CNN Money

hot new smartphone can be Incredible, Vibrant, Epic or just “eh,” but no matter how it stacks up, it’s a safe bet that it will start selling at $199.

On the four major wireless networks — Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ – News), AT&T (NYSE: T – News), Sprint (NYSE: S – News) and T-Mobile — there are 13 smartphones priced at $199 with a two-year contract. There are no phone models with a higher starting price (add-ons like more memory can increase the price tag), and there are more smartphones selling at $199 than at any other single price point.

But spending $199 doesn’t guarantee you a top-of-the-line phone. On AT&T’s network, $199 will buy an iPhone 4, the best-selling smartphone of all time. But you’ll need to fork over the same amount for a BlackBerry Bold 9700, a nine-month-old phone that lacks a touch screen.  MORE

NEWYORK TIMES

SAN FRANCISCO — Google and Verizon on Monday introduced aproposal for how Internet service should be regulated — and were immediately criticized by groups that favor keeping the network as open as possible.

he proposal says Internet providers should treat all providers of Internet content the same, and should not be able to block them or offer them a paid “fast lane.” It says the Federal Communications Commission should have the authority to stop or fine those who break the rules.

But the proposal includes exceptions for wireless Internet access and for potential new services that broadband providers could offer, including things like “advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options.”   VIEW STORY

(CNN) — This week, news out of the Middle East saw BlackBerry, the handheld communication device of choice in the corporate world, assailed on multiple fronts over a security problem.

The problem? It’s too secure.

Governments in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they plan to ban BlackBerry use, at least in part, unless they’re able to view messages for security reasons. India and Indonesia are reportedly considering similar measures.

The controversy has raised questions about what happens to data from smartphones and whether users should be concerned about how secure that data is.

The answers can sometimes be tricky, and differ from country to country and phone to phone. So, we’ve rounded up some answers to help make sense of it all.  VIEW STORY

Just because you sit behind a laptop all-day doesn’t mean you don’t know fashion when you see it. How can you show the world you are Internet-savy and proud?

Wear your passion for tech on your sleeve with this awesome, quirky, geek-chic gear.  VIEW

A funny collection of laws you will not believe are actually still in existence. Did you know that it is illegal to…1. Pay a debt higher than 25 cents with pennies in Canada.

View Em’ All

FOX NEWS – What is great about America? For one: We can say just about anything, thanks to the First Amendment. It reads: “Congress shall make no law… abridging freedom of speech.”

That makes a difference. It lets us say even offensive things.

Rosie O’Donnell says things like “Don’t fear the terrorists” and “radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.”

America tolerates speech like that, but many countries, even democratic ones, restrict speech.

View Original Story

CNN – Say goodbye to the bustier and hotpants: Wonder Woman is getting a makeover at the age of 69, and the heroine is now keeping herself covered while fighting crime.

The new costume, created by celebrated artist and DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee, is made up of a red top with the signature “WW” logo; a cropped blue biker jacket with white stars; and skin-tight navy blue pants and matching boots.

“The bracelets are still there, but made more colorful, tied on the inside and over the hand, with a script W on each of them that form WW when she holds them side by side…and if you get hit by one of them, it leaves a W mark,” said writer J. Michael Straczynski, in a post on DC Comics’s “The Source.” “This is a Wonder Woman who signs her work.”

VIEW STORY

WIRED MAGAZINE – A sticker found on a trash can at a Washington, D.C., airport last week depicting what appeared to be a suicide bomber is actually the logo of a popular graffiti artist. His fans have plastered his stickers around the world since around 2005.

The sticker caused a bit of stir among Department of Homeland Security officials, who on Thursday began circulating a photo to other law enforcement agencies, government officials and corporate security companies seeking anyone who might have more information about the iconography. READ MORE

PUCK DADDY

Last week we reported on the outrage from some corners of sports fandom over a Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews(notes) sweater being placed on the Michael Jordan statue in front of United Center for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But the most outrageous thing we witnessed was the audacity in taking the Man On Whom NIKE Was Built and dressing him in Reebok skates.  MORE

On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rig workers and injuring 17 others. On April 24, it was found that the wellhead was damaged and was leaking oil into the Gulf. This significant spill poses a serious threat to wildlife, affecting as many as 400 species along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

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