Apple's Stock Drops on Rumors of Job's "Rapidly Declining" Health

The Gizmodo Technology site cited an anonymous source who claims Steve Jobs health is "rapidly declining."

Whether the rumors are true or not, Apple's stock tumbled through the trading day dropping from $88.00 to $84.72 minutes after the report. Apple, of course, as always is quiet on the issue.

Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, but was said to be cured and in good health. Jobs made several appearances over the summer where he looked extremely thin, which is providing fear that the rumor may be true.

Steve Jobs has been such an innovative force and is so clearly irreplaceable that it would make since for the company to want to not let this information out.

My heart goes out to Steve and his family. I hope these rumors are not true. This world is truly a better place with Steve Jobs in it.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish Steve..

Facebook Balks at the Bosom

Facebook's war against those evil breast feeding mothers posting their pictures of themselves and their babies in the "act" has escalated to an extreme level.

With over 78,000 Facebook users joining a group called "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene," Facebook is going to have to offer some sort of concession to the hordes of lactating ladies. Maybe a limit of one questionably lewd bust pic per household? Come on Facebook, throw us a bone! Or at least a few areolae!

Yesterday, a sizeable group of woman mounted a large scale protest outside of Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters chanting, singing and yes breastfeeding! You go girls! I can't think of a better reason to take to the streets in protest.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

UK Wants to Rate Sites Like Movies

Andy Burnham, the United Kingdom's Culture Secretary is seeking to negotiate a deal with incoming U.S. president elect Barack Obama to put in place a rating system for all English language websites. Burnham has tossed around a few ideas for policing the internet, but the film rating idea is the one he seems to have landed on.

In an interview Burnham gave to the Daily Telegraph, Burnham states, "If you look back at the people who created the Internet they talked very deliberately about creating a space that governments couldn't reach. I think we are having to revisit that stuff seriously now."

This could spark a serious debate over freedom of speech rights in the months to come. They have proposed a mandatory "take down" policy if sites like Facebook, or Myspace's users post inappropriate content.

Burnham also commented on modifying UK libel laws to give users access to legal assistance if they are defamed online.

ISPs may be forced to offer internet services where the only sites available would be those deemed suitable for children.

From looking at the transcripts, Burnham clearly just doesn't understand how the internet works and is trying to fit TV's "after 9pm" model onto the internet, which just isn't remotely possible.

Wake up, Man! This is the internets!

Verizon Awarded $33 Million In Cybersquatter Case

Verizon has been awarded $33.15 million in a lawsuit against domain aggregator OnlineNIC who registered hundreds of domains containing Verizon trademarks. Microsoft and Yahoo currently also have filed similar charges against OnlineNIC.

OnlineNIC registered 663 domain names such as verizononline.com, myverizonwireless.com and iphoneverizonplans.com. The sites were allegedly created to confuse users. The sites ran pop-ups and links to earn revenue. No phishing or any other type of fraudulent activity was reported in the suit filing.

Verizon has one small problem. They don't know exactly who to collect the funds from, or who exactly OnlineNIC is. There was no representation in court on OnlineNIC's behalf, and Verizon has been unsuccessful in hunting down the company or anyone affiliated with OnlineNIC.

OnlineNIC has been thouroghly succesful in hiding its owners' identities by using shell entities and false personal names for ICANN registration. Verizon had to report in court that they were unable to find an address for the company to serve a proper court summons. So, basically they won a court hearing against an undefended defendant because they were to lazy or not smart enough to find the defendant. I'm not lawyer, but that really doesn't seem right.

If this is the way our court system works then why don't we just try all criminals without the right to defend themselves. That would make the prosecutions job a lot easier.

Nintendo to Launch Video Streaming on Wii in 2009

Nintendo announced they will be launching a video distribution service on the popular Wiii console.

Nintendo has partnered with Japanese powerhouse ad agency Dentsu. The two parties have not agreed on what type of content the channel will offer, but a source close to Dentsu says it will most likely be free original cartoons and other content skewed towards a younger audience. The offerings will be produced by Nintendo with paid offerings priced between $1 and $4 dollars as well. The free content will be supported 100% by advertising, which is where Dentsu comes in I'm guessing.

The initial test launch will be in Japan only in 2009, but Nintendo hopes to roll out the streaming video program to the US by early 2010.

SpaceX Wins Big NASA Contract

Internet Entrepreneur Elon Musk's start-up SpaceX beat out Boeing and Lockheed Martin to win a $3.1 billion contract to resupply the International Space Station.

The initial contract is $1.6 billion for 12 flights to resupply the space station, with a potential for $3.1 billion with follow-up missions. The first resupply mission is slated for late 2010.

Under NASA's new Commercial Resupply Services program, SpaceX will be paid for each mission. If I do my math correctly that equates to about $133 million a pop. NASA currently spends about $500 million to launch the space shuttle, so this is like switching to the dollar store for the NASA folks. Let's hope the SpaceX rockets are better quality than my $1.00 Swanson's Boneless Fried Chicken TV dinners.

Mr. Musk has already poured $100 million of his own money into the program, so this will likely be a much enjoyed Christmas for the Musk family. Or it could be a very stressful one in which Mr. Musk begins to realize that NASA is putting all their eggs in his somewhat untested SpaceX basket to save the International Space Station! SpaceX has so far attempted to launch three rockets and only one was successful. It will be very exciting to see if SpaceX can deliver.

Good luck and Godspeed, Mr. Musk!

Facebook Bans Project Playlist

After repeated complaints from the The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Facebook has announced it will take down all playlists provided by Project Playlist.

Project Playlist is an online community where 40,000,000+ music fans create and share music playlists. For the past few years Project Playlist has enjoyed huge growth from their embedded playlist's with users from major social networks such as Myspace and Facebook.

Myspace took similar action against Project Playlist recently, blocking all playlist from their member profiles.

Facebook released the following statement this morning, "Our hope and expectation is that the parties can resolve their disagreements in a manner that satisfies the developer and copyright holder, that continues to offer a great experience to music fans, and that doesn't discourage other developers from using Platform to share their creativity and test new ideas."

Project Playlist CEO Jeremy Riney released this statement on his blog, "We are working hard to get our widgets back up on user profiles across these social networking sites as quickly as possible so our users can continue to share music with their friends. Until then, your playlists are not lost and you can still share them - they remain available here on Playlist.com, where you can continue to search for music, create and play new playlists."

On Monday, Sony BMG and Project Playlist agreed to a licensing agreement which will make available Sony's entire catalog of artists which include the likes of Britney Spears, Beyonce and many more.

Big Updates for Android

A new update for the Android smartphone operating system has been announced. The update is being titled Cupcake and includes bluetooth stereo support, video recording and playback, new browser features like quick search, copy n' paste, and an on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

The code is expected to be brought into the fold of the publicly available Android source code over the next few weeks.

Check out this video of the Cupcake on-screen keyboard:

Google is Dominating the Ad Server Wars

A recent report released by Attributor has Google with a 56.5% share of the display ad serving market. In a very distant second place is Yahoo with 9.7% share. Google's DoubleClick which services a great deal of premium web publishers stands at 30.7%. Google's Adsense which powers the majority of the smaller long-tail web properties delivers 25.8% of the wbe's ads.

For larger sites with over 1MM Monthly Unique Users, DoubleClick has a 36% share, a nearly 3x share advantage over its nearest non-Google competitor, Yahoo. Together, AdSense and DoubleClick capture 54% of this segment.

For smaller sites with less than 1MM Monthly Unique Users, AdSense has a 38% share, a more than 7x share advantage over its nearest competitor, ValueClick. Together, Google and DoubleClick capture 60% of this segment.

DoubleClick share is strongest on Automotive sites (58%), whereas AdSense rules Blog sites (40%). Yahoo is strongest on Health sites (13%).

The crazy thing is that Google has even lost overall market share since Attributor came out with their last report in January. Google's AdSense and DoubleClick accounted for 69.7 percent share, which is more than a 13 point drop.

The biggest winner was Revenue Science which is a behavioral targeting network located in Santa Barbara, California. Last report they were no where to be found, now they are in fourth place smashed between Yahoo and AOL with 6.7% percent of the market.

Warner Music Takes Down All Videos from YouTube

Early this morning Warner Music Group announced that they will be taking down all their videos from Youtube. Which means no more watching my favorite Rob Thomas music video!! Argh!! The two companies have reached an impasse in the licensing negotiations. They worked late into Friday night and just were not able to come to an agreement that would make either side happy.

Warner released a statement this morning, "We are working actively to find a resolution with YouTube that would enable the return of our artists' content to the site. Until then, we simply cannot accept terms that fail to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide."

Sources close to the deal say that Warner ruined the deal with a last minute change in the terms that Google apparently couldn't live with. Warner currently has the 11th largest Music Channel on Youtube, making this a significant loss to both sides.

Currently the way the deals are structured, the record companies like Warner are paid every time a video is played even if Youtube isn't able to monetize the viewing. Youtube, of course is famous for not being able to monetize their content, so this is already a loss leader for them.

The fact that Warner is trying to get even more money out of Youtube is unfortunate. Warner and other record companies trying to reclaim the golden age of the record industry with their meteoric margins of the past will ultimately fail. They need to realize that they are in fact living in a changing digital world and the necessity to adapt is crucial to their survival. They need to stop trying to squeeze out profits for their precious artists from companies that are trying to do them a favor.

It is going to take them forever to pull down all these titles. At least I can still enjoy horrendous Warner artists for a few more days until the pull down is complete. What will I do without my precious Rob Thomas videos?

Youtube Launches HD Offering

Hearing the footsteps of high quality video sites like Hulu, Youtube is rush-launching an HD video category, because who wouldn't want to watch Jizz In My Pants in HD?!? You will be able to activate the HD version now with the "Watch in HD" link in the bottom right hand corner of any HD capable video.

What to expect? You will notice the video size increase, and viewing a bit more clear with resolutions of 1290 by 720 pixels. Normal non-HD videos are currently set to 640 by 480 pixels. However, older computers will not be able to play these videos very effectively. Many users have been complaining about the videos starting and stopping every few seconds. My guess is that their computers are probably not of the highest quality. Youtube provides instructions for optimal viewing of the HD videos. Computers with older processors and low memory may have a very hard time getting the videos to play.

I think this is a necessary step for Youtube to compete with the likes of Hulu, however the videos I tend to watch on Youtube are usually not videos I necessarily need great picture quality for. Do I really need an HD experience to watch a 10 second clip of some kid falling off a bouncy ball? I must say the picture is pretty sharp and for a rush launch I must hand it to the Youtube team.

Yahoo Purging User Data After 90 Days

In a total dick move today, Yahoo announced it will expunge user data after only 90 days. Previously, Yahoo would hold onto user data for 13 months.

Currently, Google removes PII (Personally Identifiable Information) after 9 months and Microsoft keeps PII for 18 months. However, Microsoft agreed last week to drop that down to six months of data retention if the other major players would agree to do so as well.

The major search engines have been under a great deal of scrutiny lately by European officials to better protect users' privacy. US Congressman Rep. Edward J Markey (D-Mass) and Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications has been spearheading the movement to data protection here in the US. Markey said in a statement today, "I urge other leading online companies to match or beat the commitments announced by Yahoo."

Essentially what Yahoo did today was to say, "we can't compete with you Google, so we are going to lower the playing field in hopes of gaining back some market share!" Don't get me wrong, I have been a huge fan of Yahoo for a long time, but when they make moves to try to limit other players in the field, all bets are off. Google has a great ability to analyze billions upon billions of data points across long periods of time to bring us extremely relevant search results. Yahoo can't do this as effectively and they know this. If you limit the Google scope to just analyze 90 days worth of information, you are without a doubt going to make the results less effective and we will all lose out if that happens.

Yahoo, why don't you just die already! Your like a one-legged marathon runner forcing all the other competitors to hop on one leg.

Google Wants Its Own Fast Track on the Web - Screw Net Neutrality

Google who has always been one of the loudest advocates of equal network access for all content providers, has begun approaching cable and phone companies with a proposal to create a "fast lane" for it's own content.

The core principle of Net neutrality is that cable and phone companies are supposed to treat all internet traffic the same. No company, not even Google, is allowed to jump to the front of the line.

If this goes through this could have major effects on the internet as we know it today. If major companies like Google succeed in gaining preferential treatment, the Internet could become a place where big companies get faster and easier access to the Web than smaller ones. Many large traditional media companies like Hearst and Tribune could look at this as a way to "right the ship," making their premium online content more appealing than the long tail of information that is killing them today.

Another interesting bit is that Microsoft and Yahoo have reportedly withdrawn quietly from a coalition formed two years ago to protect network neutrality. Each company has forged partnerships with phone and cable companies.

Huge Security Flaw Found In Microsoft Web Browser Internet Explorer

The web browser Internet Explorer, which is used by 69 percent of Web surfers currently has a security flaw which is quickly spreading across the internet.

Microsoft released a statement in a blog post six days ago detailing the flaw. The problem has yet to be fixed and is continuing to spread, covering over 2 million computers.

The flaw hides inside the data binding function of the Internet Explorer browser and causes it to quit unexpectedly and open back up vulnerable to prying eyes.

This is not the first time IE has been hit with such attacks. However, the attacks in the past were successful only when users downloaded attachments that could exploit security cracks in the browser.

Microsoft has said in their statement that the problem it is limited to Windows Internet Explorer 7 version of the browser, however all versions of the world's most popular program for surfing the Web are potentially vulnerable.

Thus far the attacks have been limited to users in China for the purpose of stealing online computer game passwords. However, it does not take much imagination to envision this problem spreading to more nefarious criminals stealing personal passwords or financial data.

Microsoft Releases Its First iPhone Application

Live Labs, the division of Microsoft which was created to develop Web 2.0 applications and features has just announced it's first iPhone Application called Seadragon. The application allows users to view large images on the iPhone's 3.5 inch touch screen regardless of the amount of bandwidth on the network.

According to a statement from Live Labs, ""with just a few pinches or taps of your finger," Seadragon lets users view gigapixel-sized images using the iPhone's multi-touch screen to zoom in and out of photos or maps. The viewer could also be used to browse e-mail or other content.

The Seadragon mobile application is free through Apple's application store. Seadragon comes preloaded with bookmarks that deliver content from organizations such as the U.S. Geological Survey for photos and the U.S. Library of Congress for documents.

Microsoft did not comment on when Seadragon would be available on other mobile devices or operating systems, including its own Windows Mobile.

According to TechFlash, Microsoft is expected to release a voice-recognition application for the iPhone next year.

46% Percent of Women Say They Would Give Up Sex for the Internet

In a study released by Intel and Harris Interactive, 46% of women and 30% of men would give up sex for two weeks instead of giving up access to the Internet for the same period.

The study was titled “Internet Reliance in Today’s Economy” and essentially states what we all pretty much already knew, which is access to the Internet ranks highest among the discretionary spending items that we cannot live without. The Internet was followed by cable, eating out, shopping (clothes), and gym memberships.

Also included in the study, 61 percent of the women surveyed said they would rather go without TV for two weeks than go without the Internet for one week.

Intel released this statement about their survey:

“The survey revealed that 65 percent of adults feel they cannot live without Internet access, and even more — 71 percent — responded that it is important or very important to have Internet-enabled devices, such as laptops, netbooks and mobile Internet devices that can provide them with real-time updates on important issues including the state of the economy.”

Sony Pays $1 Million to Settle Online Privacy Case

In the largest settlement ever for a COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) case, Sony BMG agreed Thursday to pay $1 million, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The suit states that Sony improperly collected, maintained and disclosed personal information from thousands of children under the age of 13, without their parents' consent.

On 196 fan sites for artists such as Good Charlotte, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Brown, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Sony Music knowingly collected personal information from at least 30,000 underage children without first obtaining their parents' consent which is in direct violation of COPPA.

The sites also did not disclose that it would keep such information, and it did not disclose how it would use it, the FTC said. Sony is now being forced to purge this data from their servers and link to the FTC online information awareness program for five years.

Way to force a major online website (Worldwide Alexa Ranking 824) to a non-reciprocal link back to your site for half a decade! I wish I could do that! The payment, if I'm doing my math correctly, works out to about $33 a child. So, the FTC is really getting the better end of the deal if you ask me.

Google Chrome Officially Out of Beta

With 2,400 bugs still left in the Queue and just 100 days in Beta, Google is releasing the Chrom browser. There were 14 updates of the Chrome during the Beta stage and the 15th is the first non-Beta release. This is an uncharacteristically fast release for Google, who has still not officially released Gmail (Launched April 2004) out of it's Beta stage.

What are the major changes you ask?

• Well, for starters the browser is now 1.4 to 1.5 times faster than it was during it's initial launch.

• The bookmark manager has been revised to better organize users bookmarks. You now can import and export bookmark lists.

• Audio and video playback will be more stable

• Multiple security updates such as running plug-ins in their own separate processes

Currently the Google Chrome has only a .83% share of the browser market, which is down from1% share after it's Beta release. Google feels confident that they will be able to gobble up much more of the market now that they have left the Beta stage. A source from inside Google says, "Partners were wary of jumping on board a browser that was still in the Beta stage." Many think this was one of the main reasons for the rush to get the browser officially into the market.

HP Notebooks Going "Green"

A small Boston-area company Boston Power won a lucrative contract from Hewlett-Packard to produce green power batteries for HP's line of laptop computers.

Boston Power, based in Westborough, Mass., says their Sonata batteries can be recharged to complete capacity more than 1,000 times and can be recharged 50 percent faster than other batteries. Three to four times as often as current batteries, which lose their recharging capability after 250 or so charges. They are also providing a three-year warranty on the batteries, which is triple the typical lithium-ion battery warranty.

The HP deal makes Boston Power the newest player in the rechargeable battery arena. Currently Sony and Panasonic are the lone dominant competitors in this market. Boston Power thinks they can gain a leg-up on the two Goliaths by focusing on creating environmentally responsible products.

"By partnering with Boston Power, we are able to offer our customers batteries with a longer life span and help reduce the amount of technology waste in landfills," said Jonathan Kaye, director of consumer notebooks at HP, in a statement.