NBC appears to be courting Apple once again
With Apple now streaming NBC shows to iPhones through its dedicated portal, and the network's properties appearing on the iTunes UK store, are the two sides ready to settle their differences?
Several shows are now available for download through the NBC iPhone portal, including Heroes, Eureka, The Incredible Hulk, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and House, shown in America on Fox.
iPhone inventory in Europe appears to be dwindling
It seems to be getting harder to find the iPhone in Europe these days, a possible sign that the 3G version is close to release.
For a period of time on O2's Web site Thursday, a message stating the iPhone was "no longer available" greeted users. This had changed by midday US time, when the 16 GB was shown to be again in stock.
TorrentSpy ordered to pay $111 million
A Los Angeles federal judge has delivered a default judgement against the BitTorrent site finding it guilty of copyright infringement and forcing it to compensate studios.
It may be difficult for the labels to ever collect, as the company that owned the site as well as its creators are broke, having filed for bankruptcy. The ruling also includes a permanent injunction preventing further infringement.
Qtrax nabs Universal for its legit P2P music service
Universal Music Group has confirmed that it has agreed on terms with file-sharing site Qtrax to make its catalog available at no charge to the site's users.
Qtrax originally had hoped to launch in January, and claimed it would carry legal downloads from the major labels. However, the content owners pulled back on the reins and said that while in negotiations, no deals had been reached.
Fake music, video files spread malware on P2P, says McAfee
McAfee is warning file-sharers that they may be at risk due to a Trojan horse posing as an MP3 or MPEG file.
The security firm said Tuesday that it had detected a half million instances of the malware since Friday, dubbed "Downloader-UA.h." It is calling the incident the most significant malware outbreak in three years.
Sony says PS3 outselling Xbox 360 in Europe
Sony is touting European sales figures which have surpassed those of Microsoft, even though the Xbox 360 was released some 16 months before the PS3.
About five million PS3's have been sold in the region, with the console consistently outselling the Xbox on a month-by-month basis since October of last year. The news is somewhat shocking, considering the significant lead time Microsoft enjoyed.
Zune Spring update is pushed to player owners
Microsoft on Monday delivered its Zune 2.5 software, including several playback enhancements and better syncing and organizational capabilities.
Among the changes that affect the device directly is the option to select gapless playback. This eliminates the gaps that occur between electronic music tracks, and is especially useful for fans of live and electronic music.
HTC unveils new 3G Touch 'Diamond'
The new flagship phone takes some design cues from the Apple iPhone while at the same time beating the Cupertino company to the punch on high speed data.
HTC's newest phone was shown off at a press event in London on Tuesday, where the company also displayed its new TouchFLO 3D interface. Like Apple, the company is also focusing on making the mobile Internet more useful.
Qwest to resell Verizon Wireless services
Qwest previously had a deal with Sprint, however it had indicated that it was looking for a new wireless partnership.
Qwest announced the Verizon deal, which has a term of five years, on Monday without disclosure of financial terms. While it is a regional carrier, it is the only one not to own its own wireless business.
Google brain drain to Facebook continues
Elliot Schrage, Google's former vice president of global communications and public affairs will take a comparable position at Facebook.
Schrage will report to Sheryl Sandberg, who also recently migrated to the social networking site from Google to serve as its chief operating officer.
Two carriers to sell iPhone in Italy, new markets announced
For the first time since Apple's launch of the iPhone last year, two mobile carriers will offer the device to subscribers in a single country.
Both Vodafone and Telecom Italia will offer the iPhone in Italy, which seems to lend some validity to recent reports that Apple may be shifting its strategy to become more open before the 3G release of the iPhone.
Another muni Wi-Fi rollout on the rocks
Plans to bring wireless Internet to Boulder, Colorado and the surrounding metropolitan areas are being put on hold over funding issues.
The consortium called Colorado Wireless Communities was tasked with getting the funding to build out the networks in 10 cities from Lakewood to Boulder, a roughly 150 square mile area. The group is now unsure whether it can raise enough money.
Amazon at odds with N.Y. over Internet sales tax law
Amazon, the world's largest online retailer sued the state of New York, claiming its new law requiring out of state retailers to collect New York sales tax was unconstitutional.
Amazon filed the complaint with the New York state Supreme Court on April 25, claiming the law was vague and overly broad. It also told the court that it believes the law unfairly singles the company out.
WSJ: Deutsche Telekom mulls Sprint Nextel buyout
Sources have told the Wall Street Journal that Deutsche Telekom is looking into either a merger or buyout of the third-largest US wireless provider.
With the addition of Sprint's customer base, T-Mobile would become the largest cellular provider in the US, serving nearly 83 million customers. The news appears to be a repackaging of earlier rumors that first surfaced in March.
E3 in turmoil as game publishers skip event
Once the premier video game conference, E3 is now losing major publishers with Activision saying it will take a pass.
Vivendi -- which owns Activision -- will also drop out of the Entertainment Software Association for "business reasons." Instead of being at E3, the company will have its own event at its Santa Monica headquarters during the show.
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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