AFP - A US jury has ordered a 32-year-old woman to pay nearly two million dollars in damages for illegally downloading 24 songs over the Internet in a high-profile digital piracy case.

PC World - A U.S. company that says its code was copied by a Chinese Internet filtering program has ordered more PC makers not to distribute the Chinese software.

PC World - Research in Motion on Thursday saw a rare drop in subscriber growth when it reported its fiscal first quarter results, while shipment growth of its popular BlackBerry handsets apparently stalled.

PC World - Thanks to electronics repair service RapidRepair, we now know a little more about what powers the iPhone 3G S, as they have posted the first 3G S teardown guide.

PC World - Microsoft's upcoming Zune HD media player is powered by Nvidia's Tegra computing platform, a source familiar with the device's specifications confirmed on Friday.

AP - Google Inc. said Friday that it would step up efforts to stop pornography reaching users in China after a mainland watchdog found the search engine turned up a large number of links to obscene and vulgar sites.

Reuters - The latest iPhone hit stores on Friday with new features and faster speeds, drawing some fans but not the crowds that had swarmed Apple and AT&T stores at previous iPhone launches.

AP - The new iPhone is on sale in the U.S., greeted by much smaller lines and less hoopla than previous models.

Reuters - China Unicom (0762.HK), one of China's top three mobile carriers, may be close to a deal that would see it become the exclusive seller of Apple's iPhones in China for two years, a Merrill Lynch analyst said.

Macworld.com - At first glance, the recently announced Olympus E-P1 digital camera looks like a classic rangefinder from the film era. But in fact, the camera has much in common with a modern digital SLR, including interchangeable lenses, a 12.3-megapixel image sensor, and even support for Raw and 720p video recording. As a bonus, it comes neatly packaged in a body closer to the size of a compact point-and-shoot.

PC World - The iPhone's magic is still there: The crowds turned out to see -- and buy -- Apple's iPhone 3G S early Friday morning as it launched around the world.

Reuters - An Iraqi IT expert has set up the country's first e-shopping website for trading anything from cars to game consoles, hoping to build a business that may one day cater for locals and foreign investors alike.

AP - Job applicants with the city of Bozeman are finding that their private Internet discussions and pictures may not be so private after all.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's choice to head the Federal Communications Commission plans to review the exclusive arrangements between wireless carriers and cell phone makers.

Reuters - Apple Inc's latest iPhone hit stores on Friday with new features and faster speeds, drawing some fans, but not the crowds that had swarmed the previous iPhone launches.

Macworld.com - Whenever a new gadget hits the streets, it’s a race to see who wil be the first to reduce to its constituent pieces. With the launch of the iPhone 3G S we’ve got a pair of different companies doing their darndest to disassemble the latest iteration of Apple’s iconic device. Frankly, I'd be happy to have one fully assembled right now, but the FedEx guy has shown up yet.

Macworld.com - Another batch of games for you to play on your iPhone and iPod touch includes Digital Chocolate’s 3D Rollercoaster Rush, FaceFighter, which lets you punch out friends and foes alike, plus lots more.

NewsFactor - The new iPhone 3GS went on sale Friday morning with new and improved features that may draw more business users as Apple moves to challenge the dominance of BlackBerry.

Macworld.com - For the third consecutive summer, Apple released a new phone, and for the third consecutive summer, crowds flocked to buy it—though perhaps not in as large a number as they had in the past.

PC World - By the beginning of business In Boston today, about two dozen people had queued outside the Boylston Street Apple Store to pick up the iPhone 3G S. The lines were longer than those in San Francisco, which at least had better weather, and some East Coast and international locations reported crowds.

PC World - Okay, settle down gossipmongers, Microsoft says all this talk about an upgraded Xbox 360 is not only wrong, it's missing the point. There won't be an upgraded Xbox 360 next year, and in fact, we're only halfway through the current console cycle. What's more, Project Natal, the company's no-controller 3D motion and voice recognition technology is being designed for the existing Xbox 360, not an imaginary 'performance-upgraded' one.

PC World - Apple iPhone fans may not have to wait too much longer to get Multimedia Messaging and tethering services from AT&T. A confidential source within AT&T says the carrier will offer MMS by mid-July with tethering to follow about two weeks later, according to Appmodo. But here's the catch: the tethering will run you $55 per month. Previous estimates around the Web had put AT&T's iPhone tethering cost around $70. If the rumor is correct, it means you could be paying as much as $85 for your data connectivity on the iPhone -- $30 for AT&T's compulsory data charge plus an extra $55. John Gruber over at Daring Fireball believes this is an outrageous price and has his doubts about the rumor's accuracy. Gruber wonders if this price could mean $55 total, with a more reasonable tethering charge of $25. If the rumored U.S. tethering plan is an extra $25, then it would be similar to what iPhone users are paying in Canada and the U.K. That's still incredibly high, though, when you consider iPhone users in Finland, Sweden and Norway are paying $20 a month for unlimited data plans that include tethering; and Australia and New Zealand users aren't charged at all for iPhone tethering.

PC World - In previous years, the Apple iPhone has prompted lines to form a day or more in advance of the phone's release. The first year the iPhone came out, the San Francisco line resembled a carnival, complete with Peepshow mini-golf. But this year, it appears sanity has prevailed for the third-generation model, the iPhone 3G S -- becoming available today at AT&T and Apple stores nationwide.

PC Magazine - The line-up at the flagship Apple Store on 59th Street in Manhattan was clearly less than Apple had planned, and Twitter reports echoed that.

AFP - Internet giant Google has unveiled a Farsi translation service to help Iranians 'communicate directly' to the world, while Facebook has launched a version of its site in Persian, they said Friday.

AP - Regulators will investigate whether exclusive cell phone deals, such as the one that locks the iPhone to AT&T, are good for consumers.

PC World - So, this morning I reported on the thin to non-existent overnight crowds at local AT&T and Apple stores in the San Francisco area. Having stood now in two locations, I have to say my iPhone 3G S buying experience has been filled with quirks.

PC World - he new iPhone 3G S is still a comparatively popular device, but it has not unleashed a worldwide wave of enthusiasm like its predecessor, the iPhone 3G. Despite long lines in Tokyo, eager early buyers in Paris, and some dedicated enthusiasts in Auckland, New Zealand, we're not seeing the same iPhone mania as we have in previous years.

NewsFactor - Microsoft's free software to battle malware will be released Tuesday through its Web site, the company has confirmed. Called Microsoft Security Essentials, it consists of the anti-malware components of Windows Live OneCare, for which there has been an annual charge of $49.95.

Macworld.com - Two iPhone features introduced in iPhone OS 3.0 are still awaiting activation by AT&T: Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and tethering. Rumors suggesting that AT&T will surcharge its users $55 to activate the tethering capability are wrong, according to AT&T.

Macworld.com - The iPhone 3.0 update has lots of goodies for end-users.

AP - The attorney for the Minnesota woman found liable for sharing copyright-protected music on the Internet says he expects the $1.9 million verdict to be reversed on appeal.

AP - Coming soon to a campus near you — the Google tricycle.

AP - A joint venture formed by the nation's six largest cable operators is suspending trials of its first advertising product before it even gets off the ground.

PC World - At the beginning of cellular, the FCC did consumers wrong by allowing specific handsets to be tightly coupled to carrier networks. That lead to handset exclusivity deals that have limited choice and led to customer lock-in. That wrong may yet be righted.

PC World - A gaggle of vendors, consultants and end users are set to converge at a Boston hotel Monday for this year's Enterprise 2.0 conference, but it's unclear how many actual IT decision makers will show up with cash in hand.

AP - Some owners of Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 3G S may have to wait up to two days to make calls.

AP - Coming soon to a campus near you — the Google tricycle.

AP - The $1.92 million verdict against a Minnesota woman accused of sharing 24 songs over the Internet could ratchet up the pressure on other defendants to settle with the recording industry — if the big fine can withstand an appeal.

AP - Yahoo Inc. says laying off nearly 700 workers will cost between $30 million and $34 million in severance pay and other related expenses.

PC World - Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has said he's 'concerned' about Sony's PlayStation 3, reports Times Online in an article that reveals the multi-billions game publishing giant is reevaluating its future support for the platform.

Macworld.com - Here’s what 3G S Day looks, sounds and smells like in the Inland Empire of Southern California.

AFP - Intel has launched software that sniffs out questionable claims at websites.

PC World - The re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over challenger Mir Hussein Moussavi sparked demonstrations, and coverage of the protests led to the ouster of Western journalists.

Reuters - Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said in a published report on Friday it may stop making video games for Sony's PlayStation 3, the No. 3 console in the United States, due to high costs and poor sales.

PC World - Before Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior was hired by Cisco, she was the CTO of Motorola and dismissed in her blog the introduction of the Apple iPhone. However within 9 months of the Apple iPhone introduction, Motorola sales had collapsed by more than $4 billion (Page 1) and Motorola operating earnings dropped $3.8 billion to a loss of $534 million, leaving Warrior with absolutely no future as the CTO of Motorola.

PC World - Though some industry watchers are looking for a recovery in the second half of the year, IT vendors this week gave out mixed signals about prospects for sales, as Research In Motion (RIM) issued a tepid quarterly forecast, Progress Software and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy reported weak quarters, and MySpace announced staff cuts.

AP - The Carolina Hurricanes knew they wanted Paul Maurice back after he led them to the Eastern Conference finals. Keeping his staff intact was important, too.

PC World - I've always wanted to get a modern operating system to work on my graphing calculator. And we're about there, thanks to the efforts of a fellow (or strangly named lady) on The Windows Club forum. A user by the name of 'hackerman1' has installed Windows 7 on his PC, which in itself is nothing to write home about. The catch here is that he's gotten a bootable, working installation on no less than a Pentium II system. No, that's not a typo--Pentium Two. The extreme...ly old machine consists of a 266 MHz CPU, a whopping 96 MB of memory, and a next-generation 4 MB graphics card.

PC World - Apple on Friday claimed victory in an environmental laptop tiff with Dell, which earlier complained that Apple was misleading buyers by calling its laptops 'the world's greenest family of notebooks.'

PC World - Early iPhone 3G S adopters are reporting difficulty activating their iPhones, reports AppleInsider and MacRumors. In what is practically a carbon copy of last year’s iPhone 3G launch issues, it appears that Apple’s iPhone service activation servers were unprepared to deal with the influx of new registrations from today’s iPhone 3G S launch, leaving the zero-day adopters with a potential two day wait.

Reuters - Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks said on Friday that it will sell its advanced wireless technology business to Nokia Siemens Networks for US$650 million and that it was making progress in talks to sell its other businesses.

PC World - Some legal experts question the constitutionality of a $1.92 million fine given to a woman accused of pirating 24 songs. A Minnesota jury ordered Jammie Thomas-Rasset to pay that yesterday, saying she 'willfully' violated music copyrights and should cough up $80,000 per illegally downloaded track.

AFP - Internet giant Google promised to work harder to eliminate pornography from its Chinese Web pages as state media reported authorities had shut down some of its search services.

PC World - Opera has added a lot of cool new features to its upcoming Opera 10 browser, and one of them is almost sure to catch the eye of cyber criminals.