Two NBA athletes, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors are self-promoting. In an effort to win votes for the NBA All-Star Game, Bosh wrote and shot his own Web commercial in which he takes on the persona of a used-salesman to get fans to vote for him. The commercial, which he created with his girlfriend and his brother, has gained more than 376,000 views on YouTube. Nash, a two-time league MVP, created his own ad on behalf of Nike. The spot, "Training Day," features the two-time MVP playing basketball, soccer …

For a while now, Internet service provider AT&T has been testing new filtering technology to look for illegally distributed copyrighted material that travels over its network. The decision has caused a ruckus among privacy groups and supporters of net neutrality, who say that AT&T shouldn't be allowed to play network cop. Legal watchers are at odds over whether the telecom giant has the right to do this; business world critics warn that the company could turn off customers. Columbia law professor Tim Wu points says there's a contradiction here. "AT&T spent six years and millions of dollars lobbying …

Facebook is "supposed to be on a rocket ride", right? Well, according to Hitwise data, the social networking darling has a 16 percent market share in the U.S., compared to a whopping 72 percent for MySpace. But the Hitwise data "confusing" because the firm fails to qualify "market share." Do they mean total page views or unique visitors? Schonfeld turns to comScore to get a more complete picture. The rival measurement firm concurs that Facebook lags behind the News Corp. giant--but by less than Hitwise says--with 35 million U.S. uniques compared to 69 million for MySpace. However, the …

Did you know that hackers who hang around hot spots could easily steal the personal information of anyone logged into the same Wi-Fi network? Or that the savviest of these cyber criminals don't merely want your credit card or bank account information, but are looking for access to your company's corporate network? That's right, says Shawn Henry, deputy assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrimes division: be afraid of that Wi-Fi network at your local Starbucks or of accessing your corporate network from the airport. Your home network is no safer, although it's far easier for …

Adeo Ressi's TheFunded.com is like Digg for venture capital firms: it lets entrepreneurs anonymously rank, review and post comments about them. Now a year old, TheFunded has become one of the most talked about sites in Silicon Valley for putting VCs under the increased scrutiny of those looking for funding. "They stole as much information as they could about my business," reads one recent post. "It was a very unfriendly atmosphere," reads another. But what drove Ressi to dig at VC firms? A bad experience or two, perhaps? Ressi argues that "airing the venture industry's dirty …

Apple King Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote (dubbed "Stevenote" by techies) wasn't well-received on Wall Street: the company's stock fell 5.5 percent following the annual address, more than twice the 2.5 percent decline of the larger Nasdaq Composite Index. Apparently, a new ultra-thin laptop, a video rental service, a new-look Apple TV, and a bunch of new software upgrades weren't enough for the legions of Mac-hungry investors. Indeed, it would be hard to trump last year's iPhone unveiling, but industry critics believe this year's Macworld was just as impactful as the 2007 edition. "Even in a year where there …

As expected, Apple is moving headlong into the world of movie rentals, having signed distribution agreements with all of the big movie studios to rent their films through Apple's popular iTunes media store. Older titles will cost $2.99; new releases (available 30 days after the DVD release date) will be $3.99. The movies will be offered in HD and can be viewed 30 seconds after purchase for those with fast broadband connections. Somewhat overlooked amid the pre-Macworld hype is the important role Apple TV, which also received a new look, will play in the new service. For just …

CNET Networks adopted a poison pill on Monday in a clear attempt to block a potentially hostile takeover of the company by JANA Partners, a hedge fund. Last week, the technology publisher's announced that its board of directors had adopted a stockholder rights plan to "deter coercive takeover tactics and to prevent an acquirer from gaining control of the company without offering a fair price." In addition, the company adopted substantial severance payments for its board members, should a takeover come to pass. The plan allows the company to issue additional shares at a discount if …