Sock and Awe

An online game is proving to be a surprise hit, following the recent attack on George Bush in Iraq.

In case you missed the news, a journalist threw his shoes at Dubya – a gesture of insult.

 

So some bright spark made a game out of it, which is being circulated by email – but you can also find it online! Go play it!

Guilt-Mail

Apparently, a great deal of us feel guilty to not responding to emails.

The email provider, GMX carried out some research this month and found that 41% of UK emailers worry about late replies or not responding to their mail. They also noted that the average Brit has at least two personal email accounts to deal with, and check them on average between two and three times a day. GMX are quoted as saying: “Pressure to keep on top of personal email is a major cause for concern for a great many Britons, who place a high importance on keeping in touch with friends and family…” 

Spam apparently also causes undue trauma, with the survey reporting that that 36% of emailers got stressed over unwanted email…

…. I don’t really know what to say to that.

60-second Makeover

Suddenly, the internet is full of the fact that Google’s mail has had a makeover. And about time too.

Over 30 different themes are now available, accessed immediately through the Themes tab under the Settings control in your Inbox.

Play around, there’s some cool stuff.

Upgrade #2

Hmm. Talking of upgrading design, has anyone else found their hotmail account (with no warning) suddenly looks like it belongs in this century?

Mine appeared overnight, like a lovely early christmas present.

Drunk-Mail

Treat drunk-mail as junk-mail? Google have cleverly come up with an application to stop people from sending stupid emails after they’ve had a few drinks.

Link to this amazing piece of technology here.

I intend on testing how well this works, so I’m off down the pub… It’s all in the name of technology!

Twitter = Terrorism

In case anyone missed it, the US intelligence agencies – CIA, FBI, IBM – announced that Twitter means terror.

A rough report that somehow (as usual) found its way onto the internet gives a fun list of online and mobile apps – including MySpace, Facebook and Twitter – that apparently terrorists could be using. (As an aside, if I worked for a security agency, I’d be more worried about how a report like that got out onto the internet).

I won’t deny that social media has been – and still is – used by people to post extremist ideology, racism and the like, but when this happened, it’s totally unacceptable and is more often than not removed very quickly, with often nasty reprocussions for whoever posted it.

I think though, what they’re panicking about is that certain media is practically in realtime, therefore seemingly a great tool for the tech-savvy terrorist. Which, to be honest, is possibly pushing any boundary of common sense; I personally doubt such people would be operating openly on social platforms - and what about all the other technological advances since the carrier pidgeon? Email, SMS - even a phone call - seem more likely to be used by the social-conscious terrorist.

I suppose, for arguments sake, that social platforms could be used for grooming and recruiting into that kind of thing, but I’m fairly sure we’d all notice if al-Qaeda was on Bebo.

Now our wonderful Government seems to be calling for the likes of GCHQ and Mi5 to be able to monitor mobile and internet-based systems, storing details of ALL phone calls made and websites visited for up to two years in some kind of storage-super-computer. The wonderful Jacqui Smith seems to suggested this, but even top anti-terror experts are saying it’s nuts.

At least makes Google’s ideas on data storage look like a nice option, for once.

Lazy-Mail

Google launches new lazy-mail:

Official Google Blog here

Fun times. I’ll have a play and see what’s going on.

Gone Phishin’

In case it’s escaped anyone’s attention, the world is in economic turmoil. However, even people who are completely aware of this seem not to notice the increasing upturn in online fraud.

Recently, the US Federal Trade Commission passed out a warning, indicating a worryingly large growth of problems related to phishing, where information is gleaned from unsuspecting online users. Apparently, phishing attacks have increased more than 180% in a single year, and in its second annual report, the All Parliamentary Group on ID Fraud helpfully pointed out that tighter credit lending rules would lead to more attempts to get at existing bank accounts. This immediately prompted our ever-vigilant goverment to suggest that ID theft is not such a big problem anymore, but instead, anyone using the internet for personal or financial reasons should be more made aware of the potential problems that could occur.

Going back to the FTC, who seem to have a better grasp on highlighting the issues, they outlined the problem perfectly, saying that with rapid changes in the financial industry, where many institutions suddenly have new owners, this could be a green light for phishermen, as fraudsters can easily pose as the new owners of banks or the goverment agencies who are embroiled in the mess.

Secure Computing revealed that it’s October spam report showed many of the banks and other financial institutions involved in the credit crunch were topping the list of phishing targets: Chase, Wachovia and Bank of America were among the most popular targets with scammers and the report also indicated that the company expects British banks to begin creeping into these lists, as mergers and buy-outs are completed.

So, in case you didn’t know, you need to be wary online – don’t reply to emails or pop-ups that ask for any form of personal information, if they look like they’ve come from your bank. Check statements and online transactions carefully. As the philosophical George Bush said, it’s your money – you paid for it.

Don’t Be Evil

In case it’s escaped anybody’s attention – possibly those without a computer or any form of intelligence – Google are celebrating their tenth birthday.

So, from humble beginnings a decade ago, Google turns double-digits and simultaneously is recognised as the worlds most powerful global brand, as charted by research-consultancy firm, Millward Brown. Interestingly, out of the top-ten brands on this list, four are computing-based: Alongside Google (1), there sits Microsoft (3), IBM (6) and Apple (7). Furthermore, China Mobile (5) and Nokia (9) bulk up this techno-team. Unquestionably, this is a reflection on the importance of technology in modern everyday life, but perhaps any questions should be directed towards Google and the massive monopoly they’re building for themselves?

There are hundreds of articles and blogs floating around surrounding the ethics of Google, particularly in their data-collecting/retaining methods. Whilst I’m totally for companies being allowed to make profits, no matter how big the amounts involved, I like to try and understand the motivation behind the cash. When Google bought DoubleClick, I was worried – and partly, I still am – that the biggest search engine on earth was buying one of the biggest measurers of ad-trafficking and measurement. Not only does this possibly stamp out competition, but the issues raised surrounding data and the fact that Google will soon be Big-Brother-esque in their knowledge of users. (Therefore able to increase revenue even further). It just seemed to be a bit bullying when it happened, and a far cry from the informal Google “Don’t be evil” slogan. Other stuff happened this year, such as Brand-protection no longer being allowed on PPC-ads, so competitors could appear on each other’s terms; another money-maker for the company.

Whilst Google undeniably do a great deal of good, both online and off, (from free source coding and decent email through to setting up a $1bn charity fund and uniting knowledge-sharing), it nevertheless remains that some of it’s business practices can be viewed to sway slightly away from what the company preaches.