6. : In a letter, government regulators from 10 countries, including France and Germany, warned Internet-based companies to respect privacy laws when introducing products or face fines and other punishments. Google received most of the privacy regulators' ire for the launch of its Buzz social-networking service, which users complained lacked adequate features that allowed them to control how their data was shared with other users. Facebook also received some flak. One official involved with the letter said Web companies should view the missive as a final warning before governments intervene to protect people's privacy.

7. : A jury will now decide if a former San Francisco city network administrator is guilty of breaching California hacking laws for refusing to hand over administrative passwords during a 2008 dispute. Closing arguments in the city's case against Terry Childs finished on Monday. The trial has lasted for almost six months and featured testimony from the city's mayor and Cisco Systems' chief security officer. If convicted for disrupting the city's computer systems, Childs faces five years in prison.

8. : Oracle and Microsoft discussed the prospects of cloud computing in the enterprise and, perhaps not unexpectedly, both software vendors advocated a hybrid model of cloud and in-house computing for the most effective results. While the companies agreed on using cloud computing as needed, they differed on execution. Microsoft talked up its public cloud products, like its Azure online OS, while Oracle plugged its offerings that allow businesses to build internal clouds.

9. : Security researchers revealed this week that they recently discovered a hacker who is selling the user names and passwords for 1.5 million Facebook accounts. Hackers use the compromised accounts to scam and spam the account holders' friends. Depending on the number of friends a person has, the hacker is selling the account information for the bargain price of US$25 to $45 for 1,000 accounts. The security firm couldn't confirm the legitimacy of the accounts, and Facebook didn't respond to a request for comment. But if the hacker's wares are valid, one out of every 300 Facebook users is vulnerable.

10. and : Asia's clandestine electronics market also proves interesting, and here are two items to back that claim. The iPad is proving popular with Taiwanese consumers although Apple has yet to launch the product internationally. One Taipei vendor claimed to order 300 of the tablet PCs from a U.S. retailer that specializes in obtaining hard-to-find merchandise for foreign vendors. Satellite television is booming in China, despite government efforts to control who has access to this service, which offers content that the state bans domestic broadcasters from airing. While this market is technically illegal, the country's growing middle class has adopted the technology.