The iPhone scored quite a few headlines related to overheating problems with the 3GS this week. Depending on whom you believe, those issues are either real, exaggerated, the fault of users or some combination of the three. Otherwise, as warm weather takes hold above the equator and Bostonians contemplate whether it's time to brush up on our ark-building skills (rain, rain go away), we find this week's IT news offerings cover a broad range.
1. Apple admits iPhone 3GS heat problems, iPhone 3GS tips to prevent overheating, from Apple and AT&T says iPhone 3GS is hot in a good way : Apple offered tips to avoid overheating the iPhone 3GS, but the tip list is written as if to suggest that users are more at fault than the hardware. Meanwhile, a supposed AT&T memo talks about how hot the iPhone has been in terms of sales. Keep reading for yet more iPhone news ...
2. Jailbroken iPhones leave users more vulnerable: Jailbreaking iPhones -- or altering them so that applications not digitally signed by Apple can be installed on them -- may let users feel they have more control over their handsets, but jailbreaking could well give miscreants the upper hand. Jailbreaking removes most of the security protections from iPhones, a security researcher warned this week.
3. DOJ officially opens investigation into Google Book Search: The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that it has officially opened its investigation into a settlement involving Google Book Search in what will undoubtedly be a closely watched antitrust probe.
4. XHTML 2 language dumped for HTML 5: The World Wide Web Consortium will provide more resources toward development of the HTML 5 specification and will discontinue development of XHTML 2. HTML 5 is out in draft form, with a focus on multimedia for browser-based applications. It could be big competition for browser plug-in technologies such as Adobe Flash.
5. Oracle's European workers facing axe: Although Oracle's European performance was a highlight of its most recent quarterly financial report, the company could be about to lay off as many as 1,000 employees in Europe, according to a French labor union.
6. Mozilla launches Firefox 3.5, starts kill clock for older 3.0 and Review: Firefox 3.5 makes browsing faster, easier and more fun: After months of delays, Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 and more than 2 million users downloaded the updated browser within a few hours of its launch. Early reviews were mostly positive.
7. Microsoft pulls projectile-vomiting IE8 ad from Web: We're puzzling over why it seemed like a good idea to create an online advertisement for Internet Explorer 8 that showed a woman projectile vomiting after borrowing her husband's laptop and seeing his Web browsing history. Microsoft pulled the ad, but not before one Internet wag opined that using IE is enough to induce vomiting. Undoubtedly, that isn't what Microsoft had in mind.
8. IT salaries, perks continue to shrink and Wall Street Beat: After a strong Q2, what's next for IT?: Companies continue to cut IT salaries while available jobs also have been reduced because of the recession. But amid the cost-cutting efforts, IT companies led all others when it comes to how shares are holding up in stock markets. While a weak third quarter could be in the offing, at least some analysts continue to forecast strong PC sales (relatively speaking) before the year is out.
9. Suit over China's Web filter to target Lenovo, Acer, Sony: Solid Oak Software plans to take legal action against Lenovo, Acer and Sony to keep the companies from shipping Web filtering software in China. Solid Oak contends that its programming code was stolen to develop the program, called Green Dam Youth Escort.
10. Judge temporarily dismisses MySpace cyberbully case: A U.S. District Court judge dismissed a jury verdict on misdemeanor charges against Lori Drew, the Missouri woman accused of assuming a fake MySpace identity to taunt a neighborhood teenager in suburban St. Louis. The teenager, Megan Meier, hanged herself after one of the three people involved in the fakery posted a message that the world would be better off without the girl. Prosecutors had argued that violating MySpace terms of service for the purpose of harming someone else was legally tantamount to illegal access to a computer. The judge said that the conviction could set a precedent that any violation of MySpace terms of service could be a misdemeanor.
