Saturday, April 19, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Evil Puppy
Google, MSN and Yahoo won’t like this.
In a move that seems destined to invite tension with major American search engines, a European Commission advisory body has suggested that those companies delete data collected about their users after six months–a far cry from what most companies currently do.
The recommendation arrived in a 29-page “opinion” published by a European Commission body known as the Article 29 Working Party. Backed by privacy groups, it has been pressuring Internet companies on the search data front for months. The report focused on advertising-supported search engines, as opposed to search functions embedded in Web sites.
The Working Party’s suggestions don’t officially have the force of law yet, but they are expected to be adopted by the EC. The EC already adopted a broader set of data protection laws a decade ago, but this report was meant to address specifically how search engines, including those headquartered outside its borders, fit into that setup.
Privacy in search engines is critical because “an individual’s search history contains a footprint of that person’s interests, relations, and intentions,” which can then be mined by businesses and national security operatives alike.
Brazil makes ‘rainforest’ condoms
 | The Brazilian government has begun producing condoms using rubber from trees in the Amazon. The health ministry says the move will help preserve the largest rainforest in the world. |
The latex will come from the Chico Mendes reserve, an area named after the famous conservationist and rubber tapper who was shot dead in 1988 by local ranchers.
Grand Theft Auto IV Multiplayer Hands-On
more.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Dead Man’s Family Sues Over Two-Day Erection
An unemployed pipefitter from Canton, Ohio died after experiencing an erection lasting a full 48 hours. Now his family is suing. The episode was brought on by a lethal combination of Viagra and Internet porn, according to a lawsuit filed against Canton’s local cable provider by the family of Daniel Garvin, who was 48 at the time of his death.
The cable company “acted in a negligent and irresponsible fashion in luring Mr. Garvin to a so-called webcam site then providing unmitigated access to it,” according to the suit, filed in the Civil Division of the Canton Municipal Court. The suit alleges that such access resulted in Garvin experiencing a “priapismic episode for a 48-hour period, resulting in Mr. Garvin experiencing a drastic drop in blood pressure and subsequent heart failure.”
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