UW computer-degree program growing

Pacific Northwest

UW

The University of Washington's Computer Science & Engineering Department is launching a five-year degree program providing both bachelor's and master's degrees starting in 2008, part of a 25 percent expansion the department expects over five years.

Department Chairman Hank Levy said the "industrially focused" degree program is geared toward preparing students for jobs at companies such as Microsoft and Google and its graduates "will be really productive and sought-after and interesting." The school is seeking legislative support to expand the program to 30 students a year.

Levy also said the UW is hiring faculty for a new experimental computer engineering lab.

Washington Group

Vote postponed on takeover plan

Engineering and construction company Washington Group International postponed a shareholder vote set for Tuesday on its planned takeover by URS in a bid to win additional support for the deal. The meeting is now scheduled Nov. 9.

Washington Group's board has recommended approval of the $2.6 billion deal, but some of the Boise, Idaho-based company's large shareholders say the cash-and-stock offer undervalues the company.

Google

Talks with Verizon focus on software

Google is in talks with Verizon to work together on mobile-phone software and services, a person with knowledge of the discussions said Tuesday.

Google may build its own operating-system software or programs for phones, said the person, who requested anonymity.

The Wall Street Journal reported Google was also in talks with Sprint Nextel.

The deals would help Google parlay its dominance of Internet advertising into the wireless market. For Verizon and Sprint, the pacts may expand the companies' sales of more profitable data services such as Web browsing.

Google

Social-networking tools for developers

Google is setting up a distribution system for social-networking applications, adding a new twist in its brewing rivalry with Facebook.

Google hopes to build a one-stop shop for software developers who create tools that make it easier to share music, pictures, video and other personal interests on networking sites.

These applications, known as "widgets," have grown dramatically since Facebook opened its Web site to accommodate outside developers five months ago.

Google hopes to attract many of the same applications to its own network, dubbed "OpenSocial."

Microsoft

20 companies sued for alleged piracy

Microsoft sued 20 computer dealers in 13 states Tuesday for allegedly selling counterfeit or pirated software, including its Windows Vista operating system.

The complaints filed in federal courts target storefront dealers accused of selling personal computers loaded with counterfeit or pirated Windows, Vista and Office software, said Sharon Cates, a Microsoft attorney.

A dealer in Falconer, N.Y., was accused of selling computers loaded with fake software traced to a syndicate based in Southern China. The Chinese group has sold $2 billion in bogus Microsoft software, Cates said.

Merrill Lynch

O'Neal to exit with $162 million

Merrill Lynch's departing chief executive, Stan O'Neal, will walk away with $161.5 million in stock, options and retirement benefits, the company said Tuesday.

O'Neal, the second-highest paid Wall Street CEO in 2006, retired from Merrill Lynch on Tuesday, almost a week after the investment bank reported its largest-ever quarterly loss.

Merrill Lynch did not name a replacement.

Qwest

Good quarter fails to end uncertainty

Qwest on Tuesday reported a jump in third-quarter net income, although revenue dipped on fewer sales of traditional telephone lines as consumers opted for high-speed services.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Qwest reported profit of $2.07 billion, or $1.08 a share, compared with $194 million, or 9 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2006.

Excluding special items, earnings would have been $269 million, or 14 cents a share, on revenue of $3.43 billion, up 1.5 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast, on average, 15 cents a share on $3.49 billion in revenue.

Qwest Chief Executive Edward Mueller, who was appointed in August, added to uncertainty among analysts and investors by declining to provide details about his plans for the telecommunications company until he completes a strategic review, expected by the end of the year.

Qwest stock fell $1.12 to $7.06, a 52-week low.

Internet

Tax moratorium approved by House

Internet access, as well as e-mail and text messaging, will remain tax-free for at least another seven years if President Bush, as expected, signs a bill passed Tuesday by the House that extends a moratorium on such taxes.

The final bill, on a vote of 402-0, was the result of last-minute maneuvering between the Senate, which passed its version last week, and the House, which had approved a four-year extension of the tax ban.

The current moratorium, first enacted in 1998 and renewed twice since then, was due to expire Thursday. President Bush is expected to sign the measure promptly.

The moratorium does not affect sales taxes related to Internet purchases, but rather use taxes that local or state government might charge customers for Internet connections.

Compiled from Seattle Times staff, Reuters, Bloomberg News, The Associated Press and McClatchy News Service