WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to guest star in the milestone 500th episode of The Simpsons.

Approached by casting director Bonnie Pietila after Simpsons creator Matt Groening found that Assange was looking to be on the show, Assange recorded his lines in a secret location and did not meet the shows producers as his house arrest legal status in the US prevented him from travelling.

Whistle-blowing Assange is currently scheduled to appear at the US Surpeme Court on Wednesday, where he'll appeal potential extradition to Sweden where he is alleged to have committed sex crimes.

The shows producers spent quite some time discussing the potential appearance of the notorious internet figure, but came to the conclusion that the satirical nature of Assange's appearance does not have the potential to alter his legal situation.

The episode (which airs in the US on February 19th) sees Homer and Marge attempting to disappear from their regular lives after they discover the townsfolk of Springfield have secretly turned against them. While on the road they bump into Assange, who becomes a "new Ned Flanders" for the pair.

Picnik, the online image editing service, have announced that they are to close their website on April 19, 2012.

Users will need to download any images stored on the site before that date or lose them forever, though the Picnik team have put steps in place to make the process as easy as possible.

Photos can easily be downloaded into batched .zip files, or alternatively can be transferred across to Google's Google+ network.

Google bought Picnik back in 2010, and are now thought to be using the Picnik team to develop Google-branded image editing tools of their own. In fact, many of the image editing tools popular on Picnik are now being ported over to Google+

"Since joining Google in 2010, the Picnik team has been working on Picnik while helping to create photo editing magic in Google's products. But now we get to focus on even awesomer things," reads a post on the Picnik blog.

Available both in free and premium versions, those who have paid the $24.95 to use the premium service will recieve a full refund, regardless of the amount of time left on their current subscription plan.

Starling details of the arrest of Kim Dotcom, Megaupload.com founder, have been revealed following last week's closure of the file-sharing website.

Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, was said to be hiding in the saferoom of his New Zealand mansion, armed with a loaded shotgun, during the police raid. Swarms of helicopters circeld the property, while police cut through electronic locks to apprehend Dotcom.

Despite our staff clearly identifying themselves, Mr Dotcom retreated into the house and activated a number of electronic-locking mechanisms.

"Despite our staff clearly identifying themselves, Mr Dotcom retreated into the house and activated a number of electronic-locking mechanisms," New Zealand's Organized and Financial Crime Agency told Reuters.

Last week US federal prosecutors closed Megaupload for violating copyright laws. Prosecutors claim the website has cost copyright holders some $500 million (£320 million) in lost revenue, while Megaupload in their defence state that they were diligent in removing content flagged as pirated.

The FBI have described the action against the website as being "amongst the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States" and said it would target "the misuse of a public content storage and distribution site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime".

The hacking collective known as Anonymous have carried out a string of DDoS attacks on high profile websites after the file-sharing sites Megaupload and Megavideo were forced to close yesterday.

Hackers attacked the Motion Picture Association of America, the Universal Music website, the Recording Industry Association of America and a US Department of Justice website during a night of retaliation.

Anonymous took their @AnonymousIRC Twitter account to claim responsibility for the attacks, saying:

"justice.gov seems to be besieged by some pirate ships. Can't handle the pirates? Don't sail the proxeas."

Thursday saw the US governement department take down the Megaupload and Megavideo sites, calling the webmasters part of a "Mega Conspiracy, a worldwide criminal organization whose members engaged in criminal copyright infringement and money laundering on a massive scale."

Many believe the hacked websites are directly linked to the ongoing pressures to have the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills passed by the White House. Each organisation linked to the websites struck by Anonymous have shown their support for the bills in the past.

"For #SOPA supporters their#SOPAblackout is today," the Anonymous Twitter feed also stated.

Tried to get onto Wikipedia today? If you're from an English-speaking nation, then you were probably presented with the image above, and not the free source of community-built knowledge that the web encyclopedia is known for. And it's going to stay that way until 5am (GMT) tomorrow too.

Why? In protest to controversial US anti-piracy bills: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate partner, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The bills are intended to strengthen the position of intellectual property holders and content providers on the net, who argue their industries are being monumentally damaged by online pirates. Their argument is sound, but many feel the bills' combative methods are not; while the music, film and software industries may be protected by the SOPA and PIPA bills, Internet advocates fear the heavy-handed tactics proposed by the bills will lead to a stifling of free speech on the net.

The new legislation would support laws already in place to protect copyrighted material, like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). However, while the DCMA targets the removal of the infringing content, SOPA and PIPA set their sights on the platforms hosting the content, giving the Justice Department the power to hunt down even foreign websites, cutting their support (and often revenue streams) from US-based advertisers, ISPs and card companies.

It essentially means all webmasters worldwide would have to vigorously monitor their sites for infringing content, something that many feel not only crosses the line into censorship, but, in the case of massively popular websites, would also prove a gigantic policing task and resource hog. Start-ups couldn't defend against possible violations, and the Internet's growth would be cut short.

And while the legislation primarily targets foreign sites hosting the infringing content, even domestic US sites could face heavy penalties, just for linking to the foreign pages in question. On a community driven site like Reddit, which relies on the sharing of content and healthy, open forum it has created to survive, it could eventually spell the end.

As a result, many sites alongside Wikipedia (including BoingBoing, Mozilla, WordPress, TwitPic, MoveOn.org and Reddit) are putting a "blackout" blanket over their sites to illustrate the potential dangers of the bills. Other sites, like Twitter and Facebook, have not took part in the blackout, but have been equally vocal in opposition, while Google too has a protest doodle with the message" Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web" alongside it.

"Today Wikipedians from around the world have spoken about their opposition to this destructive legislation," said Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia co-founder.

"This is an extraordinary action for our community to take - and while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world."

It's been an important few days in the fight against the bills. While no-one questions the fact that Internet piracy is a massive problem for the creative industries, even the White House has now began to withdraw support for SOPA, awaiting modifications for the legislation.

However the Senate is still scheduled to hold a procedural vote on PIPA on January 24th, which could yet see the bill instated.

If you think this is primarily a US concern, think again. The USA, in effect, could potentially hold the entire web to ransom, and where the US leads, the UK is sure to follow with similar legislation on our own domestic sites. With so many massive companies and media conglomerate's bank-balances tied to the success of PIPA and SOPA, there is heavy pressure for the bills to be passed.

The Internet as we know it could be about to change forever.

Jerry Yang, co-founder of web giants Yahoo!, has resigned after 17 years at the top.

One of the first massive web companies, Yahoo! was founded by Yang and David Filo in 1995, dominating the web until peaking in 2007 with their strongest revenues.

However, the Yahoo! fortunes began to wane in the wake of the Facebook era, and a series of poor business choices partly on Yang's behalf made the company stutter. Most importantly, Yang turned down a £31 billion offer for the company from Microsoft back in 2008, a poor decision considering the company is now thought to be worth around £20 billion.

Yahoo! will be hoping that Scott Thompson's rise to CEO will reinvigorate the company, with perhaps Yang's emotional investment in the company blocking much-needed restructuring efforts.

In a statement, Yang said that: "The time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo!. As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future."

My first tip for the new bosses? DROP THAT BLOODY EXCLAMATION MARK.

Via: Yahoo

Wikipedia have announced that they are to "blackout" their immensely popular web encyclopedia on January 18th in protest against proposed anti-piracy acts in the US.

After 72 hours of discussions between 1800 Wikipedia members, the decision to fight against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) with an unprecedented period of intentional downtime was confirmed.

Though SOPA is now thought to be beaten (with the White House pulling support for the bill), the Wikipedia community still fear the potential dangers of the PIPA bill, which could lead to widespread, damaging censorship on the net.

While online piracy is a major problem on the web, costing the creative industries in particular dearly (as well as software developers), many see the proposed bills as too heavy-handed in the almost-blanket like approach to censorship.

"PIPA is still extremely dangerous," said Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia co-founder.

"Today Wikipedians from around the world have spoken about their opposition to this destructive legislation. This is an extraordinary action for our community to take - and while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world."

The Wikipedia blackout will begin 5AM GMT on Wednesday 18th January until 5AM GMT on Thursday 19th January.

A man has been arrested in connection with an attack on the personal website of Kiss bassist Gene Simmons.

24-year-old Kevin George Poe was arrested yesterday in Connecticut, believed to be a member of the hacking collective Anonymous, and was thought to have targeted the rock star's page back in October 2010.

The ten-foot-tongued axe swinger's site, www.genesimmons.com, was bombarded with tens of thousands of electronic requests over the course of five days, effectively crippling the page.

Poe is thought to have used a software tool known as a Low Orbit Ion Cannon to carry out the attack, which sounds more like a Star Wars death ray than a hacker's program. Those crazy kids sure know how to name stuff.

What may have been a laugh for Poe at the time probably isn't feeling like such a great idea now. He faces as much as 15 years in prison if convicted of charges of conspiracy and unauthorised impairment of a protected computer. Bet he wishes he really was Anonymous now.

Poe will now have to appear in a Los Angeles court.

Connected Health Store is a brand new website from the brains behind Shiny Shiny and our very own Tech Digest.

The new site will focus on the latest news from the worlds of health and technology, as well as the increasingly advanced gadgets and applications specially designed to keep track of what you're up to on a daily basis and keep your health and fitness in check.

Our sister-site Shiny Shiny has covered all kinds of health gadgets and apps over the years, from Jawbone's clever little UP wristband through to huge vibrating power plates, but now Connected Health will be the dedicated place for Shiny and Tech Digest readers to get a more in-depth look at the way the worlds of health and technology are colliding to create great products that could (as cheesy as it sounds) really improve our lives.

Check out the Connected Health Store, or follow updates from the site on Facebook and Twitter.

Wikipedia, the free online crowd-sourced encyclopaedia, is preparing to potentially switch off its American pages in protest to a bill on the verge of being passed by the US senate.

The bill in question is the "Stop Online Piracy" act. The senate claims that it will protect the country's rights holders and continue to battle against piracy trends. However Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales claims that implementation of the proposals in the bill will have a harmful affect on many websites that have no relation to acts of online piracy.

Wales therefore is in the process of consulting and rallying the Wikipedia editors across the US, threatening to to "blackout" the site in order to get US senators to re-think the proposals.

It wouldn't be the first time Wikipedia have used this approach. The online knowledge base made a similar move when the Italian government began to muscle in on the workings of the site.

"A few months ago, the Italian Wikipedia community made a decision to blank all of Italian Wikipedia for a short period in order to protest a law which would infringe on their editorial independence. The Italian Parliament backed down immediately," notes Wales.

Via: Torrent Freak/ Tech Radar

All those dodgy "sexting" snaps you've been storing on your smartphone may finally come to good use today, as anyone can now try their hand at running a porn site with sales of .xxx domains opening.

Until now, the ICM Registry (stewards of the top-level .xxx domain) have reserved the .xxx sites for big brands, but Tuesday December 6th marks the general sale of the domains, open to all.

"Availability of .XXX domain names on a first come, first served basis," said Stuart Lawley, CEO of ICM Registry. "The new .XXX domain functions as a responsible alternative for sites that offer adult entertainment content and related services. All .XXX sites are appropriately labeled and McAfee Malware scanned. This means Internet users have a clear indication in advance of a site's content and can surf the Internet with more confidence."

Somewhere in the region of 100,000 .xxx domains are going live on Tuesday.

The ICM Registry campaigned for many years to get the green-light for .xxx domains before getting approval earlier this year. However, major players in the porn industry have been sceptical of the move, fearing that it will further isolate and demonise their position on the web.

Tech gifts don't have to be about screen sizes or processing capabilities these days. In fact, they don't have to be physical gifts at all. You can put a smile on a loved one's face just by setting them up with one of the many ace online digital services and subscription packages that are tied into apps, download and streaming sites too.

From music packages like Spotify to productivity programs like Dropbox, there's something here for everyone.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

It's been a great day for Groupon; the daily coupon deal site has seen its shares jump up almost 50% on the company's trading debut in New York.

Originally listed on the Nasdaq at $20 a share, the share value quickly rose to $29.95. Groupon had predicted shares to sell at around $16, but demand forced the price higher, with the company also eventually selling more than the 30 million shares they had initially marked out for trading.

Selling in the end closer to 35 million shares, Groupon were said to have raised some $700 million (£437 million).

That may sound like a massive amount of shares, but in reality only represents around 5% of the company.

With Groupon now valued at $12.7 billion, they become the second biggest company to make a market debut.

The biggest? Google.

YouTube could reveal as early as next week that it is launching its own channels with original content, according to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal.

YouTube is thought to have signed a series of partnership deals with media companies to produce unique content. Also believed to be onboard is Anthony Zuiker, creator of crime drama CSI, and skateboarder Tony Hawk. Media companies involved include ShineReveille at News Corp and RTL Group at FremantleMedia.

A spokesperson for YouTube declined to comment on the developments, but the site has long been working on becoming a new class of entertainment provider. It already manages several online channels, but it's thought the new launch would present channels operating on a subscription model, focusing on things like comedy, news or food.

YouTube hopes to attract traditional media advertisers with its new products. If successful, this could be a boon to the trend of watching online content on living room TV sets.

A new government-planned initiative in the UK will see internet service providers blocking access to pornographic websites as a measure to prevent children from accidentally accessing adult material.

New subscribers to BT, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Sky will have to "opt in" to adult content when they open a new account, which could lead to some of the most hilarious customer service phone calls of all time. "Booty call" may get a whole new meaning if the planned block comes to pass.

Ed Vaizey first suggested the block late last year in December, with Prime Minister David Cameron sealing the move after meetings with Christian charity Mother's Union, who had been asked to look into ways children access explicit content.

Further Monther's Union proposals include introducing a new website called ParentPort, where parents can flag innappropriate imagery on the net, as well as saucy advertising campaigns.

It is not yet known how the sites to be blocked will be chosen, but we imagine "naughty bits" are high on the list of criteria.

Here's a story to tickle the interest of video editors across the globe. Ever spent all night searching for license-free music and samples to accompany your YouTube vids? It's not that easy if you haven't, especially to find something that sounds half decent.

Enter Vimeo. Better known as an online video hosting site, they've just launched the Vimeo Music Store. There you can browse a catalogue of over 45,000 (and growing) tracks and samples that can be downloaded and used legally under personal or Creative Commons licences.

It's all very nicely laid out too, letting you search by genre, tempo and mood among other parameters.

The best part? Though a few tracks come with a reasonable price tag (£1.30/ $1.99) the vast majority are totally free.

Click here to give it a look.

Adobe have revealed that Flash 11 will hit the web in "early October", and will push 3D content as a major feature as the company gear up to position themselves as a major force in web gaming. Air 3 will also launch fully in October, though both Flash 11 and Air 3 are currently available in release candidate versions.

While HTML5 seems to be the future of web developing (a technology Adobe are increasingly supporting) the company are hoping that developers will be drawn to Flash 11 thanks to its 3D content creation suite, Stage 3D.

"Today, approximately 70 per cent of web games are powered by Flash, along with 9 of the top 10 games on Facebook, about 70 per cent of the games on Google+, and the top social games from companies like Zynga and EA," reads a post on the Adobe blog.

"Games at their best are fluid, immersive experiences, and the unmatched consistency of Flash Player allows game developers to focus on making great games rather than fight fragmented technology.

"Games just play. And play big: Flash Player brings an audience over 11 times larger than that of the best-selling current generation game console... Flash Player 11 is the next-generation console for the web."

Other features set for inclusion in Flash 11 and Air 3 include native 64-bit support for Mac, Windows and Linux browsers, and improved Air 3 extensions to help make for swifter "one-click" app installs on Android, Windows, and Mac OS.

Yes you read that correctly; animal rights activists PETA are launching a .xxx porn domain in order to "draw attention to the plight of animals."

By my calculations we're a little over 7 months off of this being an April fools joke, so we're guessing the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are taking this very seriously. And from the sounds of things, it's all going to get quite saucy.

"We live in a 24 hour news cycle world, and we learn the racy things we do are sometimes the most effective way that we can reach particular individuals," said PETA rep Lindsay Rajt.

"There will be a lot of girl and boy next door content, but we haven't ruled out celebrities on the site as well. People who are extraordinarily dedicated to helping animals and who are willing to do whatever it takes to draw attention to the suffering they endure."

Titillation for a good cause? It wouldn't be the first time PETA have tried the T&A approach, with everything from public showers to banned Superbowl ads. Just check the video above to see what we mean.

Via: Gizmodo

The Metropolitan Police are harnessing the power of social media in order to bring rioters from the past few day's escalating violence to justice.

As part of Operation Withern, the Met are posting stills from CCTV footage to a public Flickr photo-hosting feed labelled "London Disorder", in the hope that members of the public will come forward with information regarding the criminals' identities.

"Operation Withern is continuing apace. As well as the many arrests and charges the team is working hard to identify suspects," said Commander Simon Foy.

"Those who have or intend to go out and commit violent, criminal acts should be warned. We will have photographs and evidence that we will use to identify you and bring you to justice.

"Today we are releasing the first of many, many images of people we will be speaking to in connection with the scenes of violence. We will not tolerate the violence that has been seen in parts of London."

Click here to view the images.

Funnily enough while I was watching the Community Shield it suddenly struck me that a Twitter for footy fans would be a great idea. Non-football fans could then avoid endless transfer tweets, while lovers of the beautiful game could indulge in tactical chats without worrying about annoying their followers.

And then today I hear about bantr.com - a social network for footy fans. It looks fun - if a little over-complex - but hopefully it will do well. You log in, choose your team and then get chatting. However at the moment there are only a handful of people on there, and I am not going to start a conversation with some Sperz fan - give it time though and I am sure it will be a home from home for Arsenal fans.

The fundamental problem it faces though is that we are all so wedded to Twitter that adopting another platform would be a bit of a leap. Maybe there is a way of using hash tags to organise tweets - the tricky bit would be directing them away from non-appreciative followers.