Succumbing to programmer complaints, Apple has dropped its requirement that anyone developing applications for the iPhone--even those that are rejected--sign non-disclosure agreements promising not to discuss the technology with anyone, even other programmers. The decision comes one week after the debut of "The Google Phone," which uses an open-source operating system. The secrecy pledge was self-defeating, said critics, because it prevented developers from sharing best practices and helping one another fix common problems. Sharing information will help programmers produce and fix applications faster, they said. Apple had imposed the ban as a way to protect its technology secrets. The change …

National Public Radio has just become the latest media property to launch a social network (not counting those that surely launched one while you were reading that sentence). It's called NPR Community, and ARS Technica joined up to see how it fared against giants like Facebook and Digg. In many ways, the site is exactly what you would expect from an NPR social network. It's centered largely on its vast library of content, from Car Talk to This American Life, but with considerably less advertising than most social networks. The site also tries to foster "positive conversation," and allows …

Adobe is putting the finishing touches on a version of its ubiquitous Flash application made specifically for iPhones. If it passes muster with the Apple's Ap Store screening process, the revamped software could be available "in a very short time," according to an Adobe official. Adobe chief executive Shantanu Narayen publicly confirmed his company's attempts to create a version of Flash for the popular Apple phone back in March, and had said nothing further about it until yesterday's comments. But there is still much he didn't say, such as how the player would function within Web sites given Apple's …

Software giant and Washington State's attorney general are taking on a small but growing online nuisance: "scareware" merchants. Purveyors of scareware try to frighten computer users into buying unnecessary software with pop-up messages that warn of false virus infections or other hardware damage than can only be solved by downloading their programs. Attorney General Rob McKenna called the tactic "a blatant rip-off of consumers." Users are "duped into downloading a fake scan (of the computer) and then duped into paying for software they don't need," he said, adding that past prosecutions prove that shady online merchants are well within the …

Estée Lauder has long been one of the leaders in the fight against breast cancer. Now, as Breast Cancer Awareness month gets under way, the cosmetics company is for the first time using the power of social networks to spread the word about its fight against the disease. The company is using TotalBeauty.com, Brickfish, Slide, Yahoo Shine and the BeautyBlogNetwork as well as on most of Estée Lauder's brand sites. The campaign spreads the word about early detection and warning signs, and also asks users to share stories, photos and videos that demonstrate how breast cancer has impacted them …

Software or media piracy is a tough thing to combat, and going after individual transgressors is almost certainly the least efficient way of doing it. But that didn't stop the RIAA, and now, it would seem, it's not deterring game manufacturer Activision Blizzard. The maker of "Call of Duty 3" has apparently begun quietly bringing lawsuits against individuals who have pirated copies of its popular war game. And while one might assume those being sued had downloaded the copies off the Net, that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, Activision Blizzard appears to be suing people who have …