Tech News

AP - Invasion of privacy in the Internet age. Expanding the reach of law enforcement to snoop on e-mail traffic or on Web surfing. Those are among the criticisms being aimed at the FBI as it tries to update a key surveillance law.

AP - Japan received a sobering reminder Friday of its fragile recovery: The jobless rate rose, deflation deepened, and factories made fewer cars and mobile phones.

Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co plans to introduce tablet computers this quarter based on Google's Android operating system, joining a growing list of firms seeking to challenge Apple's popular iPad.

AFP - Google said Friday its services appeared to be back up and running normally in China, after the US web giant reported that access to its search engine and other products were being blocked.

AFP - Hundreds of customers in New Zealand and Hong Kong were turned away empty-handed on Friday as the second phase of the Apple iPhone 4's global launch got off to a nightmare start.

AP - Australia's government expanded its ambitious plan to bring broadband to much of the vast country, adding 300,000 homes and businesses to the coverage area Friday in hopes of winning votes in next month's federal election.

AFP - The Australian government Friday committed to expanding its fibre broadband Internet network to a further 300,000 homes across the vast island continent if re-elected at next month's polls.

Appolicious - It was a pretty good week for the Android Market, with several big brands unveiling their shiny new Android apps. Even Google got in on the fun, updating its Maps app with a dedicated “Places” icon.

Appolicious - Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso would have loved Autodesk’s universal Fluid FX ($1.99) app, because it allows you to create bizarre images using photos in your device’s library. After playing around with this app on both the iPad and iPhone 4, I found that swirling images of myself, friends and co-workers around the screen is more immersive on the larger device.

AP - Researchers have uncovered new ways that criminals can spy on Internet users even if they're using secure connections to banks, online retailers or other sensitive Web sites.

AP - Google Inc. triggered a false alarm Thursday by posting a notice that its search engine and several other services had been cut off from mainland China - a key market where the company has been locked in a high-profile battle over online censorship.

PC World - Samsung Electronics on Friday reported a record high operating profit for the second quarter, driven by strong sales of memory chips and LCDs, but it warned that stiff competition in consumer electronics means it may not be able to maintain profitability at current levels.

Reuters - Google Inc said its earlier report that Internet search services in China were being fully blocked could have been the result of a technical glitch that overstated the problem.

PC World - Smartphones, tablet PCs and other wireless devices are poised to play a greater role in health care as doctors and patients embrace the mobile Internet, panelists at a mobile health technology conference in Boston said Thursday.

AP - Business software maker Epicor Software Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter loss narrowed as revenue climbed.

Macworld.com - With Apple’s recent update of the iMac line, all new models now feature discrete graphic subsytems and Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors.

AFP - The US Justice Department said Thursday it has filed a complaint against US business software giant Oracle accusing it of overcharging on a government software contract.

PC World - It's been a grand total of seven days since Samsung announced new additions to its point-and-shoot camera lineup, but the company has finally broken its excruciating week-long silence.

Macworld.com - CodeWeavers, makers of utilities that bridge the software chasm between Windows and the Mac, has released major updates for two of its flagship products: CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Games.

Christopher Null - Todayrsquo;s revelation about the existence of a document that details the names, URLs, and unique Facebook IDs of 100 million of the sitersquo;s users has raised new questions about what is and what is not private on the immensely popular website.