Internet

Internet phone and video chat service Skype is to begin carrying limited advertising. It comes as figures show the company is failing to convert enough free Skype accounts to paid Skype accounts. In short, Skype allows users to digitally telephone ... another Skype user's computer using a microphone or webcam, and is completely free to do so. Other premium Skype services are available (but cost a fee), including: using the PC to call a landline or cellphone long distance, or using group video calling and various business services. As of early 2009, more than 40 million different people used Skype ... (view more)

Facebook fanatics are more than likely miserable with their personal lives, according to a recent report . Another report has surfaced, which now suggests that the statistics for married Facebook users are perhaps even more dismal, after the popular ... social network was cited in 1 out of every 5 divorce cases. The study is according to a new survey of American marriage lawyers. The reason for the eventual separation is not because one spouse posts slanderous messages against another spouse. It's also not because of all of the other inequities that comes with "creeping" a partner's page. Rather ... (view more)

A Facebook "relationship notifier" application -- originally designed as a joke -- has proven to be a major hit. The app, which lets users know when a Facebook user changes their relationship status, has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. The ... app works in a simple manner: you click a list to confirm which of your existing friends you want to track, and then you receive an email whenever their listed relationship status changes. Facebook Users Love 'Breakup Notifier' Aptly named "Breakup Notifier", the Facebook app notifies you if a "friend" on your list changes their ... (view more)

Libya has followed Egypt's lead in restricting Internet access. But the operators of a service that helps foreign companies take advantage of the country's domain code says it will be unaffected. As with Egypt, the Internet crackdown is associated ... with anti-government protests. And as with Egypt, the measures mean all traffic into and out of the country appears to have been completely blocked. Internet Blocking: a Form of Curfew However, there is one key difference: the Egyptian incident involved net access going down and then not returning for several days, apparently after officials decided ... (view more)

A government agency intends to extend a rural phone subsidy program to cover high-speed Internet. It comes as the agency's chairman warns that as many as 24 million Americans may have no access to broadband whatsoever. The debate involves the ... Universal Service Fund, a scheme set up in 1997 to provide every home in the country with telephone service. Phone operators forward a portion of their revenue to the fund, which is used to subsidize phone service in areas where operators couldn't otherwise charge reasonable rates and still make a profit. (Source: washingtonpost.com ) The fund also ... (view more)

Republican Congress members have taken the first step in blocking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from enforcing net neutrality rules. But the political landscape means the final outcome is far from clear. The move follows a hearing by ... the House of Representatives committee that questioned all five FCC members about their decision in December to issue controversial guidelines attempting to enforce net neutrality (the principle that all lawful Internet traffic should be treated equally). (Source: pcworld.com ) With Republican politicians unimpressed by the evidence given by the ... (view more)

It would seem at least somewhat logical to equate the number of one's Facebook friends with their overall happiness. The more Facebook friends, the more events one is invited to, the more pals to consult in times of stress. But a new study says ... that's not true, and indicates instead that the people with the most Facebook friends appear to be the least happy of all site members. The study comes to us from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. Researchers interviewed about 200 students to find out how Facebook use can be connected to one's overall mood. In their final report, these ... (view more)

An online "dating" site that was set up to expose the identities of more than 250,000 Facebook users has forced the social networking giant to seek legal action, despite no actual harm being done to the victims. The web site, called Lovely Faces, ... was created in an attempt to show how simple it is to misrepresent data and photos that are posted on public forums, all unbeknownst to those being profiled. Bot Scrapes Over 1 Million Facebook Profiles Despite being labeled an "awareness attack", site creators Paolo Cirio and Alessandro Ludovico are nevertheless guilty of utilizing an automated ... (view more)

The chief executive officer of Twitter says the site is helping maintain interest in live TV broadcasts, even in the era of the personal video recorder. Dick Costolo also claimed Twitter itself was making money -- though was unclear about the ... company's future financial strategies. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Costolo said that Twitter use had helped encourage people to once again watch TV shows at the time of their original airing, rather than catch up with them later. That's because watching "live" allows users to discuss the show with one another in real time, ... (view more)

A company offering a special discount on ordering flowers on line -- just in time for Valentine's Day -- was forced to shut down the deal a day early because customers complained the "offer" meant they saved little if any money. The offer came from ... Groupon, which issues a daily deal from retailers aimed at users in a particular geographical area. The way the deals work is that the offer is only good if a set number of people sign up to take advantage: that encourages more retailers to take part as they know they'll pick up enough extra business to make it worth their while. The all-or-nothing ... (view more)