The extremely popular social networking site Facebook has been blocked in Bangladesh this weekend after pages were found to include satirical images of the prophet Muhammad.

Additionally, satirical images were found of Bengali leaders and one man was even arrested and charged with "spreading malice and insulting the country's leaders."

The block is temporary, and Bengali officials say access will be fully restored once all the images are removed.

Adds the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) (via BBC): Facebook "hurt the religious sentiments of the country's majority Muslim population" by allowing the images of Muhammad.

"Some links in the site also contained obnoxious images of our leaders including the father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the leader of the opposition," notes the group.

Pakistan blocked access to Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia and Flickr last week after the images first appeared.

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New Apple TV will cost $99 and run on iPhone OS 4?

Posted: 30 May 2010 08:52 PM PDT

According to new rumors circulating the Internet, the upcoming updated Apple TV will cost just $99 USD and run on the iPhone OS 4. The device will also run on an A4 processor.

The current model Apple TV, which can be considered a flop by Apple standards, sells for $229.

The new rumors suggest that Apple sees a need to update their device as Google prepares to release their Google TV web content-to-TV delivery system in the next few months.

Originally, the rumor came from Engadget which cited a "source very close to Apple" in saying the upcoming set-top box will have 16GB of flash storage and "be capable of full 1080p HD."

Apple TV can display YouTube videos, images from iPhoto and Flickr, and gets its video content from iTunes, in SD and HD quality. The current model however, has a 160GB HDD.

While the iPhone 0S 4 can multi-task and will use Apple's new mobile advertising platform, most critics will point out that Apple does not allow native support of Adobe Flash, the standard used by most of the Internet. Google TV will have Flash 10.1 built-in, allowing for playback of popular sites such as Hulu on the TV.

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Google completes its acquisition of AdMob

Posted: 30 May 2010 02:49 PM PDT

Late last year, Google announced it intended to buy mobile ad giant AdMob for $750 million USD.

After over six months of delays, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared the purchase last week, thanks in part to Google's arch rival Apple.

Apple recently purchased the third largest mobile ad company, Quattro Wireless, and used it as the backbone of its new iAd platform on the iPad and iPhone. The FTC had been concerned that Google (the world's largest ad platform) merging with AdMob (world's largest mobile ad platform) would violate anti-trust laws. Apple joining the fray eased those concerns.

Today, Google has announced the completion of the acquisition.

Says the search giant: "It's clear that mobile advertising is becoming a much larger part of our clients' and partners' strategies and with this acquisition, it's now a central part of our own business. In continuing to invest in this highly competitive area, we'll be bringing together our technology, resources and expertise in search advertising with AdMob's innovative solutions for advertising on mobile websites and in mobile applications."

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Facebook has 540 million unique visitors

Posted: 30 May 2010 02:35 PM PDT

According to Google's Doubleclick Ad Planner 1000 list, Facebook is the leading website in the world, reaching 540 million unique users, good for over 35 percent of the entire world's Internet population.

The social networking giant had 570 billion page views, topping the list.

Google's list tracks the top 1000 sites in the world, ranked in order by unique user reach. While Google would likely have topped the list, easily, they did not include any of their properties (Google search, YouTube, etc.) in an effort to keep impartiality.

Yahoo was close behind Facebook, at 490 million unique visitors, reaching 31.8 percent of the world's Internet users. In terms of page views, Yahoo could not even compete, with only 70 billion views.

Combined, Microsoft has the most traffic of any company in the world, with Live having 370 million unique visitors, Wikipedia having 310 million unique visitors, MSN having 280 million unique visitors and Microsoft.com having 230 million. In terms of page views, Live had 39 billion, Wiki had 7.9 billion, MSN had 11 billion and Microsoft had 3.3 billion.

Google gets its data from computer sources such as Google Toolbar, opt-in Google Analytics data, and third-party research.

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HTC EVO 4G rooted, running Android 2.2

Posted: 30 May 2010 01:59 PM PDT

Last week Sprint announced that the HTC EVO 4G would hit stores on June 4th. The phone will cost $199 USD with two-year contract.

Today, a user on XDA-Developers has posted a video of the upcoming phone rooted and running Android 2.2 "Froyo," which has not been released on any phone except for the Nexus One.

It is speculated that the phone is one of the few that were given out to I/O conference participants, the Google event last week.

The HTC EVO 4G boasts the most impressive specs on an Android phone yet, with a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive multi-touchscreen display (with pinch to zoom), Android 2.1 with Sense UI, Google Search, Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Goggles, YouTube, Google Calendar syncing, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability for connecting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Additionally, the device has GPS with Sprint Navigation, a Digital compass, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.5mm headset jack, FM radio, Amazon MP3 store, Qik video sharing, HDMI out a kickstand for hands-free viewing, an 8MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash (and 720p HD video recording) and an additional 1.3MP front-facing camera for video conferencing.

Under the hood is a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM, a 1500 mAh battery and an 8GB microSD card.

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Video Daily: Skype 2.0 allows calls via 3G on iPhone

Posted: 30 May 2010 10:42 AM PDT

Skype has rolled out its long-awaited Skype 2.0 app for the Apple iPhone this weekend, adding the ability to make calls using 3G data.

Until this weekend, iPhone owners could only make Skype calls when connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

The company says it has also made "CD quality audio enhancements," which should boost volume and sound quality of the calls.

While the deal may sound great for users who want to cut down on their AT&T phone bill by slashing some minutes and instead using Skype, there is of course a catch.

All 3G Skype-to-Skype calls are free until only the end of August, afterwards there will be a "small" monthly fee.

Full changelog, via 9-5:

Upgrades / improvements include:
- Call using your 3G connection. Skype-to-Skype calls on 3G are free until at least end of August 2010, after which there will be a small monthly fee (operator charges for data will still apply).
- Near CD-quality sound for Skype-to-Skype calls using wideband audio (SILK codec) on iPhone 3GS and 2nd generation iPod touch.
- Enhanced call quality indicator.
- Improved start-up time.
- Fast access to the dial pad from iPhone home screen.

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Toshiba, Sanyo launch Vudu-supporting Blu-ray players, HDTVs

Posted: 30 May 2010 10:15 AM PDT

Vudu, the movie streaming service, has announced that Toshiba and Sanyo have begun shipping HDTVs and Blu-ray players with Vudu-support built-in, meaning the service has now followed through on their promise of being available on a plethora of players and TVs from different manufacturers.

The service will be available on the Toshiba BDX2500 and BDX2700 Blu-ray players, which will also give access to CinemaNow and Netflix. Vudu movies can stream in up to 1080p resolution. The player is BD-Live, has analog and HDMI-based 7.1-channel surround, and can playback locally stored media, including H.264, says Electronista.

Toshiba's BDX2500 costs $180, and has Internet connectivity via Ethernet or an optional Wi-Fi dongle that costs extra. The 2700 costs $230 but has built-in Wi-Fi.

Additionally, the service will be available via the Sanyo DP55360 55-inch HDTV, which has Internet connectivity via Ethernet. The display is LED-backlit and has a 120Hz refresh rate.

There is still no pricing set for the TV.

The company says Vudu-enabled players and TVs are now available through LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Toshiba and VIZIO, with only one company left to make a deal with; likely Sony.

The Blu-ray players are available at a number of retailers, and the Sanyo is available at Wal-mart, which recently purchased Vudu.

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