Facebook downplays privacy crisis meeting
Facebook has downplayed the significance of a company-wide meeting to discuss privacy issues.The blogosphere described the meeting as a panic measure following weeks of criticism over the way it handles members' data. Several US senators have made public calls for Facebook to rethink its privacy safeguards. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, launched a petition directed at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
BBC News

Google said to be planning tethering for Android
Google is reportedly planning to allow tethering for handsets using its Android smartphone platform. Silicon Valley news blog Tech Crunch is reporting that the upcoming 2.2 version of the Android operating system will include support for two different methods of sharing the handset's wireless data connection with other computers. The report claims that the Android 2.2 "Froyo" release will support tethering both through USB and WiFi connections. Users could connect to the device wither through a wireless network connection or a USB cable and share the connection.
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WiMax handset slated for June debut
US wireless carrier Sprint has set the release date for its first WiMax mobile handset. The company said that the HTC EVOTM 4G model would be released 4 June in the US. The device will cost $299 with a two year contract. Users will be able to receive $100 back on the purchase through a mail-in rebate. First revealed earlier this year, the EVOTM 4G will be the first handset to use the WiMax wireless network, which Sprint has been testing for use in a number of US cities. The EVOTM 4G will sport a 4.3 inch screen and will be sport 8GB of removable storage with room for up to 32GB. The handset is powered by a 1GHZ Qualcomm processor and will sport a back-mounted 8MP camera as well as front-mounted 1.5MP camera for video chat.
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Next Big Thing 3D cameraphones
Not more 3D...Don't be all Nelly Negative the third dimension is the future. The whole TV industry couldn't be more excited about 3D if it combined with Smell-O-Vision. We've also got 3D gaming heading to the Xbox and PS3, while the Fujifilm W1 made digital 3D photography possible. And now Sharp has developed a 3D camera module for mobile phones.
Stuff TV

Steam for Mac goes live
Mac users will be able to download Portal, Football Manager 2010 and Torchlight at launch, with more titles added every Wednesday. Steam, which has around 25 million users, was launched in 2004, allowing PC owners to buy and download games to play on their computer. The library of games soon expanded, and there are now more than 1,000 titles available.
Telegraph

BT to offer OnLive games via broadband
British Telecom has signed a deal with OnLive of the United States to stream video games as part of BT’s high-end domestic broadband package, the company announced today. BT will acquire the exclusive rights to OnLive’s service within the UK, and as part of the deal has taken a 2.6 per cent shareholding in OnLive. OnLive was announced with great fanfare last year, amid claims that it could spell the end of the video games console. The service offers a library of titles from leading games publishers, including Ubisoft and Electronic Arts. The games are played in real time over the internet.
Times

Machine Orchestra Features Hacked Guitar, Trampoline-Triggered Music Cues
Sensor-embedded trampolines, accelerometer-hacked guitars and robotic glockenspiels take center stage Thursday when the KarmetiK Machine Orchestra goes live in a Southern California concert. Brainchild of CalArts robotic engineer/sitar player Ajay Kapur and tech sculptor Michael Darling, the ensemble meshes 20 human musicians with eight whirring, clanking, glowing pieces of robotic machinery.I’m sick of going to concerts, and all the stuff is stuck behind speakers, says Kapur. All these bands being put out of business by DJs who show up and play prerecorded music that’s ridiculous. Instead, Kapur says, What we’re trying to do here is to bring performance back into electronic music. We don’t want a human sitting behind a computer typing. That is absolutely not allowed.
Wired

Pentagon Virus Detector Knows You’re Sick Before You Do
Imagine knowing you’ll be too sick to go to work, before the faintest hint of a runny nose or a sore throat. Now imagine that preemptive diagnosis being transmitted to a national, web-based influenza map simply by picking up the phone. That’s the impressive potential of an ongoing Pentagon-funded research project, spearheaded by geneticists at Duke University. Since 2006, they’ve been hunting for a genetic signature that can accurately assess, well before symptoms appear, whether someone’s been infected with a virus. Eight months into a $19.5 million grant from Darpa, the Pentagon’s out-there research agency, the expert behind the program is anticipating a tool with implications far beyond military circles.
Wired

HTC attempting to block iPhone and iPad sales
HTC has announced it is suing Apple for infringing five of its patents in the US.The Taiwanese firm is seeking an injunction against the import and sale of the iPhone, iPad and iPod in the US, meaning this war could quickly escalate."As the innovator of the original Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008, HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible," said Jason Mackenzie, VP of North America for HTC.
Techradar

Adobe founders return fire at Steve Jobs
Adobe co-founders Chuck Geschke and John Warnock have written an open letter rebutting accusations from Apple that Flash is a closed system, and arguing that Apple's stance could "undermine the next chapter of the web". The letter states that "no company should dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience", insisting that Apple is doing exactly that by refusing to run Flash, a tool which Geschke and Warnock claim is based on the idea of an open internet. "We believe that open markets are in the best interest of developers, content owners and consumers. Adobe's business philosophy is based on a premise that, in an open market, the best products will win in the end," they said.
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