Is this the inevitable consequence of privatizing access to the NSFNet backbone? From Press Esc: The average broadband download speed in the US is only 1.9 megabits per second, compared to 61 Mbps in Japan, 45 Mbps in South Korea,…
Category: Platforms
On the Importance of Libraries
One of the more pleasant unintended consequences of my dissertation research was unearthing how the values of privacy, autonomy, and freedom of inquiry are central to the institution of the public library. I argue that libraries serve as spheres of…
Why Privacy Matters
Rory Litwin at the excellent Library Juice blog suggests three things we can do to remind ourselves why privacy matters: Recall specific occasions in your life when you realized you needed to make some information about yourself more private, or…
NYT Discovers Data-Mining
For some odd reason, the New York Times has an article declaring that data-mining has now gone mainstream: ...a wave of sophisticated computing and mathematical analytics that is moving into the mainstream. Fueling the trend are the digitization of information,…
Weakening of Online Privacy at Libraries
Chronicles of Dissent points to some discouraging trends at public libraries that potentially threaten patron anonymity and privacy. First, it appears more and more libraries are requiring those wishing to use their Internet services to produce a valid library card.…
Google Korea to Log National IDs for some searches
This has the potential to set a disturbing precedent. InfoWorld reports that Google Korea plans to introduce an age-verification system later this year that will restrict adult-themed searches to those 19 years of age and older. Working from a 700-word…
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Libraries vs. Bookstores vs. Google
Library Juice posts a wonderful essay by Tracy Nectoux, a library student at UIUC, who was assigned to visit a bookstore and compare the atmosphere to a library’s atmosphere. I think it's helpful to take the comparison one step further…
Google Universal Search: Half of the Perfect Search Engine
In my dissertation I outline the quest for the "perfect search engine" – a search engine capable of indexing all available information and providing fast and relevant results. The perfect search engine will have to have “perfect reach” to deliver…
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Google to Track and Profile Users’ Psychologies
The Guardian reports on a patent filing by Google revealing how the company could compile psychological profiles of millions of web users by covertly monitoring the way they play online games: The company thinks it can glean information about an…
How do you define Google?
Last week, Ionut Alex. Chitu at Google Operating System posted an experiment to try to define Google collaboratively. He's now posted his favorite submissions. Guess which one is mine: Google is the most used search engine in my school, according…
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