Global software piracy up for first time in 6 years

WASHINGTON >> Software piracy grew last year, breaking six years of progress by software companies to stamp out illegal use, a trade group reports.

A report being released today by the Business Software Alliance, which includes companies such as Microsoft, Apple Computer and Adobe, attributes the shift to growing computer markets in countries that traditionally have high piracy rates, such as Vietnam, China and India.

Worldwide piracy rates have dropped steadily since the trade group's first such study in 1994.

Vietnam has the highest business software piracy rate in the world, according to the study, at 94 percent. Russia, Ukraine and other former members of the Soviet Union typically have high rates of unlicensed software as well.

Twenty-five percent of business software programs in the United States were pirated in 2001, a percentage point increase from the previous year. The worldwide rate was 40 percent, the study said, costing the industry losses of about $11 billion per year.

Coffee group to present plan to diversify farms

MANAGUA, Nicaragua >> The International Coffee Organization will present a plan to the World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank in the coming week to help coffee growers diversify their farms, the group's top executive said over the weekend.

ICO Executive Director Nestor Osorio said he will present a specific diversification program to the banks that, if approved, will only need the signature of coffee authorities in producing nations to be set in motion.

In a presentation to Mexican and Central American coffee growers in Managua, Osorio said producers need to generate alternate forms of income if they are to survive crises like the one that saw prices sink to historic lows last October during a global coffee surplus.

Average U.S. gas price falls 2.48 cents a gallon

CAMARILLO, Calif. >> Gas prices fell nearly 2.5 cents a gallon in the past three weeks because of plunging crude oil costs and plentiful supply.

The average price nationwide, including all gasoline grades and taxes, was about $1.44 per gallon on Friday, according to a survey of 8,000 stations. That was down 2.48 cents per gallon since May 17.

Analyst Trilby Lundberg said yesterday that prices remained steady or fell all over the country, with the largest dip, more than 5 cents a gallon, recorded in the Midwest.

The most expensive gasoline was found in Chicago at about $1.63 a gallon, while the cheapest was found in Tulsa, Okla., at $1.16 a gallon, the survey said.

Yahoo unveils new look for some of its Web pages

SUNNYVALE, Calif. >> Yahoo! Inc. is showing off a new look beginning today, with a redesigned home page and refinements on the shopping and e-mail sections as well.

The new home page includes a "personal assistant" that informs registered users of new e-mails, and lists selected products available at Yahoo Shopping. The shopping page now makes featured brands more prominent, changes how products are grouped and informs users of the five most popular items in certain categories.

With new colors, a cleaner appearance and drop-down menus, the e-mail page is getting its first significant makeover since it debuted in 1997, Yahoo spokeswoman Diana Lee said. Yahoo hopes the redesign makes the free service much easier to use.