Reuters - Confronted with mounting privacy
protests, Facebook.com has scaled back a Web monitoring feature
that notifies one's friends when the Facebook user visits
affiliated Web sites, the company said on Thursday.

Reuters - Sony Corp said it plans to sell
auto-related programs such as the BBC's Top Gear series to
users of its PlayStation 3 via the Internet, strengthening the
game machine's appeal as a gateway to the Web.

InfoWorld - Social networking site Facebook has modified a controversial service that broadcast details of its users' online activities outside the site to their friends, following complaints about its privacy implications. The service now requires users to opt in before their actions are broadcast.

AP - A death originally thought to have been caused by an exploding cell phone is now being blamed on a co-worker, who confessed to making up the story after striking the victim with a drilling vehicle, South Korean police said Friday.

AP - An ambitious plan to re-ignite Dell Inc.’s fortunes has met a mixed response among analysts and investors apparently split over how well — and how quickly — the computer maker can reinvent itself as an all-in-one technology juggernaut.

AP - Seeking to keep the peace in its popular online hangout, Facebook Inc. has overhauled a new advertising system that sparked privacy complaints by turning its users into marketing tools for other companies.

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Film and TV writers who’ve been on strike for nearly a month are mulling a new contract offer from Hollywood studios. Producers said the offer they presented Thursday, dubbed the “New Economic Partnership,” would pay writers millions of dollars extra for work shown on the Internet, a central issue in negotiations.

InfoWorld - In IT, change is the only constant, as hardware and software is updated almost continuously. Companies that take business continuity seriously protect themselves by creating a recovery site to run vital business processes during an emergency.

AP - Ronald Goldman’s father is taking legal action to stop a file-sharing Web site from posting O.J. Simpson’s book, “If I Did It,” about the slaying of his son and Simpson’s ex-wife.

AP - AT&T Inc. says it plans to offer a version of an iPhone next year that runs on a faster wireless network so users can get speedier results when surfing the Web.