EU Looking At Google User Data Retention
Google is being investigated by the European Union over possible violation of the bloc's privacy rules. At issue is the search engine's practice of retaining user information for up to two years.
A letter has been sent to the Mountain View, Calif. company by an independent panel which assists the EU in privacy issues. The inquiry has the full support of the European Commission, officials said.
Philly Wi-Fi Test a Success
Officials in the city of Philadelphia said Thursday that tests for its citywide Wi-Fi project were successful, which means the city will move forward with deploying the network through the rest of the city.
The testbed comprised a 15-square mile area including the central part of the city and some of its less affluent sections to the northeast. When completed, the Earthlink-managed Wi-Fi network will cover 135 square miles.
Sony Faces Blu-ray Disc Lawsuit
Sony is facing another patent infringement suit, this time involving its Blu-ray high definition disc technology.
According to court documents, the electronics maker was sued earlier this month by Target Technology, saying Blu-ray infringes on patents held on reflective-layer materials on optical discs. The patent was filed in April 2004 and granted in March 2006.
Best Buy Sued Over Dual Web Sites
Electronics retailer Best Buy is facing a lawsuit over deceiving customers into paying higher prices once in store by having two Web sites, one accessed by employees and another available on the Internet.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal accused Best Buy of "bait and switch" tactics and sent a complaint to the company on May 18. If no response is received by June 13, Blumenthal said he intends to file suit against the company.
Intel Processors to Go Lead-Free
Beginning later this year, Intel will no longer include any lead in its processors and chipsets - meaning it will have eliminated all of the toxic substance in just three years.
95 percent of the lead that was in its chips is already gone, and the remaining .02 grams will be removed with its next line of chips, according to Intel. The company said it is making the move to alleviate environmental concerns over its production practices.
Senator: Say No to XM-Sirius Merger
Political opposition to the merger of satellite radio providers XM and Sirius increased on Wednesday, as the chair of the Senate antitrust committee sent a letter to both the FCC and Justice Department opposing the deal.
Saying it would cause "substantial harm to competition and consumers," Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) said the deal was unacceptable under antitrust law. He also said current communications policy forbids the merger as well.
Dell, Wal-Mart Sign Retail Pact
Dell has entered into an agreement with Wal-Mart that will put its desktops in 3,400 of the chain's stores beginning June 10, retailing for under $700.
Although exact details of the PCs have not been released, the companies said the desktops will be built exclusively for sale at the world's largest retailers.
Novell to Detail Microsoft Agreement
Novell will give more details of its patent deal with Microsoft, although the full story wouldn't be revealed as the company plans to redact some of the more sensitive details.
The release of the information had been delayed due to the company's troubles surrounding a stock option scandal. The document is set be released along with Novell's annual 10-K filing.
House Debates Net Tax Ban
At a House hearing in Washington, polticians debated whether or not to renew the ban on taxing net access. Opponents say its original purpose, to spur net usage, has long been accomplished.
Initally passed in 1998 and signed by then President Clinton, the latest renewal is set to expire in November of this year.
35 Million Wiis Sold in US By 2012, Says Nintendo
Nintendo said Wednesday that it expects to sell as many as 35 million Wii consoles in the US alone by 2012, which would place it close to the record 38.2 million PlayStation 2 consoles already sold in the market.
Over 2.5 million have already been sold, solidly putting it in second place behind the Xbox 360, which has sold some 5.4 million units since its debut in November 2005. Sony's PlayStation 3 remains in third with 1.3 million consoles sold.
House Approves Anti-Spyware Legislation
The House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday that further penalizes the use of spyware, but leaves out requirements for compliance by software developers.
Some lawmakers sought provisions that would have required software to clearly notify what would be installed and obtain consent. Software industry officials protested the proposed policies, which were taken out and resubmitted as a new bill that passed.
EU Passes Roaming Legislation
Despite the protests of the industry, The EU said Wednesday it had approved a measure that caps roaming rates within the 27-nation bloc. Carriers have one month to comply.
Approved by EU Parliament, the legislation only needs to be approved by the EU's telecommunications ministers. Following the approval, the resolution takes effect June 29, meaning consumers could see cheaper rates as soon as August.
Microsoft Steps Up Open Source Battle
Microsoft continued its battle against open source on Tuesday with the release of yet another company-funded study showing that developers believe the next version of GPL shouldn't cover patent deals.
This latest study was performed by the Harvard Business School, and found that developers would rather have GPLv3 stay out of the deal regulation business. Perhaps not coincidentally, the study comes a week after Microsoft claimed that open source software violates 235 patents.
T-Mobile Ships First Windows Mobile 6 Phone
T-Mobile said Tuesday it had launched the Wing, the successor to its MDA smartphone and the first handset in the United States to ship with Windows Mobile 6 installed.
The carrier was also the first to offer an upgrade for Windows Mobile 5 users with a T-Mobile Dash, and it said phones with the new OS installed would appear next month.
XM Outage Continues to Second Day
XM subscribers were dealing with a second day of service problems Tuesday as the company finally acknowledged an outage and offered an explanation for the lack of signal many were experiencing, especially across the Eastern US and Canada.
According to subscribers, the outages began around noon ET Monday and included either full loss of signal reception, or significant degradation in signal quality. Reports indicated the problem was nationwide, although the most significant problems existed on the East coast.
Ed's Bio
Ed Oswald is a freelance journalist from the Reading, PA area. Although he has written across a variety of subjects, Ed’s passion and focus has been on technology and gadgets. His work regularly appears on tech news sites BetaNews, PCWorld, and Technologizer, and has been syndicated to eWeek, Time’s Techland blog, VentureBeat and the New York Times.
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