 | Good afternoon Bit |  |  | The hunted became the hunter when Microsoft filed its first-ever complaint to antitrust regulators, claiming that Google thwarts Internet search competition. Thomas Vinje, who led a coalition that won EU fines against Microsoft said the software maker "has learned from its own unpleasant experiences how to cause maximum disruption for its competitors via competition law". Google controls over 90 percent of the Internet search advertising market in Europe, well ahead of Microsoft's Bing. And browsers such as Firefox and Google's Chrome have eaten away at the market lead by Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Google is tightening control over its "open" Android operating system to reduce fragmentation and restrict additional partnerships that it doesn't understand, Bloomberg's Ashlee Vance and Peter Burrows writes. Google says its procedures are about quality control, early bug fixes, and building toward a "common denominator" experience, Vance and Burows add.
Small-budget film producers have nearly perfected a slick, courtroom-based business strategy that's targeted suspected movie downloaders, writes Wired's David Kravets. One lawsuit alleged 5,865 illegal downloads of the film Nude Nuns With Big Guns, asking a federal judge to order ISPs to dig into customers' records for names. It was the first step in a process that could lead to each defendant receiving a letter suggesting they settle the case, lest they wind up named in a public lawsuit having downloaded Nude Nuns With Big Guns, Kravets adds.
James Cicconi, the head of AT&T's lobbying effort to acquire T-Mobile USA, said government remedies to free up more U.S. airwaves for wireless services are not coming fast enough and were an important driver behind his company's bid. AT&T estimates it will carry the equivalent of the volume of all the mobile traffic it handled last year in the first six or seven weeks of 2015.
Anti-virus software maker ESET's Randy Abrams lauded Facebook for making users' preferences remember if they log in to "grossly insecure apps such as Farmville" from unsecured connections, like those found at coffee shops and airports, and restoring encrypted connections to Facebook once users log back in. Abrams called developers who haven't fixed their apps to afford you a safe Facebook session "careless". You can find your connection preferences on Facebook under Account->Account Settings->Account Security. Check the box beside "Browse Facebook on a secure connection (https) whenever possible" to enable the feature. | | | LATEST NEWS | | China's Baidu to shut e-commerce platform | | March 31, 2011 07:12 AM ET | | SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Baidu Inc, China's largest search engine, will shut its online e-commerce store, Youa, and migrate its users to other platforms, it said on Thursday. | Full Article | | Acer replaces CEO after weak outlook triggers selloff | | March 31, 2011 03:40 PM ET | | TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's Acer, the world's No. 2 PC vendor, replaced its chief executive in a surprise move on Thursday, barely a week after it gave a downbeat outlook that wiped more than $1 billion off its market value in four days. | Full Article | | China report claims Google-linked firms broke tax rules | | March 31, 2011 06:29 AM ET | | BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities found three companies linked to Google Inc broke tax rules and are investigating possible tax avoidance, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Thursday, raising the risk of fresh pressure on the Internet search giant. | Full Article | | Online retailers blast planned changes to EU rules | | March 30, 2011 07:03 PM ET | | LONDON (Reuters) - Proposed changes to European rules on product returns could cost online retailers 10 billion euros ($14 billion) a year, denting growth and leading to higher prices for consumers, an industry body warned on Thursday. | Full Article | | Wall Street flat as Friday payrolls data eyed | | March 31, 2011 02:14 PM ET | | NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday as a modest reading on jobless claims failed to topple upbeat expectations about Friday's U.S. payrolls report for March as the quarter quietly draws to a close. | Full Article | | | BUSINESS NEWS
| | WTO raps U.S. subsidies to Boeing | | March 31, 2011 02:29 PM ET | | GENEVA (Reuters) - Planemaker Boeing received at least $5.3 billion of banned U.S. subsidies, the World Trade Organization said on Thursday in a dispute that shows no signs of an end to bitter transatlantic wrangling. | Full Article | | Jobless claims fall, Midwest hiring jumps | | March 31, 2011 12:56 PM ET | | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming unemployment aid fell last week and factory employment in the U.S. Midwest hit a 27-year high in March, more signs that an improvement in the labor market is under way. | Full Article | | | | U.S. TOP NEWS | | | | | RELATED VIDEO | | |  |  | | A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today. |  | | Your daily briefing on the latest tech developments from around the world from Reuters expert tech correspondents. Register Today. |  | | The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day.. Register Today. | | | » MORE NEWSLETTERS | | | ODDLY ENOUGH | | | | | | |
在谷歌公司将其搜索服务撤离中国内地一年之后，虽然公司高管们希望中国业务继续保持增长，但多项指标显示其还是很难维持势头。
灾难过去两周以后，日本的失业人数大幅上升，就业状况可能在未来一段时间恶化。
北约官员说，他们没有考虑武装利比亚反抗军。北约在周四取得了多国部队在利比亚展开行动的全面控制权。
据知情人士透露，美国证券交易委员会周四考虑对伯克希尔哈撒韦管理人士索科尔（David Sokol）展开内幕交易调查。
视频：虎妈式教育适合男孩吗？
金价周四结算价创出历史新高，受欧洲财政体系担忧以及市场对印度黄金需求上升的预期提振。纽交所黄金期货合约涨15美元，至每盎司1,439.90美元，涨幅1.1%。
百度在线网络技术公司发言人周四称，将把百度有啊电子商务网站上的商户转移到电子商务网站耀点100和Rakuten China运营的一个网站。
东京电力公司的灾难应急方案大大低估了福岛第一核电站可能事故的规模，仅仅配备了一副担架、一部卫星电话和50套防护服应急。
