A long-running feud between Univision Communications and the Mexican broadcaster that provides most of its programming is headed for a showdown in a federal court in Los Angeles. If Univision loses, it could see many of its prime-time shows yanked.

While a dispute over royalty payments is the source of the current dispute, tensions between the two companies date back to bad blood between Univisions former chief, A. Jerrold Perenchio, and the late Emilio Azcarraga Milmo, who felt he got a bad deal in 1992 when the two men negotiated the original contract. If the Mexican company, Grupo Televisa, wins and pulls its programming, Univisions enterprise value could be chopped by more than $1 billion.

The lawsuit centers on a program license agreement, or PLA, between Televisa, the dominant broadcaster in Mexico, and L.A.s Univision, the dominant Spanish-language TV network in the U.S.

Holes in the net make 'cloud computing' pie in the sky

Here's a phrase you will be hearing a lot in the next few years: 'cloud computing'. Its etymology is vague, but it probably dates from the moment when someone casually illustrated the global network beyond the individual PC by drawing a cloud and writing 'internet' on it. No matter. What cloud computing means is a scenario in which users obtain computing services not from the PCs on their desks, but from servers located elsewhere on the internet.

Another way of expressing this is the mantra, first enunciated many years ago by Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, that 'the network is the computer'. This seemed a bit far-fetched at the time, because connections to the internet then were slow and often erratic. But with gigabit ethernet connections in local area networks, and increasingly fast broadband, network performance has improved to the point where cloud computing looks like a feasible proposition.

New ‘home game’ format lacks playoff feeling

The officials weren't local. I believe one said he was from Augusta. The state game I saw last year at Eastman involved Valdosta Association refs. Dodge's opposition was a team that used the Valdosta Association. Dodge won handily, though, and the officials did a good job.

Another advantage of eight in two days is the scorebook situation. There's more pressure to find a reliable bookkeeper. The book would neutral for at least six of the eight games. It's not neutral in the current situation. While the vast majority of bookpeople try to do their best, they're still rooting for the home team. A neutral book would negate that and the issue of an opposing book being inept, a pain in the posterior, or both (as a neutral book can legally kick both home and away books off the table).

Documentary-maker tapped to head interreligious group

Longtime public television producer Tom Spencer was named the new CEO of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Austin's largest interfaith organization, on Thursday night at the nonprofit group's annual meeting.

Photos: Viruses and Trojans come to life

Security software firm MessageLabs, has turned a number of cyber threats into works of art using the malicious computer code which forms them.

Hip-Hop Rumors: LaLa Plumps Up, Amerie Dropped? AHHmerican Gangster!

Somebody hit me with this as an explanation as to the title of Mariah's new CD, E=MC2.

LMAO! I didn't really think that the E meant Eminem, but it's more interesting that way.

Screencasting Recorder: Upload, Share, Publish, Embed - FreeScreencast ...

This is too good to be true! FreeScreencast is a new free web-based service that allows you to record anything taking place on your screen in a simple way. Not only. FreeScreencast takes care of uploading your recorded clip and provides you immediately with an embed code to post the screencast on your site. This is the first easy, and inexpensive screencasting tool that truly empowers online publishers to create and publish high-quality screencasts on their blog sites with the minimum effort.

The only limitations of this new web-based service are the fact that for now the screen recording tool works only on PC Windows machines, the need to download a few components, and a few rough corners in the UI and management features available for now. But it is reasonable to expect that within a short time these issues will be addressed providing to this service the true popularity and attention it deserves.

I'm the Idiot Who Bought an HD-DVD Player

At Digg, active users have more of a de facto authority over the site's goings-on (though there are persistent rumors that the site has "secret moderators" who delete content). But officially speaking, while the site's algorithm seems to favor devoted users, no individual Digger has the power to unilaterally delete a post.

While both sites effectively function as oligarchies, they are still democratic in one important sense. Digg and Wikipedia's elite users aren't chosen by a corporate board of directors or by divine right. They're the people who participate the most. Despite the fairy tales about the participatory culture of Web 2.0, direct democracy isn't feasible at the scale on which these sites operate. Still, it's curious to note that these sites seem to have the hierarchical structure of the old-guard institutions they've sought to supplant.

Pakistan's Political Coalition Means New Challenges for U.S.

There are certain basics in the constitution, but the 'who does what' in the future is something that they are going to have to settle," Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher said at a news conference in Brussels on Thursday. "We are pretty much bystanders in that process. Those are things that need to be worked out within Pakistani politics and Pakistani society."

After six months of intense, behind-the-scenes involvement in Pakistani politics -- such as brokering the return last fall of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was subsequently assassinated -- the future U.S. role is likely to be limited to financial aid for development and the military, and cooperation in combating militant groups such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban, according to U.S. officials.

Six years later, how has Hezbollah used and manipulated the media?

His introductory remarks, reminiscent of an Oscar acceptance speech, offered profuse thanks to the media for its wartime efforts in aiding Hezbollah:

Bungee Labs betas IDE to grid flowgasm

If you're just thinking about software-as-a-service, then you're a slack-jawed rube. You can have an entire platform-as-a-service with a little effort.