Internet access

Europeans downloaded (EURO)10 billion worth of pirated music, film, television shows and software from the Web in 2008, an entertainment industry study said Wednesday.

The International Chamber of Commerce said its report showed that digital piracy could escalate and cost media and entertainment industries (EURO)240 billion in retail revenue and 1.2 million jobs by 2015.

The 2015 estimate is a worst-case scenario, the study said, based on consumer Web traffic growing 24 percent annually.

Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod a household name, a sleek new smart phone called the Pre and fresh, intuitive operating software.

Instead, the company is in danger of going the way of its 1990s Palm Pilot, making it the latest innovator to learn that great technology and an accomplished leader don't guarantee success.

When it comes to broadband, we Americans are a bit like Maverick and Goose in Top Gun. We feel the need for speed -- download speed, that is. We cringe at reports that show average U.S. download speeds lagging behind those of other countries. Representative Rick Boucher [D-Va.], chairman of the House Communications, Technology & Internet Subcommittee, says that within the next five years, 80 percent of Americans should have access to broadband speeds that are more than ten times what we have today.

Facebook has removed 30 prisoners' pages after complaints that they were using the social network to harass their victims. The company on Thursday removed the pages after England's justice secretary brought to Facebook's attention the taunting of victims.

Prisoners in England used Facebook accounts to make threats against victims through messages to their own group of friends, according to published reports. One well-known prisoner serving time for his involvement with the mob sent messages to his 500-plus friends saying he could not wait to see the fear in some of his enemies' eyes.

More business travelers are getting what they say they want most from hotels: free Internet access in their rooms.

Corporate business travel managers are taking advantage of the downturn in travel to negotiate the prized service, says DeAnne Dale, a sales executive at online business travel management firm Travelocity Business.

They're also getting free service from big hotel groups such as Hilton, Marriott and Starwood. And they're getting it at the same time the chains say they're not changing their policies and will continue to charge guests from $9.95 to $14.95 a day for Wi-Fi.

This week, the crew aboard the International Space Station got a treat from NASA. The three-person crew received software enabling them to use the Internet, and it didn't take long for the Expedition 22 flight crew to send the first live tweet from space. Engineer T.J. Creamer, who uses @Astro_TJ, sent the first tweet Friday at 3:58 a.m. Eastern time directly from the space station.

"Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station -- the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s," wrote Creamer.

Amtrak will offer wireless Internet service on the high-speed trains that ferry passengers along the busy Northeast corridor, in another bid to lure business travelers away from the airline shuttles.

Wi-Fi access will be available starting in March on Acela trains traveling between Boston, New York and Washington, says Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole. Initially, the service will be free.

Upping the competition with airlines such as Delta and US Airways, which offer short flights to travelers up and down the East Coast, is one reason for the new service, Cole says.

Over at Prospect, Evgeny Morozov and Clay Shirky debate the

AOL is shaking loose from Time Warner Inc. and heading into the next decade the way it began this one, as an independent company. Unlike the 1990s, though, when AOL got rich selling dial-up Internet access, it starts the 2010s as an underdog, trying to beef up its Web sites and grab more advertising revenue.

In the wake of the charred devastation wrought by the Witch Creek fires in San Diego, [CA] two years ago this week, Dina Moskowitz and Marc Zimmerman saw something that made them wonder.

Was there any service available to the homeowners that could have protected them from losing highly valued items, such as birth certificates, memorabilia, family photos and videos and business records?