Press release: “The Department of Commerces United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today the 2005 top 10 global private sector patent recipients. Listed…are the 10 corporations receiving the most U.S. patents for inventions in 2005, along with their 2004 ranking.” IBM, Canon and HP rank 12, 3 respectively. Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: January 2006
EPA Toxic Release Inventory Database Threatened By Gov’t Opposition
Following up on my November 11, 2005 posting, EPA Proposes To Limit Public Access to Pollution Release Inventory, see this new report from OMB Watch, Dismantling the Public’s Right to Know: EPA’s Systematic Weakening of the Toxics Release Inventory (16 pages, PDF): “The report details how under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)… Continue Reading
Legal Term Glossary Available From U.S. Courts Website
From the U.S. Courts, Legal Term Glossary Newly Available: “Stumped by a legal term? An updated glossary of legal terms encountered in the various federal courts is now included on this web site.” Continue Reading
Calls for Investigation into Pentagon Domestic Surveillance Have Generated Response
After a series of Congressional calls for hearings and investigations into the administration’s controversial post 9/11 domestic surveillance program, news today from several sources confirming that probes have indeed been launched, and hearings scheduled. Questions remain as to when, and if, the conclusions will be made public. Additionally, ABC News reports that former NSA “insider”… Continue Reading
CDs and Hard Drives Suffer From Material Obsolescence
All that music you have burned to CDs may only last a couple of years according to IBM Speicherexperte (memory expert) Kurt Gerecke. He advises using long-lived magnetic tapes to store the music, videos and photos created by the plethora of gadgets we cannot live without. Continue Reading
Guide to Malware Reviews and Evaluates Threats and Industry Responses
Malware – Future Trends, by Dancho Danchev,10/01/06 (26 pages, PDF). “Malware has truly evolved during the last couple of years. Its potential for financial and network based abuse was quickly realized, and thus, tactics changed, consolidation between different parties occurred, and the malware scene became overly monetized, with its services available on demand. What are… Continue Reading
Reporters Without Borders Urges Net Users and Bloggers to Support Freedom of Expression
Corporate responsibility: Reporters Without Borders urges Internet users and bloggers to support its recommendations on freedom of expression. Related reference: Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents Continue Reading
Challenges Posed By Search Engines on E-Commerce Profitability
Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, January 9, 2006: Search Engines as Leeches on the Web “Summary: Search engines extract too much of the Web’s value, leaving too little for the websites that actually create the content. Liberation from search dependency is a strategic imperative for both websites and software vendors.” Continue Reading
FEMA Data on Katrina Contracts Woefully Incomplete
Federal Times reports that FEMA data on contracts awarded after Katrina is substantively incomplete in numerous areas, including identification of whether over $450 million in contracts were even competitively bid. Related reference: Improvements Needed to the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation, GAO-05-960R, September 27, 2005. Continue Reading
Americans Favor Warrants For Wiretaps
Poll: Most Want Court OK for Gov’t Taps AP/Ipsos Poll Eavesdropping Poll Method Postings on domestic surveillance Continue Reading
Guide to Cleaning Spyware Off Your PC
From InformationWeek, this straight forward guide for PC users takes you through a five step process to identify and eliminate problems before they overtake you. Continue Reading
Kennedy Bill Seeks Congressional Access to Daily Briefings on WMD
S. 2175 – A bill to require the submittal to Congress of any Presidential Daily Briefing relating to Iraq during the period beginning on January 20, 1997, and ending on March 19, 2003. Sponsor: Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA](introduced 12/21/2005). Latest Major Action: 12/22/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the… Continue Reading
