At some point in the recent past, the Mountain View brass realized that owning the Web is not enough to survive. It makes sense—people are increasingly using non Web-based avenues to access the Internet, and Google would be remiss to not make a play for that business. The problem is that in branching out, Google has also abandoned its core principles and values.

Many of us have entered into a contract with the ur search company because its claims to be a good actor inspired our trust. Google has always claimed to put the interests of the user first. It’s worth questioning whether or not that’s still the case. Has Google reached a point where it must be evil?

via The Case Against Google.

But not everyone agrees that RIM’s situation is as dire as it appears on first glance, and indeed some people prefer BlackBerrys. After all, the company has 70 million subscribers. To get a sense of what RIM’s appeal is in the iPhone and Android age, we decided to talk to some users and an enterprise smartphone management vendor that handles mobile deployments of all types. Some of Ars’ Twitter followers told us they only use BlackBerrys because their employers won’t allow other devices, and blamed corporate “inertia.” But it’s also true that some people just prefer the BlackBerry form factor, BlackBerry Messenger is well-liked, and RIM is still ahead of the competition in satisfying the unique requirements of highly regulated industries.

“It’s premature to run the obituaries on RIM,” says Dan Croft, CEO of Mission Critical Wireless, which helps businesses manage mobile deployments. “Clearly they are facing some significant issues, but there are still millions and millions of BlackBerrys out there that are operating just fine. That being said, what we’re typically seeing is not RIM getting ripped out of an enterprise environment. We’re just seeing the addition of non-BlackBerry devices.”

via Why people still use BlackBerry: keyboards, security, and IT requirements.

via The FCPA Compliance Audit: a Market Approach to Moving the Bar Forward | Thomas Fox – JDSupra.

“The large number of FCPA cases and the formation of specialized FCPA units within Federal agencies, suggest that this is a long-term initiative for regulators,” said Bill Olsen, Grant Thornton economic advisory service principal and the firm’s FCPA practice leader. “While working with our clients to address issues in this area, we have observed that many multinational organizations are especially interested in tactics that will fully address their FCPA risks.”

“Organizations doing business globally usually have a robust ethics and compliance program in place,” said David Childers, president and CEO of EthicsPoint. “Having a management-supported program visible in the organization helps show a company’s commitment to conducting business correctly — and can reduce potential penalties.”

The two firms offered the following 10 common misconceptions that companies should address to stay in compliance with the FCPA and potentially avoid penalties:

1.”Based on our company profile, we don’t have any FCPA risks.”

If a company has even a few interactions with overseas markets, assessing potential FCPA or other anti-corruption risks is highly recommended.

2.”We are a private company so we don’t have to be concerned with the FCPA”

Although many of the highly publicized FCPA enforcement actions have been against public companies, private companies are just as likely to come under review by government enforcement agencies.

3.”Our employees know our position on ethics because our policies spell it out.”

Assuming that a company’s code of conduct ensures adequate conveyance of management’s position on ethics may be a misplaced perception; the tone at the top must be emphasized throughout the company on an ongoing basis to be effective.

continued: SDCExec.com – Article – 10 Misconceptions That Increase the Likelihood of FCPA Violations.

CNET obtained a copy of the department’s position on mandatory data retention–saying Congress should strike a “more appropriate balance” between privacy and police concerns–that will be announced at a House of Representatives hearing tomorrow.

“Data retention is fundamental to the department’s work in investigating and prosecuting almost every type of crime,” Jason Weinstein, deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division, will say, according to his written testimony. “The problem of investigations being stymied by a lack of data retention is growing worse.” (See related article.)

The Bush Justice Department endorsed such proposals under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Tomorrow’s announcement demonstrates that the Obama Justice Department is following suit and appears to be its first public statement embracing mandatory data retention.

That aligns the Justice Department with data retention’s more aggressive supporters among House Republicans and places it at odds with privacy advocates, civil libertarians, and the Internet industry. Those groups have questioned the privacy, liability, cost, and scope, including whether businesses such as coffee shops would be required to identify and monitor whoever uses their wireless connections.

via Justice Department seeks mandatory data retention | Privacy Inc. – CNET News.

via Wikileaks cables describe US pressure on Germany in context of data sharing agreements « The Lift – Legal Issues in the Fight against Terrorism.

A report by Computerworld  stated the new supercomputers will be the fastest with speeds of up to 20-petaflops. One of the new supercomputers will be built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the former fastest supercomputer Jaguar is housed. The other one is being built at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by IBM. The report also confirmed that the systems will be completed by 2012.

Recently China’s supercomputer Tianhe-1A system, housed at the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin, toppled Cray XT5 Jaguar to become the fastest supercomputer, recording speed of 2.57 petaflops.

The second position is held by Jaguar clocking 1.75 petaflops. According to the recent list by The Top 500 Supercomputers Sites, the third position is also held by a Chinese System called Nebulae which clocked 1.27 petaflops.

via US heats up supercomputer battle with China; building two 20-petaflop systems – International Business Times.

The proposed tie-up, announced last week, would see Maiwurm head the trans-Atlantic firm, with a European chair position also being discussed, likely to be filled by Hammonds Managing Partner Peter Crossley.

The deal is likely to see the firms retain separate profit pools, in common with recent mergers between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson and Denton Wilde Sapte and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

The name of the combined entity, if it goes live as planned on January 1, 2011, is still under discussion, although Squire Sanders Hammonds has been cited as one possibility.

via Hammonds and Squire Sanders Firm Up Merger Terms.

The commission said that it would examine whether I.B.M. had shut out rival mainframe software vendors and service providers. The investigation could lead to charges and potential fines against the company.

Joaquín Almunia, who took over in February as the European competition commissioner, “is making it clear that the Internet and the information technology sector will be an enforcement priority for him and for the commission,” said Alec Burnside, a competition lawyer in Brussels at the law firm, Linklaters. “It is clear that he is building on the precedent left him by his predecessor.”

via Europe Starts Antitrust Inquiries Against I.B.M. – NYTimes.com.

Goldman, which has been accused of civil fraud over a complex mortgage-related security called Abacus, is trying to focus settlement talks with the SEC on the less serious charge of omitting or mis-stating material facts to investors.

Regulatory experts say that companies charged with fraud often seek a settlement on a lesser charge but it is unclear whether the SEC would agree to downgrade such a high-profile case.

A lesser charge would reduce Goldman’s risk of being sued by investors and help the bank avoid the reputational damage of having settled a fraud charge, according to people familiar with the situation.

People involved in the discussions say that, even if regulators agree to consider a lesser charge, Goldman would neither admit nor deny wrongdoing – a common practice among companies settling with the SEC.

Goldman and the SEC declined to comment.

In a note to clients on Thursday, Brad Hintz of Bernstein Research estimated that Goldman might pay a fine of $250m and compensate investors by buying out their exposure to the Abacus deal at a cost of $370m.

via FT.com / Companies / Banks – Goldman seeks settlement with SEC.