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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 13 Issue 19
Volume 13, Issue 19 Atari Online News, Etc. May 13, 2011
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2011
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1319 05/13/11
~ Amazon in Tax Dispute! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Cyber-Security Plan!
~ Google-Powered Laptops ~ Free Browser in a Box! ~ No Date Yet for PSN!
~ Microsoft Apologizes! ~ Facebook Loses Face! ~ Firefox 4 Tops IE9!
~ Too Lenient with Kids! ~ Sony Knew of Problems! ~ Apple 1 Restarted!
-* Another Do Not Track Proposal *-
-* Facebook Ramps Up Log-in Security! *-
-* US Wants To Break China's Internet Firewall *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Another one of those long weeks, but overall, a good one. I started back
at the golf course this week; and it was good to be back working there.
There's something about working outdoors that's appealing. Granted, I
would have preferred being out during some nice sunny days in shorts and
a t-shirt rather than bundled up during cloudy and rainy weather, but we
can't have everything! Not sure how long I'll stay with this, though,
because one of our three dogs requires a lot of supervision and we're not
sure my being gone during the day will end up working out. We'll see how
it goes, though.
Hopefully, next month I'll finally get some relief from some long-time
nagging back and leg pains. I go in for a spinal cortisone injection
that is supposed to relieve some pressure on the degenerative areas
within some of my vertebrae. These injections are usually 60% effective,
so I'm hoping for the best.
I'm going to keep things short this week because I'm actually fairly on
time getting an issue out for a change!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - No Date Yet for PlayStation Network!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sony Knew Software Was Obsolete!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sony To Restore PlayStation Network by End of May
Sony said Tuesday it aims to fully restore its PlayStation Network, shut
down after a massive security breach affecting over 100 million online
accounts, by the end of May.
Sony also confirmed that personal data from 24.6 million user accounts
was stolen in the hacker attack last month. Personal data, including
credit card numbers, might have been stolen from another 77 million
PlayStation accounts, said Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. spokesman
Satoshi Fukuoka.
He said Sony has not received any reports of illegal uses of stolen
information, and the company is continuing its probe into the hacker
attack. He declined to give details on the investigation.
Sony shut down the PlayStation network, a system that links gamers
worldwide in live play, on April 20 after discovering the security
breach. The network also allows users to upgrade and download games and
other content.
Sony was under heavy criticism over its handling of the network
intrusion. The company did not notify consumers of the breach until
April 26 even though it began investigating unusual activity on the
network since April 19.
Last month, U.S. lawyers filed a lawsuit against Sony on behalf of lead
plaintiff Kristopher Johns for negligent protection of personal data and
failure to inform players in a timely fashion that their credit card
information may have been stolen. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
Fukuoka declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Sony: No Date Yet for PlayStation Network Return
Sony Corp said it would take at least "a few more days" to restore service
to its online PlayStation Network, which was breached by hackers in one of
the largest Internet break-ins of all time.
In a new statement posted on Sony's PlayStation blog on Tuesday, Sony
spokesman Patrick Seybold said: "I know you all want to know exactly
when the services will be restored. At this time, I can't give you an
exact date, as it will likely be at least a few more days."
The online gaming service has been offline since April 19 when Sony
noticed unauthorized activity on the servers. Sony has said that the
personal information of more than 100 million users had been breached,
on the PlayStation Network as well as through other online games
services. It said it could not rule out that some 12.3 million
credit-card numbers had been stolen during the hacking.
Sony Knew Its Software Was Obsolete Months Before PSN Breach
In congressional testimony this morning, Dr. Gene Spafford of Purdue
University said that Sony was using outdated software on its servers - and
knew about it months in advance of the recent security breaches that
allowed hackers to get private information from over 100 million user
accounts.
According to Spafford, security experts monitoring open Internet forums
learned months ago that Sony was using outdated versions of the Apache Web
server software, which "was unpatched and had no firewall installed." The
issue was "reported in an open forum monitored by Sony employees" two to
three months prior to the recent security breaches, said Spafford.
Spafford made his comments in a hearing convened by the House Subcommittee
on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. Sony was invited to participate in
the hearing, but declined to attend. In a letter to the committee, Sony
said it has added automated software monitoring and enhanced data security
and encryption to its systems in the wake of the recent security breaches.
"If Dr. Spafford's assessment is accurate, it's inexcusable that Sony not
only ran obsolete software on servers containing confidential data, but
also that the company continued to do so after this information was
publicly disclosed," said Jeff Fox, Consumer Reports Technology Editor.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
White House Unveils Cyber-Security Plan
The White House on Thursday unveiled a cyber-security proposal that it
hopes Congress will use as a framework for legislation.
Among other things, the plan includes national data breach reporting,
increased penalties for computer crimes, rules that would allow the
private sector to commiserate with the Department of Homeland Security
on cyber-security issues, and cyber-security audits for critical
infrastructure providers.
"Our Nation is at risk. The cybersecurity vulnerabilities in our
government and critical infrastructure are a risk to national security,
public safety, and economic prosperity," the White House said in a
statement. "The Administration has responded to Congress' call for input
on the cybersecurity legislation that our Nation needs, and we look
forward to engaging with Congress as they move forward on this issue."
The proposal comes at the request of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
and six Senate committee chairs, who asked President Obama for his input
on cyber-security legislation. Two years ago, Obama designated cyber
security as a national security priority.
The plan has four components: protecting American citizens; protecting
critical infrastructure; protecting the federal government's computer
systems; and protecting civil liberties.
First up, the White House recommends national data reporting instead of
a patchwork of state laws. At this point, 47 states have laws that
require companies to inform consumers if a hacker has gained access to
their personal information; like Sony or Epsilon, for example. The White
House proposal would have all companies in all states adhere to one law in
the interest of simplicity.
Second, the plan sets mandatory minimum sentences for cyber intrusions
into critical infrastructure. All too often, penalties for computer
crimes are not synched up with other criminal statutes.
"For example, a key tool for fighting organized crime is the
Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Yet RICO
does not apply to cyber crimes, despite the fact that cyber crime has
become a big business for organized crime," the White House said.
The administration also tackled information sharing between the public
and private sector. Sometimes, companies that have been hacked will ask
DHS for its assistance, but there are no clear rules that establish
DHS's authority in these matters. The proposal would allow DHS to step
in quickly and assist, while clarifying what type of help it can provide.
Similarly, the plan would allow businesses or local governments to share
information with the federal government about computer viruses or other
cyber threats they have uncovered.
"To fully address these entities' concerns, it provides them with
immunity when sharing cybersecurity information with DHS," the White
House said. "At the same time, the proposal mandates robust privacy
oversight to ensure that the voluntarily shared information does not
impinge on individual privacy and civil liberties."
The White House plan mentions critical infrastructure quite a bit, but
what does that actually mean? Under the proposal, DHS would work with
industry players to identify core critical-infrastructure operators, who
would get top priority and protection in the event of a cyber attack. In
turn, they would have to develop cyber-security plans, which would be
evaluated by an outside auditor. If their plans are insufficient, DHS
can step in with its own suggestions.
Meanwhile, the plan would formally designate DHS as the agency heading
up cyber-security issues for the feds. It would also streamline the
process by which Internet service providers obtain immunity for blocking
attacks against government computers.
On the privacy front, the White House plan calls on DHS to work with
privacy and civil liberties groups to make sure rights are being
respected.
"Taken together, these requirements create a new framework of privacy
and civil liberties protection designed expressly to address the
challenges of cybersecurity," the White House said.
Senator Rockefeller Proposes "Do Not Track" Bill
Legislation that would allow Internet users to opt out of having personal
data collected has again been introduced on Capitol Hill, becoming at
least the fourth bill to focus on consumers' online privacy.
Senator Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill on Monday that would require
companies to refrain from collecting information about people who ask
not to be tracked. Providers would be able to collect information needed
to provide a service - like ship a package - but would have to
anonymize or delete it as soon as the service had been performed.
"I believe consumers have a right to decide whether their information
can be collected and used online. This bill offers a simple,
straightforward way for people to stop companies from tracking their
movements online," said Rockefeller in a statement. Rockefeller chairs
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
One recent privacy brouhaha arose from the revelation that Apple iPhones
collected location data even when that activity was supposed to have
been disabled.
Further, Sony Corp reported a breach last month that exposed personal
data of more than 100 million of its online video game users. Sony has
said it could not rule out that some 12.3 million credit card numbers
had been obtained during the hacking.
Privacy advocates argue that companies that collect and store personal
data expose the data to possible theft, particularly when they do not
delete it when they don't need it.
Three other online privacy bills have been introduced - by Representatives
Bobby Rush and Jackie Speier and by Senators John McCain and John Kerry.
It's far too early to tell which, if any, of the four might become law.
US in New Push To Break China Internet Firewall
The United States plans to pump millions of dollars into new technology to
break through Internet censorship overseas amid a heightened crackdown on
dissent in China, officials said Tuesday.
State Department officials said they would give 19 million dollars to
efforts to evade Internet controls in China, Iran and other
authoritarian states which block online access to politically sensitive
material.
Michael Posner, the assistant secretary of state in charge of human
rights, said funding would support cutting-edge technology that acts as
a "slingshot" - identifying what countries are trying to censor and
throwing it back at them.
"We're responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We're
trying to stay one step ahead of the cat," Posner said.
The announcement came shortly after the United States and China wrapped
up wide-ranging annual talks in which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
showed exasperation at Beijing's intensifying clampdown on domestic
critics.
China routinely blocks sites that present non-official viewpoints on
Tibet's exiled leader the Dalai Lama, the banned Falungong spiritual
movement and the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
More recently, Chinese authorities blocked search results for "Hillary
Clinton" after she gave a speech championing Internet freedom and for
"Jasmine," an allusion to pro-democracy uprisings sweeping the Arab world.
"In effect, we're going to be redirecting information back in that
governments have initially blocked," Posner said.
"This can be done through email or posting it on blogs or RSS feeds or
websites that the government hasn't figured out how to block," he said.
The funding comes out of $30 million which the US Congress allocated in
the current fiscal year for Internet freedom.
The failure until now to spend the money led to accusations that the
State Department was too worried about upsetting China. A recent Senate
committee report called for another government body to be put in charge
of the funds.
The Falungong developed the so-called Global Internet Freedom
Consortium, a software to evade China's Internet firewall that was so
effective that Iranians sought it out during 2009 protests against the
clerical regime.
Posner said that the State Department would not identify the recipients
of funding due partly to "reasons of security."
Posner said that the State Department was also funding research and
training on Internet freedom, with some 5,000 activists already
receiving tips on digital safety.
Amazon Could Cut Ties in More States Over Tax Dispute
Amazon.com could cut its partnership with affiliates in more U.S. states
that require the online retailer to collect sales tax, Chief Executive
Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday.
The comments from the world's largest online retailer come less than a
month after brick-and-mortar rival Best Buy expressed optimism about
potential online taxation reforms that would expand the collection of
sales taxes on items bought over the Internet.
Many traditional chains such as Best Buy and Sears have openly voiced
their concerns about online-only retailers like Amazon getting an unfair
advantage by not having to collect sales tax in states where it does not
have a corporate presence.
Lawmakers in states - many facing huge budget deficits - have also
argued that Amazon has a duty to collect tax because its "affiliates,"
or independent Web operators which are paid a fee when they drive
traffic to Amazon that results in a sale, operate in the state.
Amazon has already announced plans to cancel its affiliate program in
Illinois in response to the state's new law to target online retailers
that have affiliates in the state.
Texas is considering taxing online sales and California, which already
passed legislation that was vetoed, is considering another bill. Last
October, Amazon also got a $269 million bill for uncollected sales taxes
from the state of Texas.
"We will continue to drop states who pass those affiliate laws, from the
affiliate program," Bezos said at the ShopSmart Shopping Summit in New
York on Wednesday.
"In the U.S., the constitution prohibits states from interfering in
interstate commerce," Bezos said, citing a U.S. Supreme Court case
decades ago that clarified that "mail order" companies could not be
required to collect sales tax in states where they did not have "nexus."
Bezos said the issue highlighted the need to simplify the existing sales
tax system.
"The sales tax collection is very complicated," Bezos said. "The right
place to fix this is with federal legislation."
Google-Powered Laptops To Go on Sale June 15
The first laptops running on a Google-designed software system will go on
sale in the U.S. and six other countries next month.
The June 15 release date announced Wednesday means the lightweight
laptops will hit the market nearly two years after Google Inc. began
working on an operating system based on its Chrome Web browser.
Since then, Apple Inc.'s iPad and other tablet computers have become hot
sellers. The growing popularity of tablets has raised questions about
how interested consumers will be interested in buying Google-powered
laptops specifically tailored for Web surfing.
Samsung Electronics Co. and Acer Inc. are making the first Chromebooks.
They will sell for $349 to $499 at Best Buy and Amazon.com Inc. in the
U.S. The cheapest IPad sells for $499.
Acer's Chromebook, at $349, will have an 11.6-inch screen display and up
to six hours of battery life. Samsung's version, selling for $429 to
$499, will have a 12.1-inch screen and up to 8.5 hours of battery life.
Both models will have keyboards, but no hard drives for storage. The
machines will be like computer terminals dependent on a connection to
the Internet. The laptops come with 16 gigabytes of flash memory - the
kind found in smartphones, tablet computers and some iPods. They have
slots to plug in other storages device you buy separately.
The Chromebooks also will be sold in Britain, France, Germany,
Netherlands, Italy and Spain.
In an effort to get people to use Chromebooks, Google is offering
three-year subscription plans to businesses and schools similar to how
the mobile phone industry subsidizes devices up front and make the money
back over the life of a service contract. For a monthly cost of $28 per
user in businesses and government agencies and $20 per user in schools,
Google provides the laptop, tech support and a warranty for the
duration. Google will replace the Chromebooks at the end of the three
years.
Chromebook's long-awaited debut will intensify Google's competition with
Microsoft Corp., whose Windows operating system remains the foundation
of most personal computers.
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have long felt that
Windows computers took too long to power up and were too clunky to
operate. They believed that Windows' drawbacks were discouraging people
from spending even more time online, where they could click on ads sold
by Google.
To address the perceived problem, Google announced its plans in July
2009 for a Chrome-based operating system that would enable computers to
turn on in a matter of seconds and encourage more Web surfing.
"The complexity of managing computers is really frustrating for users
out there," Brin told reporters Wednesday at Google's conference for
software developers. "It's a flawed model."
Brin, who began focusing on special projects earlier this year, said he
didn't have enough information to comment on a Justice Department
investigation into the online ad system that generates most of Google's
revenue. The company disclosed Tuesday that it has set aside $500
million to settle the probe. It provided few details.
Besides attacking Microsoft's Windows franchise, Google's Chromebook
also will represent another challenge to Apple, which makes Mac
computers as well as iPads. Google and Apple have been engaged in a
fierce competition in the smartphone market for the past two years.
Google itself has joined the tablet computer craze by creating a special
version of its Android software for mobile devices. Apple sold nearly 20
million iPads during the tablet's first year on the market. and analysts
expect people to buy tens of millions more tablets from Apple and other
manufacturers during the next few years.
Firefox 4 Adoption Tops XP-Skipping Internet Explorer 9
Mozilla has reported a sharp rise in Firefox 4 downloads since offering
an update to all users of older versions. As a result, Firefox 4's
global market share rose more than 3.5 percentage points, Mozilla's
Firefox Community Coordinator Asa Dotzler says.
By contrast, Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 browser, which rolled
out ahead of Firefox 4, held just more than a four percent market share,
according to the latest figures cited by Mozilla. What's more, Dotzler
doesn't expect IE9 to catch up with Firefox 4 anytime soon - despite
Microsoft's rollout of IE9 as part of its Windows Update service.
"It will be a year or two before they can move the bulk of their IE7 and
IE8 users forward," Dotzler wrote in a blog. "So today - and for the
foreseeable future - Microsoft will be number three in terms of usage
among the modern browsers."
IE9's inability to keep pace with Firefox 4 - at least in the short run -
is due in large part to Microsoft's decision to limit the new browser's
compatibility to PCs running Windows Vista and Windows 7. By contrast,
Firefox 4 is compatible with PCs equipped with Windows XP, Vista and
Windows 7, as well as Apple's Mac OS and Linux.
Given that more than half of all PCs worldwide are still running Windows
XP, Dotzler said abandoning the software giant's largest group of users
was a poor decision. "It's a shame for the hundreds of millions of users
they've left behind who could get huge benefits from HTML5 and the
modern web -- even without hardware acceleration, [which is] something
all the other browser vendors are going to provide," Dotzler wrote.
StatCounter's latest data indicates Firefox 4 held a global market share
of 11.41 percent during the first nine days of May, while IE9's share
stood at 3.82 percent. By contrast, the new Chrome 11 browser had a 14.2
percent share at the end of the same period, according to the
Dublin-based web-metrics firm.
The latest numbers for Firefox 4 are a big step up from the 5.3 percent
market share that Net Applications reported in April. Moreover, data
from the U.S.-based web-metrics firm indicated IE9 held just a 2.41
percent market share at the end of last month.
On Windows 7 machines, however, IE9 doubled its usage share from 3.6
percent in March to 7.5 percent in April, according to Net Applications.
Yet even on PCs running Windows 7, Firefox 4 held an even higher 8.4
percent share in April - though the U.S. firm did note that IE9's daily
usage share on Windows 7 machines reached 9.95 percent worldwide on the
final day of last month.
Meanwhile, however, Internet Explorer continued to lead the browser
field overall with a 55.11 percent global market share in April, based
on Net Applications' data. Mozilla's Firefox browser was a distant
second with a 21.63 percent share.
Some industry observers see Chrome as the greater long-term threat to
Firefox's market standing - especially now that Google has launched a
U.S. TV ad campaign touting its browser. However, Dotzler thinks Chrome
is a nice browser that is "doing good things for the web" and isn't
worried about the competition.
Free 'Browser in a Box' Runs Firefox 4 with Ultra Security
Security is an oft-debated topic in the ongoing browser wars, but there's
no denying that malware is a common problem for all of the leading
contenders.
A new solution launched this week by German Sirrix AG, however, uses
Firefox 4, Linux and virtualization to create what it calls a "browser in
a box" that keeps all malware isolated and out of the user's main
operating system.
Originally created at the request of the German federal government, BitBox
(short for "browser in the box") runs on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7
as well as Debian Linux, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE and Gentoo, allowing users to
surf the Web worry-free, Sirrix says.
BitBox's security derives from the fact that the browser runs in a
virtualized environment using VirtualBox 4.04 and a hardened implementation
of Debian 6 Linux. The included browser - Firefox 4 - then runs in a
separate virtual machine with its own operating system, keeping it
completely separate from the rest of the user's system.
Unlike the simple sandboxing system of standard browsers, in other words,
BitBox runs a completely separate guest operating system and keeps all
browser activity isolated and away from the base operating system.
Downloads, cut-and-paste capabilities and printing are all kept secure;
only a shared folder is in the base operating system, accessible through
a separate user account. Uploads, meanwhile, are not enabled, nor is
Internet access through the base operating system.
Perhaps best of all, each time the browser is restarted, it gets reset
to a certified boot image, thereby eliminating any malware that might have
gotten through in the previous session.
For users, BitBox is designed to feel no different from any standard use
of Firefox 4. The software is available for free download by individual
users and requires no special expertise to install, Sirrix says. It's also
available on DVD.
An extended enterprise version for centrally managed IT environments,
meanwhile, offers additional features for a fee. In corporate settings,
for instance, a tunnel between the BitBox browser and a central Internet
gateway is transparently integrated, thereby ensuring a reliable
separation between the Internet and the corporate intranet.
Client applications, then, can access only the internal corporate
network, for example, while BitBox is tunneled to the outside and can
access only Internet information in isolation.
A central management system, meanwhile, offers a simple way to manage
security policies, configurations, certification and distribution.
I couldn't find any indication of BitBox's enterprise pricing, but have
written them to find out and will post any updates. Meanwhile, if
security is paramount in your business, this could be a browser to try
out.
Facebook Ramps Up Log-In Security
Facebook on Thursday announced a new, two-factor authentication system
whereby the social-networking site will require users to enter a code
they receive via text message.
The system, dubbed Login Approvals, will prevent users from signing in
unless they can provide that code and authenticate their device.
"As more individuals and businesses turn to Facebook to share and
connect with others, people are looking to take more control over
protecting their account from unauthorized access," Facebook said in a
blog post.
If you opt into Login Approvals, you'll see a pop-up message upon
sign-in that says "Confirm your phone." You should then receive a text
message with a specific code, which you enter into a box on the pop-up
message. If you don't want to do this every single time you sign on, you
can designate your smartphone, PC, or tablet as a trusted device and
Facebook will allow you to sign in without the text code.
If, however, Facebook sees that someone has signed into your account
from an unrecognized device, it will send you an alert and allow you to
change your password. So even if someone obtained your login ID and
password, they couldn't "access your account and cause any harm,"
Facebook said.
If you lose or forget your phone, meanwhile, you can still authorize
your account, provided you're accessing it from a trusted device.
Facebook acknowledged that it's sometimes difficult to balance security
and usability. The company has pondered stronger authentication
requirements like apps or physical tokens, but is not ready to add them
just yet.
"These are good approaches, and we're considering incorporating them in
the future, but they require a lot from the user before being able to
turn on the feature," Facebook said. "To have the biggest impact and
provide this added security to the most people, we decided on SMS as the
best choice for a second factor."
Facebook first mentioned two-factor authentication last month, but is
rolling it out more formally today. To enable, select "Login Approvals"
from the "Account Security" section of the account settings page.
Facebook also recently expanded its encryption options. In January,
Facebook introduced the option to encrypt your Facebook session at all
times, known as HTTPS. Now, if you start using a non-HTTPS application
on Facebook, it will automatically switch your session back to HTTPS
when you're finished.
Microsoft Apologizes for Email Glitch
After a series of glitches causes a massive email backlog, Microsoft has
posted a detailed explanation and apology for the problems with the
cloud-based Microsoft Exchange subscription service.
As a result of the backlog, some messages were delayed as long as nine
hours, while another separate issue with Outlook Web Access raised
issues with Exchange ActiveSync devices.
"On Tuesday and today we experienced three separate service issues that
impacted customers served from our Americas data center," explained Dave
Thompson, corporate vice president of Microsoft Online Services. "All of
these issues have been resolved and the service is now running smoothly.
These incidents were unique to BPOS and not related to Office 365 or any
other Microsoft services."
If you're gleaning a defensive tone, it's not without merit. Last week
Office Live customers were having trouble accessing the cloud-based service.
While Office Live is expected to stay online, Office 365 will replace
Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) - the service
affected today - as well as Office Live Small Business and Live@edu.
Despite excitement surrounding Office 365, the site is off to a shaky start.
Two days after the public release of the beta, community forums lit up with
technical questions and complaints, most pertaining to SharePoint Online,
Lync interoperability with Mac, and Exchange mobile syncing.
To its credit, Microsoft has handled the latest cloud-based turbulence
with detail and humility. About this week's email backlog, Thompson
added: "I'd like to apologize to you, our customers and partners, for
the obvious inconveniences these issues caused. We know that email is a
critical part of your business communication, and my team and I fully
recognize our responsibility as your partner and service provider."
Facebook Loses Much Face In Secret Smear On Google
Facebook secretly hired a PR firm to plant negative stories about Google,
says Dan Lyons in a jaw dropping story at the Daily Beast.
For the past few days, a mystery has been unfolding in Silicon Valley.
Somebody, it seems, hired Burson-Marsteller, a top public-relations firm,
to pitch anti-Google stories to newspapers, urging them to investigate
claims that Google was invading peoples privacy. Burson even offered to
help an influential blogger write a Google-bashing op-ed, which it promised
it could place in outlets like The Washington Post, Politico, and The
Huffington Post.
The plot backfired when the blogger turned down Bursons offer and posted
the emails that Burson had sent him. It got worse when USA Today broke a
story accusing Burson of spreading a "whisper campaign" about Google "on
behalf of an unnamed client."
Not good.
Ive been patient with Facebook over the years as theyve had their privacy
stumbles. Theyre forging new ground, and its not an exaggeration to say
theyre changing the worlds notions on what privacy is. Give them time.
Theyll figure it out eventually.
But secretly paying a PR firm to pitch bloggers on stories going after
Google, even offering to help write those stories and then get them
published elsewhere, is not just offensive, dishonest and cowardly. Its
also really, really dumb. I have no idea how the Facebook PR team thought
that theyd avoid being caught doing this.
First, it lets the tech world know that Facebook is scared enough of what
Googles up to to pull a stunt like this. Facebook isnt supposed to be
scared, ever, about anything. Supreme confidence in their destiny is the
the way they should be acting.
Second, it shows a willingness by Facebook to engage in cowardly behavior
in battle. Its hard to trust them on other things when we know theyll
engage in these types of campaigns.
And third, some of these criticisms of Google are probably valid, but it
doesnt matter any more. The story from now on will only be about how
Facebook went about trying to secretly smear Google, and got caught.
The truth is Google is probably engaging in some somewhat borderline
behavior by scraping Facebook content, and are almost certainly violating
Facebooks terms and conditions. But many people argue, me included, that
the key data, the social graph, really should belong to the users, not
Facebook. And regardless, users probably dont mind that this is happening
at all. Its just Facebook trying to protect something that it considers
to be its property.
Next time Facebook should take a page from Googles playbook when they want
to trash a competitor. Catch them in the act and then go toe to toe with
them, slugging it out in person. Right or wrong, no one called Google a
coward when they duped Bing earlier this year.
Youve lost much face today, Facebook.
More Parents Lenient About Young Web Use
Despite age restrictions on some social media sites, the number of U.S.
parents who would allow children 10-12 years old to have a Facebook or
MySpace account has doubled in a year, a new survey showed.
Seventeen percent of U.S. parents questioned in the poll said they had
no problem with a pre-teen child using a social media site, compared to
just eight percent a year ago.
And 11 percent of parents admitted to using social media sites on behalf
of a young child or infant, according to the online survey of about
1,000 adults by Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project.
"More and more parents are allowing their children to have a Facebook
account or to have more online activity at younger and younger ages."
said Janet Taylor.
The clinical instructor of psychiatry at Columbia University at Hospital
in New York described the findings as a sign of the times.
"It's not alarming. I think it means we need to be aware of what is
going on and how to best utilize social media," she added in an interview.
Most parents think that children under 18 should not be able to keep
their account to themselves and a third monitor their usage. Forty four
percent also limit the time spent on the Internet or texting.
Facebook, which has 500 million active users, was the most popular
social network among adults in the poll. Nearly 90 percent used it
frequently, followed at a very distant second by the professional
website LinkedIn with 6 percent, Twitter and MySpace.
Although only three percent of people questioned said they used the
microblogging site Twitter frequently, they had definite ideas about
what was acceptable and what was not.
Nearly two-thirds thought it was unacceptable for the staff of
celebrities and CEOs to ghost-tweet for them and 46 percent didn't think
celebrities should use Twitter to argue with each other.
Twenty seven percent also did not agree with CEOs tweeting about their
company.
Most Twitter users follow their friends and celebrities and tweet about
their daily activities or current events. Only four percent tweeted
about politicians or a religious leader, while 11 percent tweeted about
their own achievements and 8 percent used it to criticize other people.
When questioned about cyberbullying, most parents said they thought it
was their responsibility to resolve the situation if their child was a
victim and 63 percent thought teachers and schools should be doing more
to stop it.
Apple I, Bought at Christie's for $200K, Restarted in Italy
Macitynet was reporting on Tuesday that a university in Turin, Italy has
brought an Apple 1 back to life. The Apple 1 was a limited edition
computer, with about 200 made prior to Apple's founding in 1977. After
the company was founded, the original Apple 1 computers were accepted as
trade-ins for the Apple II, so few survive today. The number 82 model,
bought at Christie's auction for over $200,000 by Italian collector
Marco Boglione, was the Apple restarted today.
The restart was held at Politecnico Main Hall in Turni's Politecnico di
Torino university, and went well, despite the motherboard's 35-year-old
transistors. The demonstration ran a simple basic program, displaying
the words "Hello Polito" honoring the Politecnico di Torino.
The original Apple-1 was sold as a fully assembled circuit board with
4KB of memory but no case, power supply, keyboard or monitor. The No. 82
model had a Rockwell plastic CPU instead of the original 6502 White
Ceramic part.
=~=~=~=
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