It is almost four years ago that The Pirate Bay announced they wanted to buy the micronation of Sealand, so they could host their site without having to bother about copyright law – an ambitious plan that turned out to be unaffordable. This week, Pirate Parties worldwide started brainstorming about a similarly ambitious plan. Instead of founding their own nation, they want to shoot a torrent site into orbit.

The Kindle is the best-selling product on Amazon.co.uk, the company announced last night, as it revealed better-than-expected quarterly results showing products up by 16% to $231m and revenues up 39% to $7.56bn. But lower forecasts for profits in the next quarter led its stock to fall in late trading, as it invests in new warehouses to deal with products.

The Guardian  

Facebook and its developers could bring in as much as $1 billion this year; only a bozo would think that Mark Zuckerberg will give that up to protect the privacy of his users My buddy Robert X. Cringely wonders if Facebook is evil or merely incompetent. That's an easy one: both -- not to mention arrogant and greedy. But how surprising is that? Facebook is in business to make money, whether it's from advertising or the increasingly attractive treasure trove of third-party apps. Never mind that "don't be evil" stuff. Mrs. Zuckerberg's boy Mark wants to be a billionaire for real -- not just on paper.

Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda. Google’s income shifting -- involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” -- helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries.

Bloomberg 

It's no secret that Japanese consumer electronics companies are having a tough time competing right now (damn Yen). Now Sharp becomes the latest casualty with the announcement that it will exit the cut-throat personal computer business to focus on market segments where it can be profitable. You know, like tablets, where Sharp hopes to have more success with its new Galapagos and related e-book, music, and video services.

Engadget 

A trial cell-phone network in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, gets by without something every other wireless carrier needs: its own chunk of the airwaves. Instead, xG Technology, which made the network, uses base stations and handsets of its own design that steer signals through the unrestricted 900-megahertz band used by cordless phones and other short-range devices.

It means that hit television shows, such as The Office and CSI cannot be viewed through Google TV, a new service from the search giant that makes it easier for people to access on-demand content, scheduled television and the best of the internet through special set-top boxes or enabled TVs. The reasons for the action have not officially been stated, but it is thought that some broadcasters are concerned Google TV will cannibalise existing revenue streams, and could tip the balance of power away from broadcasters and the networks in favour of Google.

Telegraph 

Facebook allows users to list which gender of partner they're "interested in." But do you want Facebook's advertisers to know if you're gay? A Microsoft researcher has found a loophole which could secretly reveal a gay user's sexuality to advertisers. It's no secret that Facebook, like many other online services, targets ads to different groups of users based on demographic data. But using a sensitive category like sexuality to target advertising—which Facebook apparently does—can lead to troubling privacy issues.

Gawker 

Microsoft's chief executive admitted that "we have a lot of work to do to get into the [mobile] game" in a meeting with analysts on Thursday night as the first Windows Phone 7 phones went on sale.

Windows Phone 7 devices have gone on sale in Europe, Australia and New Zealand – although US consumers will have to wait until 8 November. The first purchase was by Jourdan Templeton, who took advantage of the time difference to buy his in New Zealand.

U.S. Government Prepares to Regulate Internet Privacy 

There are at least five U.S. government efforts to regulate data and online privacy, according to a new U.S. government internet policy official, who said that some kind of privacy regulation appears likely. Ari Schwartz, who left the Center for Democracy and Technology two months ago to become senior internet policy advisor at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), told the Predictive Analytics World conference this week that stories like Facebook's never-ending privacy concerns are getting noticed both by consumers and government officials.