Oct 19, 7:13 AM EDT
Sony Battery Recall to Hit 9.6 Million
TOKYO (AP) -- The number of laptop batteries Sony is recalling will total 9.6 million worldwide, the company said Thursday, shedding more light on the scope of a problem that has rattled confidence in the company's image.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2033438,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
Special Report on the Data Center
October 18, 2006 By Eric Lundquist
CIOs and IT managers should stop thinking of the data center as a place and start seeing it as more of a process. [YES! Bob]
The idea of a data center as an enclosed, climate-controlled room where all of a company's computing takes place is being replaced by the concept of virtual data centers that draw on storage, computing and networking resources, wherever they may reside.
Virtual storage, virtual servers and software services that can be provisioned internally or procured on a contract basis from external vendors confront the CIO with an overwhelming array of infrastructure choices. And the number of those choices keeps growing.
Lots on ethics and how little impact Chief Ethic Officers seem to have,
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1582
What Hewlett-Packard's Spying Scandal Tells Us about the Limitations of Corporate Boards
Published: October 18, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton
The crisis at Hewlett-Packard over allegations that its chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, authorized illegal surveillance of HP board members in order to find out who leaked sensitive company information to the press, is dragging on, perhaps longer than most people first expected. And it has raised a number of important issues about corporate governance, privacy protection and surveillance of employees. Tom Donaldson, professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton, joins Knowledge@Wharton to talk about HP's woes as they relate to business practices both in the U.S. and abroad. Donaldson's research areas include business ethics, leadership, risk management and corporate compliance. He has consulted with companies ranging from Goldman Sachs and Wachovia to Exelon and KPMG, and is currently working on articles about corporate risk management programs and cash management practices at non-profit organizations.
If you have iTunes, you can subscribe with one click: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/weblink/187.cfm
If you have your favorite podcast source, the url is: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcastcurrent.xml
Not exactly what Prof. Donaldson says above... (Interesting photo accompanying the story)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221111/
‘La difference’ is stark in EU, U.S. privacy laws
EU citizens well protected against corporate intrusion, but red tape is thick
By Bob Sullivan Technology correspondent MSNBC Updated: 6:22 p.m. MT Oct 18, 2006
... In many parts of Europe, for example:
Personal information cannot be collected without consumers’ permission, and they have the right to review the data and correct inaccuracies.
Companies that process data must register their activities with the government.
Employers cannot read workers’ private e-mail.
Personal information cannot be shared by companies or across borders without express permission from the data subject.
Checkout clerks cannot ask for shoppers’ phone numbers.
... Privacy law: Not the product of logic [Think that is true? Bob]
Other privacy experts are skeptical of such measurements. After all, if privacy as a concept is hard to define, quantifying levels of privacy seems almost impossible.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1577
To Blog or Not to Blog: Report from the Front
Published: October 18, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton
Dan Hunter, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics, used to read more than 100 blogs a day, but after a while he had trouble keeping up. Now he tracks a mere 50 blogs, spending a couple of hours each day on topics such as technology, intellectual property, video games, architecture and interior design. "They fulfill an information need I have: to keep up to date on what is going on in my professional life, or see cool stuff for my personal life, or to be amused," he says.
Knowledge@Wharton recently asked a group of Wharton faculty and staff to share their thoughts on the blogosphere. Those who are enthusiastic participants (and not all fall into this category) have lots of company. About 57 million American adults -- or 39% of Internet users -- read individually authored web logs, or "blogs," according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which does surveys to track Internet use. About 12 million American adults, or 8% of Internet users, keep a blog. They do so for a number of reasons -- to share professional or personal ideas and opinions, crack jokes, air political views, or comment on current events.
Here is a sampling of what Wharton faculty members have to say about blogging.
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/18/2127249&from=rss
Building a Better Voting Machine
Posted by Zonk on Wednesday October 18, @05:56PM from the better-mousetrap-not-included dept. Software Politics
edmicman writes "Wired News has an interesting article about what would make the perfect voting machine: 'With election season upon us, Wired News spoke with two of the top computer scientists in the field, UC Berkeley's David Wagner and Princeton's Ed Felten, and came up with a wish list of features we would include in a voting machine, if we were asked to create one. These recommendations can't guarantee clean results on their own. Voting machines, no matter how secure, are no remedy for poor election procedures and ill-conceived election laws. So our system would include thorough auditing and verification capabilities and require faithful adherence to good election practices, as wells as topnotch usability and security features.'"
Perhaps the industry will learn from Coke? At least, this will help train the next generation of pirates!
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116113611429796022.html
Record Labels Turn Piracy
Into a Marketing Opportunity
By JULIA ANGWIN, SARAH MCBRIDE and ETHAN SMITH October 18, 2006; Page B1
A video clip from Jay-Z's live concert in June at Radio City Music Hall is popping up on all sorts of illicit music-sharing hotspots. But Jay-Z isn't upset.
That's because the rapper, at the request of Coca-Cola Co., agreed to allow distribution of the eight-minute clip -- which included promotions for Coke -- on the peer-to-peer sites, using technology usually used to thwart music pirates.
This one too?
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/19/0153200&from=rss
Peter Gabriel Wants You to Re-Shock the Monkey
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday October 19, @12:40AM from the daddy-wants-more-cowbell dept. Music The Internet
PreacherTom writes "The party line for the music industry has been clear: discourage music downloads at all cost. However, singer Peter Gabriel is taking things in a different direction. In order to promote his own label, he is actually encouraging people to not only download his music, but also adapt it into something more modern. In doing so, he actually posted a sample pack of Shock the Monkey consisting of vocals and other pieces of the original multitrack recording. Some in the music business would call this the commercial equivalent of hiring kidnappers to babysit. In actuality, Gabriel is pleased with the results."
Oct 18, 7:14 PM EDT
RadioShack Offers Tech Classes Online
DALLAS (AP) -- RadioShack Corp. is turning to online classes to help consumers navigate the confusing world of technology. Consumers can learn how to edit digital photos, choose and set up high-definition televisions, buy a new computer and explore satellite radio.
The free classes announced Wednesday will have staggered start dates beginning this month and November.
Participants who sign up online can take the courses at their own pace but it shouldn't take more than a month to complete. The classes will be moderated by instructors with experience in the specific topics, company officials said.
The hope, of course, is that shoppers will use their newfound wisdom to buy products from RadioShack. [Is this a “Well, DUH!” statement? Bob]
How to reduce a products value to the consumer...
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-6126379.html
Microsoft limits Vista transfers
By Ina Fried Story last modified Tue Oct 17 06:14:58 PDT 2006
Windows Vista may have new features for mobile computers, but the operating system itself is becoming considerably less portable.
Under changes to Microsoft's licensing terms, buyers of retail copies of Vista will be able to transfer their software to a new machine only once. If they want to move their software a second time, they will have to buy a new copy of the operating system.
... Separate rules apply for the versions of Windows installed on new PCs, which is how most people get their copy of the software, Boettcher said. In most cases, copies of Windows purchased on a new PC cannot legally be transferred.
The license changes also apply to virtualization, in which a computer runs multiple operating systems, or multiple copies of the same operating system, at the same time. Customers can only transfer the copy of Windows once, including a transfer from one physical machine to a virtual machine, or from a virtual machine on one PC to a virtual machine on another PC.
"Virtualization is a new technology," Boettcher said. "We are going to learn more about the use cases as we move forward."
Can this be right?
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1161002121956
'Jane Doe' Status Is Not Compromised by MySpace Postings
By Thomas B. Scheffey The Connecticut Law Tribune 10-18-2006
Lawyers for Gregory A. Firn, superintendent of the Milford, Conn., school system, took to the Internet to challenge the "Jane Doe" anonymity of a 2005 high school graduate who is suing him for failing to protect her from the sexual depredations of volunteer basketball coach Robert Dulin.
It backfired.
Brian S. Frank, an associate in Anthony B. Corleto's Danbury, Conn., law offices, said in a sworn affidavit he did not know the plaintiff's real name when his firm began representing Firn separately from three other defendants late last July. He found out by going to the Web site of MySpace.com, which is popular with high school and college students.
There Frank searched for the profiles of alumnae of Jonathan Law High School in the class of 2005. He found two profiles of Jane Doe, which included seven photos of her, her real first and last names, and a New Year's Eve reflection on her life.
"This year," she wrote online, "has been complete chaos for me ... . It started out mad cool but ended in pure hell. I fell in love with someone ... . Is that wrong? It may be "gross" or "wrong" to some people but to me it's just right." She added, "I've been in and out of the police station almost every week since Aug. 4th. I go out in public and people ask me 'Are you the girl?' Proudly I look at them and say 'Yea...so?'"
In a motion to reconsider Doe's anonymous status, Corleto argued that the plaintiff waived anonymity by voluntarily publicizing her name, image and the "circumstances of her case on an Internet website."
Doe's lawyer, Michael T. Meehan of Meehan, Meehan & Gavin in Bridgeport, Conn., responded by filing a motion for contempt and a motion for sanctions, on grounds that Corleto's filings violated the standing "Jane Doe" order.
Milford Superior Court Judge Brian T. Fischer socked Corleto with a $1,000 sanction, and on Sept. 22, ordered that four documents that reveal Doe's identity be sealed until Corleto can replace them with redacted copies.
Corleto did not return repeated telephone messages last week. The plaintiff's MySpace profiles apparently have been removed from the Web site.
... Meehan, whose firm does criminal defense work, said the new phenomenon of Web log sites like MySpace.com has created a new trove of potential information for criminal defense lawyers.
"[W]here there's a close call on the credibility of a complainant, we have found that these MySpace postings are causing more and more issues in cases. It's an opportunity, in a criminal case, where you can gather information about a complainant where you would not otherwise have access, short of cross-examination during a trial," he said.
No doubt this will become mandatory on US cars. Then the computer will “adjust” the car to comply with the law. Then what?
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2006/10/car_computer_re.html
Gear Factor by Michael Ansaldo Wednesday, 18 October 2006
Car Computer Reads Road Signs
Topic: Automotive
Siemens Soon you'll have no more excuses for driving 55mph in a 35mph zone, making illegal U-turns or narrowly missing pedestrians in a crosswalk. Siemens has developed an in-car technology that uses a special camera and on-board computer to read and interpret road signs and display the information in your field of vision For instance, if you're coming up on a speed limit sign, the system will float the posted limit alongside your actual speed on your windshield. Siemens hopes to have the technology integrated into vehicles in the next couple of years.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20061018/161626.shtml
Yes, Believe It Or Not, Libel Online Falls Under The Same Laws As Libel On Paper
from the is-it-that-hard-to-figure-out? dept
This is one of those legal decisions that's apparently being hailed as "important," but which could just as easily be described as a no brainer. A U.S District Court in Texas has ruled that libel laws face the same statute of limitations online as they do offline. This seems like it should be obvious, but one company apparently felt that the rules should be extended since the content "lives on" online. Of course, it lives on offline too, it's just not as easily findable (in most cases). However, it hardly seems fair to change the statute of limitations just because the ability to find the content is easier. If anything, you'd think that's an argument to limit the statute of limitations, since it's so much easier to find the potentially libelous content in the first place.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/039823ae-5e1b-11db-82d4-0000779e2340.html
BusinessWeek looks to web in battle for readers
By Aline van Duyn in New York Published: October 17 2006 22:25 | Last updated: October 17 2006 22:25
For the editor-in-chief of the world’s biggest business magazine, one goal is paramount: keeping his title on the “must read” list.
“You don’t want to be a discretionary read, that is too dangerous,” says Stephen Adler, the 51-year-old who last year stepped into the potential danger zone, taking over responsibility for all of the content in BusinessWeek, its website and its seven foreign language editions.
The perils come from the fact that financial news and information, most of it free, has proliferated online. Also, newspapers increasingly provide the analysis that weekly magazines used to, putting the role of titles such as BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune under scrutiny.
... “There is no question people need reliable and accurate business information. I want BusinessWeek to be in a position not to care too much if they want it in print, online or on mobile devices. As long as we’re doing that, we have a purpose in the world.”
Surveillance goes both ways...
http://www.bordc.org/involved/concerned/votingrecords.php
Key Civil Liberties Votes in Congress
Click on a bill below to see how your Representative or Senators voted.
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