Internet Marketing Singapore Newsflash

Continuous live updates on Internet Marketing Singapore. Bookmark & check back here regularly for the latest newsflash. Click "Read more..." below to see all articles.

• 'Internet Summit 08' Registration Officially Opens - Yahoo Finance

  Internet Business and Technology Conference Featuring Dozens of Expert Panelists and Keynotes Expected to Sell Out in Advance CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- TechJournal South, the Southeast's leading technology business publication, and ...

• Rapid Fire Marketing to Become Fully Reporting - Forbes

  CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rapid Fire Marketing, (Pink Sheets: RPDM) announced today that the Company has decided to become fully reporting and make application to trade on the OTC Bulletin Board. In an effort to provide ...

• Autobytel Inc. Appoints Lenny McGinley Vice President of Dealer Sales - Forbes

  Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL), a leading automotive Internet marketing services company, today announced the appointment of automotive Internet veteran Lenny McGinley as vice president of dealer sales. McGinley has played a major role in advancing ...

Latest News on Softwares

• Even critics give Apple a pass on iPhone 3G woes (AP)

  AP - First an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks. Now the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal.

  
  
  

• Computer virus goes into orbit (AFP)

  AFP - NASA confirmed on Wednesday that a computer virus sneaked aboard the International Space Station only to be tossed into quarantine on July 25 by security software.

  
  
  

• Cloned code finder offered for Visual Studio (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - An open-source technology has been launched to help developers using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 find duplicated code in their software projects.

• One small hitch for FAA, one giant mess for fliers (AP)

  AP - When a computer system that distributes flight plans nationwide came rolling to a halt this week because of a software glitch, so did airplanes on tarmacs from Orlando to Chicago. The ensuing delays drove home just how easily an apparently isolated problem can trigger network-wide disarray in the country's aging air traffic control system.

  
  
  

• Researchers offer new way to avoid bogus Web sites (AP)

  AP - Intercepting Internet traffic, and spying on the communication between two computers, is a gold mine for hackers. Now Carnegie Mellon University researchers hope software they've built will make it harder for criminals to hit that jackpot.

• Enterprises Likely To Turn Off IE8 'Porn Mode' (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Anyone perusing porn sites at home will appreciate Microsoft's latest efforts at browser privacy, but it's not clear it will do much for the enterprise. Internet Explorer product manager Andrew Ziegler discussed the new privacy features of IE8, currently in its second beta, in an extensive blog post Monday. Users of the new software will be able to turn on Microsoft's InPrivate Browsing and Blocking features.

• Can JavaFX make a play for rich Internet apps? (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - With its new JavaFX technology for rich Internet applications, Sun Microsystems hopes to leverage the strength of the Java development base and Java's ubiquitous presence on devices to make a strong run in a race it has entered very late -- and where Adobe Systems and Microsoft have a huge head start.

• U.S. heating oil dealers clamp down on unpaid bills (Reuters)

  Reuters - U.S. heating oil dealers are using new software to weed out clients who may not pay their bills as Americans gear up for another winter of high fuel costs in the world's top consumer.

• Immersion settles suit with Microsoft (Reuters)

  Reuters - Immersion Corp , which develops and licenses touch feedback technology, said it will pay $20.75 million to software maker Microsoft Corp as part of the settlement of a litigation.

• Adobe Photoshop Elements Goes Online and Mobile (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Adobe Systems has announced major updates to its Photoshop Elements suite of video- and photo-editing software, including online sharing and mobile-phone options. In beta now, the software is expected to be on retail shelves in early October.

• Next Firefox Update To Feature Dramatic Speed Boost (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - The Mozilla Foundation is on the verge of adopting a new software-programming technique that promises to dramatically improve the speeds at which browsers interact with the Web. The first step, the nonprofit organization said, will be to optimize the way that JavaScript runs in Firefox 3.1 -- the next incremental update to Mozilla's popular open-source browser.

• PowerAlert Monitors Energy for PCs, Datacenters (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Courtesy of power protection maker Tripp Lite, PowerAlert is a free new energy management software designed to help both individual end users and enterprise-level IT managers maximize their system efficiency.

• Electronic Arts, Take-Two in confidential talks (Reuters)

  Reuters - Video game makers Electronic Arts Inc and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc signed a confidentiality agreement after agreeing to hold private talks about a potential transaction, EA said on Monday.

  
  
  

• VMware names David Sung to China post (AP)

  AP - Business software maker VMware Inc. said Monday it has named David Sung, an ex-IBM executive, as president of its greater China region.

• Mainsoft backs Visual Studio 2008 in tools (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Mainsoft, which enables developers to leverage Microsoft Windows development skills to build applications for other platforms, on Monday is introducing updates to development products for Java, Linux, and Unix, adding support for Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 IDE.

• Olympics set the stage for emerging Web tech fight (Reuters)

  Reuters - As the world's best athletes compete in Beijing, the summer Olympic games are setting the stage for a battle between Microsoft Corp and Adobe Systems Inc over the Internet's next big competition.

  
  
  

• AT&T Rolls Out New In-Home Tech Support Service (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - AT&T is taking on Best Buy's Geek Squad through the launch of a new 50-state technical-support program that promises to provide the services that consumers need when it comes to installing and troubleshooting a variety of computing equipment, software and home-entertainment gear.

• $10M for Jerry Seinfeld May -- or May Not -- Help Microsoft (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Microsoft will pay comedian Jerry Seinfeld $10 million to advertise its Windows Vista operating system. In all, the campaign, which includes a series of ads featuring Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, will cost $300 million.

• Intuit has loss in seasonally weak fourth quarter (Reuters)

  Reuters - Intuit Inc , maker of TurboTax tax preparation software, reported on Thursday that it had a wider loss in its seasonally weak fourth quarter, which ended July 31.

• Microsoft enlists Seinfeld for ad campaign: source (Reuters)

  Reuters - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will star in a $300 million marketing campaign for Microsoft Corp aimed at burnishing the image of its computer operating system, a person familiar with the effort said on Thursday.

  
  
  

Latest News on Search Engines & Website Portals

• Google Outlines Plans for Android Apps Market (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Google will house its Android marketplace on an open content distribution system similar in style to YouTube, and the first Android phone will include access to a beta version of Android Market, the search engine giant said Thursday.

• Verizon May Switch To Google for Mobile Searches (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - According to a report in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Verizon is on the verge of a deal with Google to provide Web-search services on its wireless network. The ubiquitous Google search bar is already on the iPhone and on a number of Sprint PCS phones.

• Verizon, Google close to mobile search deal: report (Reuters)

  Reuters - Mobile service provider Verizon Communications Inc. is nearing an agreement with Google Inc. on a wide-ranging partnership, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.

  
  
  

• Microsoft Details Strategy To Grab Google's Market (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Microsoft laid out its "catch Google" strategy at the Search Engines Strategies Conference and Expo in San Jose Tuesday. Appearing as the second keynote, Satya Nadella, senior vice president for search and advertising, vowed that additional investment and new deep-search techniques will allow the company to gain share over market behemoth Google.

• Microsoft pursues search improvements, sans Yahoo (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - While the company only has a 10 percent share of the search market with its Live Search technology, Microsoft has big plans to enhance its platform regardless of what happens with its now-dormant proposal to buy Yahoo.

• GraphOn Sues Google for Patent Infringement (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Google is in the legal crosshairs once again. On Monday, GraphOn announced it has filed a lawsuit against the search giant alleging infringement on four of the company's patents.

  
  
  

• Wikipedia founder aims to break Google stranglehold (AFP)

  AFP - Watch out Google -- Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales hopes that Wikia Search, a project he spearheads, will break Google's domination as the world's most widely used Internet search engine.

  
  
  

• Google Disavows Deep-Packet Inspection of Web Traffic (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Google is seeking to draw clear distinctions between the methods it uses to target ad placements based on search queries and a controversial data-mining practice known as deep-packet inspection. The deep-packet technique gathers and stores information on an individual's Web-site visits and Internet usage without first obtaining the user's consent.

• Google, Yahoo partially disclose terms of ad pact (Reuters)

  Reuters - Google Inc and Yahoo Inc released on Friday excerpts of a pact covering their search advertising partnership that keeps secret financial terms and the extent of other ties between the two.

  
  
  

• Survey Indicates Economy Even Taking Toll On Search Ads (Investor's Business Daily)

  Investor's Business Daily - The slow economy may be starting to take a toll on Web-based search marketing, says a poll that also has a bit of good news for Yahoo.

• Search-Engine Use Skyrockets, Nears E-Mail Levels (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Search engine use is on the rise, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

• Google Regretting Billion Dollar AOL Investment (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Google, it seems, is finally publicly acknowledging what we've all know for some time: AOL just ain't what it used to be. Among the interesting little tidbits in the search giant's recently filed quarterly earning report, the Mountain View company noted that the five-percent of AOL may "be impaired," accountant speak for a drop in value.

• Google Integrates DoubleClick Through Ad Features (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Google announced enhancements to its network Thursday that the search giant hopes will offer enhanced experiences for users and better value for advertisers and publishers. The changes include partner sites for which Google provides advertising.

• Google Tips DoubleClick Integration Plans (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - After all the back and forth over whether Google's acquisition of DoubleClick would be anti-competitive or an invasion of our privacy, the search engine giant on Thursday released new details about how the online advertising company will be integrated into Google.

• Google launches free music search service in China (AP)

  AP - Google Inc. said Wednesday that it has launched a music search service in China that allows users to access music legally online in a forum backed by some record labels and supported by advertising revenue.

• Study finds Net search becoming far more prevalent (AP)

  AP - The search box is everywhere online these days. It's built into Web browsers. It's incorporated into Web sites of all sorts. And it's a major driver of traffic and revenue for Google Inc. and the like.

• New Google Tool Offers 'Insight' To Brand Marketers (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Google is catering to advertising agencies with a new product called Google Insights for Search. The search giant introduced the new product on Wednesday.

• Google Offers Free Music Downloads in China (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Google announced Tuesday it will begin offering free music downloads to Chinese customers. The Chinese Google site will allow searches by song, artist or entire album, then download DRM-free songs.

• Time Warner to split AOL in two, beats estimates (Reuters)

  Reuters - Time Warner Inc said it would split AOL's dial-up Internet and advertising businesses into separate divisions by early 2009, a move that could make a sale or merger of either business easier.

  
  
  

• Google Updates Its Enterprise Search Appliance (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Google on Wednesday began offering an upgraded version of its Search Appliance. The hardware targets enterprises and government agencies that want a Google-like Web search for office documents.

Latest News on Open Source & Linux

• Open source: What you should learn from the French (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - A decade ago, European countries leapt out of the gate to take the lead in the radical open source movement -- none more so than France -- and left U.S. developers in the proverbial dust. Through policies and high-profile projects, the French Republic for years has been advocating for all open source all the time, in government and education.

• Cloned code finder offered for Visual Studio (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - An open-source technology has been launched to help developers using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 find duplicated code in their software projects.

• Firefox Plug-In Simplifies Interactions with Web Pages (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Mozilla Labs has rolled out an experimental Firefox plug-in that promises to streamline the way Web surfers manage the mountains of information online. Called Ubiquity, the proof-of-concept prototype is an experiment with two parts -- it's both an interface and a development platform, notes the plug-in's developer, Aza Raskin.

• Mozilla's 'Ubiquity' Ties Content Together (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Mozilla Labs on Tuesday introduced a language-based add-on for its Firefox browser that lets users insert data into e-mails or navigate the Web without switching back and forth between multiple windows.

• Linux end-user summit planned (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - The Linux Foundation on Wednesday plans to announce an event enabling Linux users to interact with the Linux community, including high-level maintainers and developers.

• Next Firefox Update To Feature Dramatic Speed Boost (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - The Mozilla Foundation is on the verge of adopting a new software-programming technique that promises to dramatically improve the speeds at which browsers interact with the Web. The first step, the nonprofit organization said, will be to optimize the way that JavaScript runs in Firefox 3.1 -- the next incremental update to Mozilla's popular open-source browser.

• New direction for 'JavaScript 2' (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Standardization efforts for the next version of JavaScript have taken a sharp turn this month, with some key changes in the Web scripting technology's direction. JavaScript creator Brendan Eich, CTO of Mozilla, has helped forge a consensus on how to proceed with the direction for JavaScript's improvements. "JavaScript was sitting still. It was stagnant," he says.

• Mainsoft backs Visual Studio 2008 in tools (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Mainsoft, which enables developers to leverage Microsoft Windows development skills to build applications for other platforms, on Monday is introducing updates to development products for Java, Linux, and Unix, adding support for Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 IDE.

• An open-source approach to tracking stolen laptops (CNET)

  CNET - SEATTLE--Imagine your laptop is stolen.

• Mozilla boosts JavaScript performance (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Mozilla this week is touting technology to boost performance of its JavaScript engine and Web applications.

• Mozilla's TraceMonkey Speeds JavaScript in Firefox (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - On Friday, Mozilla announced a new component in Firefox that will significantly speed up the browser's JavaScript performance.

• Microsoft, Novell expand alliance with $100M deal (AP)

  AP - Microsoft Corp., expanding on an alliance with Novell Inc., has agreed to buy as much as $100 million more for subscription certificates for Novell's Linux products, Novell said Wednesday.

  
  
  

• Microsoft to pay Novell $100 million more for Linux support (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp plans to pay software maker Novell Inc up to $100 million in additional subscription fees due to strong demand for Novell's open-source Linux software that partners with Microsoft's proprietary Windows software.

  
  
  

• Microsoft, Novell expand controversial interop pact (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Microsoft on Wednesday is expanding its agreement to supply Linux support certificates from Novell, which originally was part of a controversial arrangement set in late 2006.

  
  
  

• Google Releases Android SDK, Version 0.9 (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - A new beta software development kit is out for Android, the open-source mobile operating system backed by Google. Version 0.9 of the SDK was announced Monday on the Android Developers Blog.

  
  
  

• Ubuntu sponsor joins Linux Foundation (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Canonical, the commercial sponsor of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has joined the Linux Foundation, the foundation said Monday.

• Court Ruling Upholds Open-Source Copyrights (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Commercial software developers, listen up: If you think open source is a free toolkit from which you can borrow at will, take a good look at Wednesday's legal ruling. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in New York City, where many intellectual-property cases are heard, overturned a Northern California court decision in Jacobsen v. Katzer, a pivotal case in open-source and Creative Commons law.

• Open-source pact subject to copyrights law: court (Reuters)

  Reuters - A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that the holder of a copyright to a computer programming code made available for free public download can enforce an "open-source" copyright license to control future use of the work.

• Judge: Even 'Free' Open-Source Code is Licensed (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - The open source community – and tech-savvy model railroad enthusiasts – were handed a victory Wednesday when an appeals court ruled that people who use open source content can be found guilty of copyright infringement if they do not adhere to the license terms set out by the creator.

• Sun releases beta of NetBeans IDE (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - A beta release of the open source NetBeans 6.5 IDE is being offered by Sun Microsystems on Wednesday.

Latest News on RSS & Blogging

• Guns N' Roses Blogger Busted for Chinese Leaks (E! Online)

  E! Online - The FBI is gunning for the Guns N' Roses leaker.

  
  
  

• Blogger arrested over leak of Guns N' Roses songs (AP)

  AP - A blogger suspected of streaming songs from the unreleased Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on his Web site was arrested Wednesday and appeared in court, where his bail was set at $10,000.

  
  
  

• US blogger arrested for leaking Guns N' Roses online (AFP)

  AFP - US federal police on Wednesday arrested a blogger for posting songs from a yet-to-be released Guns N' Roses album titled "Chinese Democracy" online without the rock band's permission.

  
  
  

• Enterprises Likely To Turn Off IE8 'Porn Mode' (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Anyone perusing porn sites at home will appreciate Microsoft's latest efforts at browser privacy, but it's not clear it will do much for the enterprise. Internet Explorer product manager Andrew Ziegler discussed the new privacy features of IE8, currently in its second beta, in an extensive blog post Monday. Users of the new software will be able to turn on Microsoft's InPrivate Browsing and Blocking features.

• Samples of blog entries from convention (AP)

  AP - Samples of blog postings from the 55-member state blogger corps selected by Democratic National Convention officials to have access to the floor and follow their state delegations.

• Bloggers embraced at Democratic convention (AP)

  AP - The age of mom-and-pop pundit shops has arrived at the Democratic convention.

  
  
  

• Netflix Outage Blamed on Hardware (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Faulty hardware is to blame for a glitch that took Netflix shipping systems offline for several days earlier this month, according to a blog post from the company.

  
  
  

• Egyptian blogger rearrested after release order (AFP)

  AFP - An Egyptian blogger held a month ago and issued with a release order this week has been rearrested, rights groups said on Saturday.

  
  
  

• More Americans held as China steps up scrutiny (Reuters)

  Reuters - At least eight American blogger-activists and several other foreigners have been detained in Beijing as the government intensifies a crackdown on pro-Tibetan protests in the home stretch of the Olympics, rights groups said on Wednesday.

  
  
  

• Google courts bloggers at presidential conventions (AFP)

  AFP - Google will be pampering bloggers and tutoring US policy makers at Democratic and Republican national conventions as Internet culture flexes growing political muscle.

  
  
  

• Olympian blogs range from the bland to the bitter (AFP)

  AFP - Hugh MacDonald, Canadian's reserve archer for the Olympics, was not a happy blogger.

  
  
  

• Google Releases Android SDK, Version 0.9 (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - A new beta software development kit is out for Android, the open-source mobile operating system backed by Google. Version 0.9 of the SDK was announced Monday on the Android Developers Blog.

  
  
  

• Afternoon Fix: A Tired Feud; Plus, Brad-Jen Dreams! (E! Online)

  E! Online - • Jon Voight and Roseanne Barr are worse than Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. J.Vo responded to R.Bo's angry blog post by calling her "sick of the mind." Either settle this with a reality show or please just stop, OK?

  
  
  

• Health Care: The Real Fiscal Nightmare (BusinessWeek Online)

  BusinessWeek Online - A heated discussion is taking place in the economic blogsphere over the rival tax plans of Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Of course, the battle of rival tax blueprints has been in force ever since the two hopefuls sewed up their respective nominations, but a new round of fighting recently erupted. A number of important points have been made. But the fiscal policy dispute, while informative and fascinating, has focused too much on tax regimes and not enough on the real challenge: health care. ...

• Gossip Girls Dish on Catfight! (E! Online)

  E! Online - Did Blake Lively and Leighton Meester have to do much acting for their buzzed/blogged-about fight scene in an upcoming episode of Gossip Girl?

  
  
  

• Rise 'n' Shine: Brangelina Declared Evil by Roseanne (E! Online)

  E! Online - • Roseanne seems a bit upset that Angelina Jolie hasn't declared her support for Obama. She blogs/rants that Brad & Angie make $40 million a year in "violent psychopathic movies," donate a small fraction to charity "to look as if they give a crap about humanity" and then churn more films that "wreck the earth even more."

  
  
  

• Journalist Leroy Sievers dies at 53 (Reuters)

  Reuters - Former "Nightline" executive producer Leroy Sievers, who connected with a wide audience through his National Public Radio commentary and blog on his struggle with cancer, died Saturday at his home in Maryland. He was 53.

• NPR commentator, blogger Leroy Sievers dies at 53 (AP)

  AP - Leroy Sievers, a National Public Radio commentator who turned his battle with cancer into a popular and touching radio and online series, has died from his disease. He was 53.

• Palm Treo Pro Details Leaked on Web Site (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Yet another vendor has fallen prey to "premature launch syndrome." Yesterday someone at Palm uploaded a text and visual presentation of the Treo Pro to the Palm Web site, and it didn't escape notice. Even though the presentation was pulled just minutes later, pictures and text were dutifully scooped up by bloggers and passed throughout the Net.

• Microsoft Opens Windows 7 Blog for Discussions (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Microsoft has launched a new blog page for discussions with customers and partners about the next Windows operating system. "We strongly believe that success for Windows 7 includes an open and honest, and two-way, discussion," said Windows 7 development engineers Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky.

Latest Internet News

• Sector Snap: Chinese online gaming stocks (AP)

  AP - Chinese online gaming stocks traded lower Thursday after Giant Interactive Group Inc. reported second-quarter profit that met Wall Street views but was downgraded by one analyst after failing to issue third-quarter guidance.

• Court dismisses video copyright case against Veoh (Reuters)

  Reuters - A U.S. judge has thrown out a copyright infringement case against Veoh Networks Inc, an Internet video start-up with high-profile Hollywood backers, ruling that video-sharing companies are not solely responsible for policing piracy that may take place on their sites.

• YouTube Cheers Dismissal of Veoh Copyright Suit (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - In a ruling that could have implications for Viacom's $1.65 billion lawsuit against YouTube, a California federal court on Wednesday dismissed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against online video-sharing site Veoh Networks.

• Target.com Will Become More Accessible to Blind (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Target has settled a class-action dispute with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) whereby the retail giant will pay $6 million and make its Web site more accessible to the visually impaired by next year, the company announced Wednesday.

• Reborn retail site fires salvo in shipping war (AP)

  AP - With gas prices high and consumers stretching shopping dollars, competition is heating up online for deals — and a discount retail site hopes to fan the flames by shipping orders for $1.95.

• Google Outlines Plans for Android Apps Market (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Google will house its Android marketplace on an open content distribution system similar in style to YouTube, and the first Android phone will include access to a beta version of Android Market, the search engine giant said Thursday.

• D.Telekom to expand broadband into rural areas (Reuters)

  Reuters - Deutsche Telekom AG aims to offer DSL broadband connection to almost all of Germany's households by the end of the year with a particular focus on rural and remote areas.

• Bloomberg mistakenly publishes Steve Jobs obituary (CNET)

  CNET - An electronic gaffe at news outlet Bloomberg mistakenly sent an incomplete obituary for Apple CEO Steve Jobs over the wire on Wednesday afternoon, and a tipster promptly sent the soon-retracted file to gossip blog Gawker.

  
  
  

• Judge: Veoh's Transcoding Is Not Piracy (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Online video site Veoh was handed a victory Wednesday when a California judge dismissed a copyright infringement case filed by adult entertainment company IO Group.

• Malaysia blocks anti-government news Web site (AP)

  AP - Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored.

• Product review: WARP your WAN for performance and reliability (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - I've had a Comcast cable Internet connection for years. Last year I got a shiny new fiber connection from Mstar. But rather than uninstall the cable connection, I asked FatPipe Networks if they'd be willing to let me perform an extended test of the company's flagship route clustering product, WARP.

• Microsoft's newest browser may block ads (AP)

  AP - The next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Web browser makes it easier for people to surf the Internet without leaving a trace.

  
  
  

• Mystery Chinese iPhone worker becomes Internet star (Reuters)

  Reuters - A Chinese factory worker has become an Internet sensation after a picture of her smiling and flashing a peace sign to a co-worker testing an Apple iPhone stayed on the phone that was sold to a man in Britain.

  
  
  

• Man arrested for posting Guns N' Roses songs on Web (Reuters)

  Reuters - Federal officials on Wednesday arrested a man on suspicion of violating copyright laws for placing songs on the Internet from an unreleased album by rock band Guns N' Roses.

  
  
  

• Blogger arrested over leak of Guns N' Roses songs (AP)

  AP - A blogger suspected of streaming songs from the unreleased Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on his Web site was arrested Wednesday and appeared in court, where his bail was set at $10,000.

  
  
  

• Actors, advertisers extend commercials contract (AP)

  AP - Two actors unions and the U.S. advertising industry said Monday they agreed to extend a contract covering commercials on TV, radio, the Internet and other new media by six months through March.

• Judges consider whether FBI violated free speech (Reuters)

  Reuters - A panel of federal appeals court judges pushed a U.S. government lawyer on Wednesday to answer why FBI letters sent out to Internet service providers seeking information should remain secret.

• Researchers offer new way to avoid bogus Web sites (AP)

  AP - Intercepting Internet traffic, and spying on the communication between two computers, is a gold mine for hackers. Now Carnegie Mellon University researchers hope software they've built will make it harder for criminals to hit that jackpot.

• Firefox Plug-In Simplifies Interactions with Web Pages (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Mozilla Labs has rolled out an experimental Firefox plug-in that promises to streamline the way Web surfers manage the mountains of information online. Called Ubiquity, the proof-of-concept prototype is an experiment with two parts -- it's both an interface and a development platform, notes the plug-in's developer, Aza Raskin.

• Microsoft releases beta 2 of Internet Explorer 8 (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp released on Wednesday a second test version of Internet Explorer 8, delivering a feature-complete upgrade to the world's most widely used Web browser.

  
  
  

Latest News on Technology

• Even critics give Apple a pass on iPhone 3G woes (AP)

  AP - First an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks. Now the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal.

  
  
  

• Small GPS devices help prosecutors win convictions (AP)

  AP - Like millions of motorists, Eric Hanson used a GPS unit in his Chevrolet TrailBlazer to find his way around. He probably didn't expect that prosecutors would eventually use it too — to help convict him of killing four family members.

  
  
  

• Dell 2Q profit drops 17 percent (AP)

  AP - Computer maker Dell Inc. says its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent.

• Reborn retail site fires salvo in shipping war (AP)

  AP - With gas prices high and consumers stretching shopping dollars, competition is heating up online for deals — and a discount retail site hopes to fan the flames by shipping orders for $1.95.

• Bloomberg mistakenly publishes Steve Jobs obituary (CNET)

  CNET - An electronic gaffe at news outlet Bloomberg mistakenly sent an incomplete obituary for Apple CEO Steve Jobs over the wire on Wednesday afternoon, and a tipster promptly sent the soon-retracted file to gossip blog Gawker.

  
  
  

• Sector Snap: Chinese online gaming stocks (AP)

  AP - Chinese online gaming stocks traded lower Thursday after Giant Interactive Group Inc. reported second-quarter profit that met Wall Street views but was downgraded by one analyst after failing to issue third-quarter guidance.

• Summary Box: iPhone woes likely won't dent Apple (AP)

  AP - WHAT'S WRONG: The new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service and other oddities.

• EU mulls action against overcharging mobile operators (AFP)

  AFP - The European Commission warned Thursday it had mobile telephone operators that overcharge users in its sights after finding some companies were rounding up call durations to bill customers more.

  
  
  

• Open source: What you should learn from the French (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - A decade ago, European countries leapt out of the gate to take the lead in the radical open source movement -- none more so than France -- and left U.S. developers in the proverbial dust. Through policies and high-profile projects, the French Republic for years has been advocating for all open source all the time, in government and education.

• Computer virus goes into orbit (AFP)

  AFP - NASA confirmed on Wednesday that a computer virus sneaked aboard the International Space Station only to be tossed into quarantine on July 25 by security software.

  
  
  

• Cisco Suddenly Lagging Juniper In Some Router Technology (Investor's Business Daily)

  Investor's Business Daily - Networking king Cisco Systems this month reported results that buoyed Wall Street but raised questions about one of its key products.

• Woods' golf limited to video game (AP)

  AP - The only golfing Tiger Woods is doing these days is in video games.