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Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 now available for download

Ahead of a planned full launch for the Firefox 3 Web browser in June, the Release Candidate 1 has now been made available for download. Still intended purely for developers and testers, it should be the last test we see before the full version is made available for the general population.

I’m a big fan of the Firefox browser, and have been using Firefox 2.0 for a couple of years of problem free Web browsing now. So I’m excited about the prospect of the third incarnation of the browser being [...]

Megan Meiers case inspires tougher anti-cyberbullying laws

Missouri lawmakers have finalised a bill to deal with cyber-harassment, in part due to the publicity given to the Megan Meiers case.

The AP reported that the final approval was given on Friday to a bill that will update state laws against harassment. It will now cover harassment using means such as computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

Gov. Matt Blunt said “These protections ensure that our laws now have the protections and penalties needed to safeguard Missourians from Internet harassment.”

Meiers commited sucide after repeat harassment on the Internet, mostly through MySpace. Her main harasser, [...]

Ars Technica scooped up by Conde Nast for cool $25 Million

Ars Technica has been at the top of TechMeme and on the front age of Digg more often than most technology blogs. This week that prime online real estate and lengthy reputation paid off as Ars Technica was reportedly purchased by Conde Nast for a cool $25 million USD.

Conde Nast already owns digital publication Wired and Digg rival Reddit. This will flesh out its online family of properties with a well known industry news blog. The price tag for Ars Technica’s purchase is in keeping with what Conde Nast [...]

Best Buy netting Netflix for a tidy $44?

With electronic retailers looking to expand business to new frontiers, it should come as little surprise that the big players are forming alliances to better expand and market business. Rumor has it, by way of a very reputable industry source, that electronic retailer giant Best Buy might be looking to acquire video rental company Netflix, and for the very recession-friendly price of $44…about one tank of gas?

By way of Silicon Alley Insider, there are murmurings that Best Buy could be looking to purchase the leader in the video rental [...]

Linux baits another sucker: Verizon

Linux houses a tempting promise, one of free software developed by volunteers more focused on purity of code and feeling needed than wealth. Now Verizon has announced its support of a Linux-based mobile operating system LiMo, which competes with Google Android. But, with its historically closed systems, does Verizon fit in with the benevolent programmers powering Linux?

LiMo is actually further along than Google Android, “with 18 handsets from eight different companies in the market. The wide number of development partners in the LiMo Foundation and the more open nature of the group attracted Verizon Wireless,” vice president at Verizon Kyle Malady told CNN.

Initially [...]

Asus working to release Atom based EeePC 900 with more features in June

It pays to wait. Asus is indeed planning on releasing an Atom based EeePC 900 in June and will pack it with more features to further differentiate it from the EeePC 700.

According to Digitimes, Asus will equip the the EeePC 900 with Bluetooth and will add metal alloy parts to the keyboard, touchpad and hinge.

The Atom based EeePC will have a designation of model 901 and will have the same specs except for the processor and different logos. Asus plans to release the EeePC 901 with the Atom processor on June 3 with both Linux [...]

Microsoft joins OLPC - Windows XP to be available on XO laptops

When it started out, the One Laptop Per Child initiative was the epitome of an anti-Microsoft, a non-profit organisation intended to sell cheap and easy to use laptops to help kids in developing countries have access to technology. Now, Microsoft is on board, and the Windows XP operating system, soon to be obsolete to anyone buying a standard PC, will be available on the XO laptops.

Up until now, the OLPC laptops have been using the open source Linux operating system, but only because [...]

LA court indicts middle-aged prankster over teen MySpace suicide

Parents of a teenage girl who committed suicide after a neighbor manipulated and bullied her through MySpace may finally see justice served.

A court in Los Angeles has indicted 48-year-old Lori Drew of St. Louis Missouri, on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. Drew’s target? Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier.

The incident, which could cost Drew some 20 years of imprisonment, begun when she created a fake account on MySpace using the name Josh Evans, which she used to befriended her 13-year-old neighbor Megan.

After several weeks of [...]

Be an American: buy a Chevy Volt

Chevy would love that association — that by buying a Chevy Volt you’re acting patriotic, supporting a product and energy produced in America while reducing dependence on foreign oil. And if enough people believe it, Chevy could slingshot itself out of the automotive industry’s recession by riding on the burst of marketing hype surrounding the Volt.

The fact is, the Chevy Volt would be insanely popular right now, but the 2010 debut target opens a gap large enough that other technologies or companies could fill demand in the meantime. GM is already tied with Toyota and says that financially:

If current adverse economic conditions persist [...]

Bloggers Unite for Human Rights: Tweeting Myanmar

With so many tragedies, natural disasters, coups, genocidal regimes and political issues to choose from all around the world, how do you choose just one to write about for Bloggers Unite for Human Rights? For me, the choice was easy. I am avid Twitter user, and the attention brought to bear on the tragedy in Myanmar (Burma) this week through the simple use of Twitter has been awe inspiring and astounding.

I make no secret of the fact that I get 90% of my news from Twitter these days. Often one of my tweeps [...]

Rep. Smith proposes a not quite Global Online Freedom Act

The idea is certainly noble. Yahoo and Google have both been chastised for giving the names and addresses of Chinese dissidents to the Chinese Government. This bill would supposedly end such practices by a U.S. based company. This Act also has strong support from Reporters without Borders.

The Global Online Freedom Act (GOFA) has the best of intentions. The Act states that U. S. based internet companies should not only promote the free flow of information and ideas, even in countries that insist on filters, but should also refuse to implement any censorship that another country demands.

Minimal [...]

Teenage gamer busted with dad’s stolen credit card, two prostitutes

A teenage boy, who stole his father’s credit card, bought an Xbox 360 games console, booked a Texas motel with his friends, hired two prostitutes, with whom he then played Halo, has been apprehended by Texas police and convicted of fraud.

Ralph Hardy, who just celebrated his birthday, took off from home with his father’s credit card. He then called his friends and went on a spending spree charging around $30,000 to his father’s credit card.

The boy and his friends then checked in a motel, ordered some snacks and hired two prostitutes for $1000 per night. If not for the delivery clerk, who brought the snacks to [...]

IBM’s grid put to use tackling rice shortage

IBM’s making good use of its World Community grid to figure out solutions for food shortages in the world - specifically for rice.

The World Community Grid site announced the Nutritious Rice for the World project - run by the University of Washington’s Computational Biology Research Group, Seattle, Washington, USA.

What does the project angle to achieve? According to the announcement:

“The mission of the Nutritious Rice for the World project is to predict the structure of proteins of major strains of rice. The intent is to help farmers develop better rice strains with higher crop yields, promote greater disease [...]

Chevy Volt prototype making good its promise to go 40 miles without gas

So far we’ve heard a lot of promises about the Volt, but today Chevy confirmed that its prototype ran for 40 miles just using electrical power. That makes Chevy’s 2010 goal to debut the Volt more tangible by lending some credibility to its claims.

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said “today is the first day it is running on the street on battery power,” according to Edmunds. A mule car performed the successful test run and was equipped with an “advanced lithium-ion battery and a small gasoline engine . . .”

Lutz revealed a few more points [...]

Zune Firmware 2.5 is here: Battlestar Galactica, gapless playback, and more

The Zune 2.5 firmware update is finally here, and it’s a big one. The update affects more than just the device firmware, meaning software and online changes are plentiful too.

ZuneInfo reports on the following official changes…

- Video Marketplace
- Social Aspect
- Synch Zune Cards
- Auto Playlists
- TV Show Download Capability
- Zune Reminders
- Sync Groups
- Genre Browsing
- Video Browsing
- Gapless Playback
- Reputation Badges
- Windows Live “Now Playing”
- Search Friends By Real Name
- Instant Friends
- User Reviews for Album and Artists

…but Zunited News [...]