Perhaps this will ease my concerns about transitioning from reading books on the subway to becoming one in the army of iPod clones. Unmediated reports that a public library is beginning to loan audio books pre-loaded on iPod Shuffles.
Month: February 2005
Curse of the Secret Question
It appears that Paris Hilton's Sidekick was hacked becuase her secret question was "What's your favorite pet's name?" The answer, of course, was her dog, Tinkerbell, who is almost as famous as she is.This is what Bruce Schneier has called…
iPod People in their own iWorld
Andrew Sullivan writes a commentary (very much aligned with Christine Rosen's thoughtful essay) about the "iPod people" of New York:There were little white wires hanging down from their ears, or tucked into pockets, purses or jackets. The eyes were a…
Google Calendar Next?
Search Engine News reports speculation that Google might soon launch its own Calendar tool. If true, I'm sure it'll be a useful and attractive tool, likely based on Apple's iCal calendar program. What this also means, however, is that Google…
France’s Top Librarian Attacks Google Online Library
TechNewsWorld reports that The National Library of France is not happy with Google's effort to scan and integrate millions of books into its Web search. Jean-Noel Jeanneney, President of the library, wrote in an editorial that he is concerned Google's…
Read More France’s Top Librarian Attacks Google Online Library
More Over-Reliance on “Calculative Thinking” of Technology
Building on this discussion of the dangers with our reliance on the calculative thinking of technology over human reason, Techdirt finds another example courtesy of the Denver police:They're blaming a computer glitch for not helping them connect a series of…
Read More More Over-Reliance on “Calculative Thinking” of Technology
The ChoicePoint Data Security Breach: What It Means for You, and How to Find Out What ChoicePoint Knows about You
In the aftermath of the ChoicePoint security breach(here and here), the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has produced a lengthy page on what the incident means to you and what data aggregators like ChoicePoint may have on you:Many consumers who contact the…
Call to add privacy rights to Japan’s constitution
ComuterWorld reports that a senior legislator in Japan is calling for the addition of data privacy rights to the country's constitution:An influential Japanese politician earlier this month called for the right to information privacy to be added to the country's…
Read More Call to add privacy rights to Japan’s constitution
Stop Getting Credit Card Offers
The major credit bureaus have the right to sell your personal information to credit card and insurance companies, resulting in the deluge of junk mail. But you have the right to exclude your name from preapproval lists (either permanently or…
Autonomous Fighting Machines & Heidegger
George Johnson at the New York Times writes an interesting reflection on the questions raised by autonomous fighting machines. He comes to a key question:As the thinking machinery continues to evolve, the strategists will keep asking themselves the same question:…
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