As has been the case all weekend, Verizon Wireless is actively blocking the boards.4chan.org subdomain on port 80, which is where each individual image and discussion board is stored on the popular site, while allowing all other traffic free reign.  In related news, Comcast itself filtered access to the main page and boards domain for a few hours Sunday night before restoring full access a few hours later. Both companies have yet to release official statements on the matter.

With the FCC actively pursuing inquiries into Verizon Wireless business practices and Comcast receiving penalties from the body for covertly filtering and shaping BitTorrent traffic which was found to be illegal, both conglomerates are set for another showdown regarding net neutrality and the ramifications of censorship with the regulatory body.

4chan was previously blocked by AT&T last year after a wave of DDOS attacks leveled at the imageboard caused the service provider to block select parts of the domain until the issues could be resolved, but not before it violated its own policies regarding customer and site owner notices, leading to various protests and criticism of the conglomerate.

Update: Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeffery Nelson has released the following statement–

“Our network security system found traffic from some 4Chan web sites that had strong potential to disrupt the Verizon Wireless network, affecting our customers’ use of their services,”  “With continuing investigation, and ensuring no current risk of harm, are giving the green-light to all 4Chan traffic. We will continue to monitor for any possibility of network harm.”

As 4Chan runs ads from adult websites on its non-worksafe boards and is currently fighting another wave of spam with infected archives being posted as highly requested files, the reasoning for the blockade  makes more sense, although the potential for actual harm is being exaggerated for the sake of impact.

LogMeIn confirmed to TechNews.biz this week that Hamachi VPN services are planned to finally return soon for Mac and Linux.

Hamachi is a VPN solution that creates a transparent IP tunnel for computers across multiple groups. Instead of requiring complex configuration, the service works through a user-friendly login and password method. After joining computers to the same group, machines act as a virtual LAN tunneling through the internet. This allows services from file sharing to iTunes sharing to operate as if the machines were locally connected. In addition, Hamachi functions similar to parent LogMeIn, and bypasses the need for a VPN server.

However, when LogMeIn acquired Hamachi, both Linux and Mac service was dropped upon the next major release. While the service was maintained for existing customers, it has left a crater in the VPN Mac community since the launch of Intel-based Macs (Hamachi 1.0 does not work with Intel-based Macs).

Now, the company has confirmed to TechNews.biz that service will return later this quarter. The company noted that they hope to deliver it by the end of March, but that they are actively developing the latest versions to work consistently. That’s especially of interest to Mac users, who had to deal with command-line interface.

Hamachi has begun losing market share in recent years to competitors like NeoRouter, due to their support for Mac, as well as cheaper costs for commercial deployments. However, like Hamachi 1.0 for Mac, NeoRouter and other products also require command-line usage on Mac. Those few VPN solutions for Mac that do not require the use of Terminal, typically do not function cross-platform.

LogMeIn did not confirm if this update would mark a new generation of Hamachi services, or if Mac and Linux would be in-sync with the current Hamachi² version.

The problem: Acer didn’t include a way to burn the Windows XP restore discs with the Aspire One. They also didn’t included the discs. Thus, to restore your OS if something goes wrong, Acer is violating the EULA by making you purchase restore discs.

The solution: We’re hosting the restore discs for you to download.

Keep in mind that these discs will only work on an Acer Aspire One that came with Windows XP pre-installed. They will not work if your Aspire One came with Linux… so please, don’t bother trying. And, we don’t like piracy, so we wouldn’t be hosting these discs if you could modify them to work with your ordinary PC, they only work with the Aspire One.

Acer Aspire One Recovery Disc 1 (129 MB, Zipped ISO)
Acer Aspire One Recovery Disc 2 (2.89 GB, Zipped ISO)

Mobile smart device platform developer Symbian has announced that it has released its latest and forthcoming version of Symbian in Version 3 under the Eclipse Foundation License for open source software and is providing the code today.

Symbian Version 3 is the successor operating system to the aging and venerable Series 60, developed in part by Nokia. More code is expected to be released soon to add additional pieces of code excluded in today’s release.

In an about face, AT&T has approved Sling’s SlingPlayer placeshifting application for use over its 3G data network in an announcement made early this morning.

This effectively ends the saga of AT&T’s constantly shifting position on allowing such applications over its network, which began early last year when the carrier amended its terms of service banning such applications from access to its network while allowing other services such as YouTube on iPhone to operate unrestricted.

The updated application has been in testing since December and has passed AT&T’s tests for use over its 3G network with optimizations made for efficency and increased sensitivity to bandwidth changes deemed necessary by the carrier.

Apple has been quietly addressing customer issues concerning the latest model 27-inch iMac and its sustained hardware issues by issuing 15% cash back for those that have multiple returns/exchanges on file. The company may also extend the internal program to first time customers as well, despite Apple’s tacit refusal to acknowledge the issues with the 27-inch iMac in a public forum.

Leave it to the epic Sonic vs Mario debate to mark yet another paradigm shift in console gaming. This time, Sonic is hitting hard first with the switch to digital download distribution. Sonic 4, announced early this morning, will mark the first time an exclusive game has been released on consoles… in download-only form.

Titled Sonic 4: Episode 1, the game returns Sonic the Hedgehog to its 2D roots, and promises to deliver classic Sonic gameplay, in 1080p HD format (480p on the Wii version).

Sega has long contemplated the switch back to 2D for Sonic. The Sega Saturn was originally intended to be an ultimate 2D experience, only adding 3D at the last minute to answer the Sony PlayStation. After the failure of Sonic X-Treme from Sega’s internal STI team, the company outsourced the development of Sonic 3D Blast; a pseudo-3D experience that ran on both Sega’s Genesis and Saturn consoles. Upon the launch of Dreamcast, however, Sega relegated 2D Sonic games to the Game Boy Advance. Still, despite initial successes, gamers have long expressed a true 2D Sonic original game.

Dimensions aside, original game creation in the episodic format has been long considered a new way to target a more budget-conscious environment. Episodes can be sold in the $10 to $15 range and are typically cheaper to create than a game created at once. It’s also less risky for game development companies, as poor-performing games can be dropped quickly, limiting losses.

Pricing for Sonic 4: Episode 1 has not been released. In fact, aside from three seconds of video, the only details that have been confirmed are that the game will star Sonic exclusively, and that certain portions will leverage Sonic’s more-modern homing attack, as well as taking advantage of the Wiimote and Sixaxis controls in optional parts of the game.

Sonic 4 – Sega

It’s been a somewhat-well-known part of Apple history. The local Mac users group has always been welcomed and meets on Apple’s own world-famous Infinite Loop campus.

Well, until yesterday.

Yesterday the Silicon Valley Mac Users Group (SVMUG) was informed by Apple Corporate Communications that Apple would no longer be supporting any local or community meetings on their campuses. This appears to be pointed directly at SVMUG, it is the largest event that Apple has supported with monthly meetings that is not company-directed.

This once again highlights the difference between Apple and Google, something that Steve Jobs himself touched on during a private Apple employee town hall. Google routinely welcomes tech-savvy meetings on a broad range of topics to be hosted on their Mountain View campus, often on products that could arguably be viewed as competitors to Google’s own offerings.

The SVMUG has announced that all future meetings are on hold, until the group can locate a new meeting space. Apple did not give advance notice to SVMUG leaders, making their next meeting almost an impossibility to maintain.

Members of the SVMUG have commented to TechNews.biz and others with mixed reactions. Some agree with the SVMUG statement that many companies are bolting down for security reasons as well as the economy. Others noted that this was less of a concern with SVMUG since Apple employees handled everything from opening doors to chaperoning members from the security door through to the meeting room.

More critical members of SVMUG that this is symbolic of a more major trend away from the Mac for Apple. Combined with the lack of Apple at Macworld Expo next week, Apple appears to be focusing more on the iPod Halo Effect to drive Mac sales, than direct community-evangelizing of Mac hardware.

Once again, some big name competitors have turned off comments on their sites, because they don’t like what they’re hearing.

At Newsroom Network, we just don’t do that. We love your comments… keep ‘em coming.

Apple has released a second firmware update for the 27-inch iMac. Once again, this update attempts to fix the screen flickering that has become chronic for many users.

This news comes as Apple halts production of the 27-inch iMac internally, in order to address the problem. Users have also reported yellowing and other issues with the display, which Apple considers to be normal behavior for the largest iMac to-date.

Confusingly titled iMac Display Firmware Update 1.0, this is actually the second update addressing the problem; the first update targeted the graphics chipset. Most users have have updated however, report that this does appear to resolve the flickering issue fully.