Jobs: MobileMe launch 'not our finest hour'
In an internal e-mail sent Monday afternoon by Steve Jobs and subsequently leaked across the Internet, the Apple CEO laments the launch of the service and shakes up management to prevent it from happening again.
The biggest change announced in the e-mail, as first revealed by Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica, would be the promotion of Eddy Cue to vice president of Internet Services. Having previously headed up the company's successful iTunes division and the new App Store, Cue's responsibilities would now expand to Mobile Me.
Search providers agree on policies regarding China, others
With politicians increasingly questioning US Internet companies' acquiescence to countries with restrictive Internet policies such as China, a 'code of conduct' is now being developed.
The agreement was struck between the big three search providers, as well as other Internet companies and human rights group. Requests for comment from Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo -- participants in the deal -- all went unanswered this afternoon. However, confirmation of the code's formation came today from Sen. Richard Durbin (D - Ill.), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law.
YouTube to distribute Olympics videos in an IOC deal
With the Web becoming a more prevalent platform, the race to ensure broadcast rights for the Olympics means much less. Case in point: Tuesday's deal between the IOC and YouTube.
While obviously the Olympic Games cannot be broadcast live over YouTube, the move marks the first time that content will be available from a single provider on a global basis. Clips and highlights of the games will be uploaded to YouTube, and made available in 77 countries.
Bertlesmann bows out of Sony BMG for $1.2 billion
The German publisher has sold its 50 percent stake in the joint music publishing venture, although it plans to retain the catalog rights to certain acts within Europe.
Under Sony management, the Sony BMG publishing group will change its name to Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (SMEI), and would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. The Japan-based company will continue to use Bertlesmann-owned Arvato Digital Services for up to six years for its distribution needs, it said this morning.
Internet ticket scammers strike Beijing Olympics
The International Olympic Committee said Monday that thousands of unlucky fans, including the families of some athletes, were victims of a sophisticated ticketing scam.
Unfortunately, many will not be able to find replacement seats for the events as tickets were already sold out for these events. Affected non-ticket holders reside in Australia and New Zealand -- there including the families of athletes -- as well as the United States, Japan, Norway, China, and Great Britain.
Congress' probe of target advertising expands to 33 companies
Microsoft and Google are among those who have received letters from four members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee expressing concerns over their online advertising methodologies.
The letter asks the companies to respond by Friday to eleven questions revolving around the subject of targeting ads to specific users, based on behavior or other disseminated factors. The congressmen are looking for answers as to how the companies engage in the practice and to what extent, as well as with regard to address privacy and legal concerns.
IOC looks to wipe hands clean of net censorship dustup
The governing body for the Olympic games wants to make sure that nobody thinks it allowed the Chinese government to impose Web access restrictions.
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge made the comments at a Saturday press conference where reporters grilled him on the subject. Rogge has stayed generally silent on the matter, although his press chief has not.
Tool from EFF tests whether your Internet is being throttled
Just hours before the FCC slapped Comcast on the wrist for its BitTorrent throttling practices, the Electronic Frontier Foundation unveiled an open source tool for users to test their high-speed Internet connections.
Developers have said that up until now, tests for interference had been narrow and for specific categories, often very difficult to use. Now, the EFF's Switzerland tool aims to be easier -- at least at some point in its development -- while at the same time testing for a broader set of techniques employed by ISPs.
Toyota developing a Segway-like transportation device
Better known for its automobiles, Toyota is now planning to move into the personal transport business with the "Winglet," scheduled to become available in the early part of the next decade.
The devices seem to share a lot in common with the Segway, which pioneered the category with its Human Transporter. In fact, the design of Toyota's "L" Winglet model looks quite similar.
Apple's fix for major DNS security hole finally arrives
Nearly three weeks after Microsoft patched its Windows operating system to protect against attacks exploiting a flaw within the DNS system, Apple has delivered its own fix.
The DNS flaw, discovered by security researcher Dan Kaminsky, allows attackers to divert traffic to Web sites of their choice through an issue with BIND, software that powers DNS servers.
Apple pulls iPhone broadband sharing tool from App Store
2:30pm ET August 1, 2008 -The NetShare application is back up on the iPhone App Store for its $9.99 price point. BetaNews was able to purchase the tool and sync it to the iPhone. NetShare works as advertised, although when the iPhone turns the display off, it also shuts off the Wi-Fi unless the device is plugged in.
For a few hours, iPhone users got the chance to download an application called NetShare that could turn the devices into a broadband modem for a laptop.
China relents to critics, opens Internet to Olympic journalists
Several Internet news sites blocked by the Chinese government are now available once again following growing criticism about the country's censorship during the Olympic Games.
Those protesting the restrictions point out that both the International Olympic Committee and China itself had promised that it would not curtail net access during the games. Seeing a potential for a public relations nightmare, the IOC met with Chinese officials to work out a deal.
Apple's latest headache: some iPhones developing cracks
Posters to Apple's support forums are complaining of what appears to be a defect in the iPhone 3Gs casing, which is causing hairline cracks.
It appears from a search of the initial thread in question that the cracks are most commonly appearing around the headphone jack, ringer switch, and volume controls.
Dish first to deliver 1080p HD television programming
Satellite television service Dish will be the first to offer live programming "full HD" 1080p resolution, while the return of an all-HD package hearkens back to the days of Voom.
Dish purchased the assets of Cablevision's Voom in 2005, and much of its content was folded into the satellite provider's offerings. None of the Voom HD channels exist on Dish any longer, as they disappeared in May. Now, however, it seems like the company is ready to try the Voom approach once again: a package of only HD channels.
LG's latest Blu-ray player adds streaming movies from Netflix
Much disagreement remains about what will succeed: HD movies on optical disc, or streaming movies over broadband on-demand. LG is hedging its bets with its latest Blu-ray player that can also access 12,000 movies and TV shows through Netflix.
The two companies first announced their plans at CES in January, when details of a set-top box to be developed by LG was released. It is not clear whether the Blu-ray player is the device that was described, or if the two companies still plan a standalone Netflix box like the one from Roku.
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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