The Department of Justice has begun an initial review of the U.S. telecommunications industry to determine whether the two dominant players - AT&T and Verizon, which together control 90% of the U.S.'s landlines and 60% of its 270 million wireless subscribers - are abusing the market power they have amassed in recent years.

According to a report in WSJ by Amol Sharma:

The Department of Justice has begun an initial review to determine whether large U.S. telecom companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. have abused the market power they've amassed in recent years, according to people familiar with the matter.

The review of potential anti-competitive practices is in its very early stages, and it isn't a formal investigation of any specific company at this point, the people said. It isn't clear whether the agency intends to launch an official inquiry.

Among the areas the Justice Department could explore is whether wireless carriers are hurting smaller competitors by locking up popular phones through exclusive agreements with handset makers, according to the people. In recent weeks lawmakers and regulators have raised questions about deals such as AT&T's exclusive right to provide service for Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone in the U.S.

The Justice Department may also review whether telecom carriers are unduly restricting the types of services other companies can offer on their networks, one person familiar with the situation said.

The companies share two directors - Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, and Arthur Levinson, former chief executive of Genentech.

Video-sharing site YouTube announced that it was doubling the size limit for uploads to its website to allow users to post more high-definition (HD) video.

The popular video-sharing unit of Googlehas doubled the size of videos allowed on the site to 2 gigabytes, but non-partner clips are still limited in length to 10 minutes.

"The increase means you can upload longer videos at a higher resolution as well as large HD files directly from your camera," YouTube said in a blog post.

"The changes allow you to share links directly to the HD version of your video, as well as embed the HD version on your blog or website," it said.

The changes allows users to share links directly to the HD version of your video, as well as embed the HD version on your blog or website.

Microsoft is continuing its drive to get more people to download and use its Internet Explorer 8.

First, they made a series of ads that gave money away for shoppers to go out a but a laptop - with all of them buying a PC over a MAC. Then they offered free food, and yesterday, they announced a partnership with Nickelback to offer a customized web browser.

Today, they rolled out a new ad made by Bradley & Montgomery that features a wife puking after discovering the sites her husband has been to. A pop-up man appears that suggests they switch to IE 8.

Only watching the below video can you get the full "grossed-out" effect.

Skype released its 1.1 version for the iPhone, which allows users to check Skype voice mail and to send SMS messages.

The feature does not have a push notification feature though.

Several users of Skype on the iPhone are commenting  on the Skype blog that this "little" feature is not included in Skype 1.1. If any program needs push notification, then Skype is certainly it, as you can't just run it all the time to the exclusion of all else.

You can download the 1.1 version for iPhone here.

Members of the band Nickleback pose for photographers on the Red Carpet at the 2007 Juno Awards in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, April 1, 2007. REUTERS/David Stobbe

Earlier this month, Microsoft was offering to give away money in a bid to get more users to use Internet Explorer, now the company has teamed up with Live Nation and Nickelback to offer custom versions of its browser.

The software maker is also sponsoring Nickleback's 2009 tour as well as Live Nation's Bamboozle music festival.

Fans can download a customized version of Internet Explorer 8 at www.ie8-nickelback.com and get exclusive access to a live version of the band's "Something In Your Mind" along with "behind-the-scenes" videos of the bands trip while they on tour.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company routinely allows others to create and distribute custom versions of its browsers. However, the timing of this browser is interesting as it's the same day that Mozilla launched its latest version of its web browser, Firefox 3.5.

Since Apple rolled out its latest iPhone 3G S, it said Monday it had sold over 1 million devices through Sunday, June 21.

Check out the below video of an iPhone 3G S falling into a swimming pool, yet still works after its retrieved from the water.

More on the iPhone 3G S:

Apple changes its mind about offering porn on its iPhone

Steve Jobs: 'iPhone is winning'

iPhone 3GS sales top one million

iPhone 3.0 updates almost 50 security errors

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it plans to launch new Internet software to help consumers gauge how much electricity they use in order to help them to better track how much they are spending.

The online Hohm application relies on an advanced analytics engine, developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, to generate money-saving ideas and other feedback based on the information consumers provide.

"We believe technology will play a pivotal role in tackling the global energy issues we currently face," said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft, in a statement.

"Microsoft Hohm demonstrates how a combination of advanced software and Internet-based services can help people track, understand, and manage their personal energy usage," he added.

To begin using Homh, users create an online profile. Homh is then able to assess energy consumption and provide customized solutions by asking users questions about their home, such as when it was built and the square footage.

Read more online at Microsoft.com

Watch a video clip below of Craig Mundie on Homn:

The iPhone 3G S cost breakdown comes courtesy of iSuppli, an electronics research firm based in California, said the phone is $20 cheaper to make than its current retail price.

The iSuppli team tore apart the iPhone 3G S and calculated that it costs nearly $179 to make. Meanwhile, the new phone retails for $199.

iSuppli estimated the value of each of its components, taking into account both the costs of the raw materials and the associated manufacturing expenses.

The iPhone 3G S costs only about $5 more to make than its predecessor, the iPhone 3G (8GB version), iSuppli said.

Here is a breakdown of the iPhone 3G S, piece by piece:

1. Flash memory (Toshiba): $24.00

2. Display module (Toshiba): $19.25

3. Touch screen assembly (Toshiba): $16.00

4. Application processor (Samsung): $14.46

5. Baseband (Infineon): $13.00

T-Mobile announced its second Android device, the myTouch 3G with Google, on Monday.

The handset is manufactured by HTC for T-Mobile and uses the same hardware design as the Google Ion/HTC Magic that was unveiled at Mobile World congress back in February. The handset is already available in Europe with Vodafone.

The smartphone comes preloaded with Android 1.5, which is needed because it adds an on-screen QWERTY keyboard. The software also gives the myTouch 3G video-recording abilities, Microsoft Exchange support, stereo Bluetooth, voice controls, and a native YouTube uploader.

Even though Microsoft is removing its Internet Explorer browser from Window 7 in Europe, the software giant is encouraging users in the U.S. to download its browser.

Microsoft Corp. and Feeding America are joining forces to fight hunger in the U.S through the "Browser for the Better" campaign.

For every completed download of Internet Explorer 8, the Browser for the Better campaign (running today through Aug. 8, 2009*) will donate the financial equivalent of eight meals to Feeding America's network of 206 local food banks, which supplies food to more than 25 million Americans each year.

"This summer, millions of families throughout the U.S. are living on the brink of hunger. Demand for food is higher than it has been in decades. The Browser for the Better campaign is both raising awareness of hunger and giving people an easy opportunity to help their neighbors at no cost to them. It's a win-win arrangement for Microsoft, Feeding America and people all across the country," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization.