Shelly Palmer’s Daily Radio Report

Sony’s PlayStation Network has been offline for days, due to what Sony is calling an “external “intrusion.” The service that lets PlayStation 3 owners play their games online is not scheduled to come back online until April 26^th. While it is not confirmed, many attribute the outage to the hacker group, Anonymous. In other news, the white iPhone 4 is finally making its way into stores.  Retailers began receiving promotional material suggesting an AT&T and Verizon launch this week. Apple hopes the white iPhone 4 will boost sales until the new model comes out late this year. And finally, NASA recently invested money into private companies for spacecraft development and it’s already paying off. Rocket producer SpaceX claims its Dragon capsule cannot only deliver goods to space stations, but hopes to land on other planets. The first manned mission could happen as early as 2014.

Congress is already questioning Apple’s motives for tracking user’s location information on the iPhone. Leading the charge is Senator Al Franken who wrote a letter to Steve Jobs, demanding that Apple clarify why and how the tracking is happening. Apple has yet to respond to any of the accusations. In other news, Amazon’s cloud hosting service recently experienced errors that took down several big websites including Foursquare and Reddit. Amazon is among the leaders in cloud-based hosting, having made $68.3 billion in 2010.  The outage is making companies realize the need for a backup plan when the cloud fails. And finally, Greenpeace released a study that analyzed the energy efficiency of tech companies’ data centers. Apple and Facebook received very poor scores for relying heavily on coal-generated electricity, while Twitter failed across the board. Greenpeace hopes the study will make startups energy-aware when constructing future data centers.

Researchers discovered that the iPhone and 3G iPads track and save everywhere you take the devices. The data is stored in a file that serves no practical application, yet contains information that law enforcement shouldn’t even have access to. There’s not a huge risk that a hacker will get this information, but it’s making many question Apple’s motives. In other news, Kindle owners will soon be able to rent e-books from their local public libraries. The Kindle Book Lending platform will retain any highlights and annotations made on borrowed books if the user re-rents or purchases it. The service will roll out later this year and has libraries worried about the physical book market. And finally, Apple posted second-quarter profits that were nearly double that of last year. Second-quarter net income reached nearly $6 billion, with iPhone sales the strongest in two years. Apple’s stock traded as high as $353.39.

Google introduced a new way to make its mapping service even more accurate in the US. Google Map Maker is a crowd-sourced tool where users can modify roads and structures using an approval system. If enough people agree that your correction is accurate, the changes will appear on Google Maps. In other news, T-Mobile is rolling out a service that will let you make voice calls to your Facebook friends through the social networking site. Using Facebook’s chat feature, the T-Mobile app called Bobsled will facilitate voice chat and messages internationally. T-Mobile plans to also release video chatting soon. And finally, a recent ComScore report reveals that Apple’s iOS has a user base of 37.9 million people. This is twice the reach of Google’s Android operating system, which has a user base of 23.8 million. Apple’s larger numbers are due to having 6% more mobile subscribers than Android-run phones.

Google announced that it would invest around $100 million into the world’s largest wind farm. The Shepherd’s Flat wind project located in Oregon is expected to generate 845 megawatts of energy next year. Google has already invested $350 million in clean-energy and is on the lookout for even more projects. In other news, the European Commission is investigating wireless carriers to make sure they aren’t blocking selective Internet traffic. Network neutrality has become a contentious issue, with sides arguing consumer protection versus overreaching government control. The outcome of European investigations could impact worldwide consensus. And finally, Apple sued Samsung, claiming its Galaxy tablet and phones are direct rip-offs of the iPad and iPhone. The lawsuit alleges patent and trademark infringement, despite the fact that almost every smartphone looks like the iPhone.

Apple is being sued for “unlawful exploitation,” with claims that in-app purchases can easily be made by minors. Apple only requires users to enter an iTunes password to authorize purchases, which some say is not adequate protection. Game Currency has become a lucrative business by making micro-purchases one thumb-tap away. In other news, the FBI recently seized a majority of popular United States’ poker and gambling websites. The massive shut down has halted a multi-billion dollar industry and its legality has been a contentious issue amongst lawmakers. Restraining orders have been placed on 76 bank accounts, with charges including $3 billion in civil money-laundering penalties. And finally, two robots designed for hazardous conditions entered the damaged nuclear facilities in Japan. iRobot’s remote controlled Packbots are equipped with video cameras that will let workers assess the damage. iRobot has already distributed over 3,000 robots for military and civilian use.

YouTube instituted a three-strike policy for those uploading copyrighted material. Violators must watch a short video explaining copyright law and are required to take a multiple-choice quiz about the information. Completing YouTube’s “Copyright School” will allow suspended users to regain good standing on the site. In other news, Comcast launched a new high-speed Internet service that boasts download speeds of 105 Mbps. This is nearly ten times faster than typical cable Internet and could have users downloading an HD movie in 5 minutes. If you have the need for speed, it’s going to cost you $105 with Comcast’s Triple Play package. And finally, Research in Motion launched its first tablet PC, the 7-inch PlayBook. The tablet runs a unique operating system that will run Android apps with an update this summer.  There are 3,000 available PlayBook-specific apps and it costs between $500 and $700 depending on the model.

For the first time in history, online advertising revenue surpassed newspapers. With a 15% increase from last year, online advertising brought in $26 billion versus $22.8 billion from newspapers. The double-digit growth during an economic recession suggests that even more dollars will be shifted online. In other news, a recent study by the World Economic Forum reveals that the United States trails behind four other countries in its use of computer and telecom technology. Sweden, Singapore, Finland and Switzerland are 2010’s leaders based on qualifiers like registered patents, mobile device usage and venture capital. The United States also ranked 52^nd in math and science education. And finally, IBM is working on smartphone technology that could help alleviate your commute. Its Traffic Prediction Tool analyzes real-time data from traffic sensors and predicts commuter behavior so you don’t have to. IBM is currently testing the software with the California Department of Transportation.

Senators Kerry and McCain recently introduced legislation to create the first “Privacy Bill of Rights.” The bill prevents companies from collecting and distributing users’ information without consent. But, the new rules are only applicable to sensitive religious, medical or financial data. In other news, U.S. enrollment in computer science programs declined drastically after the dotcom bubble burst a decade ago. But, for the third year in a row, enrollments have increased, up 10% from last fall. While the number of computer science students is steadily rising, women graduates still only account for 13.8% of the students. And finally, Microsoft recently rolled out a massive update for Windows. The update covers 64 vulnerabilities in programs like Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer that allowed hackers to gain remote access to your system. Nine of the updates are critical fixes and if you’re running a Windows machine, you shouldn’t hesitate to update.

Director James Cameron is starting the Cameron-Pace Group that will attempt to make 3D entertainment a mainstay. Cameron is an early adopter of the technology, using it to film his 3D epic, Avatar. The company wants to set the golden standard for 3D and change the negative perception the technology has received. In other news, Verizon announced that it’s working on a digital media utility service that will deliver on-demand content to consumer devices. Content creators will be able to automatically push digital media through Verizon’s network and have it deploy correctly for every device. The program will have its commercial release sometime in July. And finally, a federal appeals court finally closed the case between Facebook’s Mark Zuckberg and his archenemies the Winklevoss twins. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss appealed the court’s previous decision, arguing that a $65 million settlement wasn’t enough. They’re still certain Zuckerberg stole their idea.