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The 404 1,196: Where we get locked up for unlocking (podcast)

Microsoft assumes you probably haven't used an Internet Explorer browser since the mid-1990s, and the company's latest commercial for IE10 takes us all back to those awkward times with a montage of '90s nostalgia that includes slap bracelets, Oregon Trail, LA Gear Lights, and Tamogotchis. We're not sure how any of those items are supposed to lure us away from Firefox or Chrome, but check it out anyway.

We knew it was only a matter of time before a 6-second clip of hardcore porn made its way to the Twitter Vine, but we never expected it to come from Twitter itself--a nasty clip was featured for a short time on Vine's "Editor's Choice" pick list. Granted, it's not the first instance of adult content on the new social video service.

With Vine's TOS giving users creative freedom to access its service, an unfiltered stream of dirty hashtags is already building out on VineRoulette. Then again, who the hell wants to watch porn for only six seconds?… Read more

North Korea lets foreigners bring in cell phones

North Korea is easing some of strict cell phone rules -- now, visitors can bring their own mobile devices into the country, according to the Associated Press.

While this may seem like a minor move on the part of the North Korean government, it is actually a big step for one of the most closed-off countries in the world. Despite the ease in regulations, foreigners are still not allowed to talk to any locals via mobile device.

For years North Korea's authorities made visitors leave their cell phones at the border or airport when arriving to the country, according … Read more

YouTube makes brief return to Pakistan after 3-month ban

YouTube made a brief reappearance in Pakistan yesterday after a three-month absence.

The video-sharing service, which was blocked by that country's government in September, was available to Internet users in Pakistan for somewhere between three minutes and three hours on Saturday, depending on which media outlet one believes. The ban on the site, which has been blocked since refusing to pull a clip that mocks the prophet Muhammad, was lifted then reinstated after it was found to still host "blasphemous" content.

YouTube was blocked in Pakistan on September 17 after the Middle East erupted in protests in … Read more

LG wants Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 banned in Korea

LG Display has fired back at Samsung in the ongoing patent skirmish between the two Korean companies.

An injunction filed today by LG seeks to ban Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 in Korea based on allegations that the tablet 's display panel violates certain LG patents. LG said it filed the suit over Samsung's use of OLED displays, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The patents in question are related to the viewing technology used in OLED displays, which helps people better see the screen from any angle. In addition to halting sales of the Galaxy Note, LG is … Read more

Apple loses bid for permanent ban on Samsung phones in U.S.

A U.S. District Court judge denied Apple's bid to ban a number of Samsung's devices from sale in the U.S., a little more than a week after a hearing on the matter.

In a late ruling Monday, Judge Lucy Koh -- who presided over the entire trial between the two tech giants -- denied Apple's bid for a sales ban on 26 Samsung products, saying that any infringing features were just part of a larger feature set, thus making a sales ban too broad.

"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad … Read more

Apple wins Dutch ban on certain Samsung Galaxy devices

A Dutch court ruled in Apple's favor today, ordering the ban of certain Samsung Galaxy tablets and smartphones due to patent infringement.

The ban applies to older Samsung Android-based products that use an Apple-patented method for scrolling through images in a photo gallery using a touch screen. According to the court, those are Samsung's Galaxy device versions 2.2.1 and higher that don't use Samsung's updated "blue flash" photo gallery technology.

The two companies have been in a constant battle over patents related to the mobile market. So far, neither has emerged as … Read more

Egypt works to pull the plug on online porn

Egypt is the latest country to attempt censorship of online pornography. According to Reuters, a public prosecutor pronounced yesterday that all porn Web sites must be blocked.

The government must "take the necessary measures to block any corrupt or corrupting pornographic pictures or scenes inconsistent with the values and traditions of the Egyptian people and the higher interests of the state," prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud said, according to Reuters.

Apparently, Mahmoud's order was following up on a 2009 court ruling that also deemed porn sites be banned. According to Reuters, Egypt's telecommunications minister, Hany Mahmoud, said … Read more

Report: Twitter bans German group for hate speech

On the heels of a firestorm of controversy over anti-Semitic tweets in France, Twitter has for the first time banned access in Germany to a German group's account due to its alleged hate speech.

According to the Financial Times (registration required), the San Francisco-based microblogging service has blocked access in Germany to the Twitter account belonging to an organization known as "Besseres Hannover," which means "Better Hannover" in English. The group is said to be a neo-Nazi organization, reported Danny Sullivan of Marketingland.com. The public expression of Nazi views is illegal in Germany.

Twitter'… Read more

Pinterest rolls out user blocking, flagging, and reporting

Despite Pinterest's clean image, some smut does work its way onto the site -- and now the company is doing something about it.

The social network announced today that it's rolling out a new feature that lets users report and block questionable activity. People will be able to block other users, flag certain pins, or report an entire user profile for review.

Here's more from a blog post by Pinterest software engineer Dannie Chu:

Blocking prevents both of you from being able to follow each other's boards as well as like, repin, and comment on each … Read more