86883567
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
Google has recently quietly changed its privacy policy to allow it to associate web tracking, which is supposed to remain anonymous, with personally identifiable user data: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.propublica.org%2Fart...
This completely reneges its promise to keep a wall between ad tracking and personally identifiable user data, further eroding one's anonymity on the internet. Google's priorities are clear. All they care about is monetizing user information to rake in the big dollars from ad revenue.
Think twice before you purchase the premium priced Google Pixel. Google is getting added value from you as its product without giving you part of the revenue it is generating through tracking through lower prices.
81495425
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
Bill Gates has now publicly stated that Apple should cooperate with the FBI in the San Barnandino terrorist's phone unlocking case. He states that is for this specific case, but seems to miss the point that there are other law enforcement officials waiting on the wings with their requests should this precedent be set. The war against privacy escalates.
79068509
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
Hawaiian Supreme Court throws out construction permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope project, which is going to be one of the largest ground-based, 1.5 billion dollar telescope. A vocal minority of Hawaiians for religious reasons has vehemently contested and protested the construction of the telescope at Maunakea. Now, they have been successful in contesting the construction permit. The status of the project is now unknown.
23048452
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
Apple and Exxon are fighting it out to be the company with the largest market cap. Yesterday, Apple pulled ahead. It is hard to believe a tech company can beat out an oil giant, but is the market cap really the measure of the size/influence of a company? It is certainly the simplest metric to consider. Ars is running an excellent article on how to measure the size of a company. They discuss different metrics such as cash balance, revenue, number of employees, etc. It is a great read. So is Exxon or Apple the biggest company? You decide.
22109258
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
HP released their much trumpeted enterprise tablet, TouchPad, last week. This device was also the first to showcase WebOS in a tablet. The tablet received some harsh reviews with some stating that the OS showed potential. Most of the criticisms surrounded the sluggish software and the lack of apps. As reported by CNET, WebOS chief, Jon Rubenstein, rallies his troops by comparing the WebOS's debut to that of Mac OS X, which had significant teething pains. However, it is not entirely clear if the comparison is appropriate since WebOS has existed since 2009, and OS X had the ability to run most classic OS 9 apps during the transition period. Nevertheless, one can certainly argue that the situation is similar in spirit.
22091132
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
Earlier this year both Google and Amazon introduced cloud music storage where users could upload their music and listen to them wherever they had an internet connection. The music industry, however, was up in arms because they believed that Google and Amazon had to pay additional licensing fees for their music storage services. Tim B. Lee at Ars has written an excellent write-up on the legal issues surrounding these services. His ultimate conclusion is that Google and Amazon would probably withstand any legal assaults, but that still remains a tough call.
22070412
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
PC World's Brent Rose investigates the reason behind the dearth of Honeycomb apps even though the OS was released in February with the release of the Xoom. One would have expected an explosion of Android tablet apps like that seen with the iPad but the Honeycomb-optimized apps remain in the low hundreds. The answer, it turns out, is not that simple. The main contributing factors appear to be the low demand for Honeycomb tablets and the difficulty in discovering Honeycomb-optimized apps in the Market. Hopefully, this will be rectified in the near future.
21685718
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
The Canucks' loss of the final game of the Stanley Cup resulted in complete mayhem in downtown Vancouver. Everything from upturned cars set alight to looting was common place. Unfortunately most of the perpetrators were able to maintain their anonymity by disappearing into the crowds. Fortunately, due to the digital age bystanders took several pictures and videos of the carnage. Now websites (in both Facebook and have been set up to use crowdsourcing to identify the hooligans.
21662498
submission
Fudge Factor 3000 writes:
HP is suing Oracle for a breach of contract, claiming that Oracle was contractually obliged to continue supporting the Itanium architecture, which they recently nixed support for. Oracle has fired back that Itanium is essentially a dead architecture and will soon be discontinued by Intel. And so the blood feud continues between Oracle and HP.
