Techno-politics

On this episode of Digital Life: Why are the producers of the Hurt Locker planning to sue tens of thousands of illegal downloaders? Are Google and Verizon going to team up to create the ultimate iPad killer? And, is Borders new Kobo e-Reader something you should consider? Plus, I’ll talk to Dr. Ruth Westheimer about Continue Reading →

Every once in a while smart people do something so stupid that it needs to be called what it is. I promise this is not going to be a technical column, but if you follow the signal flow I am about to describe, you will quickly arrive at the following conclusion: The nice people at Continue Reading →

May 12, 2010 – Today’s most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment: Verizon/Google iPad Killer: It looks like Verizon is going to team up with Google to create the ultimate iPad killer. Verizon CEO, Lowell McAdam said a Google tablet could give users access to “all the things Google has in its archives.” Of Continue Reading →

May 10, 2010 – Today’s most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment: FCC To Let Hollywood Control Your TV Set: There is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the FCC’s mind to … Continue Reading →

David Kernell, the 22-year-old son of a democratic Tennessee lawmaker, was convicted on two charges in the hacking of Sarah Palin’s email account. The crime took place while she was campaigning on the republican presidential ticket in 2008. After four days of deliberation, he was found guilty of obstruction of justice, and unauthorized access to Continue Reading →

May 7, 2010 – Today’s most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment: Safe Playboy?: Playboy is set to become safe for work. The storied men’s magazine will launch “The Smoking Jacket,” more in the vein of Maxim and Esquire than Playboy. Now you can authoritatively say, you only read it for the articles. FCC Continue Reading →

There was an interesting development in the Apple v. Adobe Flash War this week. Adobe decided to discontinue development of tools for making Flash apps for the iPhone family of devices. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Ninety-eight percent of desktop and laptop computers (including Macs) can run Flash video Continue Reading →

I wrote this article back in September of 2009 in response to the FCC Chairman's first articulation of the Six Principles of Net Neutrality. The US Appeals Court ruling against the FCC (and in favor of Comcast) earlier this week has spurred a fair amount of discussion. The Legislature will have to figure out if the FCC has the authority to enforce the rules it is mandated by Congress to create. That is really what the lawsuit was about. However, the spirit of the Net Neutrality, which these six principles vaguely describe, is still a topic that needs serious discussion. How should we think about it? Continue Reading →

Today’s most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment: In September, if you buy an iPad for $50,000, you’ll get a Hyundai Equus for free. OK, that’s backwards, but as incentives go, a $500 iPad is a great gift with purchase for buying a car. And it’s even cooler because the iPad is going to Continue Reading →

Today’s most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment: Fisher Price just released a series of iPhone apps for infants. The series, which features games like See’n Say, Little People Farm and Chatter Telephone, is aimed at a the two-to-five year old market. The toy maker also released a new Facebook app that will let Continue Reading →