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Did Sirius XM Radio Inc. make a Faustian bargain when it decided to accept $530 million from Liberty Media Corp.to stave off bankruptcy in early 2009?

The New York-based satellite radio companyfiled a petition late Friday afternoon with theFederal Communications Commission, urging that the agency deny a request by Liberty Media Corp. that soughtto transfer several of SiriusXM's operating licenses to Liberty's control. Liberty owns 40% of SiriusXM and occupies fiveof its 13board seats.

Liberty's request, filedMarch 20,include SiriusXM'searth station licensesanditsterrestrial repeaterlicense. The FCC requires SiriusXM to have all three licenses to operate.

But SiriusXM fought back, arguing in a 24-page petition that Liberty failed to get proper signatures from the companys board for its transfer request.

This is the equivalent of trying to cash an unsigned check and explaining the lack of a signature by saying nothing more than the account holder refused to sign it, SiriusXM's attorneys wrote.

Liberty Media's intent, and the intent ofChairman John Malone, is unclear.The company did not state a reason for seeking control of those licenses and messages to Liberty Media's spokeswoman were not immediately returned.

At issue is whether Liberty's 40% stake in SiriusXM allows Malone to assume ownership of the satellite radio company, which last year earned a $427-million profit on more than $3 billion in revenue.

What's clear is that SiriusXM's last-minute arrangement with Libertyaverted financial disaster, allowing the New York satellite radio company to make a $172-million payment on its high-interest loans justdays before it was due in February 2009. The transaction also gave Liberty Media fiveof 13 seats on the company's board.

The deal also barred Liberty Media from trying to take over SiriusXM by acquiring 39.9% or more of SiriusXM's stock. That provision expired March 6.

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SiriusXM fights Liberty Media takeover move

During the tornado outbreak on March 2, it was clear that mobile devices were important to YOU!

More than 20,000 9 News viewers used their smartphones and iPads to watch our live stream of severe weather coverage.

In addition to the 9 News mobile apps(which can be downloaded at wcpo.com/mobile ), social-networking can be an important tool to help keep you and your family safe, especially if the power goes out.

If youre a Facebook user, Like the WCPO 9 On Your Side Facebook page to get the latest warnings and reports.

We also want to see YOUR reports, videos, and photos of severe weather as its happening. Post them directly to our Facebook page!

Twitter can also be a valuable tool during severe weather as you can find out information and have conversations about the weather, in real-time.

You can go to the WCPO or the wcpoweather Twitter pages to get updates on severe weather. See reports from Tri-State residents as well by using the hashtag #CincyWX".

To do this, go to the search bar at the top of your Twitter page. There, you will type # CincyWX. A list of storm reports, pictures, and video containing that hashtag will then pop up for you to browse.

You can also post YOUR photos and weather reports on Twitter for others to see, just dont forget to include the hashtag #CincyWX on your post.

Wondering what a hashtag is?

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Social-networking during severe weather

The financially troubled Digital Region project, an alternative wholesale network operator that was built with 100m of public money to help 80% of homes and businesses in South Yorkshire (UK) gain access to superfast broadband services, is to get yet another injection of 10m from the public pursue in order to stay afloat. The service, which in January 2012 revealed that it had lost over 9.2m in 2011 and only created revenue of just 167,000 (here), has been in trouble due to low take-up for awhile now. So far none of the big UK ISP have shown much interest, which is partly because of growing competition from similar BT services and a lack of effective advertising. As a result the future of Digital Region remains deeply uncertain.

According to the Yorkshire Post today, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley Councils each own around 9% of the shares in Digital Region, while Sheffield Council owns over 17% and the remainder is owned by the governments Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which acquired Yorkshire Forwards shareholding.

As it stands now the current business model has failed and few expect the related local councils to carry it forward. Instead the least-worst scenario is that Digital Region will be kept alive for a little bit longer while a private company / ISP is found (tender) to operate the project, albeit with public funding as support. The alternative, of allowing Digital Region to fail, would allegedly be even more expensive and cause serious problems for its remaining customers.

The latest development has been expected since January when Yorkshire Forwards then CEO, Thea Stein, confirmed that more funding would be needed andthis would probably only serve to keep the lights on until the end of 2012. We are committed to seeing Digital Region flourish, but like all start-up businesses it needs support. Its important to state this is a guarantee the hope is they will not need to draw it down, said Stein.

UPDATE 4:21pm

Digital Regions Chief Operating Officer has sent over a statement.

David Cowell, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Region Ltd., said:

The project is pioneering and it has helped place South Yorkshire at the forefront of the UKs digital agenda.

Thanks to our current delivery partner Thales, the build phase has been successfully completed to time and cost and whilst the majority of the UK must wait until 2015 to experience superfast broadband, a phenomenal 80% of SY businesses and residents can already connect. DRL is delighted to move forward with the continued support of both the board and the central government and Local Authority shareholders.

Cowell added that Digital Region will move in line with the commercial model being promoted by central governments Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) for superfast broadband in the rest of the UK. The BDUK commercial model, says Cowell, places the majority of risk and liability to a private sector partner. The appointed supplier will take responsibility for all operating costs, sales, marketing and revenue generation.

Read more:
UPD Yorkshire Pumps £10m into Digital Region to Keep Broadband Project Alive

The Federal Trade Commission's final report on digital privacy contains some very welcome recommendations.

The recently released report, title "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change," looks at challenges consumers face in "today's world of smart phones, smart grids, and smart cars," as "companies are collecting, storing, and sharing more information about consumers than ever before." It sets out a framework that would allow consumers to control whether they are tracked online, have better visibility into how information is used by mobile apps and have access to their information being held by data brokers.

The commission isn't calling for "do not track" legislation similar to the "do not call" law that, in theory, protects us against unwanted marketing calls. Rather, it calls for voluntary industry compliance, which it says is starting to happen through browser-based tools and cooperation from the Digital Advertising Alliance and other players.

Ironically, this voluntary approach may actually work better than the "do not call" law, which makes it a crime for businesses to cold call phone numbers registered at DoNotCall.gov. I've registered all my phone numbers, but I still get annoying robocalls trying to sell me carpet cleaning, car insurance and a new mortgage.

The commission's focus on mobile apps is right on target. Between Google's (

One area where the commission did call for "targeted legislation" is to address consumers' lack of control over how data brokers collect and use our information. The amount of information floating around about each of us is staggering. Anyone with a phone, a bank account or a "loyalty" card, such as the one I use to get fairer prices when I shop at Safeway, is giving up information every time they shop, make a call or get on an airplane.

Many years ago -- even before the explosion of the Internet -- I made a quick and unexpected trip to Los Angeles and realized that I hadn't told anyone, not even my wife, where I was. But I realized that my cellular company, the car rental company, my credit card companies and the airline knew exactly where I was, as did all the networks and clearinghouses that transmitted and stored data. My credit and debit card companies even knew what I bought and where I was staying and my bank and the bank whose ATM I used had a pretty good idea of how much cash I had in my wallet.

Much of the information from our lives is stored in computers, and some of that is for sale to marketers, insurance companies, employers and even law enforcement -- anyone with the money.

The FTC wants Congress to pass a law that would "provide consumers with access to information about them held by a data broker." The agency is calling for a "centralized website where data brokers could identify themselves to consumers and describe how they collect and use consumer data," as well as to "detail the access rights and other choices they provide with respect to the consumer data they maintain."

That strikes me as more than reasonable. Some data brokers (along with all credit bureaus) will sell you access to your own information, but that feels a bit like extortion to me. If it's my information, it should be available to me at any time, as often as I want, for no cost and without any strings, gimmicks or sales pitches.

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Magid: FTC's digital privacy report has welcome recommendations

Welcome to Digital Blend, your one-stop-shop for coverage and recommendations of all things relating to mobile gaming, digital marketplaces, and indie titles (for the week ending April 1).

Welcome back to Digital Blend, our weekly look at the world of downloadable video gaming that exists at the fringes of the mainstream. That means we look at the hottest new mobile game releases, downloadable content drops on consoles and PCs, indie darlings that deserve your love and attention, and the best gaming values under $20.

Keep your comments and feedback coming. We want to hear from you! Did you try something you read about here and enjoy it? Is there a particular game you think weve overlooked or news you want to share? Any questions you are dying to ask? Let us know! Your thoughts, feedback, suggestions and (constructive!) criticism are welcome, either in the comments section below or directed at yours truly on Twitter, @geminibros.

* While this may not specifically relate to games, it does speak to Apples unrelenting advance into the role of platform manufacturer. The results of CNBCs All-America Economic survey show that 51 percent of U.S. households contain an Apple product of some kind. That includes Mac computers as well as iOS devices, but it still stands as a powerful example of how fundamentally Apples mobile initiatives have impacted the gaming space. [via CNBC]

* The never-ending war of black spy versus white spy will rage on this summer! Mad Magazines Spy Vs. Spy is coming back in a big way. Theres a new movie reportedly in the works and, prior to that, an iOS revival of First Star Softwares 1984 set for release this summer. A teaser trailer briefly surfaced online earlier this week, confirming an iPad and iPhone release. [via PocketGamer]

* New information continues to emerge on a weekly basis for Beamdog and Overhaul Games forthcoming Enhanced Edition release of Baldurs Gate, for iPad and PC/Mac platforms. Both from BaldursGate.com and from the Twitter feed of Trent Oster, Beamdog founder and BioWare vet. The latest news reveals that the summer iPad launch will carry a sub-$10 price tag. This will presumably also hold true for the Enhanced Edition release of Baldurs Gate 2 later this year as well. The mobile version of both releases will sport newly redesigned user interfaces that take advantage of the touch interfafce.

* Rovios latest bird-flinging game of destruction and pig-killing, Angry Birds Space, hit the ground running when it launched, an update on the games official Twitter feed confirms. In less than three days, the latest Angry Birds outing saw more than 10 million downloads. You definitely ought to grab it if you havent yet done so; the iPhone version costs $0.99, the iPad version costs $2.99, and the Android version is 100 percent free.

* Temple Run, the ridiculously popular free-to-download iOS running game from Imangi Studios, is finally up and running on Android devices. The reason its here in the headlines section and not in the weekly recommended buys section is simple: its broken. Many players are reporting that the game, available through Google Play, are running into compatibility issues and bugs that render it unplayable. To get a sense of things, just check out the Temple Run Facebook page. Well be keeping an eye on this story; hopefully Temple Run will claim its rightful place as a recommended (free) buy next week.

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Digital Blend: Apple products have a presence in more than half of all U.S. households