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Bill is so vague it could be used against Wikileaks, Pirate Bay etc.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (H.R. 3523) was introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, and is one of many bills proposed in the U.S. Congress to address the growing threat of cyber attacks.

The bill allows companies or the government free rein to bypass existing laws in order to monitor communications, filter content, or potentially even shut down access to online services for "cybersecurity purposes."

"The language is so broad it could be used as a blunt instrument to attack websites like The Pirate Bay or WikiLeaks," the EFF warns.

"Under the proposed legislation, a company that protects itself or other companies against 'cybersecurity threats' can 'use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information to protect the rights and property' of the company under threat. But because 'us[ing] cybersecurity systems' is incredibly vague, it could be interpreted to mean monitoring email, filtering content, or even blocking access to sites."

The bill defines "cyber threat intelligence" and "cybersecurity purpose" to include "theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information."

Apple told it cannot pursue infringement claims, for now.

The iPad-maker had brought a case against Eastman Kodak Co. for alleged patent infringement relating to a Kodak patent that lets consumers preview digital photographs on an LCD screen. On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper said it would be inappropriate to allow Apple to continue pursuing patent infringement claims against Kodak, since the photography giant is in bankruptcy.

He also denied a request from Apple to file a new patent infringement lawsuit against Kodak over more patents.

Apple had sought to lift a stay freezing a patent lawsuit pending in a federal court in Rochester, New York. The Judge denied the request, but conceded that the case needs to be resolved soon, but not in a way that interferes with Kodak's efforts to sell its patent portfolio.

"I would request that the parties report to me on their efforts to come up with a procedure that truly works," he said.

Apple has been accused by Kodak of attempting to slow the patent sale process, which is vital for Kodak.

Rovio has unveiled the first gameplay trailer of the highly-anticipated Angry Birds Space game.

For the first time, 'Space' will introduce zero-gravity gameplay and the levels will include floating rocks, planets, birds with new powers and gravity fields that are ever-changing.

At launch, the game will have 60 levels but new levels will be made available in the future through free updates and in-app paid upgrades.

Rovio also announced that the game will launch on iOS, Android, PC and Macs on March 22nd.

The developer announced the trailer via NASA, who was stationed in space (Gameplay starts at 3:00):

FBI delays shut down of malicious DNS servers.

The DNSChanger malware does what it says in its own title, it changes the DNS settings of infected computers to use malicious ones instead. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took action against the malware last November, and originally set a March 8, 2012 deadline to shut down the DNS servers.

Unfortunately, four months later, there are still close to 500,000 infected computers using the malicious DNS servers. Clearly, the owners of the computers have not the slightest clue that anything is wrong.

Those responsible for the DNS servers were using them to block antivirus programs and operating system updates, while also redirecting users to rogue servers to be defrauded. The FBI, realizing that so many machines were using the malicious servers, replaced them with valid DNS servers and set a deadline for users to restore their original DNS settings.

The FBI hosts a PDF file with information on the DNSChanger malware and associated botnet, while also giving you instructions on how to check if you were infected and restore DNS settings if needed. The PDF can be gotten from FBI.gov.

Microsoft reveals U.S. sales figures.

The company said that U.S. retailers sold 426,000 units of its Xbox 360 console during the month of February, citing data from NPD.

The result means that Microsoft retained more than 40 percent market share for the 12th straight month, while spending on all Xbox products (hardware, games, accessories etc.) hit £383 million in February.

Overall hardware sales in the video games industry were up month-over-month, but overall sales were down year-over-year, again. Software, hardware and accessory sales came in at $1.06 billion, down 20 percent from the same month in 2011.

Hardware was down 18 percent YoY to $381.4 million and software got smacked down 23 percent to $464.4 million. Accessory sales were down 16 percent to $215.2 million.

Samsung aims at Apple products again.

The South Korean firm sent an e-mail to media outlets with a grid highlighting some of the things its Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet can do while the new iPad cannot.

Over the past several months, Samsung has blasted Apple products and fans of them with a series of television advertisements. The media attack culminated in a 90 second super bowl spot which shows Apple fans breaking out a line waiting for a new Apple product to switch to Samsung instead.

Now Samsung has fired off an e-mail to media outlets with the following grid, comparing some of the things the Galaxy Note 10.1 can do, that the new iPad cannot while creating content.

Valve actually just working on new user interface for Steam.

It had been reported that Valve was working on a Steam console to rival products from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, but the company has denied the rumors and said it is not making a console any time soon.

"We're prepping the Steam Big Picture Mode UI and getting ready to ship that, so we're building boxes to test that on," Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi said to Kotaku.

"We're also doing a bunch of different experiments with biometric feedback and stuff like that, which we've talked about a fair amount. All of that is stuff that we're working on, but it's a long way from Valve shipping any sort of hardware."

The Verge reported that Valve was working on a console in partnership with various hardware manufacturers, suggesting that Valve would define specs and software for devices made by a wide range of CE firms. As evidence, patents for configurable controllers were cited.

Earlier this week, Fox announced that it was cancelling the expensive, failed show "Terra Nova."

It now appears that the show may find a new home, and a second season, on the streaming Netflix service. Netflix and 20th Century Fox have been in preliminary discussions over a sale of the series, and both sides seem to be excited by the prospect.

Terra Nova cost $4 million per episode and was canceled after just one season due to low ratings and a unanimous hatred by critics. The show revolved around time travel/dimension jumping, and dinosaurs.

The move would be in line with Netflix's recent transition into original content. The company's first original show, "Lilyhammer" became available for streaming last month. The company will also stream the fourth season of the cult classic "Arrested Development," which was canceled in 2006.

ScreenRant says "Fox will be footing the bill for all of the series' visual effects, any previously created visual effects will be able to be reused without any additional financing," which should make production cheaper for Netflix if they were to indeed purchase the show.

NPD has released their monthly video game industry report, and it appears to be another rough month.

The lone bright spot was an increase month-over-month for hardware sales, but overall sales were down year-over-year, again.

Software, hardware and accessory sales came in at $1.06 billion, down a massive 20 percent from the same month in 2011. Hardware was down 18 percent YoY to $381.4 million and software got smacked down 23 percent to $464.4 million. Accessory sales were down 16 percent to $215.2 million.

From January, however, hardware sales were up significantly, up 87 percent.

For the month the top selling games were:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, 360)
UFC Undisputed 3 (360, PS3)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (360, PS3, PC)
Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PC, PS2)
SoulCalibur 5 (360, PS3)
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
Twisted Metal 2012 (PS3)
Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)

According to a report in Digitimes, Amazon will reveal their Amazon Kindle sequel and a 10-inch tablet later this year.

Past rumors had speculated that Amazon would release an 8.9-inch version of the tablet, but the new report says Amazon will release two new tablets, a 7-inch sequel and a 10-inch version.

Both models will be released in the Q3 or Q4 of this year, say the sources.

Amazon has sold about 5 million Kindle Fire to date, making it the second best selling tablet of all-time.

Additionally, the report says "while still sourcing touch panels from Wintek and TPK Holdings, Amazon is expected to outsource production of the 10-inch model to Quanta Computer and Foxconn Electronics."

Sony Music Unlimited gets updated.

The paid unlimited streaming service has been updated to include PS Vita support, adding to the current Walkman PMPs and PlayStation 3 support.

Interested users can download the app from the PlayStation Store and use the Basic service for $3.99 per month or the Premium service for $9.99. If you have pay for the Premium service, the newest update will also allow you to listen to your playlists offline.

Outside of playlists offline on your devices, Android users will be able to play their music offline, as well, through the mobile app of the version.

Finally, the company will be bringing the app to iOS devices next month.

According to research firm Gartner, PC shipments will remain weak this year, thanks to ever-increasing competition from tablets and smartphones.

Shipments will grow a paltry 4.4 percent in 2012, to 368 million units, says Gartner, a strong improvement from the 0.5 percent rate in 2011, but well below historical averages.

Says research director Ranjit Atwal: "PC shipments will remain weak in 2012, as the PC market plays catch up in bringing a new level of innovation that consumers want to see in devices they purchase. The real question is whether Windows 8 (Microsoft's upcoming operating system) and ultrabooks will create the compelling offering that gets the earlier adopter of devices excited about PCs again."

The iPad will not be the only competition, however, says Atwal. Smartphones have become so high-end that they to have eaten the PC's share of the market: "The use of applications such as email, social networking and Internet access, that were traditionally the domain of the PC, are now being used across media tablets and smartphones, making these devices in some cases more valued and attractive propositions. Consumers will now look at a task that they have to perform, and they will determine which device will allow them to perform such a task in the most effective, fun and convenient way. The device has to meet the user needs not the other way round."

Sprint has confirmed today that it will not be getting a version of Apple's new LTE-supportive iPad.

Apple announced the device at an event yesterday, also confirming that Verizon and AT&T would be receiving models that work on their respective 4G networks. The tablet goes on sale next week.

The move does make sense since Sprint has not even launched its LTE network yet, but the company is planning to do so in June in 10 major cities. Verizon on the other hand has a network that covers 200 million people in the U.S. and AT&T's relatively new network covers 74 million.

It is unclear whether Apple will release a model for Sprint after their network is up and running, however, which is a possibility. The carrier has announced 15 LTE devices for 2012, so far.

Says the carrier: "At this time, Sprint is not a carrier for Apple's iPad products. We have nothing to announce at this time."

Major Hollywood studios want Hotfile to go the way of MegaUpload.

According to court papers, unsealed this week, the Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros are looking to U.S. courts to force file-locker service Hotfile offline. On their behalf, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) filed a motion for a summary judgement which might enable action to be taken against the host without requiring a lengthy trial.

The movie studios claim that over 90 percent of files downloaded from Hotfile are copyright infringing, and that nearly every Hotfile user is engaged in infringement. It has drawn attention to Hotfile's "indistinguishable" business model to the fallen MegaUpload, in particular, its affiliate system.

Hotfile pays users based on how many times their files are downloaded (and other factors, such as location and file size). The movie studios argue that this encourages the uploading of infringing content.

Hotfile disagrees and argues that it removes copyright infringing content when it is reported. It claims safe harbour protections afforded to web services under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), as does YouTube and many other websites where users upload potentially infringing content.

New Apple iPad incapable of using 4G networks outside U.S. and Canada.

While 3G networks operate on the same band around the world, and 2G networks use just a few separate bands, things are more complicated with Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. LTE, which Apple has built support for into its new iPad, has more than 32 different recognized bands, depending on the region.

Even in the United States, customers on AT&T and Verizon Wireless will need to use different models of the new iPad to work properly. Both carriers have deployed LTE networks in the 700MHz band, but are still far apart enough to require different hardware.

In the European Union, the 800MHz band is harmonized for LTE across all members (while 2.6GHz is harmonized internationally, but not used by either U.S. carrier). Even at that, some regions, such as the United Kingdom, don't have LTE networks operating in the 800MHz band. Also, in the UK, the 700MHz band is reserved for Freeview TV.

The Register guesses that the UK will receive a variant of the AT&T iPad, so it can use a 3G network on the 2.1GHz band. Apple then will have to focus on improvements made to the new iPad's display to lure customers outside the United States and Canada.