Michigan spam king Alan Ralsky, his son-in-law and nine others have been indicted in Detroit on charges of violating federal anti-spam laws. The 41-count indictment said Ralsky, his son-in-law, Scott Bradley, 46, of West Bloomfield, and others used unsolicited e-mail to pump up the price of largely worthless stock in Chinese companies and sold the stock reaping huge profits and leaving Internet subscribers who purchased it holding the bag
Google Reader Begins Sharing Private Data
One week ago Google Reader’s team decided to begin showing your private data to all your GMail contacts. No need to opt-in, no way to opt-out. Complaints haven’t been answered. Some users share their problems, including one family who says they won’t be able to enjoy this Christmas because of this feature
. You can check a summary of complaints or browse the whole thread in Google Groups — via Slashdot
Shareaza.com, the home of the hugely popular Shareaza multi-network sharing application, has been hijacked by scammers. Unsuspected visitors to the site will be completely unaware that they will be tricked into downloading something that isn’t Shareaza at all, but subscription-based malware infected software instead
Optus has responded to criticism of the move, saying that if a customer wants to avoid paying excess fees they can choose to limit their usage
. Optus provides a set of tools to help customers manage their data usage including data usage alerts via SMS to their mobile phone free of charge, email notifications and access via the web any time
, said an Optus spokesperson.New Optus Fusion customers could be stung by up to $300 in excess usage fees from today, and Optus subsidiary Virgin Broadband has also increased its Broadband at Home
pricing. Optus Fusion plans were previously a no more to pay
broadband deal, as they were shaped to slower speeds once the allowance of 2GB, 7GB or 20GB was reached
They’re coming and it will be difficult to get away without having one. Google Profiles will be integrated in most Google services so you have a coherent identity and a simple way to manage your contacts
Google appears to be reinventing Wikipedia with their new product that they call knol (not yet publicly available). In an attempt to gather human knowledge, Google will accept articles from users who will be credited with the article by name. If they want, they can allow ads to appear alongside the content and they will be getting a share of the profits if that’s the case. Other users will be allowed to rate, edit or comment on the articles. The content does not have to be exclusive to Google but no mention is made on any license for it — via Slashdot
The Hunter’s rapidly-growing boutique brewery, Bluetongue, has been snapped up by the giant global drinks company Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA). The Bluetongue brewery was launched in 2003, with assistance from the New South Wales Government’s Hunter Advantage Fund. The Cameron Park facility now employs 47 people. CCA spokeswoman Sally Loane says the local workforce can be assured there are only plans to grow the business
SixApart tonight announced the sale of journal/blogging service Livejournal to Russia-based SUP. Original LJ founder Brad Fitzpatrick has chimed in on the situation: This is pretty cool because — They’re ridiculously excited about LiveJournal, and have been for awhile (they previous purchased advertising rights in Russia, but ended up doing a bunch of Russia-specific LJ development as well). They want to throw a lot of resources at LiveJournal in terms of product development and engineers. ‘LiveJournal.com, Inc’ now stands alone again, focusing on nothing but LJ. Sounds like I’ll have more LJ influence (via new role as advisory board member) than I’ve had recently
— via Slashdot
As if DRM needed more of a hint to get its coat and leave, Amazon is set to announce a promotional giveaway of one billion MP3s during next year’s Super Bowl. Billboard was first to note that this announcement signals an all-out offensive on DRM, which is made even more powerful by parallel pressures brought by Wal-Mart. In a bid for more of the digital download space, the brick-and-mortar retailer heavyweight has reportedly given an ultimatum to some of the largest record labels, including Warner Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, to provide more of their respective music catalogues in MP3 format (that is, without DRM) next year
Google is preparing a service that would let users store on its computers essentially all of the files they might keep on their personal-computer hard drives — such as word-processing documents, digital music, video clips and images, say people familiar with the matter. The service could let users access their files via the Internet from different computers and mobile devices when they sign on with a password and share them online with friends. It could be released as early as a few months from now
Google today announced a new strategic initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal. The newly created initiative, known as RE<C, will focus initially on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies. In 2008, Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related investments in renewable energy
Google Israel gave up the IP address of a Blogger user without being compelled to do so by a court. A preliminary ruling was issued in which a court indicated that the slander the blogger was accused of probably rose to the level of a criminal violation. Google Israel then made a deal with the plaintiffs, local city councilmen whom the blogger had been attacking for a year. Google disclosed the IP address only to the court, which posted a message (Google says the anonymous blogger got it) inviting him/her to contest the ruling anonymously. When no response was received within three days, Google turned over the IP address to the plaintiffs’ lawyers — via Slashdot
Federal prosecutors tried unsuccessfully to force Amazon.com to identify thousands of innocent customers who bought books online, then abandoned the idea after a judge rebuked them. In an order that was sealed but has now become public, US District Judge Stephen Crocker rejected the Justice Department’s subpoena for details on Amazon’s customers and their purchasing habits. Prosecutors had claimed the details would help them prove their case against a former Madison, Wisconsin, city official charged with tax evasion related to selling used books through Amazon
An unconfirmed rumour claims that LinkedIn is in talks with media giant News Corporation over a possible buyout in January 2008
Google is undergoing an investigation by the European Union for its $3.1 billion acquisition of internet advertiser DoubleClick. The United States’ Federal Trade Commission has been reviewing the acquisition since May
The Google Phone has arrived, sort of, but not in the long-rumoured embodiment that many had expected. Google announced this morning that it has developed a new mobile OS called Android
— a result of its acquisition of a mobile software company of the same name in 2005 — that will allow the company to get Google’s mobile apps into as many hands as possible starting in mid-2008. Android is Linux-based and open source, and aspects of the platform will be made available to handset manufacturers for free under the Apache license
The University of Oregon has filed a motion to quash the RIAA’s subpoena for information on student identities in what is believed to be the first such motion made by a university with support from the state Attorney General. The motion explains that it is impossible to identify the alleged infringers from the information the RIAA has presented
MSNBC.com is diving into citizen journalism and social media by acquiring Newsvine.com, a small but innovative player in what is known as participatory journalism
. It is MSNBC.com’s first acquisition in its 11-year history — via Newsvine
Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the long-running SCO case, Novell wants to get paid. Now. They’re requesting that the customary stay on SCO’s finances (as a result of their bankruptcy) be lifted so that Novell can begin recouping some of its losses from the protracted legal battle — via Slashdot
More than 100,000 old books previously unavailable to the public will go online thanks to a mass digitisation programme at the British Library. The programme focuses on 19th Century books, many of which are unknown as few were reprinted after first editions. The library believes online access to the titles will help teachers. At full production approximately 50,000 pages per working day will be scanned
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