By Martin Bosworth The Federal Communications Commission recently announced plans to auction off portions of the wireless spectrum in order to raise money for the government. Although supporters of net neutrality and […]
Microsoft again earns the moniker “Micro$haft”
Slashdot’s nightly headlines brought this bit of news from Information Week and Ars Technica to my attention last night: Microsoft submitted an adware patent back in 2006 that will use “context data” […]
Why are we so afraid?
We were afraid long before 9/11. As so many have observed, fear causes us to trade freedom for security, real or perceived. Fear makes us sheep, a lesson that’s not lost on […]
iHype and the unHip
By Sunfell Apple wants me to be a Pod Person. Seriously. According to them, I’m the frumpy, square, humorless, uncreative, stuck in biz-mode PC guy in the ads. I’m the one not […]
Tony Blair whacks the press; the press whacks back: Chill, dudes
In a reversal of the old adage “dance with the one who brought ya,” outgoing British prime minister Tony Blair is taking shots at the press, calling it “a feral beast” — […]
Food prices rise as use of corn-based fuel ethanol increases
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), the combined international cost of food is expected to increase 5% over last year, and the bulk of that cost is due to […]
Location search and software patents
According to Wired, Jason Galanis, founder of London-based Geomas, has filed a patent infringement case against Verizon for their Superpages.com location search (story here). For those of you who aren’t immediately clear […]
Journalists: Cover my town. I'll pay you $191 a year.
For the past several years, I’ve spent $47.75 every three months for a subscription to the local newspaper that claims it covers my community of about 2,300 people. Other than my town’s […]
U.S. intelligence gathering: bought and sold
By Martin Bosworth Several months ago Vanity Fair ran an absolutely scathing and incisive expose of SAIC, one of the largest government/military contractors in operation. The author went deep into the ranks […]
Trading Security For Convenience
By Martin Bosworth I’ve never heard of this guy until today–he’s apparently one of those good-at-everything types that we all hate–and I know this post about using Registered Traveler is mostly meant […]
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 