In the latest of a barrage of lawsuits against various and sundry operators of "automated and network-automated databases," Web development company GraphOn is now hauling Google into court on allegations of patent infringement.

In a complaint filed in US District Court in Texas, GraphOn is charging that Google's Base, YouTube, Blogger, Sites, and AdWords services violate a total of four patents the company now owns.

Continue reading →

Since the 1940s, the US' TV space has been referred to as "the public airwaves." Now, Google is using a Web site to build public support for an effort to convince the FCC that it should be allowed to use that space in the public interest.

It was one of the biggest losers in the US Federal Communications Commission's auction of 700 MHz spectrum last spring, having at one time promised to bid billions for space in the high UHF television band that ended up going to Verizon and AT&T. But now, Google is trying to stake a new position for itself in the debate over what happens to the rest of the airspace -- the so-called "white spaces," in-between the blocks of spectrum that fetched billions for the federal government -- by suggesting the FCC give it away.

Continue reading →

EA's hostile takeover bid for software company Take-Two Interactive is finally set to expire after a series of extensions failed to cull outstanding stock in the company necessary for a takeover.

Nearly seven months after placing its initial bid for the manufacturer of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto game series, Electronic Arts has made little progress in obtaining Take-Two. For this reason, EA CEO John Riccitello wrote a note to Executive Chairman of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick which said:

Continue reading →

Beginning August 16, the US Transportation Safety Administration will no longer expressly require laptops to be removed from luggage at airport security checkpoints if they are kept in appropriate bags.

The allowance has been made, according to the TSA, to help streamline the security check process and reduce the likelihood of damage to travelers' important hardware.

Continue reading →

Two trends continue, as evidenced by this month's comScore Top 50 report, released this afternoon: One, Google's going nowhere but up. Two, it can still go up when overall Internet use in the US is actually going down.

During Yahoo's most recent quarterly report, its executives told investors that the crown jewel of the company continues to be its portal, which serves more users than anyone else's. That's now demonstrably no longer true, as Yahoo's growth has been outpaced by Google for three consecutive comScore surveys.

Continue reading →

A survey by the Communications Workers of America indicates that the median download speed for US Internet connections has changed little, and remains far slower than the rates experienced in other developed nations.

The typical US Internet connection delivers 2.3 Mbps downloads, according to the CWA's annual survey -- 400 Kbps over the previous year.

Continue reading →

Apple's former general counsel will pay the US Securities and Exchange Commission some $2.2 million in fines to settle charges related to the Cupertino company's stock options scandal.

SEC officials said Nancy Heinen's fine was comprised of $1.6 million in what it called "ill-gotten" gains, plus interest, and a $200,000 penalty. The former executive is one of two from the company to agree to pay fines. Like former Apple CFO Fred Anderson -- who was fined $3.5 million -- Heinen is neither admitting nor denying guilt.

Continue reading →

Apple may attempt to alleviate what iPhone 3G users have perceived to be connectivity problems by way of a software update instead of a recall, which would take a significant chunk from its profits.

Earlier in the week, Swedish engineering magazine Ny Teknik reported on tests from unnamed iPhone 3G users showing its signal sensitivity was well below levels specified in 3G standards. That report indicated that there may be a hardware issue somewhere between the antenna and the amplifier. If either or both parts aren't operating properly, it could lead to poor connectivity and slower speeds.

Continue reading →

A construction equipment company in Mumbai, India, has asked that country's high court to order Google India to disclose the identity of "Toxic Writer," a blogger who made defamatory remarks about its mining project in Mozambique.

According to the original complaint filed by Gremach Infrastructure Equipments and Projects Ltd., the ninth paragraph of a blog entry entitled "toxic fumes" contained defamatory material that amounted to a smear campaign against it. However, because the blog post was taken down on an interim order from the Bombay High Court, the actual text is unavailable and even some cached copies cannot be retrieved.

Continue reading →

Though redolent of dogs barking jingle bells, the "Condom a Capella" ringtone -- sponsored by the BBC World Service and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation -- seeks to break social taboos regarding the prophylactic.

The ringtone (available here) is part of an ongoing campaign to prevent the transmission of HIV in India by making the discussion of condoms more socially acceptable.

Continue reading →

No longer will bragging rights be claimed by T-Mobile, which held the top spot in the J. D. Power & Associates survey since 2004. Meanwhile, across the entire industry, time spent by wireless customers on hold continues to rise.

In the latest J. D. Power & Associates Customer Care Performance Study released yesterday, Verizon scored a 103, followed by Alltel with a 102 and T-Mobile with a score of 100. The industry average was said to be 96.

Continue reading →

While not yet formally announced by either Google or the North American arm of Deutsche Telekom, widespread reports from "briefed" sources assert that T-Mobile will be the first company offering handsets utilizing the open OS.

T-Mobile has long been rallying to be the first carrier with an Android phone, and has actually spoken on Google's behalf, saying there would be no delays in the release of such a device.

Continue reading →

In a move which could end up meaning either everything or nothing, the developers of a "lifestreaming" application have agreed to be acquired by a company whose track record with acquisitions hasn't always been pretty.

Confirming news that had first been leaked to TechCrunch two weeks ago, the CEO of a startup social network service called SocialThing -- which has yet to emerge from private beta -- blogged yesterday that his company is a few days away from being fully acquired by AOL.

Continue reading →

New Yahoo board member Frank Biondi has a knack for being at the center of a firestorm. So the fact that Carl Icahn successfully got Biondi on board this morning, probably means a new storm is on the horizon.

There are now three of Icahn Partners' ranks serving as members of the Board of Directors of Yahoo. Carl Icahn himself will assume the seat vacated by outgoing member Robert Kotick, and former Viacom and Universal chief Frank Biondi and former Nextel founder John Chapple will add to the board's membership. Yahoo made the news official this morning.

Continue reading →

11:00 am EDT August 15, 2008 - In what many are calling Netflix's biggest service disruption yet, the movie rental-by-mail company's shipping system has still not returned to full functionality, with at least 2.5 million subscribers affected.

As of Thursday evening, Netflix still had not returned to fully functional distribution after almost four days of intermittent service. The company's representatives have disclosed neither the scope of the disruption nor the precise cause, saying only that it is of "significant" size and that technicians are working to have operations fully restored as soon as possible.

Continue reading →