Web Sites

Old scams never die, they just move to new venues. The Better Business Bureau has put out an alert that many of the dubious ads that have long popped up in e-mails and on websites are now invading online social networks, such as Facebook. Ubiquitous ads for weight-loss products, work-at-home opportunities and offers for "free" computers can cost shoppers more than they bargained for in the long run, the BBB said.

Movie aficionados can add yet another website to their list of online sources of film news with the relaunch today of the entertainment magazine Movieline as an Internet publication. Movieline.com, the digital descendant of the glossy periodical that chronicled the movie industry and evolved into Hollywood Life before ceasing publication last month, will feature "up-to-the-minute blogs, reviews, reader-driven features, comedic commentary and high-profile interviews," the company said.

The world's most popular source for illegal music and movie downloading is going legit, but it's far from certain whether consumers or big media companies will embrace it. Pirate Bay, a Sweden-based website that indexes and links to millions of unauthorized copyrighted files on the Internet, has agreed to be acquired by Global Gaming Factory, a Swedish operator of Internet cafes, for $7.8 million.

It's not the first time Bernard L. Madoff has had his name in lights this year. But with his induction into the newly launched Con Artist Hall of Infamy, it may well be the first time that his exploits will serve a constructive purpose. The gallery of rogues at www.thehallofinfamy.com, which goes public today, is designed as a comprehensive educational tool to help readers understand and prevent white-collar crime.

Several Fortune 500 companies are banding together to create a free new job board that will give users access to all their jobs with just one application. The website is called United We Work and launched Monday with sponsorship from Sears Holdings Corp., AT&T Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., Allstate Corp., Hewitt Associates, Global Hyatt Corp., Office Depot, 7-Eleven Inc. and Starbucks Coffee Co.

Even a new-age reading of the 10 Commandments would seem to make it quite clear: Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's computer files and text messages. But one news story in recent days suggests it's not quite that simple. New technology has supercharged the debate over what should be in the public domain but done nothing to clarify the answers.

President Obama and his allies in the healthcare debate began moving more forcefully Monday to rebut what they said was "misinformation" spread by opponents of the legislation and to spotlight the disruptive nature of protests at town halls held by lawmakers. Obama plans a town hall today in Portsmouth, N.H., his first since protesters began grabbing headlines during the August congressional recess. He has two more -- in Bozeman, Mont., and Grand Junction, Colo. -- this week. Democrats hope direct engagement will blunt rising public anxiety that they say is being fed by false claims about the legislation.

Katie Temme lost her job as a television producer recently, but that didn't keep her from buying herself a bouquet the other day. She wouldn't have done it had she not found a coupon through What's the Deal DC, a website that persuades merchants to offer discounts by guaranteeing a certain number of customers. Temme got $20 worth of flowers for just $10 at A Little Shop of Flowers near the nation's capital. "I lost my job a few months ago, so this is kind of up my alley," she said.

Hollywood trade paper Variety is putting a seal on its website. Starting early next year, most or all of the content on Variety.com will be available only to those who subscribe to the print version or pay for a digital subscription. Publisher Brian Gott said executives were still considering whether small amounts of content would remain free. Discussions are also continuing about whether online pricing will be lower than or equivalent to that for the print edition. Over the last few years, online advertising revenue has failed to grow as many media executives had expected, leading newspapers to consider charging for some or all of their digital content in an effort to boost revenue.

You heard all about it, in this newspaper and others, on talk radio and television and all over the Internet. The Angels had celebrated their division championship by pouring beer and champagne over the jersey of Nick Adenhart, the rookie killed in April by an alleged drunk driver, and everyone had an opinion. Tim Mead, the Angels' vice president of communications, was stunned by the wave of reaction. Surely, he thought, someone would ask him for the answer he considered essential to forming an opinion: Had the Adenhart family objected to the celebration?