News and Views
Should Lying Online Be a Federal Crime?
As of this writing, the US Department of Justice is making its case to Congress for expanding the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) — initiated in the ’80s primarily to prosecute identity-thieving and security-endangering hackers — to include pretty much all instances of being less than truthful online. If successful, such a broad interpretation [...]
English as a First Language: We All Make Mistakes
As anyone who’s ever contributed to LockerGnome knows, I can be a pain in the butt about sticking to the rules of, as Chris calls it, PUGS (punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling). It comes as part of the job description of “editor,” I suppose. But I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not above [...]
Stop Online Piracy Act, Warner Bros., and the Loss of Due Process
Have you ever put a home video up on YouTube or come across content that has been taken down for apparent copyright infringement? This is typically the result of a copyright holder (usually a studio) issuing a DMCA takedown order to the site hosting the content. This order is usually a first step in a [...]
In Search of Sound with MediaMined
I’m not going to knock the Dewey Decimal system, but if I never again have to endure a paper cut from sorting through dusty old index cards in wooden boxes, I’ll live a much happier life. Thank goodness that the world of search has changed significantly since the days when rummaging through card catalogs at [...]
Adobe Abandons Mobile Flash: What You Need to Know About HTML5
The era of Flash on mobile devices has come to an end. Rounding up on version 11.1, Adobe has pulled the plug on support for mobile Flash. This revelation comes after years of heated debate between major technology companies as to whether or not the aging platform is truly a viable platform for mobile content. [...]
Five Ways the Government Spies on You
Believe it or not, there are many ways that the public sector tracks average people’s activities and whereabouts in the name of security. These methods are often taken for granted, though it’s important to understand exactly how much of your public and private life is being purposely traced by an organization paid for with your [...]
Is Wikipedia Better Than a Traditional Encyclopedia?
I’ve always been a fan of Wikipedia. The Internet has long been known as the largest source of information mankind has ever created, but Wikipedia has always appeared to be the closest thing to a personification of that abundance of information. Wikipedia is a crowdsourced encyclopedia, giving virtually anyone that’s willing to participate the chance [...]
Chris Pirillo: Robot Surgeon
If your mom ever yelled at you to get out of the house and stop playing those damned video games because you were wasting your life, you should have told her to calm down because you were just practicing to be a highly paid surgeon who would someday buy her a retirement home in the [...]
Bioinspired Dry Tape Mimics Insects to Be Adhesive
Sure, it’s a well-established fact that duct tape can fix anything from cracked spectacles to disjointed furniture to broken legs. And it’s also true that Spider-Man can shinny up sheer surfaces with superpowers afforded to him by a radioactive arachnid. But what if the mighty duct powers and Spider-Man could join forces and create an [...]
Nutrition Crowdsourcing Helps Fight Obesity
With the health risks of being overweight becoming more researched and documented, a lot of us are taking greater care in watching what we eat to combat potential obesity. To many of us, it’s apparent that there really can be too much of a good thing. If you’re among this increasing demographic, you probably have [...]
