SAP, one of the largest business application and enterprise software providers in the world, has admitted to corporate espionage.

Oracle Systems, a competitor in the burgeoning corporate database market, filed suit against SAP earlier this year claiming the company obtained secret Oracle product information which SAP used to entice new customers.

Today SAP admitted that it obtained Oracle documents through TomorrowNow — a Texas-based customer support unit SAP purchased in 2005 — but SAP maintains that it did not have access to Oracle’s intellectual property.

Continue Reading “SAP Admits To Corporate Espionage Charges” »

The Federal Trade Commission has given the “Net Neutrality” movement a serious slap in the face. A new report (PDF) issued yesterday by the FTC says there’s no need for government to get involved in ensuring the fairness of network traffic in the U.S.

The Chairman of the FTC Deborah Platt Majoras says in a statement accompanying the report that “in the absence of significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm, policy makers should be particularly hesitant to enact new regulation in this area.”

In other words wait and see if it all goes south and then maybe consider doing something to fix it.

Continue Reading “FTC Sides With Telecoms On Net Neutrality” »

Maplight.org, the nonpartisan political watchdog site, will announce later this morning that it has launched a new U.S Congress database. The new database combines information like bill texts and legislative voting records, supporting and opposing interests for each bill and campaign contribution data for each member of Congress.

Maplight, which Michael wrote about previously, started life as a California watchdog, focused on state political issues and interest groups, but with today’s announcement the site has moved to the national level.

Continue Reading “Maplight Reveals Democracy For Sale Within U.S. Congress” »