Technology News

AP - Repressive regimes have stepped up efforts to censor the Internet and jail dissidents, Reporters Without Borders said in a study out Thursday.

AP - Federal regulators are pledging a rigorous review of the proposed combination of Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal.

AP - Sony has a new message for Nintendo Wii gamers: Come join us.

AP - Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod a household name, a sleek new smart phone called the Pre and fresh, intuitive operating software.

AP - Album lovers may rejoice a little at last: a British court says Pink Floyd, purveyor of iTunes-unfriendly concept records, cannot be unbundled.

AP - A global Internet oversight agency is reopening discussions about whether to create a ".xxx" domain name as an online red-light district where porn sites can set up shop away from the wandering eyes of children and teenagers.

AFP - California startup OnLive plans a June 17 launch for a service that streams videogames over the Internet, meaning players can avoid buying expensive consoles or packaged software.

Macworld.com - On Thursday, Namco announced UniteSDK, its new propriety cross-platform technology. During a demonstration on Tuesday night at the Game Developers Conference, Namco revealed Macs, PCs, and mobile platforms like the iPhone will be able to play games simultaneously against each other. Namco also demonstrated Pool Pro Online 3 for iPhone, which was created using the UniteSDK. Pool Pro Online 3 is now available for $5 at the App Store.

NewsFactor - Opera Software launched an Android version of the company's Opera Mini 5 mobile browser Thursday that promises to significantly improve page loading and speed on compatible smartphones. The beta release continues the company's campaign to increase the visibility of its browser on a global basis.

PC World - A scrum of reporters pressed against Brad and Ashley as they shuffled up to the counter at a Best Buy store in Manhattan. Cameras flashed and elbows flew. Was it the end of Brangelina? Some new reality show?