| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
Google and members of the European Parliament are opposing the idea of the United Nations changing the way the Internet is regulated. The International Telecommunications Union is holding a conference in Dubai next month to decide on new regulations, and both the search giant and the parliamentary institution are disputing various aspects of the conference.
ACTA has been rejected by the European Parliament in a vote today. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was soundly defeated, with 39 parliament members voting for the agreement, 478 against, and 165 abstentions. The move against the motion practically kills the agreement in its current form, with many critics suggesting it cannot be revived no matter how many amendments are made to it.
The European Parliament has introduced regulations to cap the amount mobile service providers can charge for calls and data when users are operating their devices outside of their home country. According to the BBC, the caps were passed by a sizable majority and are intended to prevent "bill shock" at the charges incurred by users making calls and using data applications abroad.
The US' attempts to push the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) were dealt a possible hit after new European Parliament rapporteur David Martin published (PDF) a recommendation that the representatives for European Union's member states reject the bill. Echoing the same sentiments that led his predecessor to quit in protest, he saw the "vagueness" of the bill as being overreaching. Whatever advantages it would have in clamping down on piracy would be "far outweighed" by curbs on civil rights, Martin said.
European smartphone users can expect to have access to 4G wireless networks sometime in 2013. The European Parliament has approved the commencement of a 4G roll-out utilizing the 800MHz band that is currently used by certain broadcasters still using analogue prior to the finalization of a digital switchover due at the end of 2012. The 800MHz band has been identified as one of the more effective frequencies for 4G networks as it can send data over longer distances and offers better in door reception.
The European Parliament has become the latest to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), according to TorrentFreak. The Parliament adopted a resolution that effectively criticizes domain name seizures of "infringing" file sharing websites because they endanger "the integrity of the global Internet and freedom of communication." US authorities have began seizing domain names for websites that are found to encourage copyright infringement.
Three key European regulatory bodies have reached an agreement for a plan to create bandwidth for LTE-based 4G phone networks. The European Parliament, European Commission and member states in the European Council have all agreed that wireless spectrum must be set aside for the high-speed mobile networks by January 1, 2013. The bandwidth will be made available by auctioning off access the frequencies currently used for analog TV broadcasts.
