Google asks judge to block Miss. attorney general’s inquiry
JACKSON, MISS. An Internet giant was scheduled to face off with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Friday. Google will ask U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to block an investigation by Hood into the company. Hood has been pushing Google since 2013 to prevent use of the company’s search engine to find illegal […]
Will the internet of things finally kill privacy?
Immense economic pressure could eventually coerce everyone into sharing their information with firms, since not disclosing your data will itself imply that you are undesirable. In the internet of things, the Federal Trade Commission sees the possibility of flourishing new markets. But it also sees a prologue to Black Mirror: […]
Why Netflix is entering Cuba even though the internet barely works there
Netflix just launched in the unlikeliest of locales: Cuba, where less than 5% of the population has internet access and the streaming media company’s subscription cost—$8 a month—is almost half of the average salary. The move was made possible by the recent deal to normalize relations with the United States, which included a promise […]
Smart TVs raise privacy concerns
Reports that new Samsung TVs can capture personal information with their voice recognition feature has sparked concern about what critics perceive as digital spying by so-called smart devices. Nor is Samsung the only smart TV manufacturer collecting this type of data. In Samsung’s case, at least, users have the option to disable the collection. […]
Hacked again? Russian hackers still inside Sony Pictures’ network, security firm says
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) might have a second security breach on its hands, or maybe the hackers from November’s scandalous attack are still inside the company systems, according to a security firm that claims to have seen evidence of Russian hackers having access to SPE internal data. The hackers accessed SPE’s Culver City, California network […]
Tribunal says UK spies’ Internet surveillance was unlawful
U.K. spies acted illegally when they scooped up data about Britons’ electronic communications gathered by the U.S. National Security Agency, a court ruled Friday in a landmark judgment against Britain’s security services. But the judges said now that details of the practices are known, they are within the law. Britain’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which deals […]
Pebble: More than 1 million smartwatches sold
Pebble has sold more than 1 million smartwatches, the company said Monday. The milestone was reached on December 31, a company rep confirmed with CNET. The sales figure is up dramatically from the 400,000 sold as of last March, CEO Eric Migicovsky told The Verge. A price drop last fall may have helped boost […]
FCC redefines advanced broadband as 25 Mbps; Republicans blow a gasket
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has redefined advanced broadband as having 25Mbps download speeds, up from 4Mbps, giving the agency new authority to pass rules to encourage deployment across the country. The FCC, in a 3-2 party-line vote Thursday, also determined that this newly-defined advanced broadband wasn’t being rolled out in a timely manner […]
China Further Tightens Grip on the Internet
BEIJING — Jing Yuechen, the founder of an Internet start-up here in the Chinese capital, has no interest in overthrowing the Communist Party. But these days she finds herself cursing the nation’s smothering cyberpolice as she tries — and fails — to browse photo-sharing websites like Flickr and struggles to stay in touch with the […]
Congress should let cities provide their own Internet
PRESIDENT OBAMA made it a point to highlight the importance of providing high-speed Internet access to all Americans in his State of the Union address last week. No one disagrees with the sentiment. The method he proposed, however — removing legislative barriers that prevent some cities and towns from creating their own Internet networks — […]
Cuban youth build secret computer network despite Wi-Fi ban
Cut off from the Internet, young Cubans have quietly linked thousands of computers into a hidden network that stretches miles across Havana, letting them chat with friends, play games and download hit movies in a mini-replica of the online world that most can’t access. HAVANA — Home Internet connections are banned for all but a handful […]
F.C.C. Backs Opening Net Neutrality Rules for Debate
F.C.C. Backs Opening Net Neutrality Rules for Debate WASHINGTON — Federal regulators appear to share one view about so-called net neutrality: It is a good thing. But defining net neutrality? That is where things get messy. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to open for public debate new rules meant to guarantee […]
Facebook hits 1 billion active user milestone
The most famous quote from the Facebook movie The Social Network—A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars—has become a phrase born in fiction that has nevertheless resonated through mainstream cultures as the company’s raison d’être. But the web site’s real foreign money is lively customers and, except cash concerns, that […]
Microsoft issues fix for IE hole; full update coming Friday
Microsoft nowadays launched so-called “Fix It” software so as to protect home windows customers from a vital internet Explorer hole being exploited in attacks until the company releases a cumulative replace for IE on Friday. The Fix It tool “is an easy, one-click solution that will help protect your computer right away. It will not […]
South Florida cities tops for lowest travel-related taxes
For at least the second year in a row, Fort Lauderdale has grabbed first place among the top 50 destinations in the United States for the lowest combined travel-related taxes, according to a report released Monday. Chicago had the highest travel tax burden with $40.31 in combined single-day travel taxes, making it 81 percent more […]
Go Daddy says client Web sites back up
After spending most of the business day offline, services are restored for Go Daddy customers, company says. Web sites serviced by Web hosting and domain registrar Go Daddy were back online early this evening after being down for much of the work day, a company spokeswoman told CNET. All services are restored and at no […]
Intel 4th gen Core chips to slash power consumption
Chip giant will talk about a new series of mainstream chips next week that are much more power efficient than today’s processors. Intel will disclose a new series of ultra-power-efficient chips aimed at tablets and convertibles at the Intel Developer Forum next week. The Intel 4th Generation Core chips, codenamed “Haswell,” will come close to […]
HP launches first version of Open WebOS in beta
Months after Hewlett-Packard originally announced the open-source version of WebOS, the beta version of the platform is on its way out the door. Today’s release includes two environments for developers. The first is the laptop construct, which is alleged to give you the ideal development atmosphere for designing the WebOS user experience with more features […]
Scientists start hacking minds with cheap EEG gear
Are the deepest secrets of your mind safe? Could thieves trick you into revealing your bank card PIN or computer passwords just by thinking about them? Theoretically, it could happen. Ivan Martinovic of the University of Oxford and colleagues at the University of Geneva and University of California at Berkeley describe research into that question […]
Ethernet’s future: How fast is fast enough?
Slow network speeds got you down? On Monday, computing experts will announce they’re tackling the next speed bump for the venerable Ethernet standard. But don’t expect to find the new speed option on your next computer’s feature list. The same old, to be produced by way of the Institute of electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), […]