Wasiq Ansari’s World

93 Million American Without High-Speed Internet Access
One-third of the country (or 93 million Americans) don’t have high-speed Internet access at home, according to a new consumer survey released Tuesday (Feb. 23) by the Federal Communications Commission. The report, Broadband Adoption and Use in America, comes about a month before the Commission is due to release [...]

BRUSSELS — European Union data privacy regulators are telling Google Inc. to warn people before it sends cameras out into cities to take pictures for its Street View maps, adding to the company’s legal worries in Europe.
Google should shorten the time it keeps the original photos from one year to six months, regulators also said [...]

@yahoo + @twitter Sitting in a Tree…T.W.E.E.T.I.N.G.
Yahoo! Gives ‘Em Something to Tweet About, Partnering with Twitter to Integrate Content and Social Experiences from Across the Web
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — As part of its ongoing commitment to be the center of people’s online lives, Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) today announced a global partnership [...]

Microsoft has launched the latest version of its mobile phone operating system, called Windows Phone 7 series.
The software has a redesigned user interface and incorporates many Microsoft services such as Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service.
The software was introduced at an event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
According to research firm Canalys, [...]

Google has admitted to BBC News that testing of its controversial social network Buzz was insufficient.
The firm has had to make a series of changes to the service after a ferocious backlash from users concerned about intrusions of privacy.
The BBC understands that Buzz was only tested internally and bypassed more extensive trials with external testers [...]

Google aims to take on Facebook with new social feature called ‘Buzz’
Google, which has faltered in its attempts to break into the booming social networking business, is making another bid to counter the growing influence of Silicon Valley rival Facebook and San Francisco upstart Twitter with new products that make it easier to share with [...]

Google on Thursday confirmed that it has acquired social search start-up Aardvark, a company founded by ex-Google employees.
“We have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aardvark, but we don’t have any additional details to share right now,” said a company spokesperson in an e-mail.
Google has not confirmed a price, but a report on TechCrunch says [...]

Google ’sister’ launches in China:
A new search engine and social network provider called Goojje has appeared online in China.
The site contains very similar branding to Google, and the final syllable “jje” sounds similar to the Mandarin word for older sister (jiejie).
Goojje’s search results appear to be filtered for sensitive content in accordance with Chinese regulations.
Google [...]

For as long as anyone can remember Microsoft Office has a cheaper ‘upgrade’ price option – but not for Office 2010.
Microsoft has confirmed to Office Watch that there will be no upgrade pricing offers for existing Office users.
Everyone, existing customer or not, will pay the same prices for Office 2010 with no ‘reward’ for customer [...]

CNNIC excludes oversea registrars from .CN registrations
CNNIC, the official registry for .CN, announced that all oversea registrars will no longer be allowed to register .CN domains starting with January 6, 2010, 18:00 PM (Beijing Time). The registration stop is planned to be temporarily. According to the Chinese registry, difficulties in handling the comprehensive new application [...]