P2P Remains Dominant Protocol

Google May Close Gmail Germany Over Privacy Law - Matt writes "Google is threatening to shut down the German version of its Gmail service if the German Bundestag passes it's new Internet surveillance law. Peter Fleischer, Google's German privacy representative says the new law would be a severe blow against privacy and would go against Google's practice of also offering anonymous e-mail accounts. If the law is passed then starting 2008, any connection data concerning the internet, phone calls (With position data when cell phones are used), SMS etc. of any German citizen will be saved for 6 months, anonymizing services like Tor will be made illegal."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

[Slasdot]

Jet packs for sale! Life insurance sold separately -

Filed under: Transportation, Wearables

It looks like those still bemoaning the lack of readily-available jet packs can now finally get a (brief) taste of the 21st century they once envisioned, as Popular Mechanics reports that two different wearable flying contraptions are now available for sale. Coming from Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana and Jetpack International, the jet packs will each give you about 30 seconds of flight time, with Jetpack International's model boasting a slight advantage in speed, topping out at 70 mph. Somewhat reassuringly, each also come complete with the necessary flight training, although we wouldn't expect any less given the $250,000 and $155,000 price tags. Those that take the plunge may be suffering from some buyer's remorse before too long, however, as Jetpack International is reportedly working on a new model that'll give you a full 19 minutes of flight time.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

[EnGadget]

Yahoo! in Talk to Buy MySpace: Is That a Good Idea Nowadays? -

Well this is big. Apparently, Yahoo! has discussed buying MySpace from News Corp in a bid to save itself from irrelevance. In return, News Corp. would get 30 percent of the newly combined Yahoo!+MySpace. Or, in dollar amounts, News Corp would cash in to the tune of $11.1 billion. Considering Murdoch and Co. bought MySpace for $650 million, I’d say that’s a deal and a half. Too bad Yahoo!’s recent restructuring puts the deal, if there ever really was one, in jeopardy.

But you know what? A lot of us here think that buying Facebook is the better move for Yahoo! Let’s admit it: MySpace simply isn’t what it was two years ago and all the momentum in the world appears to be behind Facebook. Its community is just what advertisers love—kids with cash to burn—and the site isn’t a disaster to read like MySpace can be.

News Corp explores swap of MySpace site for Yahoo! stake [TimesOnline]

[CrunchGear]

US Prepares for Eventual Cyberwar - The New York Times is reporting on preparations in the works by the US government to prep for a 'cyberwar'. Precautionary measures are being taken to guard against concerted attacks by politically-minded (or well-paid) hackers looking to cause havoc. Though they outline scenarios where mass damage is the desired outcome (such as remotely opening a dam's gates to flood cities), most expect such conflicts to be more subtle. Parts of the internet, for example, may be unreachable or unreliable for certain countries. Regardless, the article suggests we've already seen our first low-level cyberwar in Estonia: "The cyberattacks in Estonia were apparently sparked by tensions over the country's plan to remove Soviet-era war memorials. Estonian officials initially blamed Russia for the attacks, suggesting that its state-run computer networks blocked online access to banks and government offices. The Kremlin denied the accusations. And Estonian officials ultimately accepted the idea that perhaps this attack was the work of tech-savvy activists, or 'hactivists,' who have been mounting similar attacks against just about everyone for several years."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

[Slasdot]

Essential List on Firefox Extensions for Webmaster The Essential List and Resources on Firefox Extensions is a popular post here, due to one reason - Firefox has too many extensions and it is difficult and time consuming for a user who just wanted to install some cool extensions to get started on their Firefox journey. Because our original list was more toward normal and daily usage - and being a part time webmaster and blogger, I want to introduce some of the extensions I used to assist my webmaster responsibilities and tasks. Oh yes, I will only display extensions that save my web developing time for other tasks and projects in my life. Same drill here - I am going to list some must have, should have and good to have extensions, based on my experience and usage: