In a decision hailed by free-speech advocates, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision requiring an internet service provider to disclose the identity of an anonymous blogger who targeted a local elected official.
In a 34-page opinion, the justices said a Superior Court judge should have required Smyrna town councilman Patrick Cahill to make a stronger case that he and his wife, Julia, had been defamed before ordering Comcast Cable Communications to disclose the identities of four anonymous posters to a blog site operated by Independent Newspapers, publisher of the Delaware State News.
In a series of obscenity-laced tirades, the bloggers, among other things, pointed to Cahill's "obvious mental deterioration," and made several sexual references about him and his wife, including using the name "Gahill" to suggest that Cahill, who has publicly feuded with Smyrna Mayor Mark Schaeffer, is homosexual.
In June, the lower court judge ruled that the Cahills had established a "good faith basis" for contending that they were victims of defamation and affirmed a previous order for Comcast to disclose the bloggers' identities.
One of the bloggers, referred to in court papers only as John Doe No. 1 and his blog name, "Proud Citizen," challenged the ruling, arguing that the Cahills should have been required to establish a prima facie case of defamation before seeking disclosure of the defendants' identities.
The Supreme Court agreed, reversing and remanding the case to Superior Court with an order to dismiss the Cahills' claims.
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DVD triangle: For the second time in two years, China has announced plans to develop its own next-generation DVD standard to break the monopoly of foreign companies and avoid paying heavy licensing fees.
If successful, the move could add a new wrinkle to the battle between HD DVD and the competing Blu-ray Disc formats over which will become the dominant new DVD standard.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the new standard will be based on but incompatible with HD DVD, which is being promoted by Toshiba and Universal Studios, as well as Intel and Microsoft, the leading suppliers of chips and software for most of the world's personal computers.
The Chinese standard, not expected to reach markets until at least 2008, would provide higher definition, better sound and better anti-piracy measures.
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Portable ambush: Security software experts identified a malicious program targeting Sony PlayStation Portable systems that marks the first so-called Trojan found in video game devices.
The world's biggest security software maker said the Trojan represented a low-level threat, only affecting machines users have modified with their own code. A Trojan is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application.
He explained the Trojan says it is a file named "EXPLOIT 2G PSP Team V1.RAR" that allows users to run their own code on the Sony devices, but in fact destroys the machine.
Symantec researchers identified the Trojan when monitoring online chat-rooms used by the gaming community.
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The mighty otaku: Japan's growing legion of geeks, once derided as unsociable misfits, has become a significant force of spenders whose financial clout is expected to keep growing.
The results are likely to prompt businesses to develop new products targeting the mostly male geeks, or "otaku" in Japanese, who are noted for spending every last yen on the hobbies they pursue with a single-minded passion.
According to a survey by Nomura Research Institute, a Tokyo think-tank, otaku -- known for their obsession with aspects of pop culture such as comics, computer games and electronics -- now number 1.72 million nationwide and power a market worth more than 400 billion yen a year.
The survey, conducted over the internet with over 10,000 respondents, broke down the Japanese otaku population into 12 groups, depending on their particular hobby.
Largest in number, and the biggest spenders, were collectors of manga comics, with 350,000 people spending 83 billion yen a year on comic magazines and related products.
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Compiled by Keith Axline. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
