The Safe Games Illinois Act is forging a path through the Illinois Senate, as the state’s Senate Housing and Community Affairs Committee approved the new piece of legislation. It will allow the state to rate games independent of the Entertainment Software Rating Board and to stick retailers who sell violent titles to minors with strict fines and penalties. If the act becomes law, retailers who sell or rent violent or sexually explicit video games to people younger than 18 could face up to one year in jail or a $5,000 fine. Retailers also will be required to mark violent and sexually explicit games with labels similar to the “parental advisory” labels found on music CDs, and to post signs explaining the game rating system. If retailers fail to act, they can be hit with a $1,000 fine for the first three violations and a $5,000 fine for subsequent violations.

Jataayu Software announced its participation in America Online’s Mobile Developer Program. The AOL Mobile Developer program will enable Jataayu to provide handset manufacturers with a Wireless Village IMPS-based instant messaging client that includes a branded, full color version of the popular AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ services. The number of IMs sent and received by mobile users is growing rapidly. By joining the AOL Mobile Developer Program, Jataayu Software can provide AIM and ICQ users with an easy to use and seamless mobile IM experience across multiple carriers, locations and devices. With the AIM and/or ICQ services on their mobile phones and PDAs, mobile users know in real-time when their friends, relatives, and colleagues are online and available to chat.

Research In Motion (RIM) announced that more than three million subscribers are now using the BlackBerry wireless platform, with one million subscribers added in less than six months. This milestone demonstrates the rapidly growing popularity of BlackBerry and follows another six months of intense activity with RIM and its partners, including various new product introductions and many initiatives with new and existing carriers, licensees, ISV’s and other partners around the world.

palmOne announced the creation of a new category of mobile-computing products–the mobile manager. The first product in this category is expected to be announced later this month. The introduction of a new category reflects usage patterns palmOne has tracked over time, especially among customers for its premium products. Customers of palmOne’s high-end Tungsten T3 handheld computer, for example, show a strong affinity for taking full advantage of the included DataViz Documents To Go software, which puts Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents at their fingertips.

palmOne announced that the Treo 650 smartphone is available on the Telstra Mobile GSM network in Australia. The Treo 650 can be purchased from select Telstra Shops for AUS $1,199. Alternatively, customers can choose a Mobile Repayment Option (MRO) of $99.92 per month for a 12-month period, $66.61 per month for an 18-month period, or $49.96 per month for a 24-month period, on select plans.

BoxWave’s FlexiSkin is a new soft case that gives you complete usability of your i-Mate SP3i while keeping it protected. It’s durable, soft to the touch, and because it can stretch and flex, FlexiSkin helps cushion your i-Mate SP3i from bumps and hard knocks.

Denise and I are always debating about Audible.com. I find it incredibly annoying and barely usable. Denise loves it. I hate the DRM, the unreasonable restrictions, and the software that hasn’t been updated since 1998. She likes the books. I think the Audible people go out of their way to avoid going out of their way for anything. She likes the books. In any case, here’s another report of a user cancelling their service because of the draconian and unresponsive DRM. When we we learn? When will we stop restricting consumers from using what they buy? Maybe, just maybe, after enough of us get pissed off. — DG

The handheld gaming market may soon become less crowded. According to Gamasutra, Tapwave has said it will cease production of branded Zodiac products. The Tapwave Zodiac is a Palm OS-based gaming platform, known for its fairly robust media capabilities…and slim game offerings. There’s a strong indication this means the Tapwave Zodiac will soon be discontinued in favor of a similar product released under a new name and manufactured by a different company.

Members of two major ultrawideband camps applauded a proposal Wednesday to make the Bluetooth standard interoperable with future UWB products, the first step toward making Bluetooth a more open command protocol. Members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group did not give their blessing to either the Freescale-led DS-UWB standard or the Intel-led MBOA specification. Instead, executives at the Bluetooth SIG talked up a more universal role for the Bluetooth protocol. Under the new plan, the Bluetooth protocol could be used to “command and control” several different types of wireless radios, including UWB as well as future technologies.

Speakeasy, a privately owned Internet broadband provider, has launched an Internet access service for businesses using new wireless technology that it said was faster and easier to deploy than its current broadband service. Seattle-based Speakeasy has built a loyal base of subscribers in most metro areas of the United States for DSL, which uses telephone lines to connect homes and businesses to the Internet. The new wireless service, which will be launched first in Seattle, uses WiMAX technology, which the company said will allow users to connect to the Internet at much faster speeds without having to install complicated equipment.