Review and Comment News Articles

· Why Does Windows Still Suck? - This is a serious question: Why do PC users put up with so many viruses and worms? Why isn't everyone on a Mac? Would you buy a TV or oven that crashed as often as Windows? A 'val' from SanFran, like, tells you about his experience. Rilly fer sure.

· Prototype E-Vote Printer Fails to Satisfy - So let's see.... If the voting machine allegedly miscounts votes, but you stick a printer on it, that makes everything better? Silly humans...

· FBI Shuts Down Unclassified E-Mail System - Makes you wonder -- If their public e-mail system has been hacked, is their $170 million internal super-duper network also susceptable? What havoc could an intruder wreak on the Bureau, or a neighbor they didn't like?

· 'A smart guided missile' to cancer cells - Experimental drugs showing affinity to certain cancer cells serve them alphaburgers with a special seasoning - radiation.

· E-Sponder keeps Super Bowl security in touch - Local, state and federal agencies collaborate with e-mail and instant messages to provide unprecedented security for the Super Bowl, but don't relax just yet -- The collaboration software and server are from Microsoft!

· When the Sous-Chef Is an Inkjet - Remember that "food synthesizer" on Star Trek? Well, guess what....

· FTC: At least $548 million lost to identity theft - Time tested scams mingle with new technologies to burn a whole new generation of online victims.

· Fake Saddam Hussein 'death' photos used as worm bait - A computer worm aimed at curious and wishful surfers hijacks their computers for spamming. Meanwhile, the real Iraqi worm still sits in a cell...

· MSN Messenger hit by double-whammy worm - Sit down, you're about to be stunned -- Another security weakness allows MSN Messenger to infect your system. Oh, did we mention MSN Messenger comes from Microsoft? Told ya you'd be stunned...

· Big Blue, Caped Crusader - IBM hopes to help crimefighters spot trends that will allow them to anticipate likely victims.

· Hackers Eavesdrop on Phone Networks to Steal Data - Next time you are asked to read your credit card or social security number over a cell phone, remember that your conversation can be intercepted for miles around. How about e-mail? Yep, that's a piece of cake, too.

· Shoulder Surfing, Sniffing Worse Than "Evil Twin" Access Points - Whuzzat mean?!? It means that, if you want to keep something secret, don't expose it in public. Read on...

· Hewlett-Packard Claims Really Tiny Transistors - HP reports advance in Molecular-Scale Devices in The Journal of Applied Physics, with three HP Labs researchers producing a molecular-scale alternative to the transistor (building block of all computer life on Earth) which could shrink down (and speed up!) computers and many other electronic devices. But don't worry -- Bill Gates will find a way to slow it down and load it with Bloatware.

· It's not quite Star Trek's Holodeck - But the concept is more approachable than ever: Virtual Reality helps heal; entertains; and generally serves to show that "It's Not All in Your Head"

· Neurons Derived From Stem Cells - An intricate process at U of Wisconsin holds the hope of producing motor neurons that could be employed to repair spinal cords or help cure certain brain diseases.

· TV "Enterprise" To Be Decommissioned - Disappointing technoids everywhere, UPN announced it would not renew "Star Trek: Enterprise". The Emmy winning show was a "prequel" to the legendary "Star Trek", prototype and progenitor of numerous feature-length films and three syndicated TV series, with "Enterprise" the latest. The show will close after a full fourth season, finishing with its 98th episode. The announcement from Paramount contained a hint that they may be producing another series in the Star Trek franchise "in the future..."

Family Technology Articles

· Grade books go online to increase parental involvement - If you're a kid, this could be your Pearl Harbor.

· Curiously High-Tech Hacks for a Classic Tin - With a long history of hi-tech reuse, these "Gentlemanly accessories" continue to please inventors and techno-geeks.

· Hide Your IPod, Here Comes Bill - Have an Apple iPod? It's great, isn't it?! Well, if Bill Gates has anything to say about it, your next music player will be slower than molasses, crash frequently during your favorite songs, and cost you millions in license fees. And, Oh Yes, it'll be powered by Microsoft...

· Technology increases student harassment - Modern technology is often a two-edged sword, and no more so than when mixed with the volatile hormones of teenagers. Local students find "cyber-bullying" fans the flames on their frequent disputes.

· My IPod, My Self - Academic techno-geeks want your iPod stories: Wow!, and I thought my call screener was the only one that needed to get a life...

· Teaching Computers to Read - A pair of Rensselaer Polytechnic professors are trying to make machines learn by reading printed text. Hmmm; What results would a steady diet of cereal boxes and Spiderman comics produce??!?

· Study: Cell phone use ages young drivers - Study shows that, if teenagers had brains, cell phone use while driving would make their brains work like those of 70-year olds. That is, if teenagers had brains...

· Fisher-Price, Scholastic Plan Interactive DVD Books - From the folks that brought you lawn furniture for toddlers and grammer school textbooks, come interactive DVD books to teach your midgets to read.

· Napster's 'rental' music service takes on iTunes - As long as you keep on payin', Napster gonna keep on tunin' ya.

· Car Chase Tech That's Really Hot
· Bagle Worm Mutants Multiplying Fast
· Exploit Released for Combined RealPlayer, IE Flaws - Everyone already knows that Internet Exploder is the greatest boon to hackers since the two-letter password, but now we find that IE, combined with RealPlayer's security flaws, can be a RealNightmare(tm) for system security.

Business and Security Articles

· Activists Urge Open-Source - They may be Wicked Commies, but these activists do have a point -- Open Source is inexpensive and, quite often, proveably secure.

· Andrew Kantor: CyberSpeak - When cookies aren't monsters and spyware isn't spyware - You needn't fear computer "cookies" unless, of course, they were baked by your wierd grandmother who just happens to be in YOUR will -- Let Rover taste one first...

· Law Barring Junk E-Mail Allows a Flood Instead - Well-intended legislation instead serves as a roadmap to avoid prosecution -- You thought used-car salesmen and politicians were the lowest forms of life on earth? Spammers are the chaff they leave at the bottom of the tank...

· Phoenix Moves to Put Itself on the Biotechnology Map - But lacking the wicked-smaht brains of the NH/495/128 sector, not to mention the World Champion Red Sox and the mighty N.E. Patriots, Arizonans may find they get a busy signal on this Phoen call.

· Hunting Down E-Commerce Bandits - If your latest brand-new bargain web purchase came from a little-known merchandiser, it may have been supplied via an illegal channel -- Here's some folks who hunt them down.

· Worm uses funny face to distract from danger - As virii and worms get sneakier, us peepz just gotta get smarterer. Begs the question: "Just how comical can a worm be?"

· Pharm-a-con - What's in a name? A threat by any other name would be as prestigious.

· Cisco Patches IOS Flaw - ...fixing a vulnerability to a nasty Denial Of Service attack.

· New Bagle Worms Making the Rounds
· New 'bot' virus suspected of infecting 2,500 computers in Japan
· New Attack Vector Bypasses Filters
· Feds pursue suspected spammers
· Rise In Worst Spyware Shows Phishers At Work
· Spam Slayer: Spam Fighting Tips for the New Year
· Spammer Directory Harvest Attacks Hammer Enterprises
· Remembering MyDoom, One Year Later
· First Was Phishing, Next Is Pharming
· Deleting Spam Costs Billions, Study Finds