New internet piracy law comes into effect in France
The first effects of France's new law against internet piracy will begin to be felt as the new year begins. The law was passed after a long struggle in parliament, and in the teeth of bitter opposition from groups opposed to internet restrictions. Illegal downloaders will be sent a warning email, then a letter if they continue, and finally must appear before a judge if they offend again.
BBC News

iPhone apps about Dalai Lama blocked in China
Chinese users of the iPhone are unable to download applications related to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhist Tibet, or Rebiya Kadeer, an exiled minority leader, after Apple apparently blocked them from its iPhone App Store in the country. The move suggests that Apple has followed Google in self-censoring content available in China, under pressure from the government. Apple does not maintain a single app store; there are different ones for each country, and Apple has the final say on what software appears in each.
The Guardian

Nokia sues Apple over more alleged patent infringements
Nokia has accused Apple of infringing Nokia patents in many of its products, including the iPhone, iPod and some computers. A case filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) claims patented Nokia innovations are being used by Apple to develop key features in its products, according to reports. The alleged infringements relate to user interfaces and camera, antenna and power management technologies.
Computer Weekly

Chinook computer was 'positively dangerous' say newly-disclosed MoD documents
A computer flaw in the type of Chinook helicopter that crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, killing all 29 on board, was known to be "positively dangerous", according to military documents that have not been published until today. The RAF blamed the two pilots, Flight Lieutenants Rick Cook and Jonathan Tapper, for the crash of Chinook ZD576 on 2 June 1994, which killed 29 senior police and intelligence officers. But an RAF Board of Inquiry was unable to establish why the crash happened. It did not rule out problems with the Chinook Mk2's innovative, software-controlled "Fadec" fuel control system as a contributory factor in the crash.
Computer Weekly

Lenovo to use AMD chips in Thinkpads
Lenovo is looking beyond long-term partner Intel and will offer budget ThinkPad laptops based on AMD processors. The company announced a new line of ThinkPad Edge laptops that will include AMD's single-core and dual-core Athlon Neo and Turion Neo processors. ThinkPad Edge laptops will be priced between US$500 and $800, said Charles Sune, global marketing manager at Lenovo. The first Edge offering, priced starting at $549, will include a 13.3-inch screen. More Edge laptops will be released later this year with screen sizes between 13 inches and 15 inches and either AMD Turion and low-power Athlon Neo chips.
Techworld

Windows continues its slide in market share
Microsoft's Windows continued its long term gradual slide as the operating system's usage share dropped by about a third of a point. That was despite Windows 7 posting a second straight month of impressive gains, according to web metrics firm Net Applications. Although rival desktop operating systems - Mac and Linux - essentially remained flat, mobile OSes, including Google 's Android and Apple 's iPhone OS, took up the slack created by Windows' dip. Mobile operating systems, said Net Applications, now power 1.3 percent of all the hardware that surfs the Internet.
Techworld

Microsoft bringing Xbox Live to Windows Mobile
Microsoft is planning to ramp up its mobile gaming activities, tying Windows Mobile into its Xbox Live community. At least, that's what it says it's doing in a job advert for a Principal Program Manager - LIVE Engagement Job, which was uncovered by MobileTechWorld: "We’re connecting players via the LIVE services on new devices beyond the console," says the ad.
Mobile Entertainment

Mplayit reveals most-shared apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry
App discovery firm Mplayit has published charts of the most-shared mobile apps on its Facebook Arcade application. The charts cover iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Java, and represent the apps that were most discussed and shared on its Facebook service over the holiday season. The iPhone chart shows a bias towards entertainment apps, BlackBerry is more about work and travel, and Android saw popularity for barcode-scanning apps.
Mobile Entertainment

PS3's Vidzone is world's biggest music video streaming app
According to Sony, the music video streaming app for PlayStation 3 is the biggest of its kind in the world. Vidzone's creators have been celebrating the massive success of the video service, which has been downloaded over two million times and has served over 200 million videos since it launched six months ago. Not as big as YouTube yet. "VidZone is officially the biggest dedicated music video streaming application in the world," said Ben Creasey, head of VidZone production.
Techradar