May 9, 2008
U.S. v. 3,000 Microsoft Flash Drives
Friday, May 09, 2008 4:45 PM
The devices with fake Microsoft Windows logos are just the latest in a series of goods seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.
Source: Information Week
UK Uses CCTV, Terrorism Laws, Against Pooping Dogs
Friday, May 09, 2008 4:11 PM
An anonymous reader writes to tell us that it seems the UK is trying make up for their judicious use of surveillance cameras that, according to recent research, do not actually deter crime, by using the surveillance network to prosecute petty crimes. "Conjuring up the bogeymen of terrorists, online pedophiles and cybercriminals, the U.K. passed a comprehensive surveillance law, The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, in 2000. The law allows "the interception of communications, carrying out of surveillance, and the use of covert human intelligence sources" to help prevent crime, including terrorism. Recent reports in the U.K. media indicate that the laws are being used for everything but terrorism investigations."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot
'BioShock' Game Coming To Film
Friday, May 09, 2008 3:47 PM
The underwater dystopian game has sold more than 2 million copies and publisher Take-Two is working on a sequel.
Source: Information Week
Lawmakers Eye Net Neutrality As Anti-Trust Issue
Friday, May 09, 2008 3:42 PM
The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act would require carriers to promote competition and allow users to use any device they want on the carriers' networks.
Source: Information Week
Zivity Nabs Napster Co-founder As CTO
Friday, May 09, 2008 3:27 PM
San Francisco based Zivity, a self described “community-powered showcase of female beauty,” will add a high profile technologist to their executive team next week. Napster co-founder Jordan Ritter, who was subsequently the CTO of Cloudmark and Columbia Music Entertainment (and a man who enjoys wearing sunglasses indoors), will join Zivity as chief technology officer.
Zivity continues [...]
Source: TechCrunch
Categories: Web 2.0
TimeTube: The Timeline That YouTube Should Build
Friday, May 09, 2008 3:25 PM
TimeTube is a new mashup from Dipity, the interactive timeline site, that takes the mostly unsorted mess of videos that is YouTube and arranges them by date, offering a useful (and often unexpected) perspective on recent events.
Links to each video are situated across a horizontal timeline, with emphasis placed on the most popular videos (they [...]
Source: TechCrunch
Categories: Web 2.0
NASA Wants to Take the Blast Out of Sonic Booms
Friday, May 09, 2008 3:20 PM
coondoggie writes to tell us that NASA and JAXA (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) have announced a partnership to study the sonic boom. Hoping to find the key to the next generation of supersonic aircraft, the research will include a look at JAXA's "Silent Supersonic Technology Demonstration Program." "The change in air pressure associated with a sonic boom is only a few pounds per square foot -- about the same pressure change experienced riding an elevator down two or three floors. It is the rate of change, the sudden onset of the pressure change, that makes the sonic boom audible, NASA said. All aircraft generate two cones, at the nose and at the tail. They are usually of similar strength and the time interval between the two as they reach the ground is primarily dependent on the size of the aircraft and its altitude. Most people on the ground cannot distinguish between the two and they are usually heard as a single sonic boom. Sonic booms created by vehicles the size and mass of the space shuttle are very distinguishable and two distinct booms are easily heard."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot
Announcing Facebook Connect (Dave Morin/Facebook Developers)
Friday, May 09, 2008 3:05 PM
Dave Morin / Facebook Developers:
Announcing Facebook Connect — At Facebook, we're committed to enabling people to communicate and stay connected wherever they go. — In August 2006, we introduced the first version of the Facebook API, enabling users to share their information with the third party websites and applications they choose.
Source: Techmeme
Categories: Web 2.0
Apple Reportedly Agrees To Refunds In Mac-User Suit
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:57 PM
The payout was based on user complaints that led to Apple recalling 570,000 power adapters and offering replacements at no charge.
Source: Information Week
Google Confirms Plans To Put Display Ads On Google.com (Henry Blodget/Silicon Alley Insider)
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:55 PM
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google Confirms Plans To Put Display Ads On Google.com — The most pressing question for Google (GOOG) shareholders is what product will drive the company's next growth boom as the search product cycle ends. Most likely candidate? Not sexy mobile or video. Just boring old display ads.
Source: Techmeme
Categories: Web 2.0
Why the WiMax Deal Is A Disaster, Part II (Or, How Craig McCaw Snookered Eric Schmidt)
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:37 PM
The more I learn about the $3.2 billion deal announced earlier this week to salvage Clearwire’s and Sprint’s WiMax businesses by merging them together, the more I am convinced that someone got snookered. And that someone was Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Maybe he just can’t say “No” to visionary billionaires like Clearwire chairman [...]
Source: TechCrunch
Categories: Web 2.0
Google, Sprint, Others to Build Wireless Data Network
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:29 PM
Nerdposeur writes "Google has announced that it will partner with several other companies to build a high-speed mobile data network. In a separate but related deal, Google will also become the default search provider for Sprint, including having one-click search access and Google Maps pre-installed on some Sprint phones. 'The consortium includes a disparate group of partners: Sprint Nextel, Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner and Clearwire. The partners have put the value of the deal at $14.5 billion, a figure that includes radio spectrum and equipment provided by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire, and $3.2 billion from the others involved. They expect the network, which will provide the next generation of high-speed Internet access for cellphone users, to be built in as little as two years, but there is no timetable on when it will be available to users and the price is not determined. The partners are seeking to beat Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless to the market.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot
Phishing Campaign Targets Tax Rebate Checks
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:24 PM
The phishing messages claim that the fastest way to receive one's economic stimulus tax rebate is through direct deposit and include a Web link to an online submission form.
Source: Information Week
Facebook Responds To MySpace With Facebook Connect (Michael Arrington/TechCrunch)
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:20 PM
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Facebook Responds To MySpace With Facebook Connect — Facebook will announce later today Facebook Connect, which has similar functionality to MySpace Data Availability, announced just yesterday. — It is essentially a new version of their API for third party websites, which was first launched in August 2006.
Source: Techmeme
Categories: Web 2.0
Report: More Than 550 Million GPS Handsets To Ship By 2012
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:20 PM
Service providers are helping drive GPS handset sales by including community and social networking functionality in their handheld devices, says ABI Research.
Source: Information Week
Environmental Group Hits Apple
Friday, May 09, 2008 2:09 PM
Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization that aims to direct consumers toward the greenest companies, rated Apple last among electronic firms.
Source: Information Week
Patent Attorney on Why We Need to Rethink Intellectual Property
Friday, May 09, 2008 1:41 PM
Techdirt called our attention to an interesting video of patent attorney Stephan Kinsella's presentation on "Rethinking Intellectual Property Completely". It's a long presentation, but well worth the time to watch. There is also an ongoing series of posts discussing intellectual property rights on Techdirt for additional reading.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot
Facebook Responds To MySpace With Facebook Connect
Friday, May 09, 2008 1:14 PM
Facebook will announce later today Facebook Connect, which has similar functionality to MySpace Data Availability, announced just yesterday. The actual product won’t be released for at least a few weeks, so the timing on this, coming immediately after MySpace, is somewhat suspicious.
It is essentially a new version of their API for third party websites, which [...]
Source: TechCrunch
Categories: Web 2.0
Virgin Atlantic Outsources Tech Ops To TCS
Friday, May 09, 2008 12:58 PM
Travel and transportation is becoming an increasingly important vertical for TCS, accounting for 4% of the company's $5.7 billion in total revenues last year.
Source: Information Week
Facebook To Lift 5,000 Friends Limit (Michael Arrington/TechCrunch)
Friday, May 09, 2008 12:55 PM
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Facebook To Lift 5,000 Friends Limit — Facebook will soon remove a limitation that restricts users to no more than 5,000 friend connections, someone close to the company told us this week. — There are stories around why the limitation exists at all. The official reason is that Facebook wants …
Source: Techmeme
Categories: Web 2.0
