Whitney Houston says drug use reports "ridiculous"

LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Singer Whitney Houston was released from a Paris hospital on Wednesday after suffering a respiratory infection and she called media reports that she was using drugs again "ridiculous."

After being hospitalized in Paris on Tuesday under doctor's orders, Houston told People magazine she is looking forward to returning to the stage after postponing several dates on the European leg of her concert tour.

"I'm feeling great," she said. "I'm just ready to move on and continue my world tour."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100408/music_nm/us_whitney_cancellation;_ylt=AlTbvSkv7ohMTNuwlSucmr2VEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1YmJjbjFrBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3doaXRuZXlfY2FuY2VsbGF0aW9uBHBvcwM0NARzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawN3aGl0bmV5aG91c3Q-

Usher, Justin Bieber lead pop album chart

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – Usher scored his third consecutive No. 1 album on the U.S. pop chart Wednesday as the R&B singer ended the one-week reign of Canadian pop idol Justin Bieber.

Usher's "Raymond v Raymond" sold 329,000 copies during the week ended April 4, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It marks the third-best sales week of the year, following the debuts of Sade's "Soldier of Love" (502,000) and Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" (481,000).

He previously led the tally with 2008's "Here I Stand" (443,000 copies in its first week) and 2004's "Confessions" (1.1 million).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100407/music_nm/us_sales;_ylt=AvH3WPzs.P9PyZHunn0bkyKVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJmZjM0cTFwBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA3L3VzX3NhbGVzBHBvcwMzOQRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawN1c2hlcmp1c3RpbmI-

Lady Gaga, Scouting for Girls top UK charts midweek

LONDON (Reuters) – London pop trio Scouting for Girls held on to the top spot in the British singles charts midweek with "This Ain't a Love Song," according to The Official Charts Company which compiles sales data.

U.S. glam pop star Lady Gaga also looked set for the summit of the album listings yet again with "The Fame," which was leading the pack on Wednesday ahead of the weekly official charts announcement on Sunday.

Some way behind Scouting for Girls is a three-act race for second place, with Lady Gaga's single "Telephone," Plan B's "She Said" and Usher's "OMG" separated by less than 10 percent of sales.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100407/music_nm/us_britain_charts;_ylt=Ah5xvNUHoP17yRGPlf8qp_CVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJvaGdxdmNtBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA3L3VzX2JyaXRhaW5fY2hhcnRzBHBvcwMzMwRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNsYWR5Z2FnYXNjb3U-

Rihanna leads pop chart for fourth week

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Rihanna's "Rude Boy" led Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for a fourth week on Thursday, with the top eight titles unchanged from the previous week.

"Nothin' On Me" from B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars held at No. 2, and Train's "Hey, Soul Sister" at No. 3.

Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," "Telephone" by Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce, and "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris occupied the No. 4 to No. 6 slots, respectively.

The Black Eyed Peas' "Imma Be" followed at No. 7, Justin Bieber's "Baby" was at No. 8, and Jason Derulo rebounded two to No. 9 with "In My Head." "BedRock, from Young Money featuring Lloyd, slipped one to No. 10.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100408/music_nm/us_singles;_ylt=Ar3A6QYTe0.3cUj5syuaKgiVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJob3RxNThyBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3NpbmdsZXMEcG9zAzI0BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3JpaGFubmFsZWFkcw--

'The Addams Family' mines macabre musical comedy

NEW YORK – If you want to know why musical comedy is such a difficult art form to master, a prime example is now on display at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where "The Addams Family" has fitfully burst into story and song.

In attempting to give Charles Addams' macabre characters a life beyond the brilliant single-panel cartoons that appeared for years in The New Yorker, the creators of this schizophrenic musical have made them more audience friendly. But in a perverse way, they're not as much fun.

Gomez. Morticia. Uncle Fester. Grandma. Wednesday. Pugsley. Lurch. Weird, of course. But, in a way, just like us ordinary folks, with emotions, insecurities, hopes and fears. That seems to be the thrust of the joke-peppered book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_en_mu/us_theater_review_addams_family;_ylt=An15i7Yc1cbWt85O0gTBLkqVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTM2MjBwcG5hBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3RoZWF0ZXJfcmV2aWV3X2FkZGFtc19mYW1pbHkEcG9zAzE5BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3RoZWFkZGFtc2ZhbQ--

Guitarist Slash finally goes solo for new album

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – He's been a name in rock that has stood alone for decades, but on Tuesday guitarist Slash only just released his first solo album.

Simply called "Slash," the album features 13 original songs with a host of guest singers including rockers such as Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop and Chris Cornell to more pop-orientated acts including singer Fergie and Adam Levine from Maroon 5. The first single, "By The Sword," features singer Andrew Stockdale from the band Wolfmother.

"I just got to that point where I actually needed to do something on my own," he told Reuters this week. "It's one of the few things that I hadn't done in my musical career."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100408/music_nm/us_slash;_ylt=Apgq_ylG9zQLeMw0LGVFDpiVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJmdGN1OWIxBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3NsYXNoBHBvcwMxNgRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNndWl0YXJpc3RzbGE-

Is Taiwan's male "Whitney Houston" the next Susan Boyle

TAIPEI (Reuters) – He's everything Whitney Houston is not -- Taiwanese, male, chubby and unknown -- but Lin Yu-chun is being likened to the pop diva after wowing a talent show with his rendition of one of her most popular songs.

Lin, a competitor on popular singing show "Super Star Avenue", floored the judges this week with his pitch-perfect rendition of Houston's "I Will Always Love You", taken from her film "The Bodyguard" that also starred Kevin Costner.

For the video, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-tOsM6F4Y

The 24-year-old, who wears a bow tie and sports a bowl haircut, is also being touted by many bloggers as this year's Susan Boyle, the best-selling artist who unexpectedly became a musical superstar after her show-stopping performance on the "Britain's Got Talent" TV program.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100409/music_nm/us_taiwan_singer;_ylt=ArTj3YRU..h_JAMN7pg3XMOVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJtbWc5bW50BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA5L3VzX3RhaXdhbl9zaW5nZXIEcG9zAzkEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDaXN0YWl3YW4zOXNt

Sex Pistols' former manager McLaren has died at 64

LONDON – The former manager of the Sex Pistols and one of the seminal figures of the punk rock era, Malcolm McLaren, died Thursday, his son said. He was 64.

Joe Corre his father died of an aggressive form of cancer in Switzerland, declining to give the exact location.

"He was the original punk rocker and revolutionized the world," Corre told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "He's somebody I'm incredibly proud of. He's a real beacon of a man for people to look up to."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_en_mu/obit_malcolm_mclaren;_ylt=AteSUZ__9nvSuzaqhSaPJqiVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJxNGNsZGNhBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA5L29iaXRfbWFsY29sbV9tY2xhcmVuBHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3NleHBpc3RvbHNmbw--

Australian band Powderfinger to quit after final tour

SYDNEY (Reuters) – One of Australia's biggest rock bands, Powderfinger, is calling it quits after 21 years, announcing plans Friday to disband later this year after a final Australian tour.

The band, which released its seventh studio album last year, said it had been an "agonizing decision" but they had decided to call it a day after their "Sunsets" tour.

"With the completion of our last album, "Golden Rule," we feel that we have said all that we want to say as a musical group," the band said in a statement on its website. Powderfinger was formed in 1989 and has had a steady line-up since 1992 of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins and drummer Jon Coghill.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100409/music_nm/us_powderfinger;_ylt=AtZbxrtNvDvdlKDQONQZR1KVEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTJsaXVmZzk0BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA5L3VzX3Bvd2RlcmZpbmdlcgRwb3MDNARzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNhdXN0cmFsaWFuYmE-

Taiwan singer conjures up Susan Boyle comparisons

TAIPEI, Taiwan – As a younger man, Taiwan's Lin Yu-chun sang for hours on end, trying to get his mind off the sneers he endured because of his portly figure.

The round-faced soprano with the bowl haircut never imagined his voice would one day transform him into an international sensation.

But now, he is being compared to Britan's Susan Boyle, the plain-looking 48-year-old who shot to stardom after singing "I Dreamed a Dream" on "Britain's Got Talent."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_en_mu/as_taiwan_singing_sensation;_ylt=AhRX7EQRivHIyiz.Vnvw.j6VEhkF;_ylu=X3oDMTMxdDZpaTRjBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA5L2FzX3RhaXdhbl9zaW5naW5nX3NlbnNhdGlvbgRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawN0YWl3YW5zaW5nZXI-

Twitter Says Growth Surging Internationally

More people outside of the U.S. have registered for Twitter accounts than people in the U.S., the company said on Thursday.

More than 60 percent of registered accounts come from outside the U.S., Matt Sanford, a lead engineer in Twitter's international team, wrote in a blog post. According to a graph included in the post, the balance of Twitter accounts shifted to international users in about September last year.

Twitter is available in French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. In some of those countries, growth happens when a politician or famous person starts using the service, Sanford wrote. For instance, in Columbia, sign-ups soared 300 percent after politician Piedad Cordoba Ruiz began using Twitter, he said. Politicians and Bollywood stars in India led to increased sign-ups in that country too.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193866/twitter_says_growth_surging_internationally.html

How to Fix Your Family's PC Problems

When the phone rings in my house, there's a 50/50 chance it's a call for help--tech help. Maybe it's my sister trying to figure out why her wireless mouse no longer works. Maybe it's Dad wanting to know why virus warnings keep popping up on his desktop. (Uh, oh.) Or it could be Aunt Judy looking for the file attachment she knows she saved--but doesn't know where.

Sound familiar? The curse of being even a little tech-savvy is that you automatically get elected Tech Support for friends, family members, and maybe even your coworkers.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/193811/how_to_fix_your_familys_pc_problems.html

Microsoft Office 2010 Throws Down Google Gauntlet

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Next month, Microsoft Corp. will release Office 2010 into an IT world that Google Inc. has been reshaping as use of its Google Apps services has spread to organizations like the Los Angeles city government and Genentech Inc.

With its release of Office 2010 on May 12, Microsoft will complete an effort to move its extensive portfolio of applications to the cloud, offering its business and government customers a new way to deliver services to users.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/193853/microsoft_office_2010_throws_down_google_gauntlet.html

New iPhone and iPad Software Will Have Folders

One of the seven major new features announced today for the upcoming version of the iPhone operating system was the ability to organize home screen icons into folders, something many iPhone users have ardently wished for in the past.

At a press conference to announce new features in iPhone OS 4.0 today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked about how many users were tired of flipping through page after page of icons on their home screen to find the app they wanted. Apple wanted to find a solution for that kind of icon clutter.

"Folders fit the bill," Jobs said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100409/sc_livescience/newiphoneandipadsoftwarewillhavefolders;_ylt=AqkY9XGJmniIVv.TlOQX5zwjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNtbnBtZDhiBGFzc2V0A2xpdmVzY2llbmNlLzIwMTAwNDA5L25ld2lwaG9uZWFuZGlwYWRzb2Z0d2FyZXdpbGxoYXZlZm9sZGVycwRwb3MDMTEEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNuZXdpcGhvbmVhbmQ-

IBM Executive Denies Open-source Sellout

IBM will not use its open-source patents in any potential legal actions it may bring against TurboHercules, an IBM company executive seemingly asserted on Wednesday.

"IBM stands by this 2005 Non-Assertion Pledge today as strongly as it did then. IBM will not sue for the infringement of any of those 500 patents by any Open Source Software," wrote Dan Frye, an IBM vice president of open systems development, in a letter sent to Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin.

Frye was responding to a question from Zemlin concerning a heated discussion in the open-source community about IBM's potential use of open-source patents in an ongoing dispute the company is having with Paris software company TurboHercules.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100408/tc_pcworld/ibmexecutivedeniesopensourcesellout;_ylt=AqlX1wFMGyIjdyyYTsD_4y0jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNkNDkyaG42BGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMDA0MDgvaWJtZXhlY3V0aXZlZGVuaWVzb3BlbnNvdXJjZXNlbGxvdXQEcG9zAzkEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNpYm1leGVjdXRpdmU-

Vietnam denies responsibility for hackings

HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam has dismissed what it called "groundless" implications it used malicious computer programs to hack Web sites and spy on political opponents.

Google Inc. said in a post last week on its security blog that software known as "malware" was used to snoop on opponents of a controversial bauxite mine planned for Vietnam's Central Highlands. It said the cyberattacks had targeted "potentially tens of thousands of people." Google didn't say whom it suspects of the attack.

The perpetrators "may have political motivations and may have some allegiance to the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," George Kurtz, chief technology officer of online security firm McAfee, wrote in a separate security blog.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_hi_te/as_vietnam_google;_ylt=AiDaDpxmopOposKi0VkBva4jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJta3NybjM3BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA2L2FzX3ZpZXRuYW1fZ29vZ2xlBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl9hcnRpY2xlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDdmlldG5hbWRlbmll

Sun's Solaris Now Getting Quarterly Security Patches

Oracle has moved Solaris onto its quarterly security patch schedule, meaning users of the Sun Microsystems operating system will now know months in advance when they will be getting security updates.

Oracle announced the news Thursday, saying it will include a number of Sun products in its next Critical Patch Update, which is due on Tuesday. The update will include 16 security fixes for Sun products, including Solaris, Sun Cluster, Sun Convergence and the Sun Ray server software.

Sun had previously released security patches on an ad hoc basis. Oracle, which bought Sun in January, is now putting Sun's products on a quarterly patch cycle to make the process more predictable. Many big software companies, including Cisco Systems, Microsoft and Adobe Systems, have adopted similar regular patch cycles.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100409/tc_pcworld/sunssolarisnowgettingquarterlysecuritypatches;_ylt=Agw5mOGMwb2YMho0JKlvEuojtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNudXM5c2M5BGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMDA0MDkvc3Vuc3NvbGFyaXNub3dnZXR0aW5ncXVhcnRlcmx5c2VjdXJpdHlwYXRjaGVzBHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bl9hcnRpY2xlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDc3VuMzlzc29sYXJp

Batten Down the Hatches for Microsoft and Adobe Patches

Next Tuesday is both Microsoft's Patch Tuesday for April, and Adobe's quarterly patch release. Combined, there are a total of 27 vulnerabilities being patched in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and the Acrobat Reader application. It will be a busy day for IT administrators and information security professionals to analyze and prioritize the deluge of updates.

Microsoft issued for Internet Explorer on March 30.

Nevertheless, Patch Tuesday is coming. Amol Sarwate, manager of Qualys' Vulnerability Research Lab, e-mailed to provide some expert insight on what Microsoft has in store. "There are 11 security bulletins that affect a range of Windows operating system components as well as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Exchange. This is a fairly large update and will keep system administrators busy on Patch Tuesday."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100409/tc_pcworld/battendownthehatchesformicrosoftandadobepatches;_ylt=Aic333JHur7W.6yFGMfr3g8jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNwOTlycnAzBGFzc2V0A3Bjd29ybGQvMjAxMDA0MDkvYmF0dGVuZG93bnRoZWhhdGNoZXNmb3JtaWNyb3NvZnRhbmRhZG9iZXBhdGNoZXMEcG9zAzMEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNiYXR0ZW5kb3dudGg-

Apple Creates Social Gaming Network for iPhone

During the press conference covering new iPhone OS 4 features, Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software at Apple, talked about the growing primacy of iPhone and iPod Touch games in the gaming industry.

Forestall pointed out that there were over 50,000 game and entertainment apps in the App Store, and other handheld consoles such as the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS had less than 7,000 combined.

"We blow them [PSP and DS] out of the water," Forstall said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100409/sc_livescience/applecreatessocialgamingnetworkforiphone;_ylt=Am78ushxDC9HNmQ.LqXFPLUjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNtNjYxbHIzBGFzc2V0A2xpdmVzY2llbmNlLzIwMTAwNDA5L2FwcGxlY3JlYXRlc3NvY2lhbGdhbWluZ25ldHdvcmtmb3JpcGhvbmUEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNhcHBsZWNyZWF0ZXM-

Japan's video game visionary: the console is dying

TOKYO (Reuters) – Hideo Kojima, one of the world's most famous video game creators, sees a future for digital entertainment outside the box -- outside any box.

Kojima, whose "Metal Gear Solid" games have sold more than 27 million copies, says the future of video gaming is on networks that will free players from consoles supplied by the likes of his long-time partner Sony Corp.

"In the near future, we'll have games that don't depend on any platform," Kojima said at a news conference announcing the latest installment in a game saga that began in 1987.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100408/tc_nm/us_japan_kojima;_ylt=AgegNQnAErq4DeH9zZjyv3wjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJsZzViZTdqBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX2phcGFuX2tvamltYQRwb3MDMTYEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNqYXBhbjM5c3ZpZGU-

Mexico may cut millions of cellphones to fight crime

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Tens of millions of Mexicans could find their cellphones disconnected this weekend if the government goes ahead with a new law meant to fight crime by forcing people to register their identities.

Advertisements on government radio and television have been urging Mexicans for weeks to register their cellphones by sending their personal details as a text message, but on Thursday 30 million lines remained unregistered as the Saturday deadline neared.

Analysts said that any related losses for Mexico's largest wireless operator, America Movil, would be tiny relative to the company's overall sales.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100409/tc_nm/us_mexico_cellphones;_ylt=AgbxCvtNrUN2qp_Bkp3rEi8jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJxMWpnYWlsBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwNDA5L3VzX21leGljb19jZWxscGhvbmVzBHBvcwMxNARzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA21leGljb21heWN1dA--

US author says China media can't cover Google book

BEIJING – The author of a new book about Google will not promote it in China next month because he said the government is restricting the Chinese media's writings about the company since it moved its search engine off the mainland to avoid censorship.

The publisher of the Chinese edition and publicity agents for the tour believe Ken Auletta's book tour no longer made sense, because even if Chinese media attend, they won't be able to report anything, the author said in a phone interview late Wednesday.

"Googled: The End of the World as We Know It," by the New Yorker magazine writer was published in the U.S. last fall by Penguin Press, and state-owned China Citic Press bought the rights to translate and publish the Chinese edition.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_google_book;_ylt=AhtNRdhRsLsnPee1PG.BS5cjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJwaHZwdGczBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA4L2FzX2NoaW5hX2dvb2dsZV9ib29rBHBvcwM4BHNlYwN5bl9hcnRpY2xlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDdXNhdXRob3JzYXlz

'I'm a Mac! I'm a PC!' TV ads 'might be done,' Justin Long says

For more than four years, actor Justin Long and "Daily Show" regular John Hodgman have been trading barbs in dozens of those "I'm a Mac," "...and I'm a PC" commercials — four years too long, if you ask me. But for those who loved all the "Get a Mac" ads, there's sad news from none other than Long himself.

The Onion's A.V. Club (via MacDailyNews) recently asked Long about the "status" of the long-running series of Mac commercials (which Apple has compiled for you in HD). Here's the answer:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100408/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc1528;_ylt=Aj04nJoQ12V7Qgoa5l4GK3sjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1MjkzazhzBGFzc2V0A3l0ZWNoX2dhZGcvMjAxMDA0MDgveXRlY2hfZ2FkZ190YzE1MjgEcG9zAzYEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawMzOWkzOW1hbWFjaTM-

FCC plans to move forward with broadband plan soon

WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it intends to move forward quickly with key recommendations in its national broadband plan — even though a federal appeals court this week undermined the agency's legal authority to regulate high-speed Internet access.

The FCC needs that authority to push ahead with many parts of the broadband plan, which it released last month. Among them: a proposal to expand broadband by tapping the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_fcc_broadband;_ylt=Ai6VUhnpw_aLXIwEwSBzvgAjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJsdWM1cXZqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3RlY19mY2NfYnJvYWRiYW5kBGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNmY2NwbGFuc3RvbW8-

Tech industry recovery under way, says Forrester

NEW YORK – A new report on information technology provided further evidence that an industry recovery is under way, with U.S. spending now expected to grow faster than previously believed.

Forrester Research now expects information-technology spending in the U.S. to grow by 8.4 percent this year, to $550 billion. That is up from its January forecast, of a 6.6 percent increase compared with 2009.

The better outlook is helped by higher spending on communications equipment than Forrester previously expected, accompanying the ongoing rebound in computer and software purchases.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_technology_spending;_ylt=AhLUAzVsbimIxBKSqz.VkNwjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJydjVpbzMzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3RlY190ZWNobm9sb2d5X3NwZW5kaW5nBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawN0ZWNoaW5kdXN0cnk-

Apple iPhone to soon get long-sought multitasking

CUPERTINO, Calif. – Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad devices will soon be able to run more than one program at a time, an ability that phones from Apple's rivals already offer and that iPhone owners have long sought.

The changes, coming this summer to iPhones and this fall to iPads, mean that users might be able to listen to music through the Pandora program and check a bank account online simultaneously. Currently, users must return to Apple's home screen, effectively quitting the open program, before starting a new task.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_apple;_ylt=Ao6T4ViuKsOiPQUyhBW.wd4jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJkamwzZjA4BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDA4L3VzX3RlY19hcHBsZQRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDYXBwbGVpcGhvbmV0

Apple Yanks iPhone Out of iPad's Shadow

Apple's marketing juggernaut is continuing its advance, with the company scheduling a media look-see for its next version of the iPhone OS even as the iPad frenzy roars on. The next version will likely meet some of the challenges set by competitors like Android with stronger multitasking, more robust email handling and added social networking capabilities, said Azita Arvani of the Arvani Group.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is apparently not taking a breather following the iPad's high-energy launch. The company is inviting journalists to a press event on April 8 that will provide a sneak peek at the iPhone's next operating system, version 4.0.

Following so closely on the heels of the iPad's Saturday release, the announcement on Monday took many by surprise.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Apple-Yanks-iPhone-Out-of-iPads-Shadow-69704.html

Wait for Slate, Suggests HP Vid

The iPad may be the first tablet computer to seize the imaginations of a large number of consumers, but HP wants the world to know that competition is on the way. The company has released a video showing its upcoming Slate, which apparently will have a few things the iPad does not, including a camera, Flash functionality, a USB port and a video dock.

HP (NYSE: HPQ) is trying to steal some of the limelight from the iPad.

Less than 48 hours after customers lined up to get their hands on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) newly released tablet computer, HP unveiled a highly produced video of its yet-to-be released Slate tablet.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Wait-for-Slate-Suggests-HP-Vid-69702.html

gEdit and Leafpad Make a Good Text-Editing Team

It's no longer a hard-copy world, and most writing tasks don't require all the bells and whistles in heavyweight word processing programs. Text editors are a much more nimble choice. However, not all text editors are alike. You may not need a lot of features, but you definitely want the right ones. gEdit and Leafpad are two open source options that complement each other nicely.

Text editors are becoming more essential in today's Web-based computing world. Gone are the days when users need hard-copy versions of their documents. Also gone are the days when documents need to be gussied up with fancy fonts and fanciful page formatting.

Now HTML handles the visual tune ups for online document displays converted from text documents. For the bulk of documentation now created with computers, text displays suffice. Content is what matters. When a more formal document requires graphical alure, word processors such as AbiWord ( see review here) and OpenOffice will take a plain text file to the more visual level. The Linux OS probably has more text-writing apps than any other computing platform. For many users, a text editor will meet or exceed writing needs most of the time. Two popular text editors are gEdit and Leafpad.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/gEdit-and-Leafpad-Make-a-Good-Text-Editing-Team-69703.html

The Cybersecurity Problem: Much Bigger Than China?

Recent events seem to implicate China as being unwilling to crack down on cyberattackers, if not actually directing and supporting their activities, but that may be an oversimplification of the problem. Is it possible that global cybersecurity is so lacking that no one country can corral the rogues infiltrating government, corporate and personal data storehouses?

By now, those who toil in the information security industry must be thinking, "another day in cyberspace, another China-related hacking incident."

The latest case, revealed by researchers in the U.S. and Canada, was announced late Monday. Eight months of investigation have dragged a Web spy ring known as "Shadow" into the sunlight, but not before emails and personal information were stolen from the private and public sector in India -- including from its Defense Ministry -- along with the offices of the Dalai Lama, the United Nations and the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/The-Cybersecurity-Problem-Much-Bigger-Than-China-69711.html

Researchers Achieve Breakthrough With Towel-Folding Robot

Researchers at UC Berkeley have succeeded in bringing us one step closer to a Jetsons' lifestyle by developing software that enabled a robot to fold towels. That may not seem like a major feat, but it is -- figuring out what to do with an object it has never seen before is a breakthrough for a robot. What also made the accomplishment noteworthy was that PC advances allowed the team to work quickly and cheaply.

People can easily fold towels, but getting robots to do that has been a real challenge.

That's because the robot requires a complex combination of artificial intelligence, computer vision and machine learning in order to make an orderly stack from a jumbled pile of towels, doctoral student Jeremy Maitin-Shepard told TechNewsWorld.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Researchers-Achieve-Breakthrough-With-Towel-Folding-Robot-69715.html

MapQuest 4 Mobile Puts New Features on Map, but No Landmar

MapQuest 4 Mobile now features voice directions, something usually only found on full-featured navigation applications, not map apps. However, the voice cues aren't very specific. Other features like search-by-category and one-touch rerouting are nice, but they may not be enough to sway users who've grown accustomed to the iPhone's built-in Maps program.

MapQuest 4 Mobile, an application from AOL, is available for free at the App Store.

If an object is about the size of a small book or a deck of cards, and if it's not a piece of food, there's a good chance it may soon be rendered obsolete (or at least a little old-timey-looking) by a smartphone app. Book publishers already know they're about to see some strange days, and navigation device makers are already in misery. When Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) came out with its free Maps Navigation app for the Droid last fall, Garmin's (Nasdaq: GRMN) stock took a hit from which it's only recently recovered. That company and rivals like TomTom have gone to work making software for smartphones (and in some cases making disastrous smartphones of their own), so they seem to be aware that soon, fewer people will need a dedicated object used solely for the purpose finding their way around town.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/MapQuest-4-Mobile-Puts-New-Features-on-Map-but-No-Landmarks-69713.html

On SCO, Linux and What Will Happen When the exFAT Lady Sings

Is it possible that the bitter SCO saga is finally coming to an end? "It is not over until the fat lady sings," said blogger Robert Pogson. "The fat lady has not only sung, but left the building and is at the Denny's down the street," quipped Slashdot blogger hairyfeet. "All that is left is to carve up the corpse and call it a day."

Well it's been over a week since the landmark ruling came down in the Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) v. SCO case, but the reverberations are still being felt throughout the blogosphere.

On Slashdot, as well as on LinuxToday, and on Digg -- not just once, but twice) -- and beyond, the post-ruling ruminations just keep coming.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/On-SCO-Linux-and-What-Will-Happen-When-the-exFAT-Lady-Sings-69720.html

iPad App Devs Go Bug-Stomping

A significant number of applications available for the just-released Apple iPad seem to be rather buggy, and developers are scrambling to release updates to make their wares work correctly. This may be at least partially due, they say, to Apple's airtight secrecy regarding the iPad -- until the device was released, most developers had to write their apps using simulation software rather than an actual iPad.

Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) tight control over the release of the iPad may have been a brilliant way to build a buzz verging on hysteria about the tablet, but it was a buzz-kill for many developers.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/iPad-App-Devs-Go-Bug-Stomping-69725.html

6 Critical Technologies for Combating Targeted Attacks

Cybercriminals plotting targeted hack attacks can take their time becoming familiar with a company. They can perform network or physical reconnaissance. They may be present or former employees, or they may have access to the company's facilities every day through supply deliveries, consulting activities, maintenance services -- or just by pretending to be customers.

Hiring a professional penetration tester is often a humbling experience. Using a mix of simple social engineering and technology savvy, a professional is often able to expose dangerous security holes in an organization's IT infrastructure with ease. In a few days, a penetration tester can identify security vulnerabilities overlooked by the IT staff.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/6-Critical-Technologies-for-Combating-Targeted-Attacks-69719.html

Apple Gives iPhone a Touch of Multitasking Magic

Apple's new iPhone OS 4 will bring some long-awaited functionality to the device, including multitasking, drag and drop, and social gaming features. Although iPhone users will no doubt receive the update warmly, Apple is merely catching up with competitors that have been providing this type of functionality for some time, noted CCS Insight analyst John Jackson.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has introduced iPhone OS 4, the operating system for the next iteration of the iPhone and iPod touch. It sports more than 100 new features, said CEO Steve Jobs -- most notably the long-anticipated multitasking functionality that most other smartphones already provide to some degree.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Apple-Gives-iPhone-a-Touch-of-Multitasking-Magic-69730.html

HP's Memristor Tinkering Promises Big Things for Small Devices

HP's latest development in memristors -- resistors with memory -- could pave the way for a new generation of powerful yet small computer devices. Memristors are speedy, durable and high-capacity. "The technology has the potential to scale down to the molecular level, so it would certainly help us scale chips down to continue Moore's Law," said Yankee Group's Carl Howe.

HP (NYSE: HPQ) on Thursday announced that its research arm, HP Labs, has discovered that the "memristor" -- a resistor with memory -- can perform logic.

A circuit with 17 memristors

This could let data storage chips take over computation from specialized central processing units.

HP researchers have designed a new architecture that stacks multiple layers of memristor memory on top of each other in a single chip. Together with the taking over of computation from specialized CPUs, this could be used to create handheld devices with 10 times the memory of today's products, among other things.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/HPs-Memristor-Tinkering-Promises-Big-Things-for-Small-Devices-69722.html

Sony PS3 update bricks consoles

The latest PlayStation 3 update released by Sony is causing a barrage of complaints from users.

The 3.21 firmware upgrade, which amongst other things removes the “Install Other OS” feature, seems to be bricking some older consoles. Other users complain that the update doesn’t complete properly, that certain controllers no longer work, that Internet connectivity is slowed down to a snail’s pace, HDMI not working at some resolutions, and inability to connect to the PlayStation Network.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7949&tag=content;col1

Can Google get Buzz privacy right?

Google is reworking its privacy settings again for the oft-maligned Buzz social media/email aggregation tool. Primarily, the company is asking Buzz users to review their settings, who they’re following, who is following them, and who sees public versus private Buzz posts. I actually like Buzz, but don’t work in an environment where a lot of people are communicating in a more real-time social way. Email remains king at my day job. However, I have to wonder if Buzz was damaged beyond repair by its ill-fated launch.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=1937&tag=content;col1

iPad's A4 processor uncovered

The good folks at iFixithave partnered up with the reverse-engineering gurus at Chipworks to give us an inside view of Apple’s A4 processors as used in the iPad.

We now get to see Apple’s A4 CPU, X-rayed and uncovered.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7928&tag=content;col1

Design thinking: the next gen apps frontier?

A chance Tweet from my buddy Ray Wang got me thinking more about design thinking and next generation applications:

Very good discussion about the future of customer experience #CXP today. We can start w. design thinking. #SCRM#CRM

Before setting off on this excursion, a little contextual background. As an accountant by training but a social scientist by education I am often torn between the natural caution with which accounting types are imbued and the ‘edginess’ of exploring the possibilities of change in people that applied social science can bring. Accountants don’t respond well to change, are often rigid in their thinking and prefer an ordered existence. Social scientists live in change, operating within competing theories of behavior and whatever constitutes societal norms at points in time.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howlett/?p=1926&tag=content;col1

First Books, then Buzz, then Books again: Google gets sued

We haven’t heard much about the proposed Google Books settlement recently, but we do know that it’s largely tangled up in court. I know and communicate with quite a few authors frequently and they seem to be largely divided on the issue. Some think that the settlement as it stands now can have direct benefits for authors and the public; others fiercely oppose one more area in which Google is overstepping its bounds.

This morning, another group announced a class action lawsuit against Google over their book-scanning project: photographers. Although the proposed settlement with the Authors’ Guild covers the copy rights of the authors, it does not address those of the photographers or artists who made contributions to the books Google is attempting to scan.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=1943&tag=content;col1

Apple v. Microsoft and HP, round 2

Remember Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation? That case was a big deal back in 1994. The Mac OS and Windows were still in their infancy, and Apple lost decisively, with a Federal appellate court deciding that Microsoft had not infringed on Apple’s copyrighted “look and feel” of the Mac OS.

It was probably the single darkest hour in Apple’s history. Two years later, Steve Jobs returned to Apple, and a year after that Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple to keep it from going under.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1937&tag=content;col1

Shuttleworth: Maverick Meerkat 10.10 release will be lean, mean, social

Mark Shuttleworth says the next generation of Ubuntu — dubbed Maverick Meerkat — will be lean, mean and social.

In his blog posted Friday, the Ubuntu Linux founder said he is shooting for a “Perfect 10″ with the 10.10 release, which will follow the 10.04 “Lucid Lynx” Long Term Support release now in beta.

“Once we have released the LTS we have plenty of room to shake things up a little …. Meerkats are, of course, light, fast and social – everything we want in a Perfect 10. We’re booting really fast these days, but the final push remains. Changes in the toolchain may make us even faster for every application,” Shuttleworth penned in his blog.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=6193&tag=content;col1

TR Dojo: Cracking open the Apple iPad

At its heart, the Apple iPad may be a consumer device. But as we’ve seen with the iPhone, Apple’s consumer devices often find a way into the corporate IT environment. So if you’re going to be supporting the iPad, whether in the office or just for family and friends, knowing what’s inside the device can help. During this special edition of TR Dojo, Bill Detwiler cracks open the Apple iPad.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=32834&tag=wrapper;col1

Report: Bank of America ATM hacker to plead guilty

The IDG News Service is reporting that a Bank of America (BofA) computer specialist who designed and maintained computer systems — including those used in ATMs — will plead guilty to charges that he hacked the bank’s automated tellers to dispense cash without recording the activity.

From the report:

[Rodney Reed] Caverly was charged last week with one count of computer fraud for allegedly writing a malicious program that ran on Bank of America’s computers and ATMs, according to court filings. The documents say Caverly made more than the statutory minimum of US$5,000 from the scam, but they do not spell out the bank’s total losses. That number could come out when his plea is entered next week.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=6062&tag=wrapper;col1

Adobe PDF silent updater, critical patch coming next Tuesday

Adobe today announced plans to ship a critical security patch next Tuesday (April 13, 2010) to fix multiple high-risk security holes in its Reader and Acrobat product lines.

The patches will be released alongside a new automatic updater software that the company hopes will speed up the downloading and deployment of its security fixes. The security fixes in this Reader/Acrobat patch batch will apply to Windows, Macintosh and UNIX users.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=6075&tag=content;col1

MS Patch Tuesday heads-up: 25 holes in Windows, Office

Microsoft plans to release 11 security bulletins on Tuesday April 13, 2010 to fix 25 documented vulnerabilities that expose Windows users to remote code execution attacks.

Five of the 11 bulletins will be rated “critical,” Microsoft’s highest severity rating. The flaws affect all versions of Windows, including the company’s newest Windows 7 operating system.

The vulnerabilities will address security holes in Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Exchange, according to Jerry Bryant, a group manager in Redmond’s security response center.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=6070&tag=content;col1

iPhone OS 4.0 revealed with some major enterprise improvements

Apple revealed iPhone OS 4.0 today and most of what they announced was what was expected from them to compete with Google Android, Palm webOS, and Windows Phone 7. Actually, you can now enjoy some of what they announced with a jailbroken iPhone 3GS. The iPhone update 4.0 will be coming this Summer with full support for the iPhone 3GS and limited support for the 3G model and older iPod touch devices. iPad owners will have to wait until the Fall to get their OS 4.0 update. Apple showed off seven different things in the announcement today, but stated there are 100 so there is still much to be revealed in the 93 other new user features.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=3464&tag=content;col1

Dissecting Apple's iPhone 4.0's sources of 'me-too' inspiration

Apple launched its iPhone 4.0 OS today and the big news is that it now multitasks. Why didn’t I jump out of my chair? Because other mobile operating systems can do that. In fact, many of the iPhone 4.0 buzz revolves around technologies I vaguely recall elsewhere.

Let’s recap the highlights:

Multitasking: Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that the company wasn’t to the multitasking bandwagon first, but will be the best. In any case, Google Android, RIM’s BlackBerry, Nokia’s Symbian and Palm’s WebOS also do the multitasking shuffle.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=32892&tag=wrapper;col1

Report: Android fragmentation could harm growth

Google's Android operating system may be a victim of its own success.

More than 6 million handsets shipped in 2009 using Google's Android software. And the forecast in 2010 is that this figure will triple with shipments possibly topping out at 20 million this year. But a new study from IMS Research indicates that the rapid pace of Android's growth could cause more fragmentation, which could ultimately harm Android's potential as a leading smartphone operating system.

The problem is that in going from the 1.5 version of the software to 2.1, Google has released four different versions of the software, which are incompatible with each other.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20002019-266.html

An Apple launch that thought differently

Eager iPad owners in San Francisco: They're not paying attention to that bottle of wine!

(Credit: Maya Baratz)

SAN FRANCISCO--Even the raspberry cream eggs were getting ignored.

At one Easter dinner party on Sunday night, a gathering of single and coupled adults with an average age of about 30, the real centerpiece wasn't the vase of lavender tulips that one person had arranged on the table or the glut of various pastel-colored marshmallow-cream confections that were passed around. It was, instead, a trio of brand-new Apple iPads that three separate guests had brought, eager to show off the glowing slates to the others in attendance. At least one of them had shown up in line at an Apple Store at six o'clock the prior morning to ensure that he could have it.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20001966-36.html

HP research could yield faster, more powerful PCs

A new discovery by HP could lead to faster, more powerful computers and other devices in the near future.

Hewlett-Packard's HP Labs research branch has discovered that the memristor, a new electric circuit developed by HP in 2008, has far greater potential than initially thought, the company announced on Thursday.

Previously seen mostly as a new type of storage similar to flash memory, HP found that the memristor can also perform its own logic. Such a discovery can pave the way for chips that can both perform calculations and hold data, potentially eliminating the need for a traditional core CPU.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-20002029-76.html

Report: Google testing desktop Google Voice

Google continues to evolve its Google Voice product, with reports it's testing a desktop-based version inside the Googleplex.

TechCrunch says that Google has been internally testing a desktop Google Voice application this week, the fruits of its acquisition of Gizmo5 last year. This would allow Google Voice users to treat their PC or Mac like a phone, bypassing the current requirement that Google Voice service be connected to a phone.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20002022-265.html

Wi-LAN sues everybody over Bluetooth

A small Canadian wireless company is threatening to take a huge chunk of the technology industry to court.

Ottawa-based Wi-LAN, which patents wireless products, is suing around 18 of the tech industry's largest players over what it claims are patent violations of Bluetooth technology. More specifically, Wi-LAN is alleging that these companies--which include Acer, Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Motorola, Sony, and Toshiba--have all infringed on one of its U.S. patents for selling PCs and mobile phones equipped with Bluetooth.

Announced Thursday, the suit claims a violation of Wi-LAN's U.S. Patent No. 5,515,369. Issued in 1996, the patent covers a "method for frequency sharing and frequency punchout in frequency hopping communications network."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20002015-94.html

The cloud--it's not for control freaks

Moving server software to the cloud has a lot of advantages. A company no longer has to worry about patches, deploying upgrades, and an number of other concerns.

But it also has one big downside--one that many CIOs are still struggling with--a the loss of control.

"They do lose control, when they move to a cloud-based service, of some things," Microsoft Senior Vice President Chris Capossela said during a lunch meeting on Wednesday. "They lose control of when things get updates. They lose control of saying 'no' to some new thing."

Capossela

(Credit: Microsoft)

Capossela acknowledged that many technology executives, even those who are shifting work to the cloud, see it as a mixed bag.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20001983-56.html

Microsoft to fix 25 holes in Windows, Office, Exchange

Microsoft will issue 11 security bulletins in next week's Patch Tuesday to fix 25 vulnerabilities in Windows, Microsoft Office, and Exchange, including two holes for which exploit code is in the wild.

Five of the bulletins address critical vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to take control of the computer, five are rated important, and one is rated moderate.

With the updates, Microsoft will be closing two outstanding security advisories that have been worrisome because code to exploit the vulnerabilities is available publicly.

One of the advisories is 981169, which involves a vulnerability in VBScript that could allow the remote execution of code and a complete takeover of the system. Disclosed on March 1, it affects older versions of Windows running Internet Explorer.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20002053-245.html

Yahoo eyes ex-Microsoft exec for top product job

According to numerous sources, Yahoo has been seriously courting former Microsoft exec Blake Irving to take over as one of its key execs, running its product organization and essentially becoming the Internet "visionary" many think the company lacks.

While it is unclear if Irving has agreed to take the job, sources said Yahoo management was keen on him working there.

Blake Irving

(Credit: Microsoft )

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment when BoomTown asked about its discussions with Irving about the job.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20002040-93.html

Iowa, Texas tops in wind power effort

Iowa and Texas lead the nation in wind energy efforts, according to the annual report released Thursday from the American Wind Energy Association.

Iowa claims the title for the state with the largest percentage of electricity from wind energy. As of the end of 2009, over 14 percent of Iowa's power was from wind energy.

And while the large state of Texas may still only get a modest percentage of its power from wind energy, it actually has the most wind power capacity of any U.S. state. Texas is also home to the largest wind farm in the U.S.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20002035-54.html

Adobe to launch updater service next week

Adobe will release its latest security updates for Reader and Acrobat on Tuesday via a new update system it has been testing the past six months, the company said on Thursday.

The Adobe updates will coincide with April's Patch Tuesday during which Microsoft will fix 25 vulnerabilities, including two for which exploit code has been released in the wild.

On Tuesday, Adobe will activate its updater technology for all users of Adobe Reader and Acrobat and use it to deliver the updates to resolve critical security issues, details of which were not disclosed in its security advisory.

The updates affect Adobe Reader 9.3.1 for Windows, Mac, and Unix, Acrobat 9.3.1 for Windows and Mac, and Reader 8.2.1 and Acrobat 8.2.1 for Windows and Mac.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20002045-245.html

Apple's Game Center isn't worrying game networks

Gamers who use Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch, and now the iPad are likely to be looking forward to Apple's "Game Center" network, which was announced among the other updates as part of iPhone OS 4.0. But what about the companies that are running existing social networks for the platform?

It's not the end of the world, apparently.

Ngmoco, maker of popular game titles such as Rolando, We Rule, and Touch Pets, also created the Plus+ social network. It's built in to all of its own titles, as well as a select group of games from other developers. Ngmoco's chief publishing officer, Simon Jeffrey, told CNET that the company "has anticipated this move from Apple for some time," and that it should bring a "cleaner developer and consumer experience."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20002083-248.html

FCC pushes forward with broadband agenda

The Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with its National Broadband Plan despite an appeals court decision earlier this week that called into question the agency's authority over regulating the Internet.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Thursday issued a statement that said the court's decision "does not change our broadband policy goals, or the ultimate authority of the FCC to act to achieve those goals.The court did not question the FCC's goals; it merely invalidated one technical, legal mechanism for broadband policy chosen by prior commissions."

The agency plans to start addressing items from its plan as soon as its next open meeting on April 21. The first two items to be considered are reforms to the Universal Service Fund as well as an examination of competition in the cable set-top box market.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20002076-266.html

NASA unveils sweeping new programs

ne week before President Obama is scheduled to attend a major "space summit" in Florida, NASA unveiled sweeping new programs Thursday designed to implement the administration's proposed shift to commercial manned rockets and development of new technologies to enable eventual deep space exploration.

The president's fiscal 2011 budget request, which would cancel the Bush administration's Constellation moon program, does not specify a long-range target for manned exploration or a timetable for moving beyond low-Earth orbit, factors that have generated widespread criticism.

But NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander, defended the agency's new direction Thursday, saying the president's controversial "vision" is, unlike past programs, affordable and sustainable.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-20002088-239.html

U.K. embraces 'three strikes' for illegal file sharing

The U.K.'s House of Commons overwhelmingly voted in favor of creating a law that would enable copyright owners to seek the suspension of Internet service of those accused multiple times of illegal file sharing.

The House of Commons voted 189 to 47 to pass the Digital Economy Bill, which also seeks to give the country's government the authority to block access to Web sites suspected of engaging in pirated material, according to British publication The Telegraph.

The bill still needs to go back to the House of Lords, which is nothing more than a formality since that's where it originated.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20002018-261.html

Apple strikes back at Google with iAd

Can Apple really out-Google Google?

The growing rancor between Apple and Google has been generally fed by Google's attempt to outdo Apple's iPhone with its Android software. But now Apple is taking aim at Google's bread-and-butter--online advertising--with plans to introduce a mobile advertising platform called iAd along with the release of the iPhone OS 4.0 software later this summer.

Apple's strategy is to give iPhone developers and corporate marketers a way to incorporate sophisticated and compelling ads in iPhone applications by essentially allowing them to build an application within an application. CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated several ads created using iAd, such as an ad for the upcoming Pixar film "Toy Story 3" that included trailers, games, and other content that could be accessed from a portion of the screen at the bottom of an application.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20002079-265.html

iPhone OS 4.0 Brings Multitasking, Ad Framework For Apps

"Apple had an event today to show off the next major update to the iPhone OS. iPhone OS 4.0 should arrive this summer (presumably with a new iPhone) for iPhone and iPod Touch, and in the fall for the iPad. According to Apple the update has more than 1,500 new APIs and 100 new features including the sorely missed multitasking. Other highlights include unified inbox, improved security, support for multiple Exchange accounts, application folders, iBooks, and iAd, an advertising framework for developers to put ads in their applications. The official word from Steve on Flash and Java remains a simple 'No.'"

Updated 20100408 22:09 GMT by timothy: Read on for more information, including some bad news if you want to program for the iPhone in C# or Flash CS5. alphadogg points out some what he calls surprise capabilities targeted at enterprise users and IT departments, including e-mail encryption and "mobile device management."

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/04/08/2122254/iPhone-OS-40-Brings-Multitasking-Ad-Framework-For-Apps

GNOME 2.30, End of the (2.x) Line

"GNOME 2.30 was originally intended to coincide with GNOME 3.0 — a massive cleanup and rethinking of the popular desktop. However, GNOME 3.0 is delayed for at least another release, which leaves GNOME 2.30 as most likely the last version in a series stretching back almost a decade. [...] 2.30 will probably be the final version of the 2.0 series. For those who were around for GNOME 2.0 back in 2000, the 2.30 release stands as evidence of how far GNOME in general and the free desktop in particular have come in the last decade in usability and design. If you do a search for images of early GNOME releases and compare the results with 2.30, you can have no doubt that, although GNOME sometimes tends to over-simplify, its improvements over the last decade remain unmistakable."

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/04/08/2236241/GNOME-230-End-of-the-2x-Line

Microsoft's CoApp To Help OSS Development, Deployment

"Microsoft employee Garrett Serack announces he has received the green light to work full time on CoApp, an .msi-based package management system aiming to bring a wholly native toolchain for OSS development and deployment. This will hopefully bring more open source software on Windows, which will conversely bring OSS more users, testers and developers. Serack is following the comments at Ars Technica, so he might also follow them here. The launchpad project is already up."

http://developers.slashdot.org/story/10/04/08/2343205/Microsofts-CoApp-To-Help-OSS-Development-Deployment

DIY 80GB iPod Touch

"Having recently acquired an iPod Touch, DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum soon found himself with an 80GB iPod paperweight knocking around and collecting dust. Then it hit him: why not use a Pogoplug as an iPod server, effectively filling his nifty new iPod Touch with 80GB of music whenever he has WiFi access? The how-to article at DeviceGuru.com explains how a Pogoplug and iPod Touch combined with free web services at pogoplug.com combine to form the 'PogoPod System.' It also introduces the Pogoplug's new UPnP support, and briefly reviews a couple of UPnP media-rendering iPhone and iPod Touch apps."

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/04/09/011215/DIY-80GB-iPod-Touch

The Economist Weighs In For Shorter Copyright Terms

"The Economist says that long copyright terms are hindering creativity, and that shortening them is the way to go: 'Largely thanks to the entertainment industry's lawyers and lobbyists, copyright's scope and duration have vastly increased. In America, copyright holders get 95 years' protection as a result of an extension granted in 1998, derided by critics as the 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act'. They are now calling for even greater protection, and there have been efforts to introduce similar terms in Europe. Such arguments should be resisted: it is time to tip the balance back.'"

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/04/09/0444221/The-Economist-Weighs-In-For-Shorter-Copyright-Terms