Megaupload user data may be deleted, say US prosecutors
Federal prosecutors say data from users of Megaupload could be deleted as soon as Thursday. US prosecutors blocked access to Megaupload and charged seven men, saying the site facilitated millions of illegal downloads of movies, music and other content. The company says its millions of users stored their own data, including family photos and personal documents. They haven't been able to see their data since the government raids earlier this month, but there has been hope would be able to get it back.
The
Independent
Steam comes to Android and iOS
Valve, developer of the Steam gaming distribution platform, announced today it is starting a closed Beta of its Steam Mobile App and is targeting Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. The Steam App will extend both store and community services in the increasingly popular mobile market where the iPhone and Android have resparked interest in casual gaming and have provided developers with a more than adequate source of income. The mobile gaming market is estimated to reach $1.6 billion by 2015.
Tech
Eye
Angry Birds boss: 'Piracy may not be a bad thing: it can get us more business'
Rovio's Mikael Hed tells music industry audience that embracing pirates can attract new fans. Rovio Mobile learned from the music industry's mistakes when deciding how to deal with piracy of its Angry Birds games and merchandise, chief executive Mikael Hed told the Midem conference in Cannes this morning. "We have some issues with piracy, not only in apps, but also especially in the consumer products. There is tons and tons of merchandise out there, especially in Asia, which is not officially licensed products," said Hed.
The
Guardian
Rights holders demand search engines delist 'pirate' web sites
Google, Bing and Yahoo are given a list of demands. Copyright holders have demanded that search engines delist filesharing web sites like The Pirate Bay and give higher rankings to authorised content. According to Torrent Freak, the demands were made behind closed doors at a UK meeting that was facilitated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). At the meeting, copyright holders are reported to have handed out a list of demands to Google, Bing and Yahoo. A document obtained by the Open Rights Group via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request refers to a government overlooked proposal for a "Voluntary Code of Practice" for search engines.
The
Inquirer
London named as worst UK city for 3G broadband speeds
A new survey claims that London has the slowest average 3G speed in comparison to the other nine largest cities in the UK. The research was carried out by leading price comparison portal uSwitch, and according to its findings, the average 3G mobile broadband speed in London stood only at 2.71 Mbps - almost 24 per cent slower than that of Portsmouth (3.56 Mbps); the city with the fastest average 3G connectivity speed in the entire UK. In addition, London also lagged behind Cardiff and Edinburgh whose average 3G speeds stood at 2.9 Mbps and 2.94 Mbps respectively.
IT
Portal
New apps could bring a revolution in consumer choice
The omniscient Big Brother state, where multinational companies know more about your life than you do, could be about to crumble. Ministers want to see hundreds of new websites and mobile phone apps to allow people to get online access to all the information held on loyalty cards, bank statements, medical records and Whitehall databases. It is claimed that the new "open society" could save lives and improve public services. Never again will you struggle to find somewhere to park, miss an appointment, or get ripped off. In theory, at least.
The
Independent
Thailand can't wait to wield Twitter censorship hammer
Thailand has become the first nation in the world to embrace Twitter's controversial censorship scheme. Last week Twitter said it was prepared to block content on a country-by-country basis as required by each jurisdiction. The social network said it will "reactively withhold content from users in a specific country" in the interests of allowing Twitter to further expand globally and "enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression". Twitter said in cases where it withheld tweets it would inform the user, as well as logging incidents of gagging orders with Chilling Effects.
The
Register
Mobile wallets can help shops bring back the 21m consumers who hate queuing
Touch to pay could prevent them going online instead. While retail therapy can sound pleasant in theory, the practical side in stores can sometimes be anything but therapeutic with queues, poor staffing and payment methods all among consumer gripes. Researcher YouGov says NFC mobile wallet payment tech could be the solution to prevent retailers missing out as many as 21 million customers with such reluctance for in store shopping among Britain's consumers.
Mobile
Entertainment
Sky enters TV streaming market, announces fibreoptic broadband
Sky has announced an internet-based TV service that will deliver movies and sports programming to those without a full Sky subscription. There will be pay-monthly packages, and pay-as-you-go streams. The service, which will launch in the first half of 2012, will initially offer Sky Movies and then expand to sport and entertainment soon afterwards. There will be a recommendations system, and editorial content from Sky. Sky's online hub will be available "across a wide range of connected devices, including PCs, Macs, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, games consoles and connected TVs," said the broadcaster.
Wired
Samsung loses Galaxy Tab German Apple ban appeal
Samsung‘s bad luck in German courts continues, with the company’s attempts to have Apple’s sales ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 overturned rejected this week. The Korean firm had protested the Android tablet’s injunction at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, which found in favor of the injunction instigated by the lower court – initially impacting the majority of Europe, but later limited to just Germany - though for different reasons. Whereas the original injunction was granted because of claims Apple made regarding design infringement, the higher court decided to maintain the sales ban because it deemed Samsung had infringed fair competition law in Germany. Nonetheless, the ban has also been left in place against the Galaxy Tab 8.9.
Slash
Gear
Subscribe