Overnight news roundup: 11-12 September

Another Skype worm has hit the wild, and this time it looks like your personal information is being put at risk

Tuesday was an exciting day for news. And while you were sleeping, you missed some of the finest tech goodness around. Check it out:

Not everyone is abandoning iTunes

It looks like NBC-Universal may be the only company willing to turn its back on Apple. According to reports, NewsCorp -- a dominant news and television company in the United States -- will not follow in its competitors footsteps, and will renew its contract with Apple.

In something you should be watching for, Sun and Microsoft sent out a news alert late Tuesday claiming both organisations would be making an important announcement Wednesday to discuss "an expanded agreement between the two companies". That was all either company was willing to say, but it does sound interesting.

Early birds get the Skype worm

Another Skype worm hit the wild, and this time it looks like your personal information is being put at risk. A JPEG image is being embedded in a link over Skype IM and, if downloaded, will infect your machine and possibly steal personal information. Most anti-virus programs are now capable of protecting you though -- just make sure to update your definitions.

Altec Lansing introduced new speaker systems aimed at your pocket. The five new speakers can be connected to music-playing phones or a PMP to enhance your overall listening quality.

Did you know that 10 to 15 per cent of your home's energy costs can be attributed to devices on standby? To eliminate that cost, a new product called the GreenSwitch energy management system will ensure that 'off' means off.

AMD is on the up

While some people were counting AMD out of the processor war, it looks like its strategy of low prices has won the hearts and minds of tech lovers. According to an analyst report, the company has regained 2.5 per cent of the market in just the second quarter alone.

Internet radio services may soon be getting the reprieve they need. According to sources close to the discussions, representatives from SoundExchange -- the organisation collecting royalties from stations -- is confident that a mutually beneficial deal will be reached by the end of the month.