DROID-buddies Verizon and Google offer net neutrality truce
Amidst all the rancor that we’ve seen during the last few weeks over the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed net neutrality rules comes a joint filing by Verizon and Google that…
Opinion: Virtual schools are a critical piece of education’s future
Technological innovations might be categorized along a continuum from sustaining to disruptive. In education, a sustaining technology might be a SMART Board, which in most applications is a way to present information dynamically and efficiently–a sustaining upgrade to the chalkboard and overhead projector–while a disruptive technology would be a virtual school.
Conficker Worm hasn’t gone away, Akamai says
PC World reports that variants of the Conficker worm were still active and spreading during the third quarter, accounting for much of attack traffic on the internet, according to Akamai Technologies.
Technology gives engineering programs a real-world impact
Drexel University engineering student Jeffrey Dowgala says real-time information recorded by electronic sensors has helped him and his classmates understand the many environmental factors that can affect a bridge–an impact impossible to explore in standard textbooks.
HP, Microsoft in $250 million cloud computing pact
Tech heavyweights Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft on Jan. 13 announced an ambitious partnership under which they will jointly invest $250 million over three years to develop and market systems geared toward cloud computing, Information Week reports. “The cloud is the driving force behind this deal at this time,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, on a conference call with reporters. “This is entirely cloud motivated,” said Ballmer.
Chinese spy agency behind Google cyber attack, report claims
Information Week reports that in a blog post heard around the world, though muffled in China’s state-controlled media, Google said on Tuesday that it and at least 20 other companies in the the internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors had been targeted in a sophisticated cyber attack in December. Due to this attack, which resulted in the theft of unspecified intellectual property, and a hostile business climate, Google said it would stop censoring Google.cn, a decision which could lead to the closure of the company’s Chinese search service.
Groups seek to challenge U.S. gov’t on seized laptops
The policy of random laptop searches and seizures by U.S. government agents at border crossings is under attack again, with a pair of civil rights groups seeking potential plaintiffs for a lawsuit that challenges the practice, PC World reports. The American Civil Liberties Union is working with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to find lawyers whose laptops or other electronic devices were searched at U.S. points of entry and exit.
Barnes & Noble unveils textbook rental service for colleges
Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. is launching a textbook rental program for college students, making it the newest entrant in a growing field, and officials at book rental services say the announcement will raise college students’ awareness of the burgeoning market.
‘Baby Einstein’ founder takes university to court, seeking research data
A co-founder of the company that created the “Baby Einstein” videos has asked a judge to order the University of Washington to release records relating to two studies that linked television viewing by young children to attention problems and delayed language development, reports the New York Times.
France plans its own rival to Google Books
France’s culture minister on Jan. 12 unveiled a plan to develop what he hopes will prove a uniquely Gallic competitor to Google Books, reports the Associated Press.