses. On Thursday, the Seattle online retailing giant unveiled a Kindle version for computers. The application was part of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system launch event Thursday in New York. Expected to be released in November, the program will also run on Microsoft's earlier operating systems, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

The six big motion picture studios Tuesday won a major legal victory against DVD copying. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the sale of RealDVD, a controversial software application that allows consumers to copy DVDs to a computer's hard drive. The standard anti-piracy software on DVDs blocks consumers from taking the movie file off the disc. The studios filed suit in September in District Court in San Francisco when the RealDVD software went on sale, alleging that it illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form.

Best Software Inc. said it would pay $110 million in cash to acquire Accpac International Inc., another maker of software applications designed for small and medium-size businesses. The deal unites two software makers that operate as subsidiaries of larger companies. Irvine-based Best Software is owned by England-based Sage Group. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Accpac is controlled by Islandia, N.Y.-based Computer Associates.

Tired of looking over the shoulder of the nearest newspaper reader or grubbing through trash cans to catch a glimpse of the day's headlines? Life is so rough for the tech-impaired. If you have a hand-held computing device, you can simply turn to AvantGo, a free program that provides news, movie listings, maps, stock quotes and weather information. Here's how it works: Go to http://www.avantgo.com and pick the device being used (typically a Palm OS or Windows CE device).

Japanese manufacturers are delaying the launch of a new DVD audio machine touted as the next generation of home music entertainment after a European hacker cracked codes that are supposed to prevent DVDs from being copied.

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday that he will probably meet with Steven Spielberg and other media moguls who are setting up a new Hollywood film studio to discuss how his software would fit into their vision. In an interview, Gates denied speculation that he has already discussed cooperating with Spielberg, former Walt Disney Studios head Jeffrey Katzenberg and music mogul David Geffen. The three announced plans to form their own studio last week.

MAI Basic Four, the Tustin-based computer-products company, said Tuesday that it signed a $7.5-million agreement to resell computers made by Hewlett-Packard Co. Under the agreement, MAI will buy about $7.5 million worth of HP 9000 minicomputers and resell them with software designed for use in specific manufacturing applications.

CA Inc. agreed to buy Wily Technology of Brisbane, Calif., for $375 million in cash, stepping up its effort to grow through acquisitions. Closely held Wily makes programs that analyze problems in company software applications while they're running. New York-based CA was formerly known as Computer Associates.

Scott C. Kennedy has been appointed western region account executive of Scanning Management Systems, a Canoga Park firm specializing in software applications for supermarkets. Kennedy, 34, will be responsible for sales of the company's POS PLUS software products in 11 Western states. Scanning Management is owned by Dataserv Inc., a computer service company based in Eden Prairie, Minn.