No, Wikipedia has not forgiven GoDaddy for backing SOPA
It's been six weeks since Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales took to Twitter to announce that his organization would be removing its domain name registrations from GoDaddy over what was then the latter's public support for SOPA.
Two SOPA post-mortems: one dead-on, one brain-dead
Most of you have probably had your fill of SOPA commentary, just as most of us here in New England would just as soon not hear another word about the Super Bowl.
(No, Wikipedia hasn't forgiven GoDaddy for supporting SOPA) Read more
Another survey that shows vendors think you're stupid
It's time for a pop quiz. The press release reads: Read more
BBC shines light on 'RIP troll'
"Don't feed the trolls" is standard -- and generally sound -- advice for Internet users. Read more
Matchmaking sites short on the science? ... Get out
A group of bitter, bitter researchers has chosen this generally joyous run-up to the holy day of romance as their opportunity to issue "a sweeping review of scientific studies" that allegedly shows dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony fail to apply to their matchmaking the same scientific rigor normally associated with, say, astrology. Read more
In this case, I'm fine with seeing spam in my inbox
An email etiquette issue has arisen here in the office regarding a relatively new custom practiced by some co-workers here at IDG Enterprise.
Computerworld's Joyce Carpenter threw down the gauntlet via Twitter:
Anonymity bites Anonymous in attempt to extort Symantec
There's something ironic about the anonymity afforded by the Internet putting a self-proclaimed member of the hacker group Anonymous in the position of negotiating extortion demands with a law enforcement officer posing as a Symantec employee. Read more
Amazon said to be planning retail stores
A central appeal of shopping at Amazon has always been that you get to transport yourself to their store using a Web browser instead of an automobile.
But no one ever said the two modes had to be mutually exclusive. Read more
Hey, at least the Patriots topped the Giants at something
With the exception of a stray New Yorker or two, we are in mourning here this morning at Massachusetts-based Network World, a pall produced of course by the New England Patriots Super Bowl loss last night at the hands of the New York Giants.
So it is with more bitterness than actual interest that I convey Google's report on the terms that were most often entered into the company's search engine during the game. Read more
In-flight Wi-Fi struggling to gain altitude
At first blush, it's another one of those, "Sure, it will happen ... eventually," type of situations. I mean does anyone envision a commercial air fleet without Internet service 20 years down the runway? Read more
Sunday morning rant: A pox on all their houses and schools
I just read a Washington Post story about a Virginia county that is dispatching police officers to deliver criminal complaints against the parents of children who are constantly late for school.
This story combines two of my lifelong pet peeves -- people who are habitually late and authorities who abuse their power -- into a single fireball of peeve. Read more
Plane crash claims life of Micron CEO Steve Appleton
Micron CEO Steve Appleton, 51, was killed this morning when the "experimental" plane he was piloting crashed at the airport in Boise, Idaho.
In 2004, Appleton, a professional stunt pilot, had been seriously injured in a small-plane crash that raised questions about the propriety of a corporate CEO taking such risks, according to Associated Press. Read more
There's an app for cats
Shame on me for being surprised.
But until just now I was not aware that people are putting their beloved $500 iPads on the floor so that their cats can treat them like another ball of yarn. Here's a story from Australia about one such cat app offered by the SPCA there ... and, of course, there is the adorable video:
And before anyone goes, "Those Aussies," be aware that this is far from an isolated case.
Again with the financial-planning perk, this time Zuck
As the press continues digging through documents associated with Facebook's filing for an initial public stock offering, one number in particular caught my eye: Facebook the company doled out $90,850 last year to founder Mark Zuckerberg so that Zuckerberg could acquire professional financial and estate planning services. Read more
I am ...
Software developer Brian McNamara, whose claim to being my family's most creative writer has gone undisputed since we were in high school, today sent me this amusing observational item that he authored. It will be best appreciated and perhaps only understood by football fans. The indulgence of others is requested. Read more
After 6-year windup, Schilling's ready to pitch first game
Next Tuesday, former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s video game company, 38 Studios, will release its first title, called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. It’s been six years in the making, or roughly the amount of time it takes these days to play a Major League Baseball game.
You can watch the launch trailer at the bottom of this post. Read more
'Drupal, Drupal, everybody Drupal'
Felt I had to post this, because Buzzblog, as with all Network World blogs, is brought to you via Drupal ... and because I don't want to be the only one with this earworm today. Read more
A message to those tourists the U.S. kicked out over tweets
So by now you may have heard about the British tourists who upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 23 were detained, interrogated for hours, denied admission to the country, beaten with rubber hoses, and then deported … all because of a grotesque overreaction to pair of smart-alecky though obviously innocuous tweets. (Sadly, the only part of that litany that isn’t true is the hoses.) Read more
Just one more: 'S**t programmers say'
Yes, this "S**t (fill in the blank) say" meme is getting tiresome, but I actually laughed at the end of this video, so I can't resist sharing. (Warning: NSFW language.) Read more
Tracking-notification bill unlikely to gain traction
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts yesterday announced a bill to require that consumers be told when their phones carry tracking software, an idea that would appear so commonsensical and presumably non-controversial that it would sail through Congress like a resolution proclaiming this Super Bowl Appreciation Week. Read more
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