The American computer hacker who shook the Internet underground by becoming an FBI informant didn’t just break the law on the Web: He also carried a gun and was involved in drug dealing.

Court documents unsealed this week show that in exchange for his cooperation, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute hacker Hector Xavier Monsegur for a litany of other crimes he admitted committing over the years, including his attempted sale of a pound of marijuana in 2010 and another 4 pounds in 2003.

They also agreed not to pursue charges for other crimes, including gun possession, purchasing stolen jewelry and electronics, running up $15,000 on a former employer’s credit card and referring people seeking prescription pain pills to illegal drug suppliers. The court papers said Monsegur would also avoid prosecution for hacking into the Web site of an online casino.

Monsegur, who was known on the Internet as a shadowy figure called “Sabu,” signed the cooperation agreement on Aug. 15. By then, he had already been working closely with the FBI for two months, often pulling late hours exchanging messages with fellow hackers while federal agents watched.

The 28-year-old New Yorker, who operated from a sixth-floor apartment in a dilapidated city housing project, has already pleaded guilty to a string of computer crimes, including conspiring with the “hacktivist” groups Anonymous, Internet Feds and Lulzsec, and breaking into the Web sites of media and Internet security companies.

His cooperation with federal agents led to five arrests, announced this week, and the breakup of Lulzsec, a group he had helped create.

Monsegur’s deal with prosecutors could still leave him exposed to substantial jail time. The agreement, filed with the court in August but not made public until Friday, said he faced a minimum mandatory sentence of up to two years in jail, and more than 122 years…

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Yahoo’s share of the U.S. search engine market continued to slip last month as Google upped its lead.

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(Reuters) – Supply concerns over Apple Inc’s new iPad are “overblown”, Jefferies said in a note, adding that the company is expected to produce 12-15 million tablets this quarter.

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CNET

Apple iPad Wi-Fi (2012 model; Apple A5X processor; 9.7-inch display) CNET The iPad's new screen is a stunner. That's really all you need to know about the new iPad (yes, that's the name). That, and a reminder that pricing still starts at US$499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, with 4G starting at US$629. How to preview the Retina display enhanced Apple.com in Safari on Mac or PCApple Insider Vietnamese User Gets Hands on New iPad Early, BenchmarkedThe Mac Observer Apple upgrading website images for new iPad launchSlashGear Fortune -TheStreet.com -Patch.com all 950 news articles »

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BEIJING (Reuters) – China is preparing to defend itself should the United States and other countries take its rare earth export restrictions to the World Trade Organisation, state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday cited a government minister as saying.

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Apple certainly has lots of buzz and corporate cache behind its products, but there’s a hidden — almost mundane — reason its newest iPad is likely to dominate the competition: the advantageous deals the company cuts with components manufacturers.

Apple’s size, and the fact that the iPad shares components with the highly popular iPhone, means that the company can buy crucial parts such as processing chips and display screens at lower prices. Any company that wants to make a tablet computer that matches the iPad’s $499 starting price has to endure higher costs.

As a result, Apple’s tablet-making competitors have flailed — and failed. And with the new iPad, Apple is expected to extend its 62 percent market share in the tablet computer category it created. IMS Research expects Apple to capture 70 percent of the market this year.

A year ago, scores of companies all thought they had a shot at emulating Apple’s success. More than 100 tablet models were on display at the annual consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas in January 2011. Many of them ran on the Android operating system, developed by Silicon Valley powerhouse Google.

As the year progressed, those dreams crumbled. The iPad 2, launched in March, proved nearly unassailable.

A big part of the reason was that Apple has priced the iPad aggressively. At just under $500 for the basic model, Apple’s profit margin on the device is lower than on the iPhone, a smaller device for which it charges phone companies a wholesale rate of $600 or more.

On Wednesday, Apple stuck to that price point when it unveiled the new iPad model. It has a screen that displays sharper images and deeper, more vibrant colors to set it apart from the competition. The new tablet goes on sale March 16 in the U.S. and several other…

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The iPhone waiting game has begun. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer advice to a desperate iPhone 3GS devotee on whether he should hold out for the iPhone 5.

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Dextre, the Canadian-built robot on the International Space Station, completes the first stages of practicing refueling with a dummy satellite, a job that could help reduce the orbiting junk pile above our planet.

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Company will also receive a $21 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund to aid in the cost of the new campus in Austin.

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ABC News

Apple.com upgrading to high-resolution images ahead of Retina iPad launch Apple Insider By Josh Ong Apple has begun upgrading portions of its website, such as the iPad section, with high-resolution images that are large enough to fit on the third-generation iPad's Retina Display. AppleInsider reader "dglow" noticed recently that Apple has … Apple Upgrading Portions Of Its Website For New iPad's Retina DisplayAppAdvice Apple's New iPad: 10 Things You Should Do After Breaking It Out of the BoxeWeek Apple: iPad preorders sell out, demand 'off the charts'USA TODAY Washington Post -Los Angeles Times -CNET all 908 news articles »

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