BUSINESS BRIEFS
Microsoft shows off new products
Advertiser Staff and News Services
LAS VEGAS — Microsoft is rolling out a new generation of products that connect cars, game consoles and its new operating system to high-tech gadgets.
Last night, the software giant showed off wireless technology that delivers cell phone and e-mail service to Ford cars, never-before-seen features of its Windows Vista OS and an enhanced version of Xbox 360.
"As everything is more connected, the user is in more control every year," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a phone interview yesterday. "And we want to give them more tools to do that."
Gates spoke hours before he was to deliver the opening speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
VERIZON TO OFFER CELL-TV SERVICE
LAS VEGAS — Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to watch live TV over a network constructed by Qualcomm Inc.
Verizon will launch its new service, V Cast Mobile TV, sometime in the first quarter, the company said yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show. Verizon said it would release details on pricing and availability closer to the launch of the service.
Verizon also announced an upgrade to its FIOS digital television service that will let users use their cell phone to program their home digital video recorders, change parental controls and perform other functions.
COFFEE SWITCH FOR U.K. MCDONALD'S
LONDON — McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant chain, said today that its Britain-based outlets will source all of their coffee from farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit group.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said that thousands of farmers and farm workers in Central and South America will benefit from its commitment, as the Rainforest Alliance program will ensure that they have access to "clean and safe living and working" conditions.
All of the beans used to make more than 143,000 cups of coffee sold daily by McDonald's in the U.K. will now be sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, the statement said.
—Advertiser News Services
