Tech News

The Upshot - Last week, the online classified bulletin board Craigslist replaced the link to the fabled "Adult Services" section on its homepage with a black "censored" box. It was Craigslist's way, apparently, of saying it was doing away with the ads for good after anti-trafficking advocates and law enforcement agencies had repeatedly assailed the company for maintaining [...]

AP - THE OFFERING: Apple Inc.'s new music-discovery feature, Ping, which lets you see what songs your friends are buying and recommend some of your favorites to them.

PC World - A new study by security vendor Symantec reports that Internet crime has grown into a widespread problem globally. It also provides intriguing insights into consumers' lax attitudes toward online piracy, plagiarism, and other illegally or unethical activities.

AP - Hewlett-Packard Co.'s quarter-century alliance with Oracle Corp. has been "strained" by the dispute over Oracle's hiring of ousted HP CEO Mark Hurd, HP's interim chief said Wednesday.

AP - OOPS: Microsoft Corp. had to apologize to a small West Virginia town and a 26-year-old gamer after suspending him from its Xbox Live service for listing his location as Fort Gay — a name the company considered offensive.

Macworld.com - Wednesday is apparently Apple Update Day, as the company has released iOS 4.1, iPhone Configuration Utility 3.1, and now iMovie 1.1 for iPhone and the new fourth-generation iPod touch.

AP - Free wireless Internet access has been added to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

AP - Apple Inc.'s new music-discovery feature, Ping, is a potentially useful addition to iTunes. With it, you can see what songs your friends are buying and recommend some of your favorites to them.

Macworld.com - To coincide with the release of iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch on Wednesday, Apple also released iPhone Configuration Utility (iPCU) 3.1, an update to its device management utility for businesses and the enterprise.

Mashable - Last year's Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints, will kick off their season with a home opener against the Minnesota Vikings Thursday night. In anticipation of the game, running back Reggie Bush is giving away eight autographed footballs to fans who track them down scavenger-hunt-style.

AP - The Twitterverse is full of far more mysterious forces than indecipherable trending topics and Lady Gaga.

AFP - Google on Wednesday began delivering Internet search results as fast as a person can type.

AFP - British mobile phone giant Vodafone lost a legal appeal Wednesday against an Indian tax bill estimated to be 2.0 billion dollars relating to the group's 2007 purchase of local group Hutchison Essar.

Macworld.com - Microsoft continues to dole out the tidbits about Office for Mac 2011. As it did in August and July, the company has released a video highlighting some of the update's new features. This third entry in the Behind-the-Scenes series focuses on co-authoring tools, the software’s connection to Office’s Web apps, and PowerPoint's Brodcast Slideshow feature.

Macworld.com - Oranged Software this week announced the release of Studiometry 8, the latest version of the company’s project management software.

AP - Amazon.com Inc., seeking to expand its position in the music download market against rivals like Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store, has purchased online music retailer Amie Street for an undisclosed amount.

AP - Ten people have been arrested in raids across Europe against computer pirates who put illegal copies of movies and television series on the Internet, Belgian police said Wednesday.

Macworld.com - Apple on Wednesday released iOS 4.1, the first major update to its mobile OS.

PC World - Following up Norton's new product launch early Wednesday, Trend Micro announced an overhaul of its entire home user product line on Wednesday, under the moniker "Titanium." The new products, Titanium Internet Security, Titanium Maximum Security, and Titanium Antivirus+, include new features that use cloud computing for malware detection.

AP - Microsoft Corp. and the chief rules enforcer for Xbox Live are apologizing to a small West Virginia town and a 26-year-old gamer accused of violating the online gaming service's code of conduct by publicly declaring he's from Fort Gay — a name the company considered offensive.