President-elect Barack Obama told CNN he thinks he may be able to "hang onto"his BlackBerry after all. In an interview, he talked about the privacy issues that threaten his ability to maintain normal communications -- and his optimism that, unlike his predecessor, he's going to be able to keep using e-mail after he enters the Oval Office.
EU Files Action Against Microsoft Over Explorer
The European Commission said it has begun legal action against Microsoft Corp. saying the American software giant's practice of linking its Internet Explorer web browser to its Windows operating system violates European Union antitrust rules. "Microsoft's tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice," the EU executive said in a statement.
FCC Investigating Comcast Over Net Phone Services
Comcast Corp., the nation's biggest cable TV operator, is being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission over concerns that it is giving preferential treatment to its phone service at the expense of similar services from competitors. In a letter to Comcast, the FCC asked Comcast to justify this "disparate treatment."
ITC Investigating Claims Against BlackBerry, Others
A patent-holding company from Texas is seeking to bar six companies -- including BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, Palm, and Nokia -- from importing handheld devices into the U.S. for allegedly violating its patents. Saxon Innovations, based in Tyler, Texas, filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Dec. 19, and now the ITC has voted to investigate the complaint.
Virus Spreading Quickly But Causing No Damage
A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, already infecting close to 9 million machines, according to a private online security firm. Fortunately, however, it may be a dud.
Public Broadcasting Gets Agreement for Streaming Music
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and a group that collects royalties for artists and recording copyright owners said they've agreed on payment terms for streaming music online. The agreement between CPB and SoundExchange establishes the royalties that will be paid on behalf of the public radio system for streaming sound recordings on a variety of public radio Web sites from Jan. 1, 2005, through Dec. 31, 2010.
British Hacker's Extradition to U.S. Put on Hold
Gary McKinnon's potential extradition to the U.S. for hacking military systems is on hold for the next few weeks, McKinnon's lawyer has told ZDNet UK. McKinnon appeared at the High Court in London for an oral hearing about his extradition.
British Law Would Take Action Against File-Sharing
British ministers intend to pass regulations on Internet piracy requiring service providers to tell customers they suspect of illegally downloading films and music that they are breaking the law, says the draft report by Lord Carter. It would also make them collect data on serious and repeated infringers of copyright law, which would then be made available to music companies or other rights-holders who can produce a court order for them to be handed over.
Thai Man Arrested for Insulting Monarchy Online
A Thai man has been arrested on charges of insulting the monarchy and could face up to 15 years in prison under a harsh lese majeste law that is being used with more frequency, police said. Suwicha Thakhor was arrested for allegedly posting messages insulting the monarchy on the Internet, but the suspect denied the allegation, said Police Maj. Gen. Thawi Sodsong, director general of the Department of Special Investigation.
Consumer-Rating Service Sues Rival for Stealing Files
Consumer-rating service Angie's List is suing a rival startup, claiming its founder stole thousands of files from Angie's List Web service in an effort to start his own company. The suit alleges that Christopher "Kit" Cody -- the founder of Washington, D.C.-based Trustys.com -- joined Angie's List as a regular member, then used an automated "bot" software program to harvest service-provider reports, ratings and other information then used for Trustys.com.
Obama Expected to Use Internet to Communicate
As the first president-elect with a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, Barack Obama is poised to use the Internet to communicate directly with Americans in a way unknown to previous presidents. Judging by Obama's savvy use of social-networking sites during his campaign and the interactive nature of his transition team's Web site, Americans can expect a president who bypasses the traditional media's filters while reaching out to citizens for input, observers say.
Man Claims $150,000 Loss to E-mail Scam Artists
A southern Ontario man says he now owes his friends and family $150,000 after international e-mail scam artists bilked him of the funds by convincing him he was about to inherit a fortune. John Rempel, who is unemployed, lives with his Mennonite parents in a simple wartime home in Leamington, about 50 kilometres southeast of Windsor.
Judge Allows Internet Video for File-Sharing Hearing
A federal judge has agreed to allow streaming Internet video coverage of a key hearing for the U.S. recording industry's file-sharing $1 million lawsuit against a Boston University graduate. U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner of Massachusetts ruled that existing courtroom cameras may be used to provide a live feed of a January 22 hearing in the Recording Industry of America's case against Joel Tenenbaum and others.
Judge Orders White House to Search for E-mails
With Bush administration White House aides on their way out the door in coming days, a federal judge ordered the president's executive office to undertake a comprehensive search for millions of senior appointees' e-mails that have been inaccessible and possibly missing since 2005. The order reflects a continuing effort by outside groups to ensure that the White House transfers historically significant materials to the National Archives before Bush leaves office, as required by federal law.
Senate Aide Sees Net Neutrality, Copyright, Patent Bills
It may seem as though Congress has completely forgotten about Net neutrality, a topic that has languished in legislative purgatory since mid-2006. But a Democratic aide said that it's likely to come back this year, along with potential alterations of digital copyright and patent law.
Denial-of-Service Attack Hits GoDaddy.com
A distributed denial-of-service attack turned dark at least several thousand Web sites hosted by GoDaddy.com morning. The outage was intermittent over several hours, according to Nick Fuller, GoDaddy.com communications manager.
Second-Richest Man Wins Domain Name Dispute
The world's second richest man, Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Helu, won control for free on Wednesday of a Web address in his name that an Indonesian had tried to sell him for $55 million. The United Nations' copyright agency WIPO said an arbitrator for the dispute service that it runs on Internet addresses had ruled that the site, www.carlosslimhelu.com, had been registered in bad faith and must be transferred to the businessman.
YouTube Disable Audio on Some Music Videos
Google Inc.'s YouTube has begun disabling the audio on music videos that its users post without authorization of copyright holders, according to numerous reports on Twitter and other online sites. A note appears on the screen that says, "This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by all copyright holders."
Apple Asks Wired to Delete Mac-Hacking Video
Wired has confirmed that Apple contacted the publisher about a blog post with step-by-step instructions on how to get Mac OS X running on a non-Apple Netbook and decided to remove the offending video. Earlier in the day, Brian Chen, who writes for Wired's Gadget Lab blog, posted a message to Twitter spotted by Gizmodo saying "just found out Apple is suing Wired for my video tutorial on hacking Netbooks to run Mac OS X."
Dentist Sues Over Negative Posts on Yelp Review Site
A pediatric dentist in Foster City has sued two people over negative comments about her practice that were posted on the review site Yelp, accusing them of libel. The suit, filed in December in Santa Clara County Superior Court, asks for damages because of the posting, which complained about how Yvonne Wong treated a boy who visited her with cavities.
