Internet

It's easy to see why Google built Buzz, but harder to figure out why anybody would want to use it.

Facebook's new redesign makes it easier to get at the service's most useful tools -- with one big exception.

In the curious case of PayPal blocking and reversing payments to and from India, facts have been remarkably thin on the ground. The eBay subsidiary just says it's "really sorry," but just doesn't give any insight into what's going on. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers crowdsource the explanation: read on...
(EBAY)

Is refusing Flash in the best interests of future iPhone 4G and iPad customers? The growing war of words between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch is amusing to watch, but how helpful is it? In IT Blogwatch, bloggers take sides.
(AAPL) (ADBE)

While technology blogs nitpick the iPad over missing features and inadequate specs, they're missing the point of the device, which is to create a tool that people love to use.

"From a techie point of view, one could say, oh, my gosh, it didn't have this feature, it didn't have that feature. And I think a lot of the blogosphere has gone along with that line of thinking. But I think [Apple] is after a different market entirely," said ArminasX Saiman, an Apple enthusiast and IT manager for a large multinational company.

Microsoft has confirmed a thoroughly revolting vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer. It means that bad guys can read your files remotely. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers panic and pray for patches. Not to mention embracing life...
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Much has been made of the ongoing battle between Google and the Chinese government, but Google faces a far bigger governmental challenge with more serious revenue and business implications: The ongoing fights over privacy and search engine monopoly throughout Europe. Google's ultimate success may be decided in cities such as Brussels, Rome, and Berlin, not Beijing.

From time to time, I hear security vendors make claims that make no sense. In fact, let's not mince words: I sometimes hear security vendors lie. There, I said it. This week on Security Levity, I want to talk about one such example...

My favorite navigation app for the iPhone is MotionX-GPS Drive, because of its low cost, small footprint, and attractive and usable interface. The software just got upgraded to v3.0, with the new version fresh in the app store this week. I've been trying it for the past few days.

The most recent figures show that Internet Explorer continues its long, steady decline in market share, with no end in sight. But it need not be that way. Here are five ways Microsoft can save Internet Explorer and gain back market share.

Microsoft and Google agree on very little, but they agree on at least one thing: It's time for Internet Explorer 6 to go. Google has announced that it will drop support of IE 6 for Google Docs on March 1. More surprisingly, it will also drop support for Chrome 3.

Google's awarding prizes of $500 to $1337 for security bugs in Chrome and Chromium. So fire up that download, elite vulnerability hunters. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers look after the pennies. Not to mention GHP is back in town ...
(GOOG)

Apple's upcoming iPad includes the iBooks apps, which combines e-book reader software with an iTunes-like service for selling books. I was somewhat surprised by iBooks. I had just assumed that Apple was going to let existing e-book distributors like Amazon.com and FictionWise install apps on the iPad and sell books that way. But I should not have been surprised. Why wouldn't Apple want to have its own e-book store?

As a Second Life enthusiast, I really want the iPad to run Second Life. There's no reason why it shouldn't. As my friend Wagner James Au points out on the blog New World Notes, the iPhone already has a couple of rich, text-only Second Life clients, and the iPad now has the horsepower and screen size to support Second Life graphics.

The iPad looks like a winner. It's an e-book reader, video player, game console, and netbook, all in one sexy package. I want it. I'll buy it the day it comes out. Millions of other people will buy one too. Apple will make billions of dollars off this thing, and revolutionize an industry or two in the process. But that's just my opinion. Here's what some other people are saying.