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From the Toronto Star: If you’re a young student who gets into trouble for doodling during class, you should probably read this. And after you’ve read it, you should clip it out, laminate it, punch two holes in the top, loop a string through those holes, and wear it to school like a necklace. This …
From CNet: The Free Software Foundation is calling on developers of open-source software to put their efforts into creating a free version of a crucial but obscure piece of software used in personal computers. The Boston-based FSF wants to foster the broader development of free BIOS software for standard PCs. The BIOS, or basic input-output …
From VNU Network: Nearly 13,000 new phishing emails and more than 2,500 phishing websites were spotted last month, the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has reported. Phishing uses emails designed to lure internet users to counterfeit websites which attempt to trick them into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers. By hijacking the trusted …
From eWeek: Dell Inc. considered building PCs with chips from Advanced Micro Devices but now aims to keep Intel Corp. as its sole supplier, Dell’s chief executive said on Wednesday. The comments from chief executive Kevin Rollins dashed expectations that Dell would eventually use both Intel and AMD chips in its personal computers. AMD shares …
From InternetNews.com: Two Dell customers in California have filed class-action lawsuits against the company for what their lawyers call bait-and-switch marketing tactics. San Francisco residents Rosemary M. Weber and Jonathan V. Holtzman say they got a bum deal when it came to ordering through Dell’s catalogue. Both complained they had been pressured by salespeople with …
From PC World: As customers’ expectations rise, giants like Amazon and EBay are finding it harder to keep people happy. A new study has found that customer satisfaction with online shopping plummeted during the last holiday season. While some experts note that such dissatisfaction is often the result of rising expectations, others suggest that companies …
From eWeek: A Google Inc. tool bar feature introduced this week is rekindling a debate over who should control what appears on a Web page the site’s creator or the software used to view it. Google introduced a feature called AutoLink in a beta of its next tool bar version. AutoLink inserts links into Web …
From USA Today: The way you type is as unique as your eye color or speech patterns and can be used in conjunction with a password to protect your computer, researchers at Louisiana Tech and Penn State say. Their discovery will bring Louisiana Tech its first direct royalty income, university president Daniel D. Reneau said …
From MSNBC: The overall security of computer systems inside the largest U.S. government agencies improved marginally since last year but still merits only a D-plus on the latest progress report from Congress. The departments of Transportation, Justice and the Interior made remarkable improvements, according to the rankings, which were compiled by the House Government Reform …
From MSNBC: Chinese authorities shut down more than 12,575 Internet cafes from October to December last year for operating illegally, the government said. The purpose of the crackdown was to create a ‘safer environment for young people in China,’ the official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday. It didn’t give details of the violations, but said …