U.S. weighing China Internet censorship case

The United States is studying whether it can legally challenge Chinese Internet restrictions that hurt Google and other U.S. companies operating in China, but direct talks with Beijing might yield faster results, the top U.S. trade official has said.

Via Reuters

BT boss hits out at government's online piracy plans

The boss of BT has criticised the government's plans to cut-off persistent illegal file-sharers from their internet accounts, suggesting that fining them would be a far more progressive option. British Telecom's chief exec, Ian Livingston, has teamed up with a number of other key industry figures and written a letter to the Financial Times urging that changes be made to the Digital Economy Bill.

Via Techradar

Google Maps to add bike maps, directions

Google Maps is set to provide a new option for getting around town: biking directions. The company plans to unveil what it called "the most requested addition to Google Maps" during the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. Google Maps users looking for directions between two points will now have the option of selecting "bicycling" from the current drop-down menu that lets you customize a journey with walking, driving, or public transportation options.

Via CNET

EFF knocks iPhone developer license agreement

The Electronic Frontier Foundation obtained a copy of Apple's iPhone developer license agreement and posted the 28-page document on its Web site, listing what it describes as "a few troubling highlights" from the agreement.. In order to be eligible to sell an application on Apple's App Store, for example, developers must agree to the license agreement, part of which forbids public statements about the agreement. That explains why we haven't seen copies of the agreement or much discussion about it online.

Via CNET

McAfee: A million 'scareware' victims a day

If you've ever seen a message pop up on your computer telling you that your machine has a virus and offering to fix it for a fee, be careful. You might be a victim of "scareware." If so you will be in good company. Security firm McAfee that says that worldwide a million people are victimized by scareware daily. There are 69,000 daily cases in the United States, according to the company.

Via CNET

Martin Jetpack priced at $86,000, mere mortals will soon be able to buy one too

Tired of the limited legroom, bad food, and worse movies you have to put up with during a flight? Well, it's time to bust out your company credit card and get yourself a Martin Jetpack, which has just become the first commercially available jetpack. Driven by a pair of washing machine-sized fans strapped to your back, this personal transporter will give you a pretty cool 30 minutes of flight time and comes with a bunch of redundancy systems to ensure any mistakes don't turn fatal.

Via Engadget