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FCC eyes tax on Internet service

Logo of the United States Federal Communications Commission(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Federal Communications Commission is eyeing a proposal to tax broadband Internet service.

The move would funnel money to the Connect America Fund, a subsidy the agency created last year to expand Internet access.

The FCC issued a request for comments on the proposal in April. Dozens of companies and trade associations have weighed in, but the issue has largely flown under the public's radar.

More>>>>>>>>>

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Will Apple now sue Google?

Image via CrunchBase

Analysts openly question whether the two Silicone Valley giants will lock horns over the Android operating system following Samsung's $1 billion patent defeat

• Technological commentators are wondering if Apple will now turn their attention to Google and their Android operating system which Samsung devices use
• Californian jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion
• Apple plan to formally demand Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market
  
• They can also ask the judge to triple the damages to $3 billion
• Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has overtaken them as the leading smartphone maker
• Samsung sold 22.7 million smartphones and tablets that Apple claimed uses its technology
  
• After seeing Samsung's legal defeat, other device makers relying on Android may become more reluctant to use the software and risk getting dragged into court
• Apple could also call for import ban on rival's products in other territories
  
• Samsung plan to appeal

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193735/Will-Apple-sue-Google--Analysts-openly-question-Silicone-Valley-giants-lock-horns-Android-operating-following-Samsungs-1-billion-patent-defeat.html#ixzz24eNe2Z2x

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Copying Works: How Samsung's Decision to Mimic Apple Paid Off in Spades

Verdict reached for Apple in Samsung case

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Apple Rallies, Google Falls As Jury Finds Samsung Infringed

Soros Reveals Stake In Facebook

George Soros - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2010 (Photo credit: World Economic Forum)

Hedge fund Soros Funds has filed his quarter 13-F report with the SEC.

According to the report, Soros completely dumped his stakes in Citigroup (420,000 shares), JP Morgan (701,400 shares) and Goldman Sachs (120,000 shares), leaving him with no position in any major financials at all.

He also got rid of minor stakes in Dell (3,100) and Intel (10,600). 

As for going long, Soros revealed a a position in Facebook, having bought 341,000 shares.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/soros-13-f-filing-2012-8#ixzz23dqhlv6v

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On an iBudget? Google to take the battle to Apple with a state-of-the-art tablet 'at a bargain-bucket price of just $200.00

English: The iPad on a table in the Apple case (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Google's upcoming Nexus tablet has been spotted and all of its details have been leaked. The tablet you see above is the Nexus 7 and is built by Asus. The tablet will sport a 1.3Ghz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, GeForce 12-core GPU and 1GB of RAM with two different storage variants: 8GB and 16GB according to Gizmodo. 

The screen of the device will come with a resolution of 1280x800 and have an IPS display. Additionally, NFC is expected to be inside and there is also a 1.2 MP camera up front. 

The two models will ring up the cash register at $199 and $249 respectively, notably undercutting the iPad by several hundred dollars. Considering that the Nexus 7 is quite cheap, it will continue to put downward pressure on the tablet market; the device is expected to run Jelly Bean, according to the leaked documentation.

Google is expected to make the announcement about the tablet at its upcoming I/O event and previous rumors have suggested that the tablet will go on sale in July.

Source: Gizmodo 

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• Google's Nexus 7 tablet might look like this (digitaltrends.com)
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Google and Sony take on cable and satellite companies with voice-controlled YouTube TV box

• Web TV box will offer video free via YouTube
• Sony gadget to go on sale from July 16 in UK
• Worldwide relaunch for Google's TV service
• Voice controls and motion control built in

Google is to launch a web-connected TV box that will offer HD video free via YouTube on July 16 in the UK.

The £200 voice-controlled Sony gadget will offer access to video channels and web searches - and has a motion-controlled remote for games.

The service will also be built into Sony Blu-Ray players from October. Apple is widely rumoured to be working on a flatscreen TV set.

The voice-controlled Sony gadget will offer access to video channels and web searches - and has a motion-controlled remote for playing games

The new box is a redesign for Google's web-TV service, offering faster processing speeds.

Android phone users will be able to use their handsets as a remote for the new box.

Earlier versions of Google's TV service met mixed reviews in America, and widespread indifference.

 

More...

• Why criminals believe in heaven: People who trust in redemption more likely to break the law than those who think there's a hell
• Scientists to 'hack' Hawking's brain in bid to help him communicate more easily

Logitech, makers of one of the first Google TV devices - a set-top box - lost a reported $100 million on their gadgets.

'Entertainment content is available through so many channels and sites, and Google TV helps consumers easily find what they want to watch, listen or play with the freedom of the internet and using the familiar Chrome browser,' said Gildas Pelliet, Sony's European Head of Marketing.

Google's Mountain View HQ, showing a green Android robot in the foreground: The company is to unveil a home entertainment system this year, say company insiders

Google recently relaunched YouTube in the site's first major overhaul since launch, adding 'channels' and other features aimed to make the video site more 'TV like'.

The box will offer access to Google's Play store - the equivalent of Apple's App store, offering apps such as Twitter and YouTube.

Google promises that apps designed for use on TVs will be added 'all the time.'

The dual-sided remote has a touch pad for cursor control on one side and on the other a full keyboard for searching, emails and social media updates.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2164238/Google-TV-Sony-launch-voice-controlled-YouTube-set-box.html#ixzz1yqMzlkv0

Related articles

• Is this the 'iPad killer' at last? Microsoft unveils new Surface tablet designed to work with Windows 8 (theplaintruth.websitetoolbox.com)
• Hands-on: Google partners with Sony for UK launch of Google TV (wired.co.uk)
• Google TV from Sony gets chilly reviews (cbsnews.com)

Free Collusion add-on shows which companies watch as you browse

Turning the tables on Big Brother: Now internet users can watch who is spying on them in blow against Google's new snooping policy

Free Collusion add-on shows which companies watch as you browse

'Real time' illustration of marketing companies snooping

Unveiled as Google shifts privacy policy to enable more advertising

Mozilla aims to share data with privacy campaigners

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2109223/Google-privacy-policy-Mozilla-add-Collusion-reveals-spying-internet-users.html#ixzz1o06RmSnN

Will the FBI shut down the Internet on March 8 because of computer virus concerns?

The Internet could go dark for millions of users as early as March 8 because of a virus that has corrupted computers in more than 100 countries.

The computer script, called DNSChanger Trojan, taps into fraudulent servers, sending users of the Web to unintended - and sometimes illegal - sites.

Though the FBI has shut down the DNSChanger network and put up surrogate servers, they warned the solution was only temporary - and the court-ordered deadline is March 8.

Infected: The Trojan 'DNSChanger' could cause millions - including Fortune 500 companies - to lose their Internet if the FBI shuts down surrogate servers

Court order: The FBI has been ordered to retire their surrogate servers by March 8

According to RT Network, servers function by translating traditional website URLs to their ‘numeric counterpart.’

But computers with the Trojan, which originally emerged in Estonia, will send users to fraudulent websites.

And, if the FBI shuts off their emergency servers, millions of people could potentially be without Internet.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102856/Will-FBI-shut-Internet-March-8-virus-concerns.html#ixzz1mqWJYog9

Doomsday clock ticking on Internet freedom

by Andrea Shea KingEmail | Archive

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither.” – Benjamin Franklin

They’re coming for it and show no signs of letting up. Once they get their foot in the door and before you know it, you’ll be worried and thinking twice about what you’re posting on your blog or Facebook or Twitter account. And if it appears on the Internet, the government will somehow try to tax it.  Readers, if you haven’t been, you’d better get interested in this now, because we are moving closer to pivoting off the relative freedom of speech of Internet into absolute government control. And if you let the Washington ruling elite control it, who knows what the result will be? One thing for sure, it “will be for our own good,” but it won’t be good for us. Are you a terrorist? No? Then why is Big Sis spying on you?

Read the story Here from WND>>

Apple’s Incredible New Plans Revealed

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office have received proposals from Apple that indicate the electronics company is working on products powered by hydrogen fuel cells, that they claim have the potential to stay charged for weeks, and “eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy battery.”

Remarks by the company in the patent fillings would indicate that the proposal to shift to hydrogen fueled products was influenced not by user experience but customer awareness:

MORE

Does Google spy on you for NSA? Judge says, 'None of your business'

Forward: Readers of The Plain Truth know about my theory concerning Microsoft, Google and other "overnight success" businesses, where college kids make billions overnight with flawed products.  For example, Microsoft Windows never works, crashes every day. My theory is that these businesses are really "shell" companies for the USA and the CIA to spy on everyone! Google, (Government Ooggling) is a great example of this theory. This recent news story adds some more fuel to my theory... (Bob Barney- The Plain Truth)

 

By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WND

A federal judge has ordered that whether Google is spying for National Security Agency or not, you have no right to know.

"The NSA need not disclose 'the organization or any function of the National Security Agency, [or] any information with respect to the activities thereof,'" U.S. District Judged Richard Leon has ordered.

"Once the agency, through affidavits, has created 'as complete a public record as is possible' and explained 'in as much detail as is possible the basis for its claim,' … 'the court is not to conduct a detailed inquiry to decide whether it agrees with the agency's opinions,'" he said.

Get the book that dedicates a chapter to explaining why Google is evil, in "Stop the Presses! The Inside Story of the New Media Revolution.

The demand for information had been raised by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which said the ruling would be appealed.

Fallen televangelists find afterlife on the Internet

In their heyday of the 1970s and 80s, televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker drew in hundreds of thousands of worshippers and millions of dollars before scandal and corruption gutted individual ministries and then the entire genre.

Now, however, the Internet has made it easy and inexpensive to distribute video sermons around the world, breathing new life into virtual ministries and even providing a second act for a few infamous televangelists, a Canadian researcher says.

Read it on Global News: Fallen televangelists find afterlife on the Internet

Police: Internet providers must keep user logs

Declan McCullagh
CNET

Law enforcement representatives are planning to endorse a proposed federal law that would require Internet service providers to store logs about their customers for 18 months, CNET has learned.

The National Sheriffs' Association will say it "strongly supports" mandatory data retention during Tuesday's U.S. House of Representatives hearing on the topic.

Michael Brown, sheriff in Bedford County, Va., and a board member and executive committee member of the National Sheriffs' Association, is planning to argue that a new law is necessary because Internet providers do not store customer records long enough.

Read Full Article

Hackers expose flaw in Apple iPad, iPhone software

(Reuters) - Hackers have disclosed a bug in software from Apple Inc that security experts said could be exploited by criminals looking to gain remote control over iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.

The security flaw in Apple's iOS operating system came to light on Wednesday as the website www.jailbreakme.com released code that Apple customers can use to modify the iOS operating system through a process known as "jail breaking."  MORE>>>>

The Cloud: Trojan Horse For Internet Takeover

Wiki Commons

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars

Despite the corporate-driven hubbub surrounding the inevitability of “the cloud” replacing personal hard drives as the pre-eminent storage center for all web content, this system represents another dangerous trojan horse for the establishment to complete their agenda to regulate and shut down the free Internet.

Apple, Google and Amazon amongst other tech giants have all jumped on board with “the cloud,” a remote server network that allows users to store their data without using hard drives.

“It’s all part of a generational trend away from owning physical media content and towards renting media content from the computing universal cloud,” reports Investmentu.com.

However, despite the convenience of having all your files easily accessible in one place wherever you go, the drawbacks are ominous.

Read more »

One in four US hackers 'is an FBI informer'

The underground world of computer hackers has been so thoroughly infiltrated in the US by the FBI and secret service that it is now riddled with paranoia and mistrust, with an estimated one in four hackers secretly informing on their peers, a Guardian investigation has established.

Cyber policing units have had such success in forcing online criminals to co-operate with their investigations through the threat of long prison sentences that they have managed to create an army of informants deep inside the hacking community.

Alternative Media Rankings Surge After bin Laden Assassination Spectacle

Dees Illustration

Activist Post

A story like the assassination of "public enemy #1" is naturally going to drive people toward all news sources.  However, we in the alternative news media have been particularly busy since the announcement late Sunday night, as indicated by Alexa website rankings.

For those of us covering the government and mainstream media lies, distortions, and pure propaganda, it has been nearly overwhelming to attend to every facet of this professional wrestling-style spectacle.  As a result, traffic to alternative news sites has surged dramatically.  This is very encouraging, as it indicates that people are not immediately rushing only to the comfort and security of the official story, which is largely framed by appeals to emotion -- rather, people appear to be hungry for facts.  Given that alternative media generally does not have even a fraction of the budget of corporate media, the ranking increases are doubly satisfying.  We are honored to be included with the true news sources below as a reliable indicator of the search for truth and justice amid the miasma of the current official coverage of the bin Laden Assassination Show being peddled for obviously corporate and political reasons.

Read more »

iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go

Wiki Commons

The Guardian

Security researchers have discovered that Apple's iPhone keeps track of where you go – and saves every detail of it to a secret file on the device which is then copied to the owner's computer when the two are synchronised.

The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone's recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner's movements using a simple program.

For some phones, there could be almost a year's worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple's iOS 4 update to the phone's operating system, released in June 2010.

"Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you've been," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.

Read Full Article

A Workaround For Domain Name Seizures?

David Makarewicz, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

A group of anonymous developers have concocted a clever antidote to Government domain seizures.  MAFIAA Fire is a Firefox add-on that automatically redirects a user to a website's alternative domain name if the original domain was seized.

MAFIAA Fire exploits the fact that when a domain is seized, although it appears that the Government has taken control of the entire website, they have really only gained control over the domain name.  The Government redirects the domain name to a Government IP address and website rather than the IP address containing the original website.  When a user types in a seized domain name, such as rapgodfathers.com (seized last November), their browser is not directed to the original website, it is directed to a site containing the famous DHS/ICE seal.

If a user types in the IP address or an alternative domain name for the site,  the website content would still be accessible.  The problem is that users don't know the IP address or alternative domain name, they only know the original domain name.

Read more »

Jury Says Blogger Has To Pay For His Words Even Though He Did Not Lie

Blogger Johnny Northside

David Makarewicz, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

On Friday, a Minnesota jury found that a blogger must pay $60,000 in damages because of statements he published in his blog about a public figure who was subsequently fired from his job.  Internet publishers and free speech advocates should pay close attention to this case if it is appealed because the blogger was found liable even though the jury did not find that the blogger's statements were false.

This decision is the latest example of the law's apparent struggle to apply basic constitutional protections to internet publishers.  If the Minnesota ruling holds up, it will mean that bloggers will have to worry they will be forced to pay for true statements that they publish that cause a person damages.

Read more »

Media Bloggers Association Stands Up To Copyright Troll Righthaven

It is unfortunate that Righthaven and the companies it "buys" the copyrighted property from are willing to financially wreck a person, often for mere carelessness as they are attempting to add to the public conversation.

Media Bloggers Association

David Makarewicz, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Today, the Media Bloggers Association ("MBA") filed its Reply Brief in the Righthaven, LLC v. Hyatt case.  The MBA is opposing Righthaven's attempt to convince the Nevada District Court to award it $150,000 in damages, the domain name for blogger Bill Hyatt's website (1ce.org)  and attorneys' fees.

Hyatt was sued by Righthaven last October after he allegedly copied a Las Vegas Review-Journal column titled "FX's Manly Man Shows Hold Outsider Appeal."  When Hyatt did not respond to the lawsuit, he was defaulted by the court clerk's office.

A default is basically the equivalent of an admission of all liability by the defendant.  If the default is not set aside, the Court will skip the trial on the merits of the copyright claim and proceed directly to a determination of the damages against Hyatt.

Read more »

Egypt Internet Shutdown Should Serve As Warning To Americans

James McKibbin
The Publius Foundation

Last month we saw Egyptians of all political leanings rise up for a single purpose: the overthrow of dictator Hosni Mubarak. There was much bloodshed and violence, usually instigated by pro-government groups or the police. Mubarak was well-entrenched and exercised all means of power in order to quell dissent and rebellion. One of his tactics, shutting down the majority of internet access and telecommunications in Egypt, received widespread international condemnation.

The Internet provided the means through which protestors were able to organize and share information amongst themselves. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were the main vehicles for individual citizens to mobilize against government tyranny. Who knows whether this revolt would have been possible or succeeded without the technology of the Internet?

Among those critical of Mubarak’s heavy-handed approach was the United States. However, any call for democracy or the rights of the people out of the US government carries the bitter taste of hypocrisy these days. Politicians here are constantly pushing for more government regulation and power including over the Internet.

Read more »

Righthaven appeals loss of "fair-use" ruling, settles with Drudge

source

Eric Blair
Activist Post

In October, 2010 copyright infringement extortionist, Righthaven, received its first judgment to date among their 238 lawsuits against websites and blogs; the case was dismissed on "fair-use" grounds. The defendant re-posted the first 8 sentences of a 30-sentence article originally published by Righthaven's partner Las Vegas Review-Journal.  U.S. District Judge, Larry Hicks, who granted the motion, explained his decision:

'The court finds that this use weighs in favor of a fair use of the copyrighted material,' Hicks wrote in his ruling, citing case law stating 'copying only as much as necessary in a greater work (story) to provide relevant factual information weighs in favor of fair use.'

Although this decision is potentially great news for all blogs and sites who aggregate information, Righthaven announced this week that it will appeal the decision.  Steve Green of the Las Vegas Sun quoted Righthaven lawyers as saying, “Righthaven strenuously maintains the court erred in dismissing Mr. Nelson from this case by finding his infringing conduct was protected by the defense of fair use.”

However, Green reported that the dismissal of the case has caused "Righthaven to alter its litigation strategy to limit its lawsuits to entire stories, photos and graphics — rather than partial stories — that were reproduced without authorization."  Yet, even lawsuits against websites that posted full articles are looking as though they may also be dismissed.

Read more »

Get Internet Access When Your Government Shuts It Down

Does your government have an Internet kill-switch? Read our guide to Guerrilla Networking and be prepared for when the lines get cut.

Image source

Patrick Miller and David Daw
PC World

These days, no popular movement goes without an Internet presence of some kind, whether it's organizing on Facebook or spreading the word through Twitter. And as we've seen in Egypt, that means that your Internet connection can be the first to go. Whether you're trying to check in with your family, contact your friends, or simply spread the word, here are a few ways to build some basic network connectivity when you can't rely on your cellular or landline Internet connections.

Read more »

What is Traitorware? And why you need to know!

Commentary by Eva Galperin

Your digital camera may embed metadata into photographs with the camera's serial number or your location. Your printer may be incorporating a secret code on every page it prints which could be used to identify the printer and potentially the person who used it. If Apple puts a particularly creepy patent it has recently applied for into use, you can look forward to a day when your iPhone may record your voice, take a picture of your location, record your heartbeat, and send that information back to the mothership.

This is traitorware: devices that act behind your back to betray your privacy.

Perhaps the most notable example of traitorware was the Sony rootkit. In 2005 Sony BMG produced CD's which clandestinely installed a rootkit onto PC's that provided administrative-level access to the users' computer. The copy-protected music CD’s would surreptitiously install its DRM technology onto PC’s. Ostensibly, Sony was trying prevent consumers from making multiple copies of their CD’s, but the software also rendered the CD incompatible with many CD-ROM players in PC’s, CD players in cars, and DVD players. Additionally, the software left a back door open on all infected PC’s which would give Sony, or any hacker familiar with the rootkit, control over the PC. And if a consumer should have the temerity to find the rootkit and try to remove the offending drivers, the software would execute code designed to disable the CD drive and trash the PC.  Read More........