internet - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Hotmail users get hot under the collar after upgrade

  Some users are hot at Microsoft over snafus in the new Hotmail that have locked them out of their accounts, blocked them from viewing mail or kept them from accessing contacts.

• South Korean police raid Google's office over Street View

  South Korean police on Tuesday raided Google offices in an investigation of the company's Street View mapping project, the latest instance of a country scrutinizing the company's collection of Wi-Fi data

• Google improves Gmail contacts manager

  Google will roll out on Tuesday enhancements to Gmail's contacts manager, which the company acknowledges has been traditionally the webmail service's weakest link.

• MTV gets its first Twitter Deejay

  Remember when MTV debuted in 1981 with VJs, the on-air music equivalent of record-spinning deejays?

• Topix to stop charging for fast review of troll complaints

  News and discussion website Topix.com has agreed to stop charging users US$19.99 to expedite the review of abusive or inappropriate posts, after 34 state attorneys general complained about the practice.

• Google, Verizon make net neutrality proposal

  Google and Verizon Communications have released a proposal that would give the U.S. Federal Communications Commission limited power to enforce network neutrality rules, including levying fines up to US$2 million for violations by broadband providers.

• Google confirms Slide acquisition

  Google on Friday confirmed that it has acquired Slide, an online entertainment company focused on virtual communities.

• Google: 129 million different books have been published

  For those who have ever wondered how many different books are out there in the world, Google has an answer for you: 129,864,880, according to Leonid Taycher, a Google software engineer who works on the Google Books project.

• Google's march toward social networking

  Google this week confirmed its acquisition of online entertainment company Slide. The purchase rehashed speculation that the search giant is interested in working its way into social media, possibly with a game-centered service called Google Me."

• The recent history of governments vs. the Internet

  "Information wants to be free," the saying goes. But what if the information in question consists of state secrets, copyrighted material or is simply something a government doesn't want its citizens to see?

• Google Wave: Promised a tsunami, delivered a ripple

  Google has pulled the plug on Google Wave. The communication and collaboration tool promised to revolutionize communication--with Google arrogantly asserting that Wave would supersede e-mail the same way the computer made the typewriter obsolete once upon a time. Unfortunately, nobody really understood what to do with Wave, and Google never gave any useful guidance to clarify it.

• Net neutrality deal may not see wider support

  A potential deal between Google and Verizon Communications on network neutrality may not carry much weight with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which has been trying to broker its own deal in recent weeks.

• Google denies talks with Verizon to end net neutrality

  Google today denied reports that it is in talks with Verizon for a deal that could undermine net neutrality.

• US FCC calls off net neutrality negotiations

  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has called off negotiations on a network neutrality compromise scheduled for the coming days, saying the talks have not been fruitful enough.

• Baidu looks to expand overseas

  Baidu, China's largest search engine, is looking to expand its business overseas and is preparing to invest internationally, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.