Tech News

AFP - A Malaysian journalist was charged Thursday over a satirical blog which made fun of the state power firm Tenaga, and faces a year's jail if convicted.

AFP - Google will power Internet search across AOL properties and AOL video will appear on YouTube under an agreement reached on Thursday between the Web companies.

AFP - Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, announced Thursday it would discontinue its popular mobile file-sharing service called Ovi Files as of October 1.

AFP - Burger King, the second-largest US hamburger chain, will be sold to 3G Capital investment house for four billion dollars, the fast food chain announced Thursday.

Mashable - Skype -- apparently pleased with its five-way beta group video-calling functionality -- has just released a new version of Skype 5.0 for Windows that doubles group support. It now allows for up to 10 video callers.

AFP - Singapore Airlines (SIA) has directed its flight attendants to avoid discussing work-related matters on Facebook and other social networking websites, company officials said Thursday.

Reuters - Critics hoping for more from Apple Inc's Web-to-TV plans -- a device, say, that would revolutionize living room entertainment the way the iPad changed tablet computing -- may just need to wait a bit longer.

Appolicious - I'm not sure I'd necessarily say the process of shooting a photo with your iPhone and then opening your Facebook app to upload it is a particularly stressful one, but I suppose if you're looking to cut down on the extra step, SayCheeze might just be for you.

AP - Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled a new tablet PC named Galaxy Tab as the latest device meant to rival Apple Inc.'s popular iPad.

PC World - Apple's big overhaul of iTunes, announced Wednesday, turns the media management software into a fledgling social network thanks to a newly introduced feature called Ping. I would have expected more from Apple with this first attempt at building a community around iTunes. It's not all bad, but if Ping doesn't improve soon this music-oriented social network will bomb faster than an American Idol wannabe.

AP - A Detroit-area woman who was removed from a jury for commenting about the ongoing case on Facebook has a longer writing task ahead: a five-page essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial.

Reuters - AOL Inc said on Thursday it has renewed a search agreement with Google Inc, further cementing a decade-long partnership as AOL tries to turn around its business.

Appolicious - Do we really need another social network? That depends on how you view the purpose of social networks. The biggest, Facebook, is great for monitoring, from a safe distance, what your old high school buddies are doing. But don't put Apple's new Ping service into the same category.

Macworld.com - One hotly anticipated feature rolling out in next week's iOS 4.1 update is the new HDR (high dynamic range) option in the iPhone's built-in Camera app. The results are subtly improved and realistic looking photos, as opposed to the fake, over-processed look that is often the hallmark of HDR.

Mashable - Banksimple has just raised $2.9 million in a Series A round to fund their ambitious alternative online banking startup for full-service, fee-free banking. The round includes investments from First Round Capital, IA Ventures and Village Ventures, a collection of industry veterans with extensive startup portfolios.

Macworld.com - It’s official: after months in the dark, dank caves of rumor and speculation, the official Twitter app for the iPad has now emerged into bright, friendly light of the App Store.

Reuters - U.S. communications regulators on Wednesday put off a controversial decision on Internet traffic rules, giving industry and consumer groups a chance to forge a compromise while avoiding a politically sensitive issue ahead of the November elections.

Mashable - Google and AOL have signed a deal that extends the search and advertising partnership between the two companies for another five years. The agreement also includes mobile search and adds a content sharing partnership with YouTube.

AFP - In a rare victory for Sony over arch-rival Apple, the Walkman portable music player outsold the iPod in Japan in monthly sales for the first time in August, a survey showed Thursday.

PC World - Researchers are hoping to get a better insight on botnets after taking down part of Pushdo, one of the top five networks of hacked computers responsible for most of the world's spam.