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Latest by Geoff Duncan

iSkin Duos Offer Colorful nano Protection

iSkin has shipped four vibrant new protectors for Apple's iPod nano: Purple Haze, Acid Groove, Phantom Rave, and Polar Blast.

Phishing Attempts Hit 1 in 4 Each Month

A new study from AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance finds phishing attempts aimed at identity theft affect roughly one in four Americans each month.

Microsoft Loses S. Korean Antitrust Ruling

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has ruled Microsoft must pay a $32 million fine and ship two alternative Windows versions for abusing its market dominance.

Forrester: North American Kids Are Wired

Forrester Research finds North American youths are more plugged-in than ever, spending an average of 11 hours a week online with 83 percent using instant messaging.

Ill. Video Game Regs Zapped; Gov to Appeal

Late last week a federal judge blocked Illinois laws banning sales and rental of violent and sexually explicit games to minors, but Governor Rob Blagojevich vows to appeal.

NBC Offers Swath of TV Shows via iTunes

NBC Universal becomes the latest network to hop in bed with Apple Computer's iTunes video service, offering a spate of prime time, late-night, cable, and classic shows for download.

Uh… Ads “Enhance” Video Game Experience?

Activision and Nielsen Entertainment would have us believe ads integrated into video games not only are more persuasive than traditional ads, but make the games more enjoyable.

RealNetworks Unveils Browser-based Rhapsody

RealNetworks has announced a jukebox-free, browser-based version of its Rhapsody music subscription service, opening it to Mac and Linux users for the first time.

Motorola RAZR V3C Available via Verizon

Verizon Wireless will start selling Motorola's sleek RAZR V3C EVDO mobile phone online tomorrow, and in stores December 12.

Wireless, CE Drive Semiconductor Biz

An semiconductor industry report from Research and Markets finds wireless and consumer products are driving the industry, while the PDA is beginning to fade away.

Firefox Flicks: Open Source Marketing?

Mozilla Corp. is launching Firefox Flicks, a grassroots campaign to promote its alternative Web browser with user-recorded video testimonials and 30-second user-created ads.

Verizon, Qualcomm to Put Live TV on Phones

Qualcomm and Verizon have announced they plan to bring real-time television to mobile phones over Qualcomm's U.S.-based MediaFLO multicasting network.

Skype 2.0 Adds Video Phone Features

Skype has released a beta version of its Skype 2.0 software which adds video phone capabilities to the massively popular Internet-phone application.

Nokia Intros New 3G Phones, One for U.S.

Nokia has shown three new 3G phones it plans to ship in the first half of 2006, including the 6282, a 1900 Mhz UMTS/GSM phone aimed at the American market.

Judge Rules BlackBerry Settlement Invalid

A Federal judge has ruled invalid a $450 million settlement between NTP Inc., and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, raising the spectre of a BlackBerry network shutdown.

VOIP Providers Largely Miss E911 Deadline

Sure enough, Internet telephony providers mostly missed the deadline to provide reliable emergency 911 service. Question is: will the FCC do anything about it?

Intel Viiv Partners Include TiVo, Adobe

Intel's announced a list of companies which are working on software and applications for Intel's Viiv digital entertainment platform.

TiVo Going to Taiwan

TiVo is planning to go overseas, partnering with China's TGC Inc. to bring TiVo service to Taiwan in early 2006.

ICANN, VeriSign Sued Over Control of .com

The trade group World of Domain Name Developers has filed an antitrust suit in California against ICANN and VeriSign over control of the .com top-level domain.

Netgear To Pay $700K to Settle Speed Claims

Netgear has agreed to pay $700,000 (and offer some customers a 15 percent discount) to settle a class action suit over bandwidth claims in ads for its Wi-Fi products.

Early Holiday Sales All About The iPod nano

Leading retailers report sales of Apple's iPod nano digital music players shot through the roof over Thanksgiving weekend. Favorite color? Black. (Barely.)

One in Six U.S. Web Users Has Sold Online

A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project finds that about 25 million U.S. Internet users - roughly one in six - have used the Internet to sell something.

PlayStation 3 to Offer Parental Controls

The Entertainment Software Association says Sony plans to parental controls for the PlayStation 3, making it the last major console maker to promise built-in content restriction.

Almost Half Mario Kart DS Buyers Tap Wi-Fi

Nintendo says that during its first week on the market, 45 percent of people who bought Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS tried its Wi-Fi multi-player gaming capabilities.

BitTorrent Removes Links to Pirated Movies

In an agreement with the MPAA, Bram Cohen has removed links to pirated movies from the BitTorrent site, positioning BitTorrent for "legit" distribution deals.

EFF Slaps Class Action Lawsuit on Sony BMG

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a class action suit against Sony BMG over both copy protection schemes it uses on music CDs: the besmirched XCP and SunComm's MediaMax.

Navio Vows to Open Apple’s FairPlay

Digital commerce developer Navio vows to follow in the footsteps of RealNetworks and enable other retailers to sell protected content which works on iPods.

iTunes Now Outselling Some Music Stores

Apple's online iTunes Music Store sold more music than three major music retailers from July through September, claiming the number seven spot among U.S. music sellers.

Security Keeps 1 in 4 U.S. Shoppers Offline

A new survey from the Business Software Alliance finds one in four U.S. consumers won't be shopping online this holiday season because of concerns over Internet security.

Sony XCP: Don’t Mess with Texas

It never ends! Texas' attorney general has filed a civil suit against Sony BMG Music, alleging its XCP copy protection software violates a new anti-spyware law.

MySpace Becomes Third Most-Viewed Site?

AOL, eBay, and Google might just be watching their backs: comScore Media Metrix says social networking site MySpace has passed them all in terms of page views.

NBC To Offer On-Demand Movies via P2P

On the heels of AOL's In2TV, NBC Universal has made a deal with Wurld Media for offer on-demand downloadable movies via peer-to-peer file sharing in early 2006.

Nokia to Spend $430 Mln on Intellisync

Nokia has announced it plans to buy wireless email company Intellisync for some $430 million to increase Nokia's appeal to the enterprise market.

Yahoo to Run Stories from Gawker Blogs

Yahoo has reportedly inked a deal to carry blog entries from Gawker Media blogs like Defamer, Gizmodo, and Wonkette alongside stories from mainstream journalism outlets.

U.S. Retains De Facto Internet Governance

A last-minute agreement before the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia sends the issue of world-wide Internet governance to a non-binding forum.

Ubisoft Ships U.S. Army ‘Rise of a Soldier’

Ubisoft has shipped America's Army: Rise of a Soldier for Xbox, partnering with the U.S. Army to create "the most authentic" military console game.

Dell Launches LCD TVs for Commercial Use

Not content to make TVs just for consumers, Dell has launched two new LCD TVs for commercial users like airports, hotels, restaurants, and offices.

Alienware Notebooks Tout Sleekness, Power

The new Alienware Sentia m3200 offers extremely lightweight portability, while the Aurora m7700 offers raw power with AMD Athlon 64 FX or 64 X2 dual-core processors.