Reddit.com, one of my favorite social news sites, has been acquired by Conde Nast/Wired. It's sort of considered a second-rate Digg.com, although I've always liked its simplistic design more than Digg's flashy buttons. No word yet on the purchase price, but if that becomes public you can expect a hundred more social news sites to pop up and compete for big business dollars.
Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Breaking News: Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Reddit

It has come to light that high-end computer maker Alienware has been trying to influence online reviews of its products. Basically, they offer free stuff to sites that give good reviews, and threaten to not give any stuff to the sites that give less favorable reviews.

For those not under Alienware's influence, such as people who comment on forums, the quality issues associated with Alienware computers, particularly laptops, has been well known for a couple of years. Yet it is clear now that some of the more popular computer sites have neglected to mention any of these issues in their reviews.

It's hard to blame Alienware in this mess, but I'm going to do it anyway. I can understand why they would do what they did, because who wants to give free stuff to a site that just trashes the product to the world? I place even more blame on the sites that gave in to this pressure. In the next few weeks I would like all the geeks out there to help uncover which sites gave Alienware excellent reviews on products we all know are stinkers. In particular, the top-of-the-line laptops from the past few years, which I've seen practically implode in front of my eyes. Do a Google search and you'll find dozens, if not hundreds, of Alienware owners disappointed to learn that the company has no lemon policy.

Alienware will probably not be offering me a brand new Area 51 computer after this article, but who cares? I need a computer that works.
HEXUS.net : Opinion : Even a creature from outer space should know you can't buy a good review on HEXUS : Page - 2/4

It seems like every day the popular content on YouTube is being removed, making the site less and less popular among the college students and twentysomethings who have been using it since its beginning about a year ago.

A digital rights company forced YouTube, which is now owned by Google, to remove 1,000 sports clips that it confirmed were posted without proper licensing. They also said that as many as 10,000 other videos on the site are illegally infringing on the rights holders they represent.

Also yesterday, lawyers from Comedy Central apparently asked YouTube to remove all video clips of Comedy Central shows. That includes The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which have repeatedly mentioned the site in a positive manner. Just last week, Stephen Colbert was bragging about how many search results the term "Colbert Report" got on YouTube.

After all that free publicity, it looks like the lawyers decided they had to earn their paycheck by doing something that people would notice. Sure, YouTube provided free exposure for some of Comedy Central's shows, but that pales in comparison to the damage they did by... providing free exposure for some of Comedy Central's shows. Save some money, Comedy Central, fire the lawyers!
Bloggers Blog: YouTube Asked To Remove 1,000 Sports Clips

Here's a fun little list of the top video sites based on their usage on MySpace. With YouTube taking the title by a mile, it's no wonder News Corp is considering blocking the service.
1) YouTube
2) MySpace Video
3) VideoCodeZone
4) Video.Google
5) Bolt
6) SingingFool
7) MetaCafe
8) Grouper
9) Break
10)Video.Yahoo

Isn't it funny that Google and Yahoo, two of the biggest internet companies of the past 10 years, have struggled so much to make inroads in the internet video market. Obviously that will change now that Google owns YouTube.
Top 10 Video Sharing Sites on MySpace - Mashable!

I've found a great guide to recovering data from a hard drive. Chances are if you're looking at this page right now you're either a casual reader of this site or you're experiencing some serious hard drive troubles. You're probably borrowing your friends computer, and they're wondering when you'll fix your piece of junk so they can get back to their facebook and email.

I've been through my share of hard drive troubles, and I've tried all the tricks to save data, including the infamous freezer trick. I've got to say, freezing a hard drive does actually work for about 30 minutes, but that's only if your heads are coming into contact with your plates. You'll learn more about that in the article. Enjoy!
[Geeks are Sexy] technology news: Hard drive recovery utilities: when you can't afford to lose that data

Just a follow up on a story I first reported on a couple days ago:
A Miami judge ruled that there was nothing in the video game Bully that he found violent enough to warrant it being pulled from retail stores even before it was officially released. Famed anti-violent video game attorney Jack Thompson had brought the case before the court in hopes of getting it banned.

The style of the game is similar to the Grand Theft Auto series, although not nearly as violent. Many people seemed to believe that it was going to be Grand Theft Auto set in the schoolyard, with kids beating other kids and leaving them in a puddle of their own juices, but early reviews of the game have called it rather tame. I guess Mr. Thompson should wait for a game to be released before passing judgment on it.
Destructoid » Blog Archive » Jack Thompson Ruling! - Video Games PC Games PlayStation 3 GameCube PSP DS GBA PS2 PS2 Xbox 360 PlayStation 2

Microsoft's gaming division has lost $1.26 billion from the Xbox 360 since its launch last year. They have shown dedication in attempting to break into the gaming market, and their efforts have been successful in the United States, although not financially. They have been an absolute failure in Japan, where the original XBox was an equally poor seller.

With the PS3 coming out in a few months, look for Microsoft to slash prices across the board on the XBox 360 and games, which is likely to cut even deeper into their profits.
Next Generation - Interactive Entertainment Today, Video Game and Industry News - ANALYSIS: How Much is Too Much?

Video game maker Take-Two has been ordered to turn over a copy of their upcoming video game "Bully" by a Miami court. The sole plantiff in the case, Jack Thompson, has made himself famous for his opposition to violent video games and his "interesting" interpretation of the law. He also recently got pwned, so to speak, by a teenager he had threatened to sue.

The court will review the game for content that could be considered a public nuisance. I think they will be very surprised, as early reviews of the game have said that there is much less violent content than expected. There is no blood in the game, and the main character fights for good, protecting nerds from schoolyard thugs and such.

Jack Thompson thinks this ruling is a huge victory for himself and the invisible people he fights for, but it is not. Instead, this case will expose Mr. Thompson for what he is. I cannot name what he is, because Mr. Thompson has a tendency to sue (or threaten to sue) first and ask questions later. Unlike Mr. Thompson, I am not an licensed attorney, although we might have an equal understanding of the law. I cannot afford a legal fight, so I'll cut this post off short before I say anything that I'll regret later.

I'll leave with this simple opinion:
I consider Jack Thompson a threat to the freedom of all American's.
GamePolitics.com » Blog Archive » BREAKING - Miami Court Orders Take-Two to Turn Over “Bully”

Google has purchased YouTube, a video distribution website, for $1.65 billion in Google stock. I don't like this deal at all, even though many investors seem to be very excited about it.

YouTube relies on user-created content. All videos on their site are available for free. So far, the only money they've made is from advertising revenue, which has not been that much. The site loses millions of dollars every month.

What's even worse for YouTube is the content of the videos. Most of the videos are copyrighted, and the copyright holders are usually not the people posting them on the website. That opens up the strong possibility of lawsuits from people who don't want the videos they created to be offered for free on the internet.

YouTube has not been sued thus far, most likely because the company had very little money to show for their efforts. Now that Google - one of the biggest companies in the world - owns YouTube, you can be sure people are going to be taking the internet giant to court for a huge chunk of change.
Google Press Center: Press Release