RIM Offers 'Codes' to Saudis
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has agreed to hand over phone user codes in order to prevent a ban of its Messenger service in Saudi Arabia, says an industry insider. Video courtesy of Reuters.

Oman Says No Plans to Ban BlackBerry Services
ARAB NEWS: MUSCAT: Oman has no plans to block BlackBerry services, the small Gulf state said on Monday, as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia worked with the device's maker on a solution that could avert a ban of some services.

Offering the services was part of its "philosophy of free market in the sector," Oman's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement reported by state news agency ONA. >>> Reuters | Monday, August 09, 2010

Saudi Arabia Halts Plan to Ban BlackBerry Instant Messaging
THE TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia and the makers of the BlackBerry smartphone have reached a deal to prevent a ban on the phone's messenger service.

The agreement, which involves placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia, would allow the government to monitor users' messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes.

The deal could have wide-ranging implications for several other countries, including India and the United Arab Emirates, which have expressed similar concerns over how BlackBerry maker Research in Motion handles its data.

A Saudi regulatory official said tests were now under way to determine how to install a BlackBerry server inside the country.

The kingdom is one of a number of countries expressing concern that the device is a security threat because encrypted information sent on the phones is routed through overseas computers – making it impossible for local governments to monitor. >>> | Saturday, August 07, 2010

Related >>>

Saudi Arabia to Block BlackBerry Messaging
THE NEW YORK TIMES: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The UAE said Sunday it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. Neighboring Saudi Arabia quickly indicated it planned to follow suit.

The decision could prevent hundreds of thousands of users in the Mideast country from accessing e-mail and the Web on the handsets starting in October, putting the federation's reputation as a business-friendly commercial and tourism hub at risk.

Blackberry data is encrypted and routed overseas, and the measure could be motivated in part by government fears that the messaging system could be exploited by terrorists or other criminals who cannot be monitored by the local authorities.

However, analysts and activists also see it as an attempt to more tightly control the flow of information in the conservative country, a U.S. ally that is home to the Gulf business capital Dubai and the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Within hours of the announcement, a telecommunications official in neighboring Saudi Arabia said the desert kingdom would begin blocking the BlackBerry messaging service starting later this month. The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, said the country's telecommunications regulator would issue a statement on the move soon.

Like in Saudi Arabia, government censors in the UAE already routinely block access to websites and other media deemed to carry content that runs contrary to the nation's conservative Islamic values or could stoke political unrest. >>> The Associated Press | Sunday, August 01, 2010

UAE Gets Its Knickers in a Twist over Blackberries!
Blackberries are a threat to national security* >>>
*Funny thing, so is their religion – Islam! – © Mark

Clinic for Internet Addicts Opens in US
THE GUARDIAN: reSTART offers counseling and psychotherapy – and up to 45 days 'cold turkey' away from the web

If you have to take a quick break from reading this article to check your Blackberry, send a text or reboot your Xbox 360 before you reach the end of this paragraph, then the good news is that help is at hand.

reSTART has been opened outside Seattle, the rain-soaked north-western town where high-tech companies are as common as cattle are in Texas. It claims to be America's first residential detox centre for internet addicts.

For a little over $14,000, up to six people at a time can spend 45 days sweating out their insatiable urge to be umbilically connected to cyberspace. Think cold turkey as experienced by heroin junkies, and you get the general idea.

Residents are given counselling and psychotherapy, as well as encouraged to bond as a group in activities such as household chores, walks in the grounds and exercising.

The centre, in five acres about 30 miles out of Seattle, is the brainchild of Hilarie Cash, a therapist who had until this summer been treating patients with presumed internet addiction but only on a day-by-day basis.

She recorded her first case in 1994, with a patient so glued to video games that he forfeited his marriage and two jobs. >>> Ed Pilkington | Friday, September 04, 2009