US Army sued for spying on blogs
A US Army unit that monitors thousands of websites and soldiers’ blogs has been served with a lawsuit by a San Francisco-based privacy group.
Marcia Hofmann, a Washington-based staff attorney for the EFF, said the FoIA lawsuit is aimed at protecting free speech and privacy and helping soldiers understand how and why websites and soldiers’ blogs are being monitored.
Source: Todd R Weiss, for PC Advisor, UK, February 6, 2007
Military to Track Soldiers Via RFID
The military is looking into RFID reader technology as a means to track casualties and medical resources using mobile devices. SkyeTek, a Colorado-based manufacturer of RFID technology, is working with the military to shrink handheld readers that would be used to identify injured soldiers and transmit the data.
Source: AFX News Limited, February 6, 2007
What rising sea levels could mean for coastal areas
If sea levels rise a meter, the streets of Miami could end up underwater while New Orleans could become part of the Gulf of Mexico. But those aren’t the only areas that will be in trouble, if two researchers from the University of Arizona are correct.
Source: Michael Kanellos, CNET News.com, February 6, 2007
Universities register for virtual future
Virtual worlds are already beginning to change higher education, according to several educators. For example, more than 70 universities have built island campuses in Second Life, according to Stuart Sim, CTO and chief architect of Moodlerooms, which builds structures in virtual worlds and offers course management software. Sim said his company is currently developing tools to help universities better manage students and courses delivered in Second Life. That way, universities can have an application to control adding or removing a student avatar to the island campus, he said.
Source: Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com, February 7, 2007
Philips unit to launch rollable-screen handheld
A division of Philips will show off what it claims is the world’s first “rollable display” cellular device at the mobile technology exhibition 3GSM next week. Polymer Vision’s Readius device, which has a roll-out grayscale screen, is being touted as a combination 3G-enabled PDA and e-book reader. Telecom Italia Mobile is the first operator scheduled to release it, with a commercial launch set for the end of the year. Polymer Vision has not confirmed any discussions with U.K. operators.
Source: David Meyer, ZDNet UK, via CNET News.com, February 8, 2007
A new generation of hidden influencers is taking root online, fueled by a growing love affair among Web sites with letting users vote on their favorite submissions. These sites are the next wave in the social-networking craze — popularized by MySpace and Facebook. Digg is one of the most prominent of these sites, which are variously labeled social bookmarking or social news. Others include Reddit.com (recently purchased by Cond√© Nast), Del.icio.us (bought by Yahoo), Newsvine.com and StumbleUpon.com. Netscape relaunched last June with a similar format.
Source: Jamin Warren and JAMIN WARREN and JOHN JURGENSEN, The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2007 (Free access)
