Piracy sites attract 53bn visits
A study by anti-fraud firm MarkMonitor has offered a snapshot into the changing nature of online piracy, reveals the BBC.
It monitored illegal traffic levels on 43 file-sharing sites and found they generated more than 53 billion visits per year. The top three - RapidShare.com, Megavideo.com and Megaupload.com - generated more than 21 billion visits.
Such sites are becoming as popular as peer-to-peer methods of accessing illegal content. The study only used a small sample of sites, suggesting the problem could be in fact much bigger.
Microsoft contests 'App Store' trademark
Microsoft is contesting Apple's trademark claim for the term 'App Store', calling that term too generic to be granted protection, according to The Register.
"Apple seeks to exclusively appropriate the phrase 'App Store' for use with its own store offering apps," says Microsoft's opposition filing with the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
That appropriation is absurd, claims Microsoft. "The undisputed evidence shows that 'app store' is a generic name for a store offering apps," it argues.
Ex-RIM employee cites PlayBook flaws
The RIM PlayBook tablet has some daunting challenges, a former employee of the company recently pointed out to Business Insider, writes Digital Trends.
According to Raymond Reddy, who was previously involved in RIM's corporate development, developers might want to hesitate before starting projects for the PlayBook.
Reddy now owns and operates a music software company that he says he will initially drive towards Android, and he doesn't think he'll be the only one.
MySpace lays off nearly half its staff
News Corp's MySpace is laying off nearly half its staff, setting the stage for a sale of the former Internet social networking leader as it refocuses as an entertainment site, reports Reuters.
The restructuring affects about 500 employees, or 47% of the company, and comes after weeks of speculation on technology blogs about the cuts.
People close to News Corp have said privately that the media giant is not involved in sales talks. However, shrinking MySpace's losses will be key in attempts to shop it to would-be buyers like private equity firms or even Yahoo, according to some reports.
Share