InformationWeek conducted a Cyberloafing Study to determine the level of personal use of the web on the job by a group comprising 225 business-technology professionals. Survey says: 91% admit to personal use of the web on the job. Most were using the web to access their personal email and to “search for items of personal… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2003
Popularity of Faxing on the Rise
This BBC article reports on the incredible staying power of the fax machine after three decades of use. Continue Reading
Canadian Board Determines Music Downloads Legal But Not Uploads
A December 12 ZDNet article provides a link to the Copyright Board of Canada decision, the press release and a fact sheet. Continue Reading
Gilmore Commission Report on Homeland Security Addresses Civil Liberties
Forging America’s New Normalcy: Securing Our Homeland, Protecting Our Liberty – The Fifth Annual Report to the President and the Congress of the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, December 15, 2003: From the press release: “The commission calls on the president to create an independent, bipartisan… Continue Reading
Public Access to CRS Reports Will Remain Limited
An incisive news article from the December 12 Ohio Times-Reporter presents Congressional and advocacy group perspectives on public access to CRS reports, a controversial issue about which I have posted a number of times. CRS does not maintain a public access website, but online access to selected reports is available through several non-government websites, and… Continue Reading
Californians, the Internet, and Healthcare
From the Pew Internet and American Life Project: Wired for Health: How Californians compare to the rest of the nation: A case study sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation, released December 14, 2003: Table of Contents From the Summary of Findings: “Low-income Californians are more likely than other low-income Americans to go online and to… Continue Reading
New Report and Resources on Gov’t Docs. Disappearing From Public Access
From U.S. News, an extensive investigative report on How the public’s business gets done out of the public eye: “For the past three years, the Bush administration has quietly but efficiently dropped a shroud of secrecy across many critical operations of the federal government–cloaking its own affairs from scrutiny and removing from the public domain… Continue Reading
E-ZPass Technology, Law Enforcement and Privacy
Do you have an E-ZPass electronic tag? Have you received a notice in the mail indicating you were speeding on a particular date and time, or to enquire why your vehicle was traveling on the I-95 corridor on a specific date? The tag is a commuter convenience, and a law enforcement tool, as noted by… Continue Reading
World’s Largest Databases
According to the Winter Corporation Top Ten Program for 2003, the organizations identified as maintaining the “world’s largest and most heavily used databases” using either Windows or Linux platforms include: France Telecom, AT&T, Amazon.com, FedEx Services, and at number 4, an organization listed as “Anonymous.” [Slashdot] Continue Reading
European Court Gives Microsoft Win Against Lindows
Lindows.com ordered to drop Lindows name Dump Lindows name or we’ll take all your money, says MS Continue Reading
Copyright Infringement Lawsuits Against Document Retrieval Services
Leading Publishers Sue Document Deliverers For Copyright Infringement; New Lawsuits Reflect Growing Infringement of Digital Content: The Copyright Clearance Center is coordinating lawsuits by five prominent publishers (including Elsevier Inc. and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), against document retrieval companies Medical Review Services and LMS Information Services for unauthorized duplication and sale of copyrighted materials… Continue Reading
Senator to Introduce Bill to Verify E-Voting With Paper Records
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced her intention to introduce legislation in early 2004 to ensure that every vote counts, by requiring that e-voting machine manufacturers provide built-in, not expensive add-on, paper records to verify the accuracy and security of the machines. Note: on May 22, 2003 Rep. Holt introduced the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility… Continue Reading
