Ed Oswald

As previously rumored, Google on Monday confirmed that it had tapped Samsung to manufacture the second incarnation of its Nexus Android phone, which will be the first to run the company's Android 2.3 "Gingerbread OS."

The Nexus S will sell for $199 with a two-year service contract through T-Mobile here in the US beginning December 16. It will also be offered without a contract for $529. Either way, Google has hopes that the second incarnation does a whole lot better than the first.

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Comcast is being criticized after it has decided to charge Level 3 Communications a surcharge for 'excessive' bandwidth usage. According to the cable provider, Level 3 is sending about five times as much data to Comcast as is going the other way, it said in a statement.

Under protest that it violates open Internet principles Level 3 is paying the surcharge. It claims Comcast essentially gave the company an ultimatum to accept its terms, which Level 3 had no choice but agree to or face possible disruptions. Comcast's move has also spurred the FCC to ask for more information on the deal.

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In what is being called the biggest judgment ever for software piracy, German business software provider SAP has been slapped with a $1.3 billion verdict for stealing rival Oracle's software. At issue were the actions of TomorrowNow, a subsidiary SAP purchased in 2005.

TomorrowNow provided third party support for a host of applications, including those developed by Oracle. Oracle became suspicious and then filed suit after it noticed unusually high downloads by SAP, which came as a result of TomorrowNow downloading support materials and software from the Oracle website.

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Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablet is selling remarkably well globally, according to a report in the Korea Herald. Since its launch last month, the device has sold about 600,000 units across the 30 countries where it is currently available.

While that is nowhere near the million-per-month sales rate of the iPad, Samsung's success in the space shows that there is space for another tablet device to do well. Executives say that they expect to sell about one million Tabs before the end of the year, and the company expects sales to accelerate as the entire market grows in 2011.

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In what can be seen as final capitulation to its now much larger rival, MySpace and Facebook announced Thursday afternoon that MySpace would employ Facebook Connect across its site. The change effectively ends what had been a years-long battle for dominance between the two companies.

Called Mashup with Facebook, the partnership means that the recently announced entertainment personalization features would now be powered by publicly available information from the user's profile. Users will also be able to connect their status updates together, allowing Facebook statuses to show up on MySpace.

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Julian Assange may have so far been able to escape any kind of serious prosecution for his disclosure of secret government documents, but accusations of rape have prompted a Swedish court to approve an arrest warrant for the Australian-born publisher.

Charges against Assange were initially dropped back in August, although two women involved in the accusations appealed that decision. The case was reopened in September, however Swedish authorities have yet been able to locate Assange to question him on the allegations.

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A report delivered to Congress Wednesday says that for a 20-minute period in April, a Chinese state-owned telecommunications firm redirected Internet traffic through its own servers, highlighting concerns over possible 'sniffing' of the data within. The traffic included packets from US government and military networks, it claims.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said that it could not tell whether or not the redirecting was unintentional or deliberate, however it did argue that it could lead to "severe malicious activities." It is believed to be the largest redirection of Internet traffic in the history of the Internet.

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Any doubts over Microsoft's foray into motion-sensing gaming may have been erased as it announced Monday it was on track to sell five million units of its new Kinect controller. In just the first ten days, one million Kinects were sold, which included sales from both the US and Europe.

Kinect launched on November 4 in the US and last Wednesday across Europe. It is slated to launch Thursday in Asia, and in Japan on Saturday. By the holidays the company expects some 60,000 retailers worldwide to carry it, with 17 titles available.

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About five months after Microsoft decided to kill off its Kin phone project, leaked documents obtained by mobile blog PPC Geeks indicates that the company plans to bring back the devices as feature phones, but without the functions that set it apart.

Tech blog Engadget says sources have told it that the Kin's most data-intensive features have been disabled. This would mean its "Loop" feature -- possibly one of the most unique qualities of the device -- would no longer work. However, Zune Pass would still operate over Wi-Fi as long as the customer carries the appropriate data plan.

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Amazon became the target of Internet criticism after initially ignoring pleas to remove a book it listed in its Kindle store on the subject of pedophilia, only to quietly change position and remove the book on Thursday without much notice.

The book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" by Phillip Graves, was sold by Amazon for $4.79. It was intended to give those interested in such activity advice on the subject. However, child protection advocates saw the book as potentially dangerous, and threatened to boycott the online retailer.

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RIM's PlayBook will be introduced in the spring of next year and at a price point below $500, its co-CEO Jim Balsillie confirmed to several news outlets on Wednesday. It seems clear RIM intends to compete with Apple's iPad in one of tech's fastest growing sectors by pricing it close to the now top-selling tablet.

RIM's tablet plans surfaced in the first part of this year, when Betanews was able to confirm details on the device at that time through company sources. RIM itself unveiled the device in September, naming it the PlayBook.

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Sprint said Wednesday that it would begin offering an iPod touch case that would allow users to connect to the carrier's 3G network on November 14. Manufactured by ZTE, the "Peel" would include built in Wi-Fi, which would allow not only the iPod touch to connect but also another wireless device.

The Peel will retail for $79.99 and require a $29.99 per month data plan, which is a month-to-month agreement. 1GB of data would be included. The device is the second announced for the iOS platform: in April, the company touted a 4G "case" for the iPad.

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The European Union will begin work shortly to revise and strengthen its more than 15-year-old privacy laws already on the books, reacting to the increasing popularity of social networking. Privacy advocates worldwide have targeted the industry as of late, arguing many are lax with their user's personal details.

"We need to bring our laws up to date with the challenges raised by new technologies and globalization," Commissioner Viviane Reding said in statement. "The protection of personal data is a fundamental right." The European Commission plans to introduce legislation to the Parliament sometime next year, she added.

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Foursquare may have been a willing participant in Facebook's initial announcement on its Places application, but the social networking site's latest announcement likely further drives a wedge between the two once friendly companies. Facebook unveiled Deals on Wednesday, a feature which allows retailers to list special offers for those checking in.

Such a feature had become a staple for Foursquare, and helped the service gain a foothold among consumers. Facebook's move to add the functionality seems to suggest that the company is serious about Places and not just as a secondary feature.

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Apple has told the record labels that it plans to extend previews in iTunes for songs over two minutes and thirty seconds from 30 to 90 seconds. In a note to its content providers, it said it believed "that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases."

Many had expected Apple to increase preview times eventually, but had though it would be to a full minute, and was expected by some to be announced at Apple's September music event. Several other music providers have begun to offer longer previews, which likely give consumers a better idea of the song they plan to purchase.

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