russia

Government expands HP bribery probe

The U.S. government has widened its probe into possible bribes paid by Hewlett-Packard to help it capture a lucrative contract in Russia.

Officials in the U.S., Germany, and Russia have been investigating allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion in connection with a business deal between Hewlett-Packard ISE GmbH, a former HP German subsidiary, and the chief public prosecutor's office in Russia, according to an SEC document filed by HP on Thursday (see Note 16 under Russia GPO and Related Investigations).

According to the allegations, the HP subsidiary paid … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1263: iPad getting Flashed? (podcast)

The E.U. may force Apple to allow Flash on the iPad as well as competitive devices to use iTunes. Like that'll happen. Also: Mario smacks iDrones, and Prince says the Web is over. So, see ya.

Buzz Out Loud 1256: iPhone 4 debuts to a chorus of nerds (podcast)

Turns out the newborn iPhones 4 might have a touch of the old jaundice -- it's ok, it's pretty common, just try to lay them in direct sunlight for a few hours. (No, don't try that. Just call Apple.) Top story today, though: a victory for the Internet! That victory? YouTube wins against Viacom! (Viacom plans to appeal.) Also, Rafe was totally right about that antenna thing, he would like to you to know, and when it comes to Twitter and Facebook, well: it's war.

Report: U.S. also probing HP over bribery claims

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched its own inquiry into whether Hewlett-Packard paid bribes to win a computer contract with a unit of the Russian government, according to a report on Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

The move by regulators here follows reports on Wednesday that Russian investigators, acting at the request of German officials, raided HP's Russian offices. According to The Wall Street Journal, German prosecutors are investigating whether HP paid $10.9 million in an attempt to sell a sophisticated computer system to the Russian prosecutor general's office.

"HP has been … Read more

Meet Russian President Medvedev, Internet geek

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev already has a LiveJournal.com page, a video blog on kremlin.ru, and a Twitter account is in the works.

But the full extent of Medvedev's unalloyed geekiness wasn't apparent until a question-and-answer session in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Putin was in town for the 47-nation nuclear summit.

During an appearance at the center-left Brookings Institution, the head of the Russian Federation suggested that he and President Obama should dispense with their legions of aides and chat on iPhones through text messaging instead.

"We don't e-mail each other (but) that would … Read more

Moo-Tube: Russian cows get LCD TVs

A farm in Russia has turned its cows into TV junkies by installing high-tech LCD televisions in a barn.

The farm in the Moscow region began its Farm 2.0 experiment earlier this month in an attempt to boost milk quality.

The lack of open spaces and visual stimuli during winter apparently gives cows the blues, affecting milk. The farmers decided to find out whether TV can make the animals any happier.

So they trucked in a bunch of screens and set them up in a barn. Nothing but the best for these bovines, though. They got high-def Samsung LED … Read more

Ashton Kutcher in U.S. tech delegation to Russia

Perhaps you, like me, were forcefully encouraged to see the new movie "Valentines Day" last weekend. In the course of diplomacy, perhaps you, too, said that it was a wonderful movie.

You will be fascinated, then, to discover that the movie's star, Ashton Kutcher, has become a U.S. government diplomat.

No, not one of those who takes an overseas posting, sleeps with women who are not his wife, and, having embarrassed himself by dropping his trousers at an official function, is forced to function at a slightly lower level for the remainder of his career.

According to the LA Times, … Read more

Report: Russian investor in talks to buy ICQ

AOL is reportedly in talks to sell its ICQ instant-messaging service to a Russian Internet investment group.

Digital Sky Technologies (DST) is in negotiations to acquire ICQ for between $200 million and $250 million, according to Russian newspaper Vedomosti. ICQ, which AOL purchased in 1998 for $400 million, has about 8.4 million unique monthly visitors in Russia and is the No. 1 instant-messaging service in that country, according to market researcher ComScore.

AOL, which was recently spun off from Time Warner, was rumored last month to have hired investment bankers Morgan Stanley and Allen & Co. to find a buyer … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1108: Tracker pulling

No, no, fellow residents of southern Illinois, not tractor pulling--tracker pulling! The Pirate Bay has pulled out the trackers, but that doesn't mean you can't download anything. The site's still up for now using a different technology. Also, Google's book deal seems to have been changed, but not enough to satisfy its opponents. And Natali and I get into a philosophical argument.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1108

Google book settlement revised, criticized http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/11/google-offers-revised-book-settlement-but-critics-unappeased.ars http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10398995-93.html… Read more

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 banned in Russia

Sometimes, one's biases can balance out very nicely. So please let me lay mine out in all their militant glory.

Bias No. 1: I do not play many video games, and Call of Duty does not impact in any way upon my emotional or personal life.

Bias No. 2: Members of my family were arrested by Stalin's miserable cohorts and abused daily in Siberian labor camps, from which only some emerged and even they were permanently scarred.

So I truly do not have a heavily armed platoon in the feral battle currently waging between Call of Duty: Modern … Read more