Google`s Gmail hits legal barrier

Californian legislators have unanimously supported a Bill that will limit Google`s new e-mail service, after fears it would infringe on users` privacy rights, reports Reuters.

The company originally intended to use its free service, Gmail, to scan e-mail for key words and concepts and use them to place targeted advertisements in personal messages.

If instated, the Bill would prevent Gmail from collecting personal information in e-mails and passing it on to third-parties.

Google said in a statement it would work with lawmakers to craft a Bill to enhance privacy protections in Gmail.

Filtering out spam and Internet porn could be made easier if a number of new Internet domains are introduced.

The proposal for 10 new Internet domains, being considered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), would make it possible for Internet sites to be more accurately categorised, reports Reuters.

ICANN president Paul Twomey said independent evaluators would assess the perceived need for the domains, and whether sponsoring organisations would have the technical ability to run a registry that could contain millions of names.

One proposal was for all sexually explicit sites to fall under the .xxx domain, making it easier to filter out pornography.

A car navigation company has made use of the increased power of modern mobile phones to develop a route finder service that can run without any assistance from a personal computer or a mobile telecom network.

According to Yahoo, the device was designed by privately owned Dutch firm Route 66. The company plans to sell roadmaps of an entire country and the necessary navigation software on a memory card that can be inserted into the latest advanced phones.

The package includes satellite positioning and optional free traffic information and will cost around EUR 399.

Microsoft has unveiled a feature pack for Windows Server 2003 that allows storage software to work closely with general Windows servers, reports CoolTechZone.

Storage Server 2003 is designed to integrate itself into current Windows-based networks, and will offer support and exchange data in NAS software. It will also give corporate users a first feel for Windows Server 2003, says Enterprise Action Group analyst William Hurley, adding that it would also serve as a new step for users stuck on the old platform.