David Lidsky's Blog, page 4861

Americans Cool With Global Warming?

Almost half of Americans in the Yale Project on Climate Change's new study on global warming said strong action needs to be taken. But the amount who think it's all
a hoax has doubled. Nearly everyone, however, supports
regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. More results:

39% Alarmed or Concerned
At the top of the scale are people who consider themselves 'Alarmed' by
climate change, convinced that global warming is happening, caused by
human activity and is an urgent threat. This group...

iPad Shaping Up to Be More Popular Than the iPhone, Survey Says

Despite the somewhat bitchy reception (from the "experts") the iPad has had, it looks like Apple's "revolutionary device at an affordable price" (© Apple Marketing Dept) is shaping up to be more popular than the iPhone. An RBC/ChangeWave survey released yesterday claim that, out of 3,200 people, 13% them are up for owning this year's must-have gadget. That's 4% more than people who planned to buy an iPhone before its 2007 launch.

The survey also inquired of its respondents which model they...

Workplace Friendships: Good for Morale, Bad for Productivity

According to a recent survey, a happy office is dependent on a workforce's friendships within the workplace. With only 45% of Americans satisfied in their jobs, over half of the people polled said that chumminess between the cubicles means better teamwork, communication, and morale. On the subject of productivity, however, less than a third of the respondents thought that it increased productivity and performance. 

The study, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of staffing firm

Italy Convicts Google Execs on Privacy Invasion Charges, Revisits Dark Ages

Three Google execs have been convicted on charges of privacy violation in an Italian court, based on a horrid schoolkid bullying clip on YouTube. Though the video is shocking, it's the Italian legal system that's truly appalling.

Google's own blog describes what occurred: In 2006, some school students in Turin bullied a schoolmate, suffering from autism according to Google. This was terrible enough, but these bullies also filmed the event, and uploaded it to YouTube. The Italian police became...

Cell Phone Sales: Powerhouse Nokia Threatened by Stalkers

Gartner released its worldwide mobile sales numbers for both hardware and smartphone OS, and they're not much of a surprise: Nokia's first in hardware sales. It's OS, Symbian, has 46.9% of the marketshare. RIM, makers of BlackBerry, trail way behind with 19.9%; iPhone OS manages 14.4%; and even the
much-buzzed-about Android only snags 3.9%.

So why should Nokia be scared as hell? Because Symbian's (currently in its S60 version and ubiquitous in Europe) death grip may be loosening.

New mobile...

HumanCar's Imagine_PS is Powered by Electricity, Human Gruntwork

Good news for anyone who wants a little exercise as part of their morning commute: the HumanCar Imagine_PS is coming. The low-speed electric vehicle was supposed to arrive in 2008 with a $15,000 price tag, but HumanCar claims that the "e-hybrid with bionic assist" is finally on its way. Maybe. HumanCar says that the car might go into production after it gets 800 pre-orders. Does this mean the beginning of a revolution of people rowing their HumanCar vehicles like boats down the street...

Pennsylvania High School Spying Update: Draconian Policies, Suspicious Software

Two computer security experts, Aaron Rhodes and a man known by his pseudonym Stryde Hax, put together an eye-opening and well-researched attack on both the Lower Merion High School that's been accused of spying on students and the software that was used to do it. In the process, they reveal some disturbing school policies regarding the use of the laptops, and the unnerving nature of the software itself.

The writers scoured forum activity, blog posts, and publicity videos made by one Mike...

EU to Investigate Google for Antitrust; Microsoft Giggles in the Background

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The EU has just opened an investigation into Google's possible monopoly in Europe, based on the claims of three companies who accuse Google of intentionally anticompetitive policies in its search and advertising. The EU is usually the site for this kind of debate, having also just forced Microsoft into offering a choice of browser with Windows rather than its own Internet Explorer. Interestingly, Microsoft is tangentially involved in this current Google investigation.

Two of the three...

Yahoo and Twitter Ink Deal to Share Content Both Ways, All Considerate-Like

Back in December, both Google and Yahoo began adding Twitter updates into search results, to varying success--Google's choice to integrate Twitter updates in real-time proved much more successful than Yahoo's delayed listings. Now, Yahoo is trying to make amends with a deal in which content will flow back and forth between Yahoo (and its associated services, like Flickr) and Twitter.

It's been a big week for Twitter as well--not only did its astonishing 50-million-Tweets-per-day stat prove...

Intel Suffered a China-Based Hack Attack at the Same Time as Google

Intel has come forward and shared the curious information that it was hit with what it terms a "sophisticated" cyber attack in January--and if Intel thinks the attack is impressive, it probably was (have you seen their commercials? Smart people work over there!). Interestingly, while the attack sounds similar on the surface to the one suffered by Google, there doesn't seem to be any verifiable connection between the two.

Both Intel and Google were hit around the same time, in January, and...