Internet & Media

Though it has given no indication otherwise, China would like the world to know that it has no plans to allow free access to online content--Google's "new approach" to the country be damned.

In a lengthy white paper titled "The Internet in China," China's State Council Information Office reaffirmed the government's longstanding commitment to censorship.

"The Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting the safe flow of Internet information, actively guides people to manage Web sites in accordance with the law and use the Internet in a wholesome and correct way," … Read more

Twitter has squeezed the way we communicate, and now it is putting the squeeze on Web links users share on the microblogging service.

Twitter is testing a new service--called t.co--to wrap and abbreviate all links shared on the site in the same way other URL-shortening services such as Bit.ly do. The move is designed to increase security on the site, as well as offering analytics and related services for the company's Promoted Tweets platform, Twitter spokesperson Sean Garrett wrote in the post announcing the move Tuesday afternoon.

To illustrate how URLs would appear after testing is complete, … Read more

Look at this and see if you can say: "Jeez, I don't like this."

Apple's excellent new ad for the iPhone 4 brings together the sheer warmth and humanity of Apple products that other brands crave. Yet it goes a little further: no more indie music. No more product demonstrations in the abstract.

When you're selling FaceTime, you go with the face. That way, you'll get straight through to the heart. Especially when you have Louis Armstrong crooning in the background, telling you that all is right with the world and, subliminally, that Apple … Read more

Producers of "The Hurt Locker" have asked a federal court to order Internet service providers to reveal the names of customers who they accuse of illegally sharing copies of the film via the Web.

Voltage Pictures, the company that produced the Oscar-winning movie, filed a 23-page document on Monday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Included in the filing were the Internet protocol addresses belonging to some of the people accused of pirating the movie. The production company said that it will file more IP addresses with the court in the future. (A … Read more

When you've gone and polluted so much that a lot of birds are ill, baby, ill, you really have to be careful with your words. However, BP seems to have fallen into the hands of those who defend wordsmithing politicians, rather than those whose emphasis might start with the potential reactions of real people, who use the Web to keep up with the world.

Having assigned itself to a political consulting company called Purple Strategies, BP wheeled out its CEO, a gentleman who claimed, perhaps injudiciously: "I'd like my life back."

In a TV spot that … Read more

Google has changed a single search page to prepare us all for the FIFA World Cup, which is slated to begin in just two days.

When users type "World Cup" into Google Search, they will find a different header at the bottom of the page where Google allows users to click on the desired page in results. Instead of the familiar "Goooooogle," the page says, "Goooooooal!."

Wondering if the change occurred on every search page related to the World Cup, I started trying other queries out, like "soccer," "world cup soccer,&… Read more

Employees who dabble in social networking both on and off the job could expose their companies to a variety of risks, according to a study released Monday by the ISACA.

Malware, brand hijacking, lack of content control, noncompliance with rules over recordkeeping, and unrealistic expectations of Internet performance were the top five social-media risks to businesses identified by the ISACA in its study "Social Media: Business Benefits With Security, Governance and Assurance Perspectives" (PDF).

A global organization focused on the security of information systems, the ISACA found that since access to sites like Facebook and Twitter doesn't … Read more

By teaming up with the Symbian Foundation, Chinese search engine Baidu is hoping to bring its vision of box computing to the mobile market.

On Tuesday, the two companies announced a joint venture in which they would develop a wireless box computing system to work with the Symbian mobile platform. First presented by Baidu last year, box computing bypasses a PC's traditional boot-up and operating system and instead offers users a search box as their starting point.

The goal of the new venture will be to provide mobile phone users with a single screen from which they can search … Read more

Ford owners with Sync-equipped vehicles will be able tap into Google Maps to download directions to their cars before month's end.

The free Send to Sync feature, announced Tuesday by Ford, will let drivers send Google Maps data from their Bluetooth-enabled computers or mobile phones to their in-car Sync systems. The electronic directions are downloaded directly into Sync and converted into audible turn-by-turn steps. The route is then calculated on the spot using the latest traffic information.

Ford is touting the service as a way for drivers to keep their eyes on the road by eliminating the need to … Read more