Government & Regulation

Those looking for an ulterior motive in Microsoft's big Open Source push should look no further than its Yahoo takeover bid --- some believe that may be the real reason for the company seeing the light.

It's happening. Governments are getting involved in Internet censorship, and that can't be good.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Microsoft pledges openness, love, and harmony. Not to mention pranking Bob Dylan...

Gregg Keizer reports:

Microsoft Corp. today made public more than 30,000 pages of documentation for Windows protocols and APIs ... one of several changes in how it deals with open-source developers and software rivals. Calling the four steps "interoperability principles," Microsoft promised to make it easier and cheaper for developers to create software that works smoothly with its highest-profile and most-current products ...

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- The airline industry is building costly infrastructure to enable in-flight Wi-Fi. There's just one problem: What if the FAA bans laptop batteries in carry-on luggage? We're one laptop fire away from a total ban. Here's how bad exploding laptops are, courtesy of YouTube.

You and IT Blogwatch (in a little toy shop): in which Google may (or may not) buy a bag of wireless data balloons (with the money it's got). Not to mention setting them free (at the break of dawn)...

Amol Sharma flashes the message, "Something's out there":

Space Data Corp. ... wants to bring wireless service to millions of rural Americans ... [by] beaming it down from balloons hovering at the edge of space ... [it] already launches 10 balloons a day across the Southern U.S., providing specialized telecom services ... balloons soar 20 miles into the stratosphere, each carrying a shoebox-size ... cellphone "tower" covering thousands of square miles below ...

There's a lot more to being a green IT organization than just cutting data center power. While the profile of Discovery Communications that ran in Computerworld's ranking of green IT operations mostly covered data centers, the entertainment company's commitment goes well beyond that. It conserves water, encourages a culture of reuse, recycling, and energy efficiency.

An investigation by the U.K.'s National Consumer Council has recommended that Microsoft and 16 other software companies be investigated for unfair practices related to End User License Agreements (EULAs). The investigation found that as a result of the way the EULA are designed and written, consumers agree to unfair terms, and sign away their legal rights without realizing it.

Yahoo's Chinese partner, Alibaba Group, may try to block Microsoft's hostile takeover of Yahoo, according to Reuters and a report in the Wall Street Journal. By itself, that won't block the buyout, but it certainly could force Microsoft to hand over more cash.

Has Verizon decided that copyright infringement will help its bottom line? That's what Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president for public affairs, seems to imply in an interview with the New York Times.

Blackberry outage is exceeded by lack of humility.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which the near-dead SCO celebrates a lifesaving offer of $100 million. Not to mention mainstream virtualization...

Todd R. Weiss reports:

Five months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a reorganization effort last September, The SCO Group Inc. today unveiled a potential $100 million cash infusion ... from Stephen Norris & Co. Capital Partners L.P. (SNCP) and partners in the Middle East ...

A digital Day of Reckoning is approaching, especially in government. Its arrival may be facilitated by a hurricane, or maybe a terrorist attack, a flu pandemic or even a series of simple retirements. We ain't the Krell

Heir ist das IT Blogwatch: in which Intel gets raided by the Euro-feds. Not to mention what goes on inside Mathieu's cellphone...

Agam Shah reports:

Intel offices in Munich were raided by the European Commission today as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation ... The offices of German consumer electronics vendor Media Markt and DSG International, which runs retail electronics chain Dixons in the U.K., were also raided ...

One of the oldest privacy principles -- that personal info collected for one purpose shouldn't be used for another purpose -- is going down in flames.

The big French bank took a $7 billion loss last month because of a rogue trader who knew how to get around systems designed to catch bad behavior -- and knew that managers wouldn't stop him.