Google Forgot to Google Before Naming Programming Language

It would seem Google failed to effectively use its flagship service before rolling out its much-ballyhooed new programming language "Go:" Another language already had that name, and a significant profile on Google's own servers. More »

Old People Talking About the Internet: Rupert Murdoch Edition

Rupert Murdoch has revealed his secret plan for News Corp. to make money on the internet: Make News Corp. invisible, on the internet. Murdoch will leave The Google, rewrite copyright law, and teach you kids to stay off his lawn! More »

Code Theft Allegations Can't Stop iPhone Bubble

Foursquare has raised its first venture capital investment, and it couldn't have been easy: There are persistent rumors the social networking company stole its code from Google. Plus, it wanted to invest the money in a domain name. Ooof. More »

Drudge Death Panel Murders iPhone App in Stalinist Snafu

Just as we suspected he would, Matt Drudge demanded Apple kill iDrudge, the iPhone app created by a fan to read his website. But the right-wing protoblogger then reversed himself in a stunning flip fliop. Siren time! More »

Reuters Implores AP to 'Stop Whining'

Huzzah: A president at newswire operator Thomson Reuters says traditional journalism is not actually being strangled by Google, blogs and the rest of the internet. And that anyone who thinks so — *cough* AP *cough* — should get a grip. More »

You Must Pay AP to Quote Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson's compositions are in the public domain, but Boing Boing discovered the AP's licensing system demands $12 to quote 26 of the American statesman's words. To think the wire service only began tinkering with ridiculous fees last year. Innovative!

Online News Theft a Truly Teeny-Tiny Problem

The Wall Street Journal is up in arms about it; the Associated Press is building a robot army to fight it. But it turns out online news piracy is at most a $250 million-per-year problem. Just how small is that? More »

AP to Finally Invent Indexing of Text on Internet

This is great: The Associated Press is going to set up a "news registry," so it can finally tell where its text content is, on the internet. What a fresh concept! But the revolution doesn't end there. More »

The Jailhouse Assault Dreamed Up by Angry Tech, Media Companies

So the copyright wars have come to this: Incensed over rampant online file sharing, some of the largest software and media companies show how copyright violations can get you brutalized in jail. Subtle. More »

Embedding a YouTube Video May Cost You a Bundle in ASCAP Bills

Fresh off a court victory against Google's YouTube, ASCAP tells us it is setting its sights on users of the video-sharing site. Welcome to the exciting world of copyright licensing, blogger; you may already owe gobs of money! More »

If You Steal His Books, Stephen King Will Mock You

Writers are getting mad as hell about digital versions of their books getting pirated online. Ursula K. Le Guin and Harlan Ellison will sue you. But we like horror mogul Stephen King's approach: insults! More »

Wacky Discovery Founder Sues Amazon.com over Kindle

Discovery Communications, the owner of cable channels like FitTV and Animal Planet, is suing Amazon.com, maker of the Kindle, over an electronic-books patent taken out by its founder and CEO, John Hendricks, years ago. More »

Is the New Foursquare Too Much Like the Old Dodgeball for Google?

Even though Google killed Dodgeball, Dennis Crowley reassured the socially inept that they'd still be able to find their friends at bars with his newly launched Foursquare. One problem: it may not be his. More »

TMZ Fights for Its Right to Give Away Octo-Mom Pics

So, how did those photos of Nadya Suleman's horribly distended, octuplet-carrying belly get out into the world? They were licensed to TMZ (presumably by Octo-mom herself), which wants to drum up publicity and traffic. More »