Iran to crack down on web censor-beating software

Iran's cyber police force is poised to launch a new crackdown on software that lets many Iranians circumvent the regime's Internet censorship, media reported on Sunday. The operation will target VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, which use a secure protocol to encrypt users' data, foiling online blocks put in place by Iran's authorities, according to the head of the specialised police unit, Kamal Hadianfar. 

"It has been agreed that a commission (within the cyber police) be formed to block illegal VPNs," he was quoted as saying in a report originally published by the Mehr news agency. 

"About 20 to 30 percent of (Iranian internet) users use VPN," or more than seven million people out of the country's 36 million web users, he added. 

Legal VPNs would only be used by "the likes of airlines, ministries, (state) organisations and banks," he said - and even they would be monitored by the commission. 

Read more: The Business Recorder

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Pakistan awarded contract for Software development lab by World Bank

In a move that would help spur the already booming development of IT content, Pakistan has beaten off competition from regional countries to bag World Bank’s contract for setting up a research lab for mobile software development including apps.

Well informed official told the Express Tribune that World Bank approved $380,000 in grants to Pakistan in November 2011 for a two-year project, mLab South Asia, to be set up in Lahore.

World Bank’s division InfoDev planned to establish five mobile software development research labs across the world including one in the Saarc region, the official said. India and Sri Lanka were also shortlisted for the region but Pakistan was picked as the final destination.

Read details: The Express Tribune

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Angry Birds CEO: Piracy Can Help In Promoting Games

There is much hue and cry for the pirated software and other piracy issues around the world. But it is the perspective that makes the meaning and complexion of the word 'piracy' different and meaningful. This is what exactly Angry Bird CEO has in in his mind. It may be added that Angry Bird is one of the top piracy hit game.

According to Mikael Hed, the CEO of  Rovio, while the piracy does damage the sales, it also increases the popularity of the product without investing additional effort and resources on advertising.

Read more: Chip Hazard

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HP donates WebOS system code to open source developers

[ BBC Technology ] 9 Dec

HP has decided to donate the the code behind the mobile operating system, WebOS, to open source software developers. HP acquired the software when it bought the smartphone maker Palm for $1.2bn (£767m) last year.

"By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices," said the firm's president and chief executive, Meg Whitman.

Read full story for details.

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Facebook's Hiring Developers

[ Information Week ] 2 Dec

Facebook said Friday that it plans to open a new software development center in New York to build new products and help meet growing demand for its existing social networking services.

The center is reportedly planned to be opened in early 2012 and will be located within its existing facility on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan, where Facebook currently employs about 100 workers in sales and marketing positions.

So if you are a New Yorker and a software developer - read the full report as it has open-job offers.

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