Averatec N2700 is the missing link in the struggle for computer manufacturers and software companies to compete in a netbook world.

Averatec has created a full-featured notebook that weighs and costs only a tad more than a netbook. Averatec N2700 is a 12.1 inch laptop with a dual core Pentium processor, 4GB of RAM and toting a 250GB hard disk, along with an onboard DVD±RW drive. All this for a four-and-a-quarter-pound package total.

LegitScript.com reported that 89.7% of pharmaceutical category ads on Bing’s adCenter were from illegal pharmecies. Microsoft responded stating that the number of illegal ads was far lower than reported by LegitScript but admitted to the violations.

Microsoft adCenter has taken a number of security steps since to remove the bad entries, inlcuding: manually reviewing pharma-related keywords, investigating reports of hijacked and misused landing pages, documenting the process of how the illegal advertisers use the Bing/Microsoft ad system.

The multisearch extension to Firefox alpha 3 for Ubuntu Linux is being developed to help improve the default behavior of new tabs and  search capabilities. It was admitted by the company that there was one other purpose for the extension–to generate revenue by collecting user data unbeknownst to the user. The extension installs itself and offers no warning about potential privacy issues.

In order to get out of this, the user will have to disable the extension via the TOOLS > Add-ons menu.

Issues fixed in this extension:
1. Awesome bar does not do “feeling lucky” type search
2. The custom search results page is not aesthetically pleasing
3. The custom search page lacks useful functionality (images, videos, maps, etc…)
4. “Multisearch” is not a descriptive name
5. Search UI on New Tab pages is visual clutter, not useful
6. Currency conversions don’t work

Time Inc. announced that it will close Southern Accents magazine. South Accents is a lifestyle periodical that Time Inc. has published bi-monthly since 1985. The magazine’s online component will continue to operate.

Southern Living, Southern Accents had a circulation of 400,000, however in the past few months its advertising revenue had dropped 37 percent.

Rupert Murdoch demanded that Amazon turn over all Kindle users info. Amazon has yet to comply with Murdoch’s request.

This demand follows News Corp negotiating a larger share of revenue from Amazon sales–in which News Corp stated that content from the The Wall Street Journal would not be made available unless Amazon provides a more generous revenue share and more publisher-friendly policies.

“Kindle treats them as their subscribers, not as ours, and I think that will eventually cause a break with us.” – Murdoch