Google to host e-mail, build portal for BSkyB ... Nintendo investigates flying Wii controllers

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Google to host e-mail, build portal for BSkyB
News: Orange lets mobile users access PC content
News: Nintendo investigates flying Wii controllers
News: Police raid IBM's Moscow office
Opinion: The virtual taxman
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The iPhone already arrived -- in 1995!


NEWS UPDATES

Google to host e-mail, build portal for BSkyB
Broadcaster and Internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSkyB) has asked Google Inc. to host e-mail and other services for its broadband customers in the U.K. Their collaboration could also lead to the creation of targeted TV ads.

Orange lets mobile users access PC content
France Télécom SA, the parent company of mobile phone operator Orange, is offering a service that lets mobile phone users access videos, music and other content from their PCs.

Nintendo investigates flying Wii controllers
Nintendo Co. Ltd. is taking a close look at the wrist-strap on the controller for its Wii console after several reports on the Internet about straps breaking, causing the controller to fly out of the hands of users, its president said Thursday.

Police raid IBM's Moscow office
Speaking Thursday, IBM spokesman Jonathan Batty confirmed that the raid had taken place. However, he wouldn't say if the authorities seized documents or computer equipment.

Elpida, Powerchip to invest $13.9B in DRAM venture
Japanese memory chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. have announced a broad plan to invest US$13.9 billion over five years to build four new DRAM factories in Taiwan.

Access charges Palm $44 million for Palm OS license
Access Co. Ltd., the Japanese company that purchased PalmSource Inc. last year, has sold a perpetual license for the Palm OS to PDA-maker Palm Inc. for US$44 million, the companies said Wednesday.

Microsoft's 'Blue Dragon' debuts for Xbox 360
"Blue Dragon," one of two eagerly awaited role-playing games for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 games console, made its worldwide debut in Japan on Thursday.

YouTube 'reviewing' Japanese protest
Google Inc.'s YouTube is "reviewing" a letter sent to it on Monday by the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) and 22 others, calling on the operator of the popular Web site to do more to prevent users uploading copyrighted content.

Former telecom firm owner indicted on E-Rate fraud
The former president and owner of ATE Tel Solutions Inc. has been indicted and charged with defrauding a U.S. government program intended to help schools and libraries in poor areas connect to the Internet.


OPINION

The virtual taxman
By Dan Blacharski

I don't play online games, but a lot of people enjoy them. There are
virtual communities, entire virtual lives, filled with people who have
virtual jobs and even make virtual money. I can't imagine what it
would be like to have a virtual life—the real thing is hard enough—but
I suppose it could have advantages. Wouldn't it be great if, in real
life, when you screwed up something, you could just reboot and start
over? No such luck. But one real-life government agency wants in on
the virtual action, and it seems that a virtual taxman is going to be
taking a cut.

Read the full article here.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Nintendo investigated flying Wii controllers ... Elpida and Powerchip Semi invest $14 billion in DRAM plants ... NTT Docomo and Mitsubishi to replace 1.3 million batteries


ITWHIRLED

The iPhone already arrived -- in 1995!
Apple mobile phones and tablet computers are like the Loch Ness Monster to the Mac rumors community -- often whispered about, never seen in stores. But both of these products, and some even odder ones (like the "Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone") were produced by Apple in prototype form more than a decade ago.