The Wednesday Tech Round Up!

24 hour blackout of various sites in protest of SOPA, the new iPhone may be released in March 2012, Internet usage reached an all-time high in 2011, 24 million users on Zappos.com are in danger of credit card fraud, all that and more in today's Tech Roundup.

1. 24 hour blackout of various sites in protest of SOPA. The first amendment may be revoked unless action is taken. Referred to as a "stunt" and "irresponsible" act by The Motion Picture Association of America, thousands of internet sites will be joining forces in a "blackout" protest against anti-piracy laws which are currently being discussed amongst US lawmakers. High profile and frequently used sites such as Wikipedia encyclopedia, Google and Wordpress are just a few that will be participating. [BBC]

2. The new iPhone may be released in March 2012. It seems like iFans are just becoming familiar with the latest iPhone, but that will be old news once the iPhone 5 is released. A complete redesign, the Apple iPhone 5 will feature 3g and 4g video chats, 3D videos/pictures as well as a chat service similar to Blackberry Messenger. The mobile device will have a 4" glass screen which will be shatter proof, and potentially waterproof. For the chatter boxes; enjoy an extended battery life with 20 hours talk time on 3G and 10 on 4G. [HubPages]

3.Internet usage reached an all-time high in 2011. Congratulations! You are one of the 2.1 billion people who actively use the internet. Traffic site Pingdom recently discovered that the amount of internet users soared from 360 million at the end of 2000. As of March 2011, Asia currently holds a the top spot with a record 44% (922 million) users with Europe coming in second with 23% (476 million) and North America in third with 13% (271 million). [CNet]

4. 24 million users of Zappos.com are in danger of credit card fraud. Zappos.com shoppers beware. On Sunday the noted shoe retail shop disclosed that its customer database had been broken into by hackers who stole information from 24 million customers. This Zappos breach follows that of Sony, Bank of America, Google, RSA and the U.S Chamber of Commerce as well as many others. Change your passwords! [USAToday] 5. Cofounder of Yahoo resigns. Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo has jumped ship.  Along with David Filo, Jerry Yang founded Yahoo in 1995 and served as its chief executive from June 2007 until January 2009. Mr Yang's resignation comes just two weeks after former PayPal executive, Scott Thomson was hired as Yahoo's new chief executive. Mr. Yang stated that he wishes to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo, resigning also from Yahoo Japan and Alibaba. [BBC]

6. Soon children in developing countries will have their own laptops. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is giving underprivileged children the opportunity to have their own laptop. The tablet comes equipped with a 20 cm touch screen and runs either Linux or Android software. The unique device can be powered by a built in solar panel, hand-crank or regular power adapter. It is specially designed for outdoor use with a rugged rubber case. A price has not been confirmed for the new tablet, however the distribution plan is already raising brows- dropping the tablets into remote areas via helicopter. [NewSci]

7. Cyber battles between Isreal and Palestine. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Isreal's El Al airline were recently hit hard with cyberattacks which disabled their respective websites for hours. Cyberattacks between Isreal and other Middle Eastern countries have risen lately, targeting everything from individuals' financial records to large-scale industrial systems. [SciNews]