This is another Sony related problem – they made the batterys. No doubt there will be a lot of lawyers watching this... Could be instructive. (Note that I had to clip several stories to get even this much information... I suspect there would be a market for a service that gathered enough facts for the Class Action lawyers to make an informed decision. Just a thought.)
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060815/0830213.shtml
Despite Blog, Dell Still Forced To Recall Exploding Batteries
from the boom-boom-boom dept
Dell has announced it is recalling 4.1 million laptop batteries following a spate of well-publicized incidents of its computers catching fire. The battery problem, which had been kicking around for a while, was but one facet of consumers' growing frustration with Dell's customer service -- a frustration the company noted was hurting sales and which it intended to rectify. The most high-profile aspect of this was the launch of a corporate blog, a move partly intended to try to fix some of the damage Dell had taken from pissed-off bloggers. While perhaps the launch of the blog had some symbolic meaning of Dell "joining the conversation", it can't, on its own, solve the company's customer-service woes, or indeed, its deeper problems. While the blog may prove a valuable tool to humanize the company and with which to communicate with customers, as long as faulty products like exploding batteries and many other aspects of the company's service remain a problem, Dell's woes are going to continue. It's doubtful Dell ever assumed blogging would solve all its problems, though the comments of some bloggers would make you think otherwise. But even a blog can't solve the most fundamental problems that are turning people away from the company, something Dell continues to try to fix.
Sony battery problems could go beyond Dell laptops
Faulty Sony batteries could be inside other companies' laptops, other portable electronic devices
By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service August 16, 2006
Faulty batteries produced by Sony like those that caused Dell to initiate a huge recall this week could be present in laptops from other companies and other portable electronics products.
The Dell recall of 4.1 million batteries, which is being called the largest recall ever in the consumer electronics industry, was ordered after the computer maker received reports from customers of laptops overheating and catching fire. An investigation led to the discovery of a problem in the battery cell manufacturing process.
... Sony wouldn't name the other companies citing confidentiality agreements. It acknowledged that some of the cells have been used in batteries inside its own Vaio laptop computers but that the company is not issuing a recall for those. [Yet? Bob]
... Dell customers can find out more about the recall by visiting the company's Web site at or by calling toll-free to 1-866-342-0011, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time. Customers outside the U.S. should contact their local Dell subsidiary or sales agent.
Dell places large laptop battery order
Simplo wins initial order for 400,000 new notebook PC batteries from Dell
By Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service August 16, 2006
Simplo Technology Co. has already won orders for around 400,000 new notebook PC batteries [That's only 10% of the total Bob] from Dell amid that company's massive battery recall prompted by fires in several laptops.
There is a video of a news story on the exploding battery this URL, but you must use MS Internet Explorer to view it.
While you are stalking your ex-girlfriend, stop by for a latte!
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GOOGLE_COUPONS?SITE=VALYD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Aug 15, 9:07 AM EDT
Google to Distribute Discount Coupons
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. is enabling users to find and print coupons from merchants listed in the online search leader's index of local businesses, adding to a slew of free features designed to attract more traffic to its Web site.
More than 20,000 coupons are expected to be available Tuesday when the service debuts on Google's popular mapping service.
DHS is the very model of security. (Yes Virginia, that's sarcasm.)
http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/#1539952
When Hippies Turn to Cyber Terror
Last February the Department of Homeland Security oversaw a large-scale international cyber terror simulation involving 115 public and private organizations in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, all testing their ability to coordinate with one another and respond to computer-driven attacks. It was called Cyber Storm.
Nobody's said much about the results, or the details of the exercise scenario. But a newly-published DHS PowerPoint presentation on the exercise reveals that the real terrorist threat in cyber space isn't from obvious suspects like al Qaida types or Connecticut voters; it's from anti-globalization radicals and peace activists. [You know... Real scum! Bob]
... Marked "For Official Use Only," the PowerPoint deck became public when government transparency purist John Young posted it on his website, Cryptome, this week. I couldn't open it, but I located what appears to be the original on the website of the New York branch of the ISSA, a security organization, from a briefing given them last June 21.
An advance look at the next privacy outrage?
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/012135.html
August 15, 2006
DHS Grant to Rutgers Project to Identify Possible Terrorist Activity
"Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to lead a consortium researching advanced information analysis and computational technologies to protect the nation. The university's Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) will head a consortium that will focus on finding patterns and relationships in data, such as news stories, open-source Web logs, and other accessible information, to quickly identify emerging indicators of possible terrorist activity, and rate the consistency and reliability of the sources. Such information could give officials more lead time to investigate and potentially thwart terrorist plans. DIMACS director Fred Roberts stated, "We will develop real-time streaming algorithms to find patterns and relationships in communications, such as among writers who may be hiding their identities, [Hey look! This guy is trying to communicate secretly with his lawyer! Call in the black helicopters! Bob] and to rate information sources for their reliability and trustworthiness." Rutgers will undertake nine research projects in its first year and will also create educational programs around the technology it develops." [fact sheet on the project]
Perhaps we could create a “Professor Privacy” to accompany Captain Copyright?
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060815/1134223.shtml
Captain Copyright Gets A Rewrite?
from the let's-try-that-again dept
Remember Captain Copyright? The educational program up in Canada that appeared to tell an incredibly one-sided story concerning copyrights to children? Yes, the same one who may have "copied" his entire idea from a different Captain Copyright and who was violating the copyright of others while also claiming you couldn't link to the site if you said anything negative and you couldn't even make use of fair use copying of text from the site. Yes, that one. Turns out the folks who created this bumbling hero are now saying they've heard the critics and are about to do a total rewrite of the Captain Copyright concept, including a much more balanced look at copyright issues -- though, as Michael Geist notes, this only comes after a bunch of schools dumped their links to Captain Copyright's site and the group behind it is getting worried about losing some funding. Geist also points out that the explanation for the bizarre and totally unenforceable linking policy makes no sense. The group claims it was put in place to "protect children from inappropriate content." Ah, right, the ever popular "to protect the children" excuse. Of course, it's hard to see how banning inbound links protects any children at all. It seems more like a weak attempt to protect the folks who created Captain Copyright from criticism (though, perhaps they think of themselves as children). I guess we should remember this isn't Captain Logic we're dealing with here, but Captain Copycat... er... Copyright.
I've been saying for some time that “Virtual Law” could be the next hot legal specialty. Why you ask? Look at the money in the Game market.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060815/148249.shtml
Call 911, He Stole My Magic Sword
from the the-sheriff-of-WoW dept
At a gaming conference, Microsoft warned that multi-player online games have significant security vulnerabilities, and that the growing value of in game assets was a juicy target for criminals. As we've seen in the past, MMORPGs are facing more and more real world complications as people invest an increasing amount of money into them. This problem is only going to get worse; as one Microsoft researcher put it, "The police are really good at understanding someone stole my credit card and ran up a lot of money. It's a lot harder to get them to buy into 'someone stole my magic sword.'" But before discussing how law enforcement can address the situation, game developers and players should try to define the border between the game and the real world. For example, most people would accept that if your character is mugged inside a game, then that's part of the gameplay, not a legal issue. But what about counterfeiting gold pieces? What about running a script inside the game that transfers gold from one player to another? Before diverting law enforcement resources to rectify players' complaints, companies running online games need to strive to develop their own security measures that satisfy their players.
Would this also be Virtual Law?
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060815/1834219.shtml
Can You Sue Google Because You Don't Like The Type Of Ads It Puts Up Near Your Listing?
from the seems-like-a-stretch dept
There have been plenty of stories concerning lawsuits against Google from companies that don't like others buying text ads based on the original company's name as a keyword. While the court results on these cases is mixed, it seems like Google should easily win. First, and most importantly, the complaint shouldn't be against Google, but against the companies doing the advertising. Second, it's not a violation of trademarks. Trademarks are only supposed to protect against consumer confusion, not give the owner complete control over the use of the mark. However, it looks like there's a slightly different variation on these types of cases over in the Netherlands. There, a dating site for farmers (talk about niches...) is complaining when people search Google for their site, the ads that show up are for "sex" sites. The dating site is worried that such advertisements damage the image of their own site. It's an interesting legal question -- though, again, it may be a difficult for the company to win. If others believe that the dating site is most closely associated with sex, then it's not exactly Google's fault. Of course, this also raises another question: if others set up a Google bomb so that other such sites showed up in the organic listings, would the company still be able to complain? Google says they won't adjust their organic listings, even in the event of a Google bomb -- so it's difficult to see how you could blame Google for the sites your company is associated with. The dating site's explanation is a bit weak as well, claiming that just because Google can block such advertisements, it means it has an obligation to do so. [Based on that sound legal principal “Because we can, we must” Bob]
Is this for India only?
http://digg.com/software/Get_your_Windows_Vista_Beta_2_CD_for_FREE
Get your Windows Vista Beta 2 CD for FREE
akifbayram submitted by akifbayram 16 hours 19 minutes ago (via http://www.microsoft.com/india/offers/vista/quiz.aspx )
Looks like Microsoft is giving away free Vista Cd's if you can answer a small quiz. I hope it isn't like the free USB flash drives that was posted a while ago...
Osama flys “Air Freight?”
Air Cargo Still Largely Unchecked
By ANDY PASZTOR August 15, 2006; Page B1
Last week's terror threat forced passengers to drop bottles of water and soda, tubes of toothpaste and hand lotion, and cans of hair spray and shaving cream into the trash before boarding jetliners. But unbeknownst to most passengers, airlines loaded aluminum containers filled with largely unchecked freight into the bellies of those same planes.
Despite years of concern from critics who see it as an obvious weak link in the nation's aviation-security net, little has been done to screen cargo because of daunting technical challenges and stiff industry resistance. [Remember, businesses tend to be more logical than emotional. Bob]
... Some in the industry see a potential gold mine if cargo inspections become more prevalent. L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., a major supplier of baggage-screening equipment, has told Congress it believes that with some modifications, current-generation equipment is capable of inspecting more than two-thirds of the cargo at issue.
While other makers of screening-equipment are skeptical of such claims, congressional pressure and heightened public recognition of the threat means "things clearly are progressing in that direction," according to Joe Reiss, marketing director of American Science & Engineering Inc., a Billerica, Mass., manufacturer of security equipment.
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