Apple now has the support of a USB industry standards group in its battle to keep the Palm Pre from using the iTunes music service.The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) said in a statement Tuesday that Apple can block the Pre from connecting to iTunes. The group issued a letter to both companies warning Palm that further attempts to use iTunes would violate the group’s policy.The voice of the USB-IF is strong in this case since the group is responsible for issuing Apple the hardware vendor ID that lets its devices connect to iTunes via USB. Palm has used this process…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

German phone giant Deutsche Telekom is looking to jump into the 4G wireless market in the U.S. through partnerships with U.S.-based service providers, according to a report by Bloomberg News.Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Deutsche Telekom is looking to beef up its presence in the U.S. wireless market by investing in Clearwire, a company that is building a 4G wireless network using a technology called WiMax. Sources also told Bloomberg that Deutsche Telekom is also talking to Metro PCS, which recently acquired spectrum to build its 4G wireless network.Deutsche Telekom already owns T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S.…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

LONDON: The United States was dealt a blow by the financial crisis but remains the world’s main power and can maintain its influence if it works with allies to achieve its goals, a study said on Tuesday. A report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank in London said that despite taking an economic hit, the downturn has highlighted how other states look to Washington for their lead. “The vivid message of the financial crisis… was that America continued to be of vital importance to other countries, including its putative rivals as pre-eminent powers,” the IISS…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

MUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex (^BSESN : 16185.2 -79.1) dropped 0.5 percent Monday as investors locked in profits after a six-session rally, with weak Asian markets setting the direction. By 11:23 a.m. (0553 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index was down nearly 80 points at 16,185.94 points, with 20 components losing. The benchmark, which climbed 5.6 percent over the previous six sessions, had more than doubled last Tuesday from its March low. “There is very little room for buying at these levels,” said D.D. Sharma, vice-president, Anand Rathi Securities. “There might be pockets of demand at dips, but largely…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

MUMBAI: India is committed to clear the Insurance Amendment Bill that seeks to bring in more foreign investments in the sector, Junior Finance Minister Namo Narain Meena said on Tuesday. “They are under preparation and being given final shape for discussion in parliament,” he said on the sidelines of a banking conference, referring to the details of the bill. Indian laws currently allow 26 percent foreign holding in insurance companies, which the bill seeks to raise to 49 percent. India has 22 life insurance companies, 21 non-life firms and one reinsurer, according to data from the website of the regulator,…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

A new report published yesterday suggests that Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days to post status updates on Facebook. The reason is that click through rates are dramatically higher on those two days. It’s not surprising considering that this is a trend found around the web in traditional publishing channels. If you do a press release, the best days have traditionally been Monday through Wednesday as those are the days that most people read the news.

What was somewhat surprising was the substantial drop off in click through starting on Thursday. Content published on Thursday receives half the clicks…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

An unpatched memory corruption flaw in the latest version of Firefox creates a means for hackers to drop malware onto vulnerable systems.
Security notification firm Secunia reports that the security bug (which it describes as extremely critical) stems from errors in handling JavaScript code. The flaw has been confirmed in the latest 3.5 version of Firefox, released in late June.
Older versions of the popular alternative browser might also be affected, Secunia warns.
Exploit code has been uploaded onto recently revived security exploit website milw0rm, a factor that could hasten the development of more attack code.
Secunia advises Firefox…

In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs that is tied to its Chrome Web browser.
The software, called the Google Chrome Operating System, is initially intended for use in the tiny, low-cost portable computers known as netbooks, which have been selling quickly even as demand for other PCs has plummeted. Google said it believed the software would also be able to power full-fledged PCs.
The move is likely to sharpen the already intense competition between Google and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system controls the basic functions of…