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It's patent-troll time once again, folks. A one-person* company that adds zero economic value is suing a huge laundry list of companies who use the Web. The company claims it invented a common Web page feature, so it should be entitled to licensing fees. What sort of crazy is this? Explanations in today's The Long View...
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When you buy a MP3 from iTunes, do you own it? What if you could resell some of the ton of digital music you don't listen to, but that is taking up hard drive space? You can buy and legally resell "used" MP3s on eMarketplace ReDigi, the brainchild of former MIT programmers. Like the RIAA which refuses to change a broken business model, Capitol Records had a copyright infringement cow and objected in court. However a judge handed the first round victory to ReDigi, not Capitol. It's looking good for music lovers.

A few days ago a customer came to me with a question; they wanted to know what online services were consuming the most amount of bandwidth on their Internet connection. Easy, I thought, and I proceeded to show them how to report on the top websites consuming bandwidth. The problem was that the top entries in the list were all sites associated with content delivery networks (CDN).  

Google's new Chrome Android browser has a powerful link-beaming feature called Chrome to Mobile -- and it turns out there's even more to the feature than meets the eye.

High drama in cyber realm after hackers wanted $50,000 from Symantec or else the hacking group would leak the security firm's source code. Email negotiations between hackers and feds posing as a Symantec employee went down in flames. Now a file claiming to be Symantec's pcAnywhere source code set sail into the wild from The Pirate Bay.

Hackers and pen testers worldwide should be smiling and happy. At ShmooCon, Hak5 host Darren Kitchen gave a sneak preview of the new, improved and even more lethal "little Pineapple of doom." The WiFi Pineapple Mark IV, a Wi-Fi hot spot honeypot, will be available at the end of February, but until then, here's an interview with Kitchen to whet your appetite.

The Facebook IPO will be official later today, we're told. The rumor-mill sets the price per share at around $45, assuming the $100 billion valuation being bandied about. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if it'll be (NYSE:FB) or (NASDAQ:FB). Not to mention: 20 Rejected Monopoly Chance Cards...

In Part 2, I look at the five most important factors to keep in mind related to the user and company experience.

[Updated with more comment and analysis] Megaupload is warning that its hosting service providers may be about to destroy evidence. The data is 'important' to the company's defense that 'more than 50 million people' used the service for their legitimate cloud staorage needs -- not just copyrighted songs and movies. The U.S. government has washed its hands of the matter. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers hope that justice is seen to be done. Not to mention: Grammar Nazi's (learning you lesson's of speling & grammar)...

Current e-textbook distribution models, if successful, could let publishers control prices and eliminate the used textbook market.

North Koreans found using cellphones are guilty of 'war crimes.' At least, during the 100-day mourning period for Kim Jong-il, we're told. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers assume that means they'll be executed. Not to mention: Beautiful HD timelapse of Yosemite...

Hey! Google! Wake up! Porn spammers are running rampant over your social networking baby. Reporting them seems to have no effect. Please get a grip.

If you're also trying to figure out where you stand on the issue, here are links to Google's new privacy statement -- and the marketing that Google is doing to make its users understand and accept it.

Another day, another hack. All aboard the crazy cyber-attacked train? The TSA claimed that hackers launched a cyberattack that manipulated a railway company's computers. Then, last night, AntiSec hacktivists set sail and hacked OnGuardOnline.gov, a U.S. government online security website. The FTC managed site was rooted and a pastebin statement threatens to dump the looted booty if SOPA or PIPA legislation passes.

Senator Chuck Grassley says that LightSquared and others may be trying to nobble his investigations. He's looking into LightSquared's plan to transmit high powered signals next to low power GPS signals. He wrote an letter expressing his unhappiness about things said by LightSquared founder Philip Falcone and Fine Point Technologies CEO Todd Ruelle. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers break out the popcorn.