IDG News Service staff

At the request of Computerworld UK the story headlined "ICO received 10,000 data protection complaints in 2011" and posted 04/25/2012 has been removed from the wire. Online editors are asked to immediately remove the story from Web sites and print editors are asked to not use the story in future editions. Questions regarding the story should be directed to John E Dunn, Security Editor, Techworld and Computerworld UK.

At the request of CIO (US) the story headlined New Mission for CIOs: the Art and Science of Pricing and posted Friday has been removed from the wire. Online editors are asked to immediately remove the story from Web sites and print editors are asked to not use the story in future editions.

At the request of CIO (US) the story headlined "Can BI Help Barnes & Noble Beat Amazon in the E-Reader Race?" and posted Friday has been removed from the wire. Online editors are asked to immediately remove the story from websites and print editors are asked to not use the story in future editions.

The story, "Google Maps app for Android adds indoor floorplans," which posted Tuesday, has been removed from the wire because it remains under embargo. Online editors are asked to remove it from sites immediately.

China has built its first supercomputer based entirely on homegrown microprocessors, a major step in breaking the country's reliance on Western technology for high-performance computing.

China's National Supercomputer Center in Jinan unveiled the computer last Thursday, according to a report from the country's state-run press. The supercomputer uses 8,704 "Shenwei 1600" microprocessors, which were developed by a design center in Shanghai, called the National High Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center.

Steve Jobs sent the following letter to Apple employees and board members upon his resignation as CEO Wednesday.

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

At the request of Computerworld Hong Kong the story headlined "Hudson: Hong Kong sees dip in hiring expectations" and posted July 19, 2011, has been removed from the wire.

Editors are asked to immediately remove the story from websites and not to use it until July 21, 2011, at 6:30am GMT.

The Webwereld Netherlands story headlined "BBC's data dilemma" and posted Wednesday has been removed from the wire. Online editors are asked to immediately remove the story from websites and print editors are asked to not use the story in future editions. A revised version of the story will be posted on the wire when it is ready for distribution.

The story, "Cisco to stay out of the services business," posted Wednesday, contained a vendor misstatement in the first sentence of the sixth paragraph regarding teaching capacity in Indian villages. The correct statement should be that 600,000 villages do not have "enough" teachers. The story has been correct and the sixth paragraph now reads:

About 600,000 villages in India, for example, do not have enough teachers, Elfrink said. There is also a teacher shortage in developed markets like the U.S. as educators retire, he said. Both situations present an opportunity for virtual education projects, he added.

Kenneth Olsen, the computer industry pioneer who co-founded minicomputer maker Digital Equipment Corp., died at the age of 84 on Sunday.

Olsen will be remembered for the key role he played in at least one technology revolution: the move from mainframes to minicomputers.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has called off negotiations on a network neutrality compromise scheduled for the coming days, saying the talks have not been fruitful enough.

The FCC's decision to cancel this round of negotiations comes after news reports late Wednesday that Google and Verizon Communications were close to their own deal on network management practices.

The negotiations have been "productive on several fronts," Edward Lazarus, the FCC's chief of staff, said in a statement. However, the discussions have "not generated a robust framework to preserve the openness and freedom of the Internet -- one that drives innovation, investment, free speech, and consumer choice," he added. "All options remain on the table as we continue to seek broad input on this vital issue."

An FCC spokeswoman didn't say whether the FCC's decision to call off the talks and the news reports on Verizon and Google's negotiations were related.

The FCC has been hosting net neutrality negotiations with broadband providers and other interested groups since June, after providers and dozens of U.S. lawmakers objected to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's plan to create formal rules at the agency. Net neutrality rules would prohibit broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web traffic.

Verizon said Thursday it remained committed to the negotiations hosted by the FCC, despite the news reports that it was close to a private deal with Google. Verizon and Google both denied a New York Times report saying the two companies were negotiating a deal that would allow Google to pay for faster access over Verizon's network.

That article is "mistaken," Verizon said in a statement. "It fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. Our goal is an Internet policy framework that ensures openness and accountability, and incorporates specific FCC authority, while maintaining investment and innovation. To suggest this is a business arrangement between our companies is entirely incorrect."

Several digital rights and consumer groups objected to a private deal between Verizon and Google.

"The notion that a critical question of public policy could be privately negotiated between two industry giants turns the notion of Internet neutrality on its head," Leslie Harris, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a statement. "The goal of Internet neutrality is to prevent gatekeepers and ensure a level playing field. Any negotiation that begins and ends with two companies threatens to undercut that goal."

Genachowski proposed that the FCC craft formal net neutrality rules in late 2009. In May, he called on the FCC to reclassify broadband as a regulated, common-carrier service after an appeals court ruled that the agency didn't have the authority to enforce informal net neutrality rules in a case involving Comcast slowing peer-to-peer traffic.

But several U.S. lawmakers have questioned whether the FCC should reclassify broadband, suggesting instead that Congress take up net neutrality.

Gigi Sohn, president of digital rights group Public Knowledge, called on the FCC to move forward with net neutrality rules following the collapse of negotiations.

"The path before the Federal Communications Commission is now perfectly clear," she said in a statement. "It must act to ensure that consumers are protected, that everyone can have access to broadband and that the commission has the authority to ensure and open and non-discriminatory Internet."

Public Knowledge and other digital rights groups had raised concerns about the FCC negotiations, saying the talks left out several groups interested in net neutrality.

The negotiations were "largely restricted to the biggest industry players," she said. "The FCC now can use the comments and public views submitted to it as a basis for its decisions, as the commission should have done all along."

Due to a reporting error, the story, "Researchers: Authentication crack could affect millions," posted Thursday, incorrectly described the target of an attack on Internet authentication systems. The attack targets digital signatures used by authentication tokens sent by the browser to prove that the user is logged into the Web site.

The story has been corrected on the wire. The headline now reads: