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Music-downloading service on Microsoft's list for 2004

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Downloading will be offered through the MSN Web site, said Michelle Simpson, a spokeswoman for Microsoft with Waggener Edstrom public-relations firm.

Microsoft is looking for a senior marketing candidate for the new Microsoft Music Download Service, according to the company's job Web site. "The first duty of this candidate will be to finalize the business plan for the Microsoft Music Download Service," the job description said.

Chip shortage may limit holiday electronics sales

Matsushita Electric Industrial, Royal Philips Electronics and other consumer-electronics makers say a shortage of chips used for storing data may cap holiday sales of camera phones and other digital devices.

Matsushita is filling orders for its Panasonic camera phones at a slower-than-expected pace, while Philips can't make hundreds of thousands of products because of a scarcity of NAND flash-memory chips, executives said.

The shortage comes as retailers expect the strongest year-end shopping season in four years, according to the National Retail Federation. Digital music players, cameras and cellphones, varieties of which contain the chips, are three of the top five most-desired gadgets, the Consumer Electronics Association said.

Semiconductor demand has rebounded this year after a near three-year slump that prompted some chip makers to cut capacity.

Samsung, which controls about two-thirds of the NAND market, can fill only 60 percent of the orders it's receiving, the company said in September.

Toshiba can meet less than 90 percent of demand, said spokesman Makoto Yasuda.

Sony and Canon said they have adequate NAND supplies.

The NAND shortage has led to price increases of more than 20 percent in the past month for some storage cards, such as the Memory Stick, according to Bear Stearns Cos.

Sprint to challenge Nextel with push-to-talk phone

Sprint plans to offer a phone that doubles as a walkie-talkie to try to win business from Nextel Communications, the biggest seller of so-called push-to-talk calling.

The new service, PCS Ready Link, will be available on $300 phones made by Sanyo Electric, Sprint spokesman Jason Guesman said. Sprint will offer rebates as high as $150.

Sprint follows Verizon Wireless in selling a product, popular among construction crews, that lets customers speak to each other or groups by pressing a button rather than dialing a number. The carriers want to challenge Nextel, whose monopoly on walkie-talkie phones helped generate the industry's fastest-revenue growth and most loyal users.

Women still hold little power in tech industry, study finds

The United States leads the world in technological advances, but women are still denied many of the high-tech industry's leadership roles, according to a new study by Catalyst, a nonprofit group dedicated to advancing women in business.

The obstacles women face on the corporate ladder — a male-dominated business culture, poor recruitment and professional development, and work-life issues — hold them back regardless of the industry, the report said.

The study revealed that nearly a third of men and women participants agreed that women have a difficult time getting ahead. Among Fortune 500 high-tech companies, women make up 11.1 percent of corporate officers. That's lower than the 15.7 percent of corporate officers women account for in Fortune 500 firms overall, according to Catalyst.

In its latest study, "Bit by Bit: Catalyst's Guide to Advancing Women in High Tech Companies," Catalyst conducted discussions with 75 senior executives who helped identify barriers to advancement for women:

• The corporate culture at many high-tech companies is exclusionary and does not support women's advancement.

• Companies don't strategically and objectively identify and develop talent.

• Women feel isolated because they lack role models, networks and mentors.

• Work and career demands are at odds with having personal commitments and responsibilities.

Sprint adds real-time TV as feature for cellphones

NEW YORK — Sprint is adding a television service for cellphones with real-time programs, albeit somewhat choppy, from cable networks including CNBC and ABC News.

The new MobiTV service, available soon, will cost $9.99 per month in addition to the monthly fee of $15 that Sprint subscribers pay to use the Internet data connection on their mobile phones. Other networks include MSNBC, Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel.

Although the audio for MobiTV programs will play in a continuous stream, the cellphone screen will not display the equivalent of full-motion video like that seen on a real television. Instead, the video will play at a rate of one or two frames per second, as compared with more than 20 frames per second for real TV.

Dell offers grants for cities to recycle more computers

AUSTIN, Texas — Dell is strengthening its push to recycle old computers, awarding $10,000 grants to 12 cities around the country to host computer recycling drives.

The grants will be used to organize, promote and recycle computer equipment.

The 12 cities will be selected by a review board based on various factors, such as community need and interest.

Dell has been criticized by environmentalists who say the company doesn't do enough to protect the environment. They contend the most dangerous ingredient in old computers is lead from cathode ray tubes and solder used on motherboards.

Compiled from The Associated Press, Knight Ridder Tribune Information Services and Bloomberg News

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