iPhone iWork screenshots leaked?
You may question the question mark in our headline. You may ask yourself why it is there. Well, we'll tell you. It's because, although these leaked screenshots of Apple's own iWork in action on the iPhone look real, some sceptics have branded 9 to 5 Mac's efforts as fake. And we don't want our beloved readers getting all over excited (can you get over excited about a productivity suite?) only for them to turn out to be phony.
Pocket Lint
Google to Push Android Deeper into Asia
Google (GOOG) plans to push its Android mobile software in India and China, and is exploring ways for developers to make more money from applications, stepping up competition with Apple (AAPL) and Nokia (NOK). To attract programmers to its Android operating system, Google may offer tools that help them sell subscriptions, virtual goods, and other items from within applications on mobile phones, Andy Rubin, vice-president of engineering at Google, says in an interview.
Business Week
Orange mislead punters on coverage claim
THE UK'S Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the Orange mobile network misled punters when it said that it had the broadest coverage in Blighty. The advertising watchdog barked that a long-running £4 million advertising campaign by Orange "had not been substantiated" and "was likely to mislead". Orange put up shedloads of posters claiming to have the country's "biggest 3G network covering more people than any other".
The Inquirer
Foursquare raises $20m in 2nd round funding
Foursquare, the fashionable mobile social networking service says that it has closed on a $20 million Series B round with Union Square Ventures, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and new investor, Andreessen Horowitz, which is backed by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. With this new round of financing, the company said that its main priority will be to expand the organization to supplement the core team. The new investment capital will also help fund the infrastructure needed to house the new staff and support a growing audience of nearly 2 million users.
Cellular News
Telefonica ups bid for Vivo stake to 7.15bn
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica SA has raised its offer for a stake in Brazil's Vivo Participacioes SA to EUR7.15 billion, in a last-ditch attempt to convince shareholders of Portugal Telecom SGPS S/A reluctant to exit the coveted Brazilian market. Both companies have been locked in a power struggle over Vivo, which the two Iberian telecoms control through a 50-50 joint venture in the investment vehicle Brasilcel, which owns 60% of the Brazilian mobile phone company.
Total Telecom
Russian spy ring bust uncovers tech toolkit
The FBI's case against an alleged deep cover Russian spy ring relies heavily on surveillance of their use of ad hoc Wi-Fi networks, bespoke software, encryption and the web. After a counter-espionage operation lasting several years, 10 people were accused on Monday of being covert agents of the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service. An 11th alleged member of the network - dubbed the "Illegals" programme by investigators - remains at large. The criminal complaints against the group highlight their dependence on internet technologies. Testimony from FBI agents describes how 28-year-old Anna Chapman (pictured) allegedly kept discreet appointments with a Russian government official at Manahattan coffee and book shops. Without making overt contact, she would allegedly communicate with her handler over an ad hoc Wi-Fi network. "Russian Government Official #1 was across the street from the book store, carrying a briefcase," an unnamed FBI agent says in the complaint.
The Register
Facebook status: hosed in the divorce
Forgot to de-friend your wife on Facebook while posting vacation shots of your mistress? Her divorce lawyer will be thrilled. Oversharing on social networks has led to an overabundance of evidence in divorce cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says 81 percent of its members have used or faced evidence plucked from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites, including YouTube and LinkedIn, over the last five years. "Oh, I've had some fun ones," said Linda Lea Viken, president-elect of the 1,600-member group. "It's very, very common in my new cases." Facebook is the unrivaled leader for turning virtual reality into real-life divorce drama, Viken said. Sixty-six percent of the lawyers surveyed cited Facebook foibles as the source of online evidence, she said. MySpace followed with 15 percent, followed by Twitter at 5 percent. About one in five adults uses Facebook for flirting, according to a 2008 report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. But it's not just kissy pix with the manstress or mistress that show up as evidence. Think of Dad forcing son to de-friend mom, bolstering her alienation of affection claim against him. "This sort of evidence has gone from nothing to a large percentage of my cases coming in, and it's pretty darn easy," Viken said. "It's like, 'Are you kidding me?'"
SkunkPost
Internet survives World Cup traffic surge
The English and US football teams found the World Cup a struggle but can the Internet itself hold up under the huge traffic demands imposed by the first ever 'online' tournament? According to a new analysis by Arbor Networks, predictions of disaster have proved, so far, wide of the mark. While World Cup data has caused unusual traffic patterns and a surge in backbone packet volume of up to 30 percent, the company reports, the Internet is more than holding its own under the load.Analysing traffic through major ISPs using its Atlas traffic system, Arbor found that between 11 June, the day the World Cup kicked off, and 18 June, Flash video traffic streaming through 55 randomly-chosen European and US ISPs showed marked surges, especially during the Brazil v North Korea match on 15 June. Peak flows reached up to 1Tbit/s, more than double the normal 400Gbit/s. On any match day, Flash video showed clear peaks that corresponded to game times.
TechWorld
Google tries new approach in China
Google today sought to placate the Chinese authorities by ending the automatic redirection of mainland users to its uncensored Hong Kong site, saying officials had warned they would otherwise refuse to renew the firm's licence. Several industry analysts suggested the last-ditch move made only a day before Google's permit to provide content expires signalled the end for the google.cn service following the search giant's battle with the censors. The company began diverting users of the site to google.com.hk in March, having said it was no longer willing to censor search results as required under Chinese law. Today, it said it had introduced an extra step, redirecting users to a landing page with a link to the Hong Kong site. In a post on the Google blog, the company's chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote: "This redirect [to Hong Kong], which offers unfiltered search in simplified Chinese, has been working well for our users and for Google.
Guardian
How Microsoft Crowdsourced the Making of Office 2010
For several years, Denise Carlevato has studied millions of mouse clicks and keystrokes made by anonymous computer users from all over the world. Her objective: to make Microsoft Office better fit the way millions of people work. Months before Microsoft rolled out the latest version of its productivity suite, Office 2010, 9 million people downloaded its beta version to test the software and provide feedback. As part of the program, Microsoft collected 2 million comments from beta testers. An additional 600 people participated in Microsoft’s Virtual Research Lab, where Carlevato and her colleagues could observe how people were using new features. In a sense, it was a massive, controlled crowdsourcing project. That’s just what you have to do to cater to as broad an audience as possible, says Carlevato, who has worked as a Microsoft usability engineer for 10 years.
Wired
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