Following two days of meetings by HP's board
of directors, the Silicon Valley icon announced that Dunn,
whose probe of board members, employees and journalists
created a firestorm of controversy, had agreed to resign her
post. The board has appointed CEO and President Mark Hurd to
take over for Dunn, who will continue to serve as chairman
until January.
HP also announced that George Keyworth is resigning from the
board, effective immediately. Dunn earlier this year had
identified Keyworth as a source of media leaks.
Over the course of the week, it came out that the
investigation to find the source of media leaks involved
possibly illegal access to phone records of the company's
directors, at least nine journalists and, potentially, many
other people. As a result, federal and California state
prosecutors launched investigations, and civil lawsuits and
criminal charges are possible.
Some CNET News.com readers expressed satisfaction with the
decision, but others were disappointed that Dunn's departure
wasn't immediate.
"So she steps down as chairman, but still remains on the
board? What punishment is this?" wrote one News.com reader
to the TalkBack forum. "They just don't get how serious of a
crime this is."
HP's probe also extended to the company's employees. In a
videotaped message to staff, Dunn said the same techniques
that were used to obtain details about HP directors and
journalists were also used on two employees. An HP
representative confirmed that two current employees had
their personal records targeted, but would not identify them
or say which records were accessed.
The Department of Justice has launched a probe into the
techniques HP used to identify the source of media leaks,
and a U.S. House of Representatives committee is planning a
special hearing on the company's conduct. On Friday, the
panel asked Dunn and HP general counsel Ann Baskins to
appear at the Sept. 28 hearing.
Media in the mix
Apple Computer overhauled its digital music and video
offerings, introducing new iPods in three categories and
announcing plans to make movies available for purchase
through the iTunes store.
Movies from four studios owned by The Walt Disney Company
will be available on iTunes 7, the new version of the
download software, the same day they are released to DVD,
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in outlining the new offerings at
a product showcase in San Francisco. Preorders and movies
purchased in the first week will cost $12.99; the price then
bumps up to $14.99 for new releases.
Apple also plans to introduce a product in the first quarter
of 2007 that lets consumers stream their movies or music to
televisions, Jobs said. The new device, code-named iTV, has
802.11 wireless built in. It will sell for $299 and works
with PCs and Macs. "We think it completes the picture here,"
Jobs said.
Meanwhile, Microsoft took the wraps off its Zune media
player, though what's underneath is largely what enthusiasts
had come to expect. The device, which the company
anticipates will be ready in time for the holidays, will
come in three colors and be capable, via its built-in Wi-Fi,
of sharing full-length songs with other nearby Zune devices,
the software giant said.
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