Smartango

The US continues to fall on global broadband rankings, even as countries that are more rural and less wealthy surge ahead. Here's how they do it (hint: it does not involve wholesale deregulation).

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ActiveX has long been regarded as a gaping hole through which spyware and viruses can contaminate your PC and compromise your data. With Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft's forthcoming version of its embattled browser, steps will be taken to reduce the exposure caused by ActiveX.

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Indie-focused music download service eMusic scored a big win by bagging the complete Stones catalogue between 1964 and 1970. After weeks of stellar sales, the label abruptly pulled the tracks.

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If Wilmington, NC can't get the DTV transition right in September, hold onto your hats when the whole country goes digital after February 17th.

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A newfound flaw in Google's Gmail allows would-be spammers to treat the service as an open-relay server. Compounding the issue is the fact that services such as Hotmail and Yahoo "trust" Gmail. This may facilitate e-mail delivery, but it also makes it easier for spammers to reach their intended targets.

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The Public Interest Registry plans to bump its wholesale rates on .org domains starting this November by 60¢ per domain, which means that smaller registries will likely pass the fee onto the organizations that depend on their .org domains to keep running.

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With a promise of financial backing, Blockbuster convinces Circuit City to share its operational secrets. It looks like the deal is coming, for better or for worse.

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Microsoft has decided to appeal a €899 million ($1.39 billion) fine for tardy compliance with the European Commission's 2004 antitrust ruling. The company is still abiding by the original ruling.

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Last month, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital released Grand Theft Childhood, what may be the first attempt to get the public and academics on the same page when it comes to violent games.

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MySpace has announced plans to actually make its social network play nice with others across the web, and pats itself on the back while doing so. Although loyal users will certainly welcome the changes, MySpace is certainly not the first to think of ways for its users to share data across web sites.

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A pair of articles in this week's edition of Science look at creating a form of a quantum logic gate. While both use quantum dots, they attack the problem in very different manners.

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After urging from the MPAA and RIAA, Los Angeles County agrees that piracy is a "public nuisance" and that buildings and equipment used to store or manufacture counterfeit discs can be seized.

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The MPAA has asked a Swedish court for $15.4 million in damages from The Pirate Bay. Peter Sunde, the torrent tracker's fearless captain, says that the claims are bogus.

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It's not good enough to be the clear leader in a mature market sector like cell phones. To stay youthfully vibrant, Nokia is embracing a new set of competitors and is repackaging itself as an "Internet company."

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Patent disputes behind it, Vonage is trying to secure its future by making itself less reliant on the phone companies the provide broadband to many of its clients. Tired of broadband companies trying to steal its lunch money, Vonage is teaming up with Covad to offer a double-play of DSL and VoIP service.

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There are no quick and easy ways to beat piracy. But here's how Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone and his Hollywood buddies can do it with blood, sweat, and tears.

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A free software licensing watchdog group has succeeded in forcing Skype to comply with the GPL. Skype has discontinued its appeal and agreed to adhere to the terms stipulated by the license.

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The US House of Representatives has seen the introduction of Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act, a bill designed to foster net neutrality, this time by making unfettered access an antitrust issue.

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Social networking sites aren't just attracting the college and business crowd. In order to protect the younger members these sites are also drawing in, Facebook and MySpace have agreed to implement a wide range of new privacy safeguards.

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Google has been steadily adding corporate features to Google Apps for some time now, and the company's Google Web Security for Enterprise service that debuts today is no exception. Google Web Security is meant to give corporate users working from remote locations a safe portal from which to access the 'Net, without requiring that they log into a corporate network.

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