Microsoft-Yahoo: Antitrust Hurdles Loom

Don't expect the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal to sail through a regulatory review, says BusinessWeek. Sure, it's tempting to think Justice Dept. officials won't quibble much over a deal aimed at helping two struggling companies get a leg up against a market-leading competitor. That's essentially the line taken by executives at Microsoft and Yahoo! to explain why their 10-year pact shouldn't be held up by an antitrust review. But legal experts say the deal is no slam dunk-especially with a new team of regulators in Washington eager to flex their antitrust muscles. Some lawyers and former regulators say the deal may even be quashed, or at least be subjected to revisions, before getting a green light.

Businessweek Article

MSN Video to take on iPlayer and Hulu in UK

Microsoft is to launch a free full length video service in the UK to compete alongside the likes of the BBC iPlayer and Hulu - with MSN Video Player offering full series of the likes of The Young Ones and Peep Show. The company is keen to point out that this is a 'pilot' scheme which will be used to gauge the popularity of the service, but may look to extend the service onto other platforms - like the Xbox - if it proves a success, as well as into other countries.

Techradar Article

File sharers leak government secrets

Sensitive files including Secret Service safehouse locations, military rosters, and IRS tax returns can still be found on file-sharing networks, according to a report issued to a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday. In many cases, that's because federal government employees or contractors installed peer-to-peer software on their computers without paying attention to which documents would be shared.

ZDNet Article

DRM for news? Inside the AP's plan to "wrap" its content

The Associated Press last week rolled out its new plan to "apply protective format to news." The AP's news registry will "tag and track all AP content online to assure compliance with terms of use," and it will provide a "platform for protect, point, and pay." But how will this work?

Ars Technica Article

When the chips are down

For the past 40 years, the whole of modern electronics - not just computers, but games consoles, mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, personal video recorders and so on - has been driven by Moore's law: the observation in 1965 by Intel's co-founder Gordon Moore that manufacturers can put roughly twice as many transistors on a chip every two years. This has produced a stream of smaller, faster and cheaper chips, advancing at an exponential rate. But Moore's law could soon come to an end. And not because, as frequently predicted, we've run into insurmountable technical problems - but because chip factories cost too much to build.

Guardian Article

Trafalgar Square plinth becomes surprise web hit for Sky Arts

Sky Arts' live online coverage of Antony Gormley's One & Other project in London's Trafalgar Square has clocked up more than 400,000 unique visitors in the past three weeks - a huge number for an arts project. Since 6 July, when members of the public began spending an hour each on the square's fourth plinth, the One & Other website has attracted more than 658,000 visits. The site, which offers a round-the-clock live stream of proceedings, highlights of previous "plinthers" and information about those taking part, has racked up a total of 2.9m page views and 658,000 visits, with 407,000 unique visitors. One & Other has caught the public imagination, with 29,255 people applying for one of the 2,400 places on the plinth in the corner of the square. A mix of weird and wonderful individuals have taken part, including charity campaigners, town criers and even a stripper.

Guardian Article