As reported several different places, billionaire Mark Cuban was charged with insider trading today for selling 600,000 shares of Mamma.com more than four years ago.  Understandably, Cuban is contesting the charges (click the links above for details). 

The SEC is stating that the sale allowed Cuban to avoid around $750,000 in losses.  I find it rather amusing that they no doubt feel the avoided loss will strengthen their case.  Since the amount is by no means substantial to Cuban, I can't help but wonder if stating this will actually weaken it.  To me, it's pretty obvious that the sale was not strictly based on trying to save a few hundred thousand dollars.

I wish Mark all the best, but I suspect everything will turn out alright for him.  The SEC is notorious for doing a consistently terrible job, and besides, Mark appears far too innocent for this to go anywhere.  I've seen shows on CNBC actually bring up charts detailing insider trading almost in real time, but the SEC rarely does anything.  One host even poked fun at the SEC, stating that it was so easy for him to spot but, mysteriously, so difficult for them.  Hopefully, this will all blow over soon so they can focus their limited resources elsewhere.

There's a great article on YourHome.ca that reminded me how broadband connections are not as popular as we all sometimes believe.  As if the higher cost of gas, along with the real estate crisis, wasn't hurting rural area housing enough, it turns out people are also moving away because they can't get broadband!

If you're reading my blog, you're most likely already more tech savvy than usual, and therefore more likely to have a broadband connection, but I'm still surprised that people would be willing to move for what we take for granted.  Perhaps I forget the sting of 56kps.  It has been nine years or so.

The end of the article gets to me a little bit though.  Why would anyone move back to a house that they moved away from over broadband?  While I guess you could question the intelligence of the original move (couldn't they get a satellite connection before?), to me, moving back is a pretty expensive way to own a mistake.  On the other hand, I've had broadband the whole time, so maybe I just don't understand.

Autoblog just revealed that Ruf has created an electric prototype based on the Porsche 911 (it's pronounced "roof").  Engadget, a technology blog I read every now and then, also covered the story.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll understand why this excites me so much:  more competition for Tesla!  As a bonus, the car is not based on the smaller Cayman as rumored earlier, which coincides with my belief that we need more truly premium electric cars on the market.  It's been said that Ruf's electric 911 will also be a competitor for Fisker's Karma (covered here), and while that's true, I think Ruf is a more established company who will end up drawing in a different type of customer.  That is, assuming it gets built.  Now all they need is a distribution network that beats Tesla's uninspiring showroom.

Finding a blogging topic today sure was easy!  TechCrunch is being sued by Earthcomber, a patent owner who's really suing Loopt, but decided TechCrunch was worth adding in an amended complaint.  Basically, they don't really want to go through with this, they just want to sue Loopt.  However, they couldn't get Michael Arrington on the phone, so they thought a lawsuit might get his attention.  It did.  I highly recommend reading the full story.  This is going to be pretty fun to watch.

If your kid isn't into ballet lessons or learning to play the piano, there's now an alternative type of tutoring that may be just what they're after.  TechCrunch is reporting that a company called GamerTrainer offers in-game tutoring sessions online.  Though this story was actually released towards the beginning of the month, I still thought it was worth a mention.  Pricing is $30/hour (bulk packages lower the rate), and titles they'll help you with include Halo, Guitar Hero, Madden NFL 09 and others.  While I'm not sure this is a service I'd be willing to pay for, it's always refreshing to see a technology startup with an actual business model.

Paulson, Bernanke and Cox updated congress today regarding a $700 billion bailout.  So far, the market is responding positively, and gold and oil are down.  On a less important note (though no doubt more important to some people), Google is launching the Android phone today (Gphone), and TechCrunch is liveblogging about it.  It will be available in the United States for $179 on October 22nd, in the UK in November, and in the rest of Europe in 2009.  I haven't been able to find any information as of yet regarding a Canadian launch.  However, say what you will about HTC's Android product, I'm still happy with their flagship phone, the Touch Diamond.

Like every other technology fan on the internet, I've been trying out Google's new Chrome browser over the past few days.  As you would expect, it's pretty good, and I understand why Google would want users to access their online products through their own browser as opposed to one created by another company.

However, one thing I'm not so sure about is the tab placement.  I got used to it pretty quickly, but I imagine it could become frustrating if someone wanted to install one or two toolbars, adding extra lines of separation between the browsing area and the tabs.

It may or may not be the fastest browser out there, but it's definitely close.  Some people are also focusing on other metrics that are important to them, like CPU load, where Internet Explorer 8 comes out ahead.  Nevertheless, Google Chrome is still an amazing browser.  I could spend much more time covering all the positives, but I'd like to keep this post short.  Bottom line: try it out.

Some web surfers are becoming increasingly frustrated with their internet service providers over the past few days in both Canada and the USA.  For Americans, Comcast announced that they will be putting a 250 gigabyte cap on their "unlimited" broadband service.  Vocal opponents of the idea took to Comcast-bashing on their blogs and message boards, and Steve Gillmor even felt it was worth a mention in his article on the future of streaming video for TechCrunch.

In Canada, Telus is discontinuing their Connect 75 plan, which allowed unlimited use of the internet through the cellular network via an aircard for $75/month.  New customers are now encouraged to sign up for Connect 65, a $65/month plan that only includes one gigabyte, with extra bandwidth costing $10/gigabyte.

However you look at it, affected users still only amount to a very small percentage of either company's customer base, and both Comcast and Telus claim that these changes will allow them to keep their network fast for the rest of us.

UPDATE:  Mashable.com is also covering the Comcast side of this story.

Telus Mobility is the first wireless carrier to release the HTC Touch Diamond in North America.  While Sprint will be offering them in the USA this September, I was fortunate enough to get mine last week!  Sometimes it pays to be Canadian.  Since there are several product reviews already online (like this one from Engadget), I'm not going to go into an in-depth analysis, but this device has exceeded my expectations by a mile.  The TouchFLO 3D interface is by far the nicest I've ever seen, and the 640x480 screen is unbelievably sharp.  My Facebook homepage is even legible without zooming in!  The internet is as quick as ever with Opera Mobile 9.5, and the YouTube client is actually much faster than I expected.  Videos play after waiting one or two seconds - that's it.  While Apple fans may prefer the iPhone 3G, I feel its 'wow' factor, overall completeness, and viability as a business tool aren't up to par with the HTC Touch Diamond.  As Ferris Beuller would say, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Nissan is planning to sell cars that push back on their gas pedals when they feel drivers are speeding up too quickly.  It will be available next year, and I will not be buying a Nissan.  The idea is to increase gas mileage and efficiency, but aren't there already enough people out there who slow down traffic by taking as long as possible to get up to speed?  A special gauge on the dashboard changes color and flashes when drivers aren't accelerating "optimally", but a grille pressed into their bumper by the angry person behind them may prove to be more compelling.  Fortunately, the feature can be turned off.