It isn’t uncommon for companies to scan through the Internet looking for information on potential hires. Young job seekers, however, have found ways to avoid having prying eyes find private data by applying a wide-range of privacy settings to their Facebook accounts. Now, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday that numerous employers are asking potential hires to hand over login credentials to their email accounts, social networking websites and other online services. The ACLU immediately blasted the practice, calling it “an invasion of privacy” and insisting that “people are entitled to their private lives.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal echoed these concerns and is now drafting a bill to make such actions illegal. Read on for more.

The Connecticut Democrat spoke with Politico and said such requests from potential employers are an “unreasonable invasion of privacy.” Like other banned employment practices such as administering polygraph tests to screen applicants, Blumenthal believes that requiring access to a person’s private accounts should be illegal. “I am very deeply troubled by the practices that seem to be spreading voraciously around the country,” Blumenthal said, adding that an “employer has a lot of ways to find out information” about potential new employees.

While state regulators begin to examine the issue, Blumenthal said that he is drafting legislation that will be ready “in the very near future” to outlaw such practices. The bill would not prevent businesses from searching for what is publicly available about applicants, of course.

Earlier this month, Sparrow released its gorgeous email client for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Sparrow’s mobile app features a simple Facebook-like design that is light and responsive, with support for iCloud, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and other IMAP services. Unfortunately, the app does not support POP accounts or push notifications, which are both big drawbacks for a number of users. A new jailbreak tweak called “SparrowPush” enables push notifications using IMAP idle, however, making Sparrow’s app a viable replacement for the stock mail client. SparrowPush is available now for free in the Cydia app store.

[Via TheVerge]

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In what can only be described as yet another set back for Google’s privacy battle, Gmail users are accusing the search giant of accessing their contact lists and sending spam emails to contacts with non-Gmail email addresses. “STOP IT!,” an irate user wrote on Google’s support forums. “At no point did I say it was ok for Google to send email messages to my non-GMail contacts recommending they sign up for GMail.” The user, posting to Google’s forum under the name MrCheck, claims a contact of his responded back to the unauthorized email and informed him that he doesn’t use Gmail or Google Talk. Further investigating supposedly found that Google sent his contacts with non-Gmail email addresses a spam email that highlighted the benefits of Gmail and Google Talk, inviting them to join the services. There was no evidence of the sent email in MrCheck’s sent box according to his post. Numerous others have shared similar stories as well, claiming that Google has spammed their contacts. The accusations come at a time where the Mountain View-based company is in the midst of dealing with a number of privacy hiccups that have damaged its public image. Read on for Google’s response

UPDATE: Google responded to the issue and informed the users that the email is sent as a response to a chat invite. “It sounds like you are seeing chat invite emails,” said Sarah, a Gmail Community Manager. “These emails are generally sent when you invite a non-Gmail user to chat with you.”

[Via CNET]

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Apple has been forced to take its iCloud and MobileMe push email services offline in Germany as a result of a recent ruling in a patent lawsuit filed by Motorola Mobility against the technology giant, German blog Macerkopf reports. Late last year, a German court ruled against Apple in a suit filed by Motorola citing a number of patents covering 3G communications and push email services. A permanent injunction was issued and though sales of Apple’s 3G devices were initially halted earlier this month, the products went back on sale later that day. Now, presumably as a measure to avoid further sales interruptions, Apple has confirmed that it halted push email services tied to its iCloud and earlier MobileMe products.”This ruling only impacts customers in Germany who use a Push setting to get their MobileMe and iCloud email,” an Apple spokesperson told Engadget. “These customers will still receive email to their devices. Apple believes this patent is invalid and is appealing the decision.”

[Via Engadget]

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RIM has responded to an exclusive BGR report published on Thursday in which our source claimed BlackBerry 10 was delayed not because the vendor was waiting for a new LTE chip, but because RIM’s developers have not yet been able to resolve many of the issues plaguing the new OS. “RIM made a strategic decision to launch BlackBerry 10 devices with a new, LTE-based dual core chip set architecture,” RIM told AllThingsD. “As explained on our earnings call, the broad engineering impact of this decision and certain other factors significantly influenced the anticipated timing for the BlackBerry 10 devices. The anonymous claim suggesting otherwise is inaccurate and uninformed. As RIM has previously explained, and as Mike Lazaridis reiterated on the earnings call, we will not launch BlackBerry 10 devices until we know they are ready and we believe this new chip set architecture is required to deliver the world class user experience that our customers will expect. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply false.” Contrary to RIM’s statement, our source indicated that the company has not yet been able to get core features like email and BlackBerry Messenger working as desired on BlackBerry 10 smartphones, and that it is “pushing this out as long as they can for one reason, they don’t have a working product yet.”

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This past summer, Google began rolling out a sample of its revamped Gmail user interface and on Tuesday it discussed many of the brand new changes that will be deploying over the next few days. Gmail’s conversation view has been streamlined and now includes photos of each contact. Additionally, it will automatically resize itself to look best depending on your screen size thanks to a new “elastic density feature.” Themes now support HD images and there is a new “smarter navigation” panel on the left hand side of the display that is customizable. Google also added a drop-down search box for more accurate email searches. The software giant says users will begin to see the option to “switch to the new look” in the bottom right-hand of their inbox over the next few days. A video of the changes follows after the break.

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BGR reported exclusive details of RIM’s upcoming BBX-based smartphone code-named the BlackBerry Colt earlier this year, and we have since heard that there is going to be a big emphasis on video calling with the company’s first super smartphone. This obviously means the device will feature a front-facing camera. As far as the BlackBerry PlayBook goes, RIM recently demoed OS 2.0 for the PlayBook, an update to the original OS that brings Android app compatibility along with native email and PIM access. As we reported before, however, there were tremendous obstacles that have prevented Research In Motion from shipping native email, calendar, contacts, BlackBerry Messenger, and other core system apps on the new QNX-based operating system. RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said during the company’s last earnings call that the PlayBook would see an update in October but unfortunately, RIM is still struggling with these challenges. Hit the break for more.

RIM has never allowed more than one device PIN per BlackBerry account, so it hasn’t been possible to use both your smartphone and PlayBook PIN for your email or BlackBerry Messenger at the same time. We have heard that RIM is trying to take a page out of Apple’s new iMessage service and make BlackBerry Messenger work much the same way on both your BlackBerry and PlayBook, but “that isn’t happening” according to our source, and right now RIM’s solution involves “two independent BlackBerry Messenger apps with different contact lists.”

This issue, combined with others, has caused the release of PlayBook OS 2.0 to be delayed until mid-February 2012, we have been told. One specific date we have heard is February 17th. It also seems like employees within RIM aren’t exactly excited about this new OS update, but we’ll have to wait for it to be released to give it a go ourselves.

A RIM spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Research In Motion co-CEO Mike Lazaridis confirmed on a conference call Thursday morning that all BlackBerry services have been restored globally. The co-chief had issued a video apology to customers earlier on Thursday, offering reassurances that the company was doing everything in its power to resolve service interruptions that had extended into their fourth day. A switch failure followed by a large backlog of emails is being blamed for the service outage, which affected millions of BlackBerry users across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, North America and South America. RIM said it is putting fixes in place to prevent a recurrence of this issue in the future, and it is currently considering how it might reimburse carriers and BlackBerry users for the disruption caused by this week’s outages.

We just received this image of an internal RadioShack email that clearly shows RadioShack stores are receiving unmarked shipments on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. These deliveries, the note states, “must not be opened for any reason” until stores are told to do so by corporate. RadioShack is instructing employees to place the shipments in a secure location, to mark that the shipments can’t be opened, and it notes that RadioShack will be sending auditors to locations to make sure instructions are followed and the packages have not been tampered with. Any employee found to have disobeyed the company’s instructions will be subject to termination. What’s not clear is why RadioShack would be receiving any Apple-related merchandise early, though it could possibly be iPhone-related accessories and/or sales materials.

India’s government is currently in the process of testing a solution that will allow it to spy on BlackBerry users sending and receiving data over India’s cellular airwaves. The country’s Telecom Secretary has confirmed that India’s Department of Telecommunications is testing the solution, which will allow government officials to monitor several services tied to Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones. The new solution being tested is part of India’s demands to gain access to messages sent by its citizens, and the government has threatened to ban BlackBerry devices if it is not granted access to users’ data. RIM has cooperated with some of India’s demands in the past, having provided it with the means to see messages sent via BlackBerry Messenger and to monitor web browsing, but the Waterloo, Ontario-based vendor has insisted on multiple occasions that it does not possess the capability to monitor encrypted emails sent and received via its corporate BES service. India’s Telecom Secretary would not specify which BlackBerry services this new monitoring solution addresses.

Gartner released a report on Friday that suggested Google’s Gmail solution is ready to take on Microsoft in the enterprise email arena despite having just a tiny fraction of the market. “While Gmail’s enterprise email market share currently hovers around 1 percent, it has close to half of the market for enterprise cloud email,” Gartner research vice president Matthew Cain said. “While cloud email is still in its infancy, at 3 percent to 4 percent of the overall enterprise email market, we expect it to be a growth industry, reaching 20 percent of the market by year-end 2016, and 55 percent by year-end 2020,” Cain added, noting that Gmail should “now be considered a mainstream cloud email supplier.” Microsoft Exchange and Gmail are the only two services that have gained momentum during the past few years while other solutions, such as Novell GroupWise and IBM Lotus Notes/Domino have started to fade out. Cain said that companies should consider splitting their email services between the cloud and on-premises servers which, for now, “plays to Microsoft’s strengths.” Gartner also suggested the Google/Microsoft rivalry will make it tougher for other competitors to enter the industry. Gartner’s full press release follows after the break.

Gartner Says Google Gmail is Now a Viable Alternative to Microsoft in the Enterprise Email Market

Outlook for Cloud Email to Be Discussed at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

STAMFORD, Conn., September 16, 2011—  After being in the market for five years, Google’s enterprise Gmail is building momentum with commercial organizations with more than 5,000 seats, and it now presents a viable alternative to Microsoft Exchange Online and other cloud email services, according to Gartner, Inc.

“The road to its enterprise enlightenment has been long and bumpy, but Gmail should now be considered a mainstream cloud email supplier,” said Matthew Cain, research vice president at Gartner. “While Gmail’s enterprise email market share currently hovers around 1 percent, it has close to half of the market for enterprise cloud email. While cloud email is still in its infancy, at 3 percent to 4 percent of the overall enterprise email market, we expect it to be a growth industry, reaching 20 percent of the market by year-end 2016, and 55 percent by year-end 2020.”

Mr. Cain said that, other than Microsoft Exchange, Google Gmail is the only email system that has prospered in the enterprise space over the past several years. Other enterprise email providers — Novell GroupWise and IBM Lotus Notes/Domino — have lost market momentum, Cisco closed its cloud email effort and VMware’s Zimbra is only now refocusing on the enterprise space.

Google’s journey to enterprise enlightenment, however, is not complete. Google focuses on capabilities that will have the broadest market uptake. Large organizations with complex email requirements, such as financial institutions, report that Google is resistant to feature requests that would be applicable to only a small segment of its customers. Banks, for example, may require surveillance capabilities that Google is unlikely to build into Gmail given the limited appeal.

While Google is good at taking direction and input on front-end features, it is more resistant to the back-end feature requests that are important to larger enterprises. Large system integrators and enterprises report that Google’s lack of transparency in areas such as continuity, security and compliance can thwart deeper relationships.

“Email is not a commodity, and cloud email is still maturing,” Mr. Cain said. “We believe that, for most organizations, performing one more on-premises upgrade, which will take an organization through 2014, is the most prudent approach. A less-risky approach to cloud email is via a hybrid deployment, where some mailboxes live in the cloud and some are located on premises. This hybrid model plays to Microsoft’s strengths given its vast dominance of the on-premises email market.”

“The intense competition between Microsoft and Google will make both vendors stronger and enable them to apply cloud expertise to other enterprise cloud endeavors,” Mr. Cain said. “The rivalry will make it difficult for other suppliers to compete directly in the cloud email and collaboration space.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Google Gmail Emerges as a Significant Threat to Microsoft in the Enterprise” at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1770424.

Mr. Cain will provide additional analysis on the cloud email at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo.

We’ve already seen an 11-minute walk-through video comparing a new Windows 8 beta tablet to an iPad 2 running iOS 5, but there are plenty of features Microsoft is cooking up that didn’t make it into the beta release of the OS. In a new video, Microsoft highlights a handful of currently unavailable applications that make use of the oft-praised Metro user interface Windows 8 borrowed from the Windows Phone platform. In the video, Microsoft shows off several apps including Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging and Photos, which features seamless Facebook and Flickr integration. The People application also features Facebook integration, pulling Facebook friends and address book contacts into a single stream. Microsoft’s full demo video follows below.

Microsoft has released a new video that shows off several of the People Hub enhancements in Windows Phone Mango. The video walks viewers through a new notification Live Tile system for contacts that can be pinned to the homescreen. After a contact has been pinned, the Live Tile will quickly alert you of a new email, message, Twitter or Facebook status, missed calls, and more. If you tap into the card, Windows Phone Mango will show you an entire history of the conversations you’ve had with that person. We’re loving what we see so far and can’t wait for the release. A recent leak has suggested we can expect it, along with new devices, in September. Hit the jump for the video.

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Former Palm CEO and current Senior Vice President and General Manager of HP’s Palm Global Business Unit Jon Rubinstein reportedly sent a memo to his team on Friday in order to address the less-than-stellar reviews the company’s new TouchPad tablet received from press and bloggers. Likening HP’s position with webOS to Apple’s position with Mac OS X year ago, Rubinstein reminds his team that despite the deficiencies mentioned in reviews, the company’s vision for webOS was recognized and reviewers as a whole see webOS’ potential. ”If you’ve seen the recent TouchPad reviews you know that the industry understands HP’s vision and sees the same potential in webOS as we do,” Rubinstein wrote in the memo. “David Pogue from the New York Times says ‘there are signs of greatness here.’ (I’ve included links to David’s review and others below.) You’ve also seen that reviewers rightly note things we need to improve about the webOS experience. The good news is that most of the issues they cite are already known to us and will be addressed in short order by over-the-air software and app catalog updates. We still have work to do to make webOS the platform we know it can be, but remember…..it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” BGR reviewed the HP TouchPad last month, and our determination was well-aligned with the consensus. Despite bogging and lackluster hardware, we saw great potential in webOS moving forward as HP attempts to gain mind share and market share in the already crowded smartphone and tablet spaces. Rubinstein’s full memo follows below.

Team,

Today we bring the HP TouchPad and webOS 3.0 to the world.  The HP team has achieved something extraordinary – especially when you consider that it’s been just one year since our work on the TouchPad began in earnest.  Today also marks the start of a new era for HP as our vision for connected mobility begins to take form – an ecosystem of services, applications and devices connected seamlessly by webOS.

If you’ve seen the recent TouchPad reviews you know that the industry understands HP’s vision and sees the same potential in webOS as we do.  David Pogue from the New York Times says “there are signs of greatness here.” (I’ve included links to David’s review and others below.) You’ve also seen that reviewers rightly note things we need to improve about the webOS experience. The good news is that most of the issues they cite are already known to us and will be addressed in short order by over-the-air software and app catalog updates.  We still have work to do to make webOS the platform we know it can be, but remember…..it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

In that spirit, Richard Kerris, head of worldwide developer relations for webOS, reminded me yesterday of the first reviews for a product introduced a little over ten years ago:

“…overall the software is sluggish”
“…there are no quality apps to use, so it won’t last”
“…it’s just not making sense….”

It’s hard to believe these statements described MacOS X – a platform that would go on to change the landscape of Silicon Valley in ways that no one could have imagined.

The similarities to our situation are obvious, but there’s also a big difference. Like David Pogue, our audiences get that webOS has the potential for greatness. And like me, they know that your hard work and passion, and the power of HP’s commitment to webOS, will turn that potential into the real thing.

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On Wednesday hackers based in China broke into hundreds of Gmail accounts, including those of journalists, Chinese political activists, U.S. government officials, and government employees from South Korea. Given the aforementioned targets and recent revelations that China has a branch of its military focused on cyber activities, it may seem like China’s government had a role in the attack. On Thursday, however, China denied any involvement in the the breach, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese government, said that the accusations were “unacceptable” and that any allegation suggesting that “the Chinese government supports hacking activity is entirely a fabrication.”

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