Google’s attempt to swoop in and buy AdMob out from under Apple was looking like a Pyrrhic victory for a second there, as Federal Trade Commission approval of the deal hung in the balance based on concerns that El Goog would control far too much of the online advertising market. It’s ironic, then, that Apple’s acquisition of Quattro Wireless and the introduction of the iAd platform in iPhone OS 4 is what convinced the feds to let Google’s acquisition go through — the FTC says that Apple’s entry into the market will provide significant competition to AdMob, regardless of whether or not it’s owned by Google

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FTC approves Google’s AdMob buy, cites Apple’s iAd competition

Well, it looks like the Courier’s demise could be having some far bigger implications for Microsoft than anyone had suspected. According to ZDNet ’s Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft’s Chief Experience Officer and CTO for its Entertainment and Devices division, J Allard , has been on sabbatical from the company for the past short while and is “unlikely to return” — all due to the fate of the Courier.

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J Allard leaving Microsoft over Courier axing?

Google’s homepage goes amazing to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 11:57:00 EDT.

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Google’s homepage goes amazing to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary

Google might be trying to shake up video on the web by releasing the WebM video format and VP8 codec under a royalty-free open-source license, but we’ve already heard the format’s uncomfortably close relationship to H.264 might cause some patent concerns, and the MPEG-LA, which licenses the H.264 patents, doesn’t seem to be sitting still. CEO Larry Horn told All Things Digital that MPEG-LA is looking into forming a patent pool in order to license vendors who want stay clear of any patent disputes while using WebM — the idea would be to avoid any patent liability down the road by simply paying for a license now, especially since Google doesn’t seem to be promising anything when it comes to protection from lawsuits. We’d wager all this means WebM will go from royalty-free to patent-encumbered just as soon as MPEG-LA gets its paperwork in order — the same thing essentially happened to Microsoft when it tried to release the VC-1 format royalty-free — and that means video on the web might soon be right back where it started

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Google’s WebM video format might not be so free after all, says MPEG-LA

We’d heard a somewhat sketchy report from the New York Post yesterday that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission were considering launching an antitrust inquiry into Apple and its various iPhone-related practices, and now it’s being confirmed by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal , who say the inquiry was triggered by complaints from Apple’s competitors and app developers — specifically Adobe, according to Bloomberg . The DOJ and FTC are currently deciding which agency will take the lead in any inquiry, but if and when it gets underway there are a few issues at play: the first is obviously Apple’s decision to block Flash and other middleware from app development, and the second is Apple’s new iAd platform, which comes with its own changes to the iPhone developer agreement that could potentially lock out third-party ad and analytics services like AdMob — itself under regulatory scrutiny due to the Google acquisition — and Flurry.

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Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe

Apple’s decision to block third-party toolkits and middleware — particularly Flash — from bring used to develop iPhone and iPad apps has certainly prompted a fair amount of debate around the web, and now it sounds like Steve and the gang might face some even harsher scrutiny: a single-sourced piece in the New York Post reports that the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are currently tussling over which agency should be tasked with a potential antitrust inquiry into the matter.

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Apple to face antitrust inquiry over iPhone coding restrictions?

Google’s plans to buy mobile phone marketing company Admob are looked at by the Federal Trade Commission.

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Google’s Admob plans scrutinised

Ten privacy groups in the US have filed a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission about Facebook’s new settings.

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Privacy groups challenge Facebook

The Federal Trade Commission may have a pretty big beef with Intel, but it looks like won’t be going as far as to seek a breakup of the company. That word comes straight from the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Richard Feinstein, who flatly told reporters yesterday that the FTC has “no goal of breaking up Intel.” In case you missed it, this follows a lawsuit that the FTC filed against Intel earlier in the day yesterday, which alleges that the company has engaged in “anticompetitive tactics.” As you can see above, NVIDIA has already responded to that development in its usual manner

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FTC won’t ask Intel to break up