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Jan
13
Google to quit China?
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
The latest blog post on Google’s official blog caught my attention. Due to recent cyberattacks, originating from China, resulting in the loss of some of their intellectual property (fancy term for ’secrets’), they’re considering withdrawing from the country. Some of the points of interest:
- 20 companies were attacked: Twenty large companies were targeted and may or may not be aware of it. This has the potential to have far-reaching consequences
- Google.cn may no longer be uncensored: They’ve come under flak for censoring results in China (human rights ethics, etc.)
- Google may shut down offices in China: Mass exodus? Baidu.com will use this opportunity to acquire some of the best talent.
I wouldn’t want to be a Google employee in China, or one working on google.cn . I also wish I owned baidu.com [BIDU] stock.
Google Blog Posting :: Official Google Blog: A new approach to China.
May
7
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch claims the current Internet businesss model is “malfunctioning” and says that NewsCorp-owned web sites will start charging for content within a year. His empire includes papers like the NY Post, the Sun and the Times spread across the globe.
As a consumer of a lot of news and information online, I will NOT be willing to pay for content that will freely be available elsewhere. The rise of independent media (blogging, videos on YouTube and other such sites, Twitter tweeting, etc…) has been a pain for news conglomerates. They know they are losing the battle – and many newspapers have had to shut shop, or are in danger of doing so. This is just a business cycle. Newspapers are as good as dead. 10 years from now, Kindle-like devices will be commonplace (like today’s smartphones). If Murdoch’s answer is to alienate users by charging for content, he’s in for a bigger “malfunction” surprise.
CNN tried a paid-model a few years ago, which doesn’t exist today. Any news web site who has tried to charge for content (WSJ included) has failed miserably. According to Joshua Benton of Harvard University, only 3% of users will be willing to pay for online content.
Given an option, I’ll opt for free news. It is easy to access information from any major publication. If Murdoch starts charging, there are a plethora of good quality web sites to choose from, who don’t charge.
This seems to be a last-ditch effort by Rupert Murdoch to try and dominate the Internet. Not going to happen, sir. Free content will exist on the Internet as long as the Internet lives.
Would you pay for content that is potentially available for free elsewhere? Voice your opinions in the comments section below
Murdoch: Web sites to charge for content – CNN.com.
Apr
30
This is one of the most shocking pieces of news I’ve heard in the recent past.
An employee of a Swiss insurance agency called in sick, and was later fired since she logged in to Facebook on her iPhone while at home. Something smells fishy here. Maybe the company was looking for an excuse to fire the employee. It’s also interesting that a co-worker alerted the company of the Facebook activity. So, it appears that it is perfectly acceptable for an employee to log on to Facebook from work, but not from home when sick? Ludicrous.
I wonder what the company’s stance is on watching TV? Do they expect the employee to just lay in bed doing nothing? More often than not, a person feels more sick when doing nothing. When you’re sick, you need people around and since it was during business hours, you would want to connect to them online.
Overall, this is a HR disaster for the company and there is so much more than meets the eye. The excuse given for firing the employee and the fact that the employee is not suing the company means something isn’t right. Maybe she threatened to blow the whistle on potential corrupt practices. After all, insurance companies are under stricter regulations here in the United States, and I assume that is the case in Switzerland too.
Facebooking while out sick gets employee fired | Digital Media – CNET News.
Apr
16
Kutcher has almost 2 million followers – 1,995,884 followers for Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) on Twitter ??
Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments
ashton kutcher (aplusk) on Twitter.
Obviously this looks like a bug or someone just ran a megascript, but check this screenshot out (not doctored). Taken at 10:41 p.m. PDT
Almost 2 million followers …
Apr
14
Official Gmail Blog: A new mobile Gmail experience for iPhone and Android
Filed Under Cell phones | Leave a Comment
Google recently announced a new look for the GMail client on the iPhone (and Android).
The new interface is pretty intuitive, and pleasing to the eye. However, since GMail supports free IMAP, I use the built-in email client to check my email.
The new architecture involves more usage of the internal database on the iPhone to cache data. This reduces the number of calls to the server, which is more than handy when on EDGE or 3G. According to their blog, they’ve even implemented some HTML5 features.
Related Link:
Official Gmail Blog: A new mobile Gmail experience for iPhone and Android.
Apr
14
Conficker Worm Exposes IT Policies (or Laziness or Ignorance) Worldwide
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
The April Fools’ Worm, or Conficker has been in the news for a few weeks now. This is one of the few times since Y2K that a date was important. People around the world braced for April 1, 2009 – the worm was supposed to wake up and cause havoc of epic proportions. That never happened. Maybe the author(s) were waiting till people’s defenses were lowered. Maybe it woke up early and no one knows what it’s doing (the sheer possibilities send a shiver down my spine).
It’s not like this came out of the blue. The author(s) took advantage of a vulnerability in Windows, specifically crafting a RPC call sent to the Server service. This practically has a potential to affect all Windows machines. Microsoft issued a patch way back in October 2008 (6 months ago!) with the recommendation that customers apply the update Immediately.
It is understandable that there are a number of individual users who are not computer-savvy and don’t have automatic updates turned on. I think Microsoft should build in intelligence within their operating systems to determine what kind of users the OS is dealing with. If a user appears to be ignorant of computer security and safety, then the level of nagging should increase – maybe disable certain OS features until they install updates.
The area where I am really surprised is with corporations and institutions. The fact that there are a number of infected computers, professionally managed by IT staff, is appalling. It was reported that 800 computers were affected at the University of Utah (link below). Why weren’t these computers patched with MS08-067 back in October? This is the same question I ask of companies who have affected machines (or will be affected in future). I understand that these patches have to be tested and verified before deploying to all servers and other computers. But, if it takes over 6 months to deploy a “immediate” patch, it is ridiculous.
Cyberthreats are to be taken very seriously. A new form of terrorism, cyber-terrorism is brewing. By not closing security holes immediately, you’re only increasing opportunity and aiding terrorists/virus-writers/spammers/cybercriminals. ALL companies must review their IT policies with respect to safety & security – and patch deployment and maintenance.
Individuals can do their part by ensuring the following:
- Update your computer regularly. Turn on automatic updates if you think you can’t deal with manual updates.
- Have anti-virus software installed and updated regularly. If you don’t want to spend money, there are some good free anti-virus software like AVG and avast!
- Do not open files received by someone you don’t know.
- Do not open files that are reported as viruses/worms, even if you receive it from someone you know. Spammers are known to spoof their aliases.
- Don’t install software if prompted by a web site (unless you’re specifically trying to download and install a particular software)
Microsoft Virus Alert about Win32/Conficker.B worm :: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962007
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067 (published October 23, 2008) :: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx
Conficker Worm Hits University Of Utah :: http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216500433&subSection=News
Best Free Antivirus Software :: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm
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