Tue, 04/08/2009
Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple board over 'conflicts of interest'
Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, has resigned from the board of Apple with immediate effect due to increasing conflicts of interest as competition between the two companies grows. His resignation after three years on the board of the Cupertino-based company comes after the US government announced in May that it was beginning an antitrust investigation into the interlocking directorships between Apple and Google. At the time not only Schmidt but also Arthur Levinson, formerly of Genentech, sat on both boards of the enormously powerful companies. Levinson remains on the board of Google at present.
Guardian Article
Reuters Article
Ofcom seeks end to delay in moving mobile numbers
Consumers will have to wait at least two years before they can move their mobile phone numbers between service providers almost instantaneously. Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, yesterday sought to revive its stalled efforts to cut the time it takes for mobile users to transfer their phone numbers when changing networks - a process that takes two days.The regulator proposed a two-hour process in November 2007 and said it should take effect by September this year. However, Vodafone, supported by other large mobile network operators, challenged Ofcom's proposal, and the Competition Appeal Tribunal struck down the regulator's plans last September.
FT Article
INQ unveils handsets with Twitter and iTunes sync built in
Mobile phone maker INQ is to follow its first award-winning eponymous mobile phone with two new handsets for the Christmas market. In addition to features the company hopes will appeal to buyers, the new phones will allow users to sync their phones with their iTunes or Windows music players through a deal with San Francisco-based startup DoubleTwist, founded by one of the internet's best-known hackers.
Guardian Article
Spying on your email
Government plans to outsource official spying, forcing communication service providers like BT to retain personal communications data – records of all phonecalls, emails, texts and internet connections – have been severely criticised by the industry expected to do ministers dirty work for them. In a submission to the Home Office as part of a public consultation, internet firms have candidly labelled the plans as "an unwarranted intrusion into people's privacy" and have suggested people were deceived about the extent of the government's ambitions to monitor the country's communications data. According to the Sunday Times, the London Internet Exchange which represents 330 firms including BT, Virgin, and Carphone Warehouse, says that the proposals are deceptive. "We view the description of the government's proposals as 'maintaining' the capability as disingenuous: the volume of data the government now proposes [we] should collect and retain will be unprecedented, as is the overall intrusion into then privacy of the citizenry."
Guardian Article
Government plans to outsource official spying, forcing communication service providers like BT to retain personal communications data – records of all phonecalls, emails, texts and internet connections – have been severely criticised by the industry expected to do ministers dirty work for them. In a submission to the Home Office as part of a public consultation, internet firms have candidly labelled the plans as "an unwarranted intrusion into people's privacy" and have suggested people were deceived about the extent of the government's ambitions to monitor the country's communications data. According to the Sunday Times, the London Internet Exchange which represents 330 firms including BT, Virgin, and Carphone Warehouse, says that the proposals are deceptive. "We view the description of the government's proposals as 'maintaining' the capability as disingenuous: the volume of data the government now proposes [we] should collect and retain will be unprecedented, as is the overall intrusion into then privacy of the citizenry."
Guardian Article
Global Chip Sales Climbed in June, Hinting at Upturn
Global chip sales rose sequentially for the fourth consecutive month in June, helping put the second quarter's figure 17% above the first's moribund level. But the $17.2 billion for June and $44.2 billion for the quarter each were down 20% from a year earlier, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, highlighting the mountain the industry must climb to get back to prior-year levels.
WSJ Article
Global chip sales rose sequentially for the fourth consecutive month in June, helping put the second quarter's figure 17% above the first's moribund level. But the $17.2 billion for June and $44.2 billion for the quarter each were down 20% from a year earlier, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, highlighting the mountain the industry must climb to get back to prior-year levels.
WSJ Article
Teens react to online warnings
A group of teenagers have reacted to warnings that using sites like Facebook, Bebo and Myspace can leave them traumatised. The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, says the sites encourage users to value the number rather than quality of friends they have. He’s worried this makes people get too many temporary friends instead of real, genuine ones.
BBC Article
A group of teenagers have reacted to warnings that using sites like Facebook, Bebo and Myspace can leave them traumatised. The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, says the sites encourage users to value the number rather than quality of friends they have. He’s worried this makes people get too many temporary friends instead of real, genuine ones.
BBC Article
