Intel fined a record EUR1.06bn

The European Commission (EC) has fined Intel EUR1.06 billion for breaking European anti-trust regulations, marking the largest fine the body has issued in European history, reports Computing.co.uk.

Intel was found guilty of giving rebates to computer manufacturers on condition that they bought all, or almost all, of their x86 chips from Intel, rather than chips offered by competitors such as AMD.

The x86 chips are a key hardware component of every computer, and Intel holds at least 70% of the market, according to the EC.

Craigslist is shuttering its "erotic services" section after months of resisting demands by state and local law enforcement officials in the US, says The Register.

Illinois attorney-general Lisa Madigan told the AP yesterday that the site's current erotic services section will close in seven days and be replaced with a new adult category where listings must be manually approved by Craigslist staff.

Posts to the new section will reportedly cost $10, twice as much as the current erotic services.

A controversial French Bill, which will disconnect people caught downloading content illegally three times, has been given final approval, reports the BBC.

The legislation, backed by president Nicolas Sarkozy, was surprisingly voted down by the Assembly last month.

The Bill sets a tough global precedent in cracking down on Internet piracy, and is being closely watched by other governments as a potential deterrent.

Google has received so many complaints about the height of its cameras, that it will re-shoot all of its Japanese footage again, says CNet.

According to some critics, Google's eagle eyes were more those of vultures, capturing the meat of rather too many private moments over too many private fences.

In Japan, people are not fond of having even their clean laundry aired in public. And the protests became too great for Google to ignore.