Nothing much new, but could serve as a backgrounder

Privacy Regulators and the Media Can Make a Bad Data Breach Worse

Larry Keating writes:

…. the privacy commissioners hammer down hard on those high profile losses when thousands of records go missing. They want disclosure of the incident and protection for the individuals. The media piles on, always on the hunt for the details, to splay the true extent of the incident for their readers.

But the disclosure of certain details and the sensationalizing of them can possibly ensure just the kind of damage to individuals the privacy commissioners wish to avoid.

Nifty anti-privacy tool! Now we have new ways to stalk our victims! Sounds like this “feature” will provide a complete travel history integrated with every Google “search and click” you make.

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/033442.html

May 17, 2013

"Meet the new Google Maps: A map for every person and place"

Google Lat Blog: "What if we told you that during your lifetime, Google could create millions of custom maps...each one just for you? In the past, such a notion would have been unbelievable: a map was just a map, and you got the same one for New York City, whether you were searching for the Empire State Building or the coffee shop down the street. What if, instead, you had a map that’s unique to you, always adapting to the task you want to perform right this minute? This is what you will have with the introduction of the new Google Maps – a mapping experience that helps you find places you never would have thought to search for."

[From the Google map site:

The new Google Maps draws you a tailored map for every search and click you make. So whatever you're trying to find or wherever you're trying to go, you'll always have a map highlighting the things that matter most.

… As you search the map, star places you like and leave reviews, the map starts to adapt and can suggest things like restaurants you might enjoy or the quickest way home. In other words, the more you use the new Google Maps, the more helpful it becomes. [To a stalker... Bob]

No doubt this App will become mandatory so DHS can create a new nationwide bureaucracy dedicated to the one in a billion chance such a bomb is created or stored within detection range. (Rather than created in a safe place and carried to the target by a suicide bomber.)

Cell Phones As a Dirty Bomb Detection Network

"The Idaho National Laboratory has built a dirty bomb detection network out of cell phones. Camera phones operate by detecting photons and storing them as a picture. The INL discovered that high energy photons from radiological sources distort the image in ways detectable through image processing. KSL TV reports that the INL's mobile app detects radiation sources and then reports positive 'hits' to a central server. Terrorists deploying a dirty bomb will inevitably pass by people carrying cell phones. By crowdsourcing cell phones, the INL has created a potentially very large, inexpensive, and randomly mobile radiation detection grid."

“We love our customers, particularly the gullible, non-litigious ones...”

Nintendo Hijacks Ad Revenue From Fan-Created YouTube Playthroughs

"The BBC reports that Nintendo is now using the content ID match feature in YouTube to identify screencap videos of people playing their games. They then take over the advertising that appears with the video, and thus the ad revenue. Nintendo gets it all, and the creators of these videos (which are like extended fan-made commercials for the games) get nothing. Corporate gibberish to justify this: 'In a statement, the firm said the move was part of an "on-going push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media."'"

For my Intro to IT class

Everything You Need to Make Firefox Private & Secure

When using Firefox – or any web browser for that matter – one of the best practices you can develop is to always be mindful of your privacy and security. You never know when someone could be snooping on you or intercepting your data.

… A few months ago, I wrote about Firefox encryption addons aimed to keep your outgoing browser data as safe from prying eyes as possible. Encryption is great but there are other considerations you need to make if you want to be as safe as you can be. The Internet can be an annoying – or even dangerous – place if you don’t watch yourself.

BetterPrivacy

Ghostery

NoScript

Keylogger Beater

Flashblock

ShareMeNot

For my Math students

FormulaSheet: Search, Render & Keep Track Of Formulas From One Place

FormulaSheet is a service designed to help facilitate working with and remembering formulas, and is one of the first sites of its kind aimed at this specific use. Registration is free, if slightly intrusive (asking for location, education level and even school at which you studied) and once complete you’ve got your own virtual folder for your formulae.

• Create, search for or upload formulae to your own personal cloud formula storage service.
• LaTeX editor makes it easy to add symbols and other characters.
• Render your finished formulae to .PDF, .TEX or .PNG formats.

FormulaSheet.com

For my geeks. They have discovered our plot to rule the world! (More radiation than cell phones?)

9th Grade Science Experiment: Garden Cress Won't Germinate Near Routers

"Five 9th graders from Denmark have shown that garden cress won't germinate when placed near a router (Google Translation of Danish original). Article text is in Danish, but the pictures illustrate their results. The exact mechanism is still unknown (Danish original), but experts have shown interest in reproducing[If it blocks germination, it probably won't reproduce either. Bob] the experiment."