Watchdogs: FCC's b-band
estimates are way off
One of new Federal Communications Commission chair Kevin
Martin’s goals is to expand the use of broadband internet, but it may
take longer than originally reported. Last month, the FCC released a
report saying broadband use was growing extensively in the U.S., but Free
Press, the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union said
yesterday the report is misleading. The report said: "At the
end of 2004, the service providers that report to the Commission had at
least one high-speed service subscriber in 95% of the nation’s zip
codes. Our analysis indicates that 99% of the country’s population lives
in these zip codes" But the watchdog groups say the FCC overestimated
broadband use by listing each zip code covered by the service, even if
only one person in that zip code was a user. They say the FCC’s 200
kilobits per second definition of broadband is barely fast enough for
streaming video and well below what other countries consider high-speed.
AOL
wins $13 million decision against spammer
Microsoft isn’t the only company winning money from spammers.
America Online was awarded $13 million yesterday in a case against a
well-known spam gang, just two days after Microsoft was awarded $7 million
in a separate settlement. AOL received gold, cash, property and a
Hummer H2 from two defendents, 20-year-old Braden M. Bourneval of New
Hampshire and Davis Wolfgang Hawke. Hawke, a rumored neo-Nazi sympathist,
is still at large. Curtis Lu, AOL's deputy general counsel, said he hopes
the CAN-SPAM law under which AOL won its money will discourage other spam
senders, saying there are only a few spammers responsible for the much of
the junk mail annoying computer users.
Hitwise: Google's share
of search market went up
There’s a reason why Googled is a well-known
verb. Since the company’s IPO 15 months ago, Google has bettered its position as the internet's leading search
engine. Hitwise, an internet
research firm, released data yesterday
showing that Google was used for 59.2 percent of searches across all major engines in July, a 14 percent increase from last year.
Yahoo Search and MSN Search followed behind Google, with 28.8 percent and 5.5 percent shares, respectively. But Yahoo still leads in
local searches at local.yahoo.com, where the visits were 4.4 times greater
than hits at Google’s local section. But Google Local’s market share gained 61 percent between February and July, while Yahoo Local grew only 14 percent.
Microsoft starts new royalty policy for Xbox 360
Microsoft is making it tougher
for third-party companies to create and sell accessories for its
upcoming Xbox 360 video game console. From now on only manufacturers
with Microsoft's approval that agree to pay a portion of profits
will be allowed to produce controllers and other accessories under the
company's new royalty policy. Further, Microsoft is including a security
mechanism on the new Xbox that can only be bypassed by those
who sign a deal with the company. Piracy and generic copycats kept
Microsoft from profiting from previous Xbox versions, which is apparently
behind the new policy.
U. of Florida coach's
playbook for sale on eBay
If
you're sick of your local high school football team's dated wishbone and
full-house offensive formations, you may want to send the coach to eBay.
There he will find an offensive playbook based on plays run last year by
new University of Florida coach Urban Meyer, whose Utah team finished
third in the NCAA in total offense. A high school coach who bought films
from last year’s Utah team and translated the plays he saw onto paper
apparently put the book together. The first copy, with about 60 of Meyer's
plays, sold for $170.
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