New, tips, and more
From TechRepublic: Hammers and nails are gathering dust in the elves’ workshop this season. That’s because two hot gifts–PlayStation 3 and Tickle Me Extreme Elmo–are almost entirely dependent on software inside. These new toys are just the latest evidence that software platforms have become one of the most important economic and technological developments of the …
From the New York Times (via CNet): Hearing from a lot of new friends lately? You know, the ones that write “It’s me, Esmeralda,” and tip you off to an obscure stock that is “poised to explode” or a great deal on prescription drugs. You’re not the only one. Spam is back — in e-mail …
From BBC News: Growing use of the web is stripping people of their personal privacy, warns a UN agency report. The number of passwords and logins web users need makes it inevitable they will re-use phrases, warned the International Telecommunications Union. Re-using these identifiers puts people at serious risk of falling victim to identity theft, …
From the New York Times: When computer industry executives heard about a plan to build a $100 laptop for the developing world’s children, they generally ridiculed the idea. How could you build such a computer, they asked, when screens alone cost about $100? Mary Lou Jepsen, the chief technologist for the project, likes to refer …
From MSNBC: The sky over San Francisco is cerulean blue as you begin your descent into the city from 2,000 feet. As you pass over the southern hills, the skyline of the Financial District rises into view. On the descent into downtown, familiar skyscrapers form an urban canyon around you; you can even see the …
From ComputerWeekly.com: The number of women working in IT has fallen dramatically over the past five years to a low of 16%, a DTI sponsored study shows. The research, published by Intellect, shows that many of the women employed in the IT sector are in the lower skilled, lower paid areas of the industry rather …
From the New York Times: Chad Troutwine, an entrepreneur in Malibu, Calif., was negotiating a commercial lease earlier this year for a building he owns in the Midwest. Though talks began well, they soon grew rocky. The telltale sign that things had truly devolved? The sign-offs on the e-mail exchanges with his prospective tenant. “As …
From CNN: Web sites that publish inflammatory information written by other parties cannot be sued for libel, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday. The ruling in favor of free online expression was a victory for a San Diego woman who was sued by two doctors for posting an allegedly libelous e-mail on two Web sites. …
From TechRepublic: In addition to plenty of turkey, a record amount of spam will be served up this holiday season. Mass e-mailers traditionally bump up their activity as the year winds down. But this year, the amount of junk messages could be unprecedented, companies that make spam-busting tools say. And senders of unsolicited ads are …
From Fortune (via CNN/Money): Everything you buy online says a little bit about you. And if all those bits get put into one big trove of data about you and your tastes? Marketer’s heaven.