European Parliament passes anti-ACTA declaration

By Nate Anderson

Today 377 members of the European Parliament adopted a written declaration on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in which they demand greater transparency, assert that ISPs should not up end being liable for data sent through their networks, and say that ACTA "should not force limitations upon judicial due process or weaken fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and the right to privacy."

The "written declaration" has no binding force; any MEP can issue one (there's a 200-word maximum), which is adopted when more than half of all MEPs sign on. If adopted, "written declarations are printed and posted on a board at the entrance to the Chambers in Strasbourg and Brussels." They also go up on the Web and get passed on to the European Commission.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/european-parliament-passes-anti-acta-declaration.ars

Google to launch TV service in Australia next year

Google will launch its service to bring the web to TV screens in the United States before Christmas and worldwide next year, its chief executive said, as it extends its reach from the desktop to the living room.

CEO Eric Schmidt said the service, which will allow full internet browsing via the television, would be free, and Google would work with a variety of programme makers and electronics manufacturers to bring it to consumers.

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/hometech/google-to-launch-tv-service-in-australia-next-year-20100908-15046.html?autostart=1

Google invites Yahoo users to log into services via OpenID

By Jacqui Cheng 

Yahoo users can now use their Yahoo logins to sign up for Google services thanks to OpenID, with other providers coming soon. Google announced Tuesday that it was implementing the OpenID standard for its login process in hopes of making things easier for Internet users who have too many logins to keep track of, though whether users will actually use it remains to be seen.

For those who aren't already familiar, OpenID is a (somewhat slow-moving) movement aimed at establishing a safe, secure, and standards-based single sign-on framework for use across the Internet. The initiative allows people to sign in and access multiple websites with a single username.

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/09/google-invites-yahoo-users-to-log-into-services-via-openid.ars

HP SUES Ex-CEO Mark Hurd Over New Job At Rival Oracle

By JORDAN ROBERTSON 

SAN FRANCISCO — Hewlett-Packard Co. is suing the chief executive it ousted last month, Mark Hurd, to stop him from taking a top job at rival Oracle Corp.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a California state court, came a day after Oracle hired Hurd as co-president to help lead the database software maker's efforts to steal business from HP. HP claims that Hurd won't be able to perform his job at Oracle without spilling HP's trade secrets and violating a confidentiality agreement.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/07/hp-sues-exceo-mark-hurd-o_0_n_707795.html?utm_source=chrome

Android to control half of smartphone market, say analysts

By Larry Dignan

A bevy of Android devices will ultimately mean that Google’s mobile operating system will control largely half of the smartphone market, according to a Piper Jaffray report. Apple’s iOS will probably top out with market share of 20 percent to 30 percent in the long run.

The big picture? Android and Apple will squeeze rivals such as Nokia and Research in Motion, according to the Piper Jaffray report. These also-rans will duke it out for the 20 percent share left on the table.

Android will grab half of the smartphone market ultimately just because of its product cycle and multiple partners. The HTC, Motorola and Samsung Android device barrage is impressive. In the end, RIM and Nokia will cave and adopt Android as an operating system and give the operating system a massive market share boost

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/android-to-control-half-of-smartphone-market-say-analysts/38881?tag=mantle_skin;content

Texas opens antitrust investigation of Google

by Tom Krazit

Google will face an antitrust investigation in Texas over charges that it manipulated search results, in what appears to a similar case to one pending in Europe.

Google confirmed an earlier report by Search Engine Land Friday after the close of the stock market that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has contacted it in connection with an "antitrust review" of Google's business practices. Earlier this year, European regulators opened an investigation regarding claims by a Microsoft-friendly price-comparison site called Foundem that Google was downranking Foundem in hopes of putting the site out of business.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20015601-265.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks#ixzz0ystg1ynm

Now the net filter in Oz must truly be dead 

by Drew Wilson

Not a lot of news is happening in Australia lately regarding the mandatory web filtering. So we decided to find out if anything has happened lately. Turns out, Australia has had an election with some rather historical results that could see to the demise of the net filtering plan.

Hung parliament. The last time Australia had one of those was 1940. Still, it’s a term that Australians will now have to get use to now with no one winning a majority government.

So it sounds like the Australian internet filter, the one that would filter out “inappropriate content” and the one that could possibly even filter file-sharing content (though this was a matter of debate), is officially dead.

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/90571/australian-net-filter-dead/

Sony releases mandatory PS3 update in response to jailbreak

By Ben Kuchera

To the shock of absolutely no one, Sony has announced a new mandatory update for the PlayStation 3. Don't expect any new features, but if you have one of those new, fancy USB-based hacking devices you may want to hold off on updating. Just sayin'.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/sony-releases-mandatory-ps3-update-in-response-to-jailbreak.ars

Craigslist censored: Adult section removed

by Chris Matyszczyk

Some who are at a loose end will find it odd to wake up to a Labor Day weekend and discover that the Adult Section on Craigslist has been removed and that the link to it on the site's home page has been replaced with a black bar reading "censored."

Craigslist has long been the whipping boy for attorneys general seeking to control prostitution within their purview and perhaps also seeking to win the favor of certain members of their constituencies.

However, why the section should suddenly have been removed in such a dramatic way (the censorship is only active in the U.S.) is unclear.

The section was originally entitled Erotic Services. Its name was changed to reflect a new discipline, as, under pressure from attorneys general, Craigslist declared it would manually screen every ad in its newly named Adult Services section.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20015629-71.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks#ixzz0ymrXRVWu

How OpenAppMkt is giving iPhone owners more choice

"HTML5 is more capable than most developers realise"

By Matt Bolton

The OpenAppMkt brings web apps to your iPhone, with a familiar interface

One of the continuing criticisms of Apple's iPhone is the inability to load apps that haven't been through the App Store's opaque approval process - unless you're prepared to jailbreak.

For many developers, Android presents a more open environment, with fewer potential barriers to entry. However, stories of the riches from Apple's platform make it a tempting proposition anyway.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/how-openappmkt-is-giving-iphone-owners-more-choice-714752#ixzz0ymjFvukM