Intel Antitrust, 'Net Bug, Coding Error

IDG News Service — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed federal antitrust charges against Intel this week, with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission expected to follow suit. Security problems yet again snagged a lot of IT headline attention, including news about yet another flaw affecting Facebook and MySpace users. To mix things up, we've got IT angles to Beatles music and the Boston Celtics in there, too.

1. NY attorney general files antitrust lawsuit against Intel FTC expected to take antitrust action against Intel: Cuomo alleges in the lawsuit that the company employed a "systematic campaign" of illegal conduct, including exclusive agreements and threats of punishment, to protect its microprocessor monopoly. The FTC is widely expected to take its own antitrust action against the Intel.

2. Vendors scrambling to fix bug in 'Net's security: Software makers worldwide are trying to fix a serious flaw in technology that securely transfers information (or at least is supposed to securely transfer information) over the Internet.

3. Major Facebook, MySpace flaw may expose users' private data: Yet another threat, this time via coding errors, emerged for the privacy of personal data of Facebook and MySpace users.

4. Who's in charge of Android development: Google or developers?: For those who have suspected all along that Google is much more in charge of Android development than its "open-source" tag would suggest, various industry observers, including Google partners, contend that's the case. But there may be good reasons for that, chief of which is to make sure that software actually gets released.

5. The definitive Android smartphone guide: And for those who are trying to figure out which Android-based smartphone to buy, Network World's Brad Reed has done the heavy lifting of comparing features and prices in this informative -- and, at least for the moment, definitive -- slideshow.

6. Business interruptus: Plan now to avoid H1N1 flu outages later and CDC adopts new, near real-time flu tracking: Companies should be preparing to deal with swine flu outbreaks that could leave a lot of employees sick and unable to work, experts say. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted a system for tracking data about the novel H1N1 virus and seasonal flu.

7. FBI warns of $100M cyber-threat to small businesses: Thieves are hacking into the computer systems of small and medium-sized businesses weekly, stealing millions of dollars in an ongoing scam, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned.

8. BlueBeat says Beatles' songs are its own creations and Beatles ban takes effect at BlueBeat: The BlueBeat Web site and record company EMI continue to battle over BlueBeat's insistence that it can legally sell downloads of Beatles' music. By week's end, BlueBeat had complied with a court order that it has to stop selling Beatles' tunes online. (We never thought we'd get tired of Beatles' music, but we have to say the recent inundation of everything-Beatles is, indeed, making us weary.)

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