Firefox 1.1 delayed

The Mozilla Foundation will hold off releasing the next version of its open source browser Firefox until late September, reports Internetnews.

The announcement, made by developer Ben Goodger, is likely a stalling tactic to shore up recent security difficulties in the browser. Firefox 1.1 had been scheduled for release this month.

"Nothing is scrapped, this is just a version number realignment," Goodger wrote on his blog, citing a number of upgrades including Gecko features and application functional enhancements.

Earlier this month, officials at Mozilla were forced to update 12 security issues discovered in the Firefox code as well as stability fixes to the browser.

Legal digital song downloads around the world have tripled in the past year, while the growth of music piracy on peer-to-peer networks appears to have slowed, according to record labels, CNET reports.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said 180 million songs have been sold worldwide through services such as Apple Computer`s iTunes in the first half of 2005, up from around 57 million in the same period last year.

The group does not measure actual downloads from peer-to-peer networks, but said the number of songs available on file-swapping services and pirate Web sites rose just 3% in the first half of 2005, from 870 million tracks to 900 million tracks.

"We are now seeing real evidence that people are increasingly put off by illegal file sharing and turning to legal ways of enjoying music online," said IFPI CEO John Kennedy. "Attitudes are changing and that is good news for the whole music industry."

Cisco Systems will acquire Kiss Technology, a Danish maker of networked consumer devices, in a cash and stock deal worth around $61 million, BusinessWeek reports.

Kiss Technologies, which manufactures televisions and DVD players that can be linked to a home network or the Internet, will be integrated with Cisco`s Linksys division.

The transaction is expected to close during Cisco`s first quarter, which ends in October, pending regulatory approval.

Microsoft is adding to its e-mail arsenal with the purchase of FrontBridge Technologies, a corporate-messaging specialist.

The FrontBridge addition should help Microsoft`s customers get a better grip on spam and viruses, Sci-tech Today reports.

In addition to being able to offer better filtering technology, Microsoft will be able to help its enterprise clients comply with archive regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other data-storage mandates.