Bill Gates Sides With Ballmer, MSFT On China

About 10 days ago, Steve Ballmer indicated that he didn't share Google's views with regards to China; Ballmer said that Microsoft would continue operating in China regardless of recent hacks and a policy of censorship.  Today, Bill Gates more or less echoed those sentiments.

Some free speech advocates might have hoped Gates would feel otherwise; after all, now that he's let Ballmer take the reigns at Microsoft, Gates seem to have focused his energies on doing good in the world, and Google's claimed the moral high ground in this dispute.

Nonetheless, according to Reuters, Gates said on Good Morning America, "You've got to decide: Do you want to obey the laws of the countries you're in, or not?  If not, you may not end up doing business there."

Gates also argued, "The Chinese efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited.  It's easy to go around it, and so I think keeping the Internet thriving there is very important."

There's further confirmation that Microsoft will stay the course in China, then.  Of course, we have yet to see what will become of Google's own protest.

Have You Read This?

> Microsoft Declines To Change China Approach

> Microsoft IE Hole Used In Google China Attacks

> White House Sides With Google In China Standoff

Bill Gates Sides With Ballmer, MSFT On China

About 10 days ago, Steve Ballmer indicated that he didn't share Google's views with regards to China; Ballmer said that Microsoft would continue operating in China regardless of recent hacks and a policy of censorship.  Today, Bill Gates more or less echoed those sentiments.

Some free speech advocates might have hoped Gates would feel otherwise; after all, now that he's let Ballmer take the reigns at Microsoft, Gates seem to have focused his energies on doing good in the world, and Google's claimed the moral high ground in this dispute.

Nonetheless, according to Reuters, Gates said on Good Morning America, "You've got to decide: Do you want to obey the laws of the countries you're in, or not?  If not, you may not end up doing business there."

Gates also argued, "The Chinese efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited.  It's easy to go around it, and so I think keeping the Internet thriving there is very important."

There's further confirmation that Microsoft will stay the course in China, then.  Of course, we have yet to see what will become of Google's own protest.

Have You Read This?

> Microsoft Declines To Change China Approach

> Microsoft IE Hole Used In Google China Attacks

> White House Sides With Google In China Standoff

Hulu CEO Shares 2009 Stats

Hulu had a good 2009, and to celebrate the end of it, the company's CEO, Jason Kilar, has decided to share some stats.  Here's a quick hint as to just how successful his organization was: to describe Hulu's growth, the word "double" often doesn't cut it.

In a post on the Hulu Blog, Kilar started off by relaying some data from comScore.  It seems that "[m]onthly users of Hulu . . . grew to over 43 million, a 95 percent increase over this time last year."  Also, "[m]onthly streams . . . grew to 924 million, a 307 percent increase from this time last year."

Of course, these trends weren't without their causes and effects.  Kilar noted that Hulu's content library has gotten bigger, offering 14,000 hours of content now versus 5,600 hours one year ago.  And while Hulu was in touch with just 166 advertisers at the end of 2008, it's now doing business with 408 of them.

Then here are some facts about what specific videos people watched.  SNL, Family Guy, The Office, The Simpsons, and Naruto Shippuden were the most popular shows, and SNL's "Motherlover" sketch and Family Guy's "Stew-Roids" installment were the most popular clip and full episode.  Meanwhile, the live stream of Barack Obama's inauguration was the most-embedded video.

Anyway, Kilar concluded, "On behalf of the Hulu team, thank you for joining us in the adventure that was 2009 and we look forward to even greater heights in 2010."

Have You Read This?

> Hulu Falls Short In Comparison To Blockbusters

> Hulu Captions Search A Preview Of General Video Search To Come?

> Hulu Partners With "American Idol" Creator For Web Reality Show

FTC Stops U.S. Online Retailer From Posing As A UK-Based Site

The Federal Trade Commission has cracked down on a California based online electronics retailer for allegedly posing as it was based in the U.K. so it could deceive residents there into thinking they had stronger consumer protections.

When U.K. consumers received the cameras, video games and other electronic items, they discovered they had been charged unexpected import duties, were left with invalid warranties, and would be charged hefty cancellation and refund fees if they tried to send the items back.

This is the first case the FTC has brought against a U.S. company exclusively doing business abroad. The U.S. Safe Web Act of 2006 gave the FTC the authority to sue U.S. companies deceiving foreign customers in an effort to prevent the U.S. from becoming a haven for fraud.

The Pasadena, California defendants charged in the case are Balls of Kryptonite, operating websites Best Priced Brands and Bite Size Deals, and its owner Jaivin Karnani. The defendants' deceptively used websites ending in ".uk", the complaint alleges, that tricked consumers in the U.K. into purchasing good that carried no manufacturer warranties, misled them about their rights to return items and sent products that were different than the ones displayed on the websites.

The FTC also charged the defendants with deceiving consumers about their participation in a program in which U.S. companies guarantee customers in Europe that they secure their personal information, as required by European law. Known as the EU/US Safe Harbor program, the defendants claimed to participate in it when in fact they did not.

European consumers who want to know if a U.S. company is complying with European law can visit this website.

The defendants have agreed to stop their alleged illegal practices until the case is decided in federal court.

 

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