Race for No. 2 spot in PC market too close to call

In today's podcast: 12th Russian spy worked at Microsoft; Finjan sues rivals over security patents; and race for No. 2 spot in PC market too close to call.

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The 12th person detained in the U.S. for allegedly spying for Russia worked as an entry-level software tester at Microsoft for nine months, the company confirmed Wednesday. Alexey Karetnikov was deported to Russia on Tuesday after he admitted to an immigration judge to being in the U.S. illegally, according to a report in the Washington Post, citing anonymous federal law enforcement officials. Microsoft then issued a short statement confirming the status of Karetnikov's employment.

Finjan has sued five rival security companies, including Symantec and McAfee, claiming it holds crucial patents used by popular antivirus products and security services. Finjan alleges that flagship products from these companies violate two patents that Finjan has held for about a decade. Formerly a technology vendor itself, Finjan sold most of its assets last November to another security company, M86, but held onto its patent portfolio, which it is now trying to turn into a moneymaker. Finjan owns about a dozen patents, all related to computer security.

The race for the No. 2 spot among PC vendors may be to close to call, with analyst firms disagreeing over whether or not Dell lagged behind rival Acer during the second quarter. On Wednesday, IDC reported that Dell retook the second spot from Acer during the second quarter. But Gartner disagreed, saying Acer maintained its lead over Dell. Both firms reported that the Taiwanese PC vendor overtook Dell during the third quarter of 2009. Gartner reported that Acer shipped nearly 10.8 million desktops and laptops during the second quarter of 2010, compared to Dell shipments of 10.3 million units.

Pixel Qi is trying to meet the growing demand for its innovative 3Qi displays, and has resumed shipment after a rash of orders for the low-power screens, the company said on Wednesday. The 10.1-inch displays, targeted at netbook-type devices, tablets and e-readers, became available on July 1. The initial stock sold out in under a day, after which retailer Maker Shed made the US$275 display available for pre-order. Pixel Qi said shipments are on their way to the retailer.

...And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I'm Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.