Digital Zone 198: Now That’s Creepy

Posted by Patrick Wiscombe on February 22, 2010 under Tech Podcasts | Be the First to Comment

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In this edition of the Digital Zone, we talked about:

• School district accused of activating webcams
• Google vs. China
• Microsoft and Yahoo clear final hurdle
• Internet smarts
• The California Amazon tax
• AT&T to offer Android phones
• iPad DRM

The FBI is investigating a Pennsylvania school district accused of secretly activating webcams inside students’ homes.  Days after a student filed suit over the practice, school officials acknowledged they remotely activated webcams 42 times in the past 14 months only to find missing student laptops. They insist they never did so to spy on students.  Families were not informed of the possibility the webcams might be activated in their homes without their permission in the paperwork students sign when they get the computers.  The school district issues Apple laptops to all 2,300 students at its two high schools and only two employees in the technology department were authorized to activate the cameras — and only to locate missing laptops.  The remote activations captured images but never recorded sound according to district officials.  The remote activations helped the district locate 28 of the 42 missing computers.

The Internet attacks aimed at Google originated from two prominent schools in China according to the New York Times.  Google said a few weeks ago that digital thieves had stolen some of its computer code and tried to break into the accounts of human rights activists opposed to China’s policies. The theft also targeted the computers of more than 30 other companies and the hackers used a weakness in Internet Explorer browser.  Google has treatened to leave China because they no longer want to censor search results.  Digital forensics experts say the attacks may have started 10 months ago.

Microsoft and Yahoo’s search partnership took a major step forward as U.S. and European regulators cleared their partnership.  Microsoft will handle the automated auction of search ads for use on both companies’ sites, and pay Yahoo a portion of search ad sales generated on Yahoo pages.  Last month Yahoo handled 17 percent of U.S. Internet searches, while Microsoft took 11.3 percent, according to comScore.

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An online survey of 895 Web users and experts found more than three-quarters believe the Internet will make people smarter in the next 10 years and would improve reading and writing by 2020, according to the study.  Twenty-one percent said the Internet would have the opposite effect and could even lower the IQs of some who use it a lot.

The California Senate has passed a bill that would require online retailers like Amazon.com to charge sales tax for online purchases made in the state.  The bill would generate an estimated $107 million on an annual basis, according to the Sacramento Bee.  Currently, Amazon charges sales tax for purchases made in Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington.  Although the Senate passed the bill, it still needs to move past the Assembly.  Under the proposed laws, if a vendor places an affiliate link on his blog or Web site, Amazon would be required to collect sales tax.

AT&T said they will offer a mobile device based on the Android operating system.  The company said on its web site that it plans to add at least two more Android-based devices in the first half of this year — a new smartphone from HTC, and Dell’s first smartphone.

The iBook store will sell DRM protected e-books according to the L.A. Times. The newspaper is reporting that unnamed sources from the publishing industry say Apple is preparing to use their FairPlay copy protection technology to curb piracy in the iBook store.  FairPlay restricts the number of devices that can access content.  The iBook store on the iPad will sell e-books in the ePub open standard.

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PODCAST SPONSORS: Please support the companies that make the Patrick Wiscombe podcast network go and take advantage of the special offers only available to our listeners.

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