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29th December 2012 Archive

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  • Senate votes to continue FISA domestic spying through 2017

    All proposed privacy amendments rejected

    The US Senate has voted by overwhelming majority to extend the provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 – the controversial law that grants intelligence agencies broad authority to spy on US citizens – for another five years. The law, which was first passed in the wake of the Bush-era warrantless wiretapping scandal, …

    Policy 29 Dec 02:35

  • Hey, cloudy tech vendors on Amazon: AWS can fluff you up

    Open ... and Shut And not in a good way

    Mobile consumed much of the media's attention in 2012, with Apple duking it out in court and in the market with Android. But it was Amazon, perhaps more than any other company, that spent 2012 redefining how we think about technology. In late 2011 I called out Amazon as "the Microsoft of the cloud", pointing to its emerging …

    Cloud 29 Dec 06:21

  • NYC mayor pins crime rate spike on iPhone, iPad theft

    If it weren't for Apple kit, crime would be down

    Major crime is on the rise in New York City, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the increase is due entirely to thefts of Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, which he says are inordinately attractive to thieves. As reported by The New York Times, Bloomberg raised the issue during Friday's edition of his weekly morning broadcast …

    Security 29 Dec 06:31

  • Craptastic analysis turns 2.8 zettabytes of Big Data into 2.8 ZB of FAIL

    Open ... and Shut You know EVERYTHING about me, but can you show relevant ads? Nope

    We can't seem to get enough of Big Data. In its Digital Universe in 2020 report (PDF), IDC forecasts Big Data-related IT spending to rise 40 per cent each year between 2012 and 2020, as the digital universe, now at 2.8 zettabytes (ZB), or 2.8 trillion GB, explodes to 40 ZB. That's very, very Big Data. It's a pity, therefore, …

    Datacenter 29 Dec 09:00

  • The amazing magical LED: Has it really been fifty years already?

    Simply a better way than making wires white-hot

    Next time I hear Coldplay festively crooning "May all your troubles soon be gone, Oh Christmas Lights keep shinin' on," I'd like to think that far from lamenting some lost love, they're paying solemn tribute to the humble but illuminating LED. The Light Emitting Diode celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. It's easy to …

    Science 29 Dec 10:02

  • US judge SLAMS both IBM and the SEC over bribery settlement

    'I’m not just going to roll over like the SEC has'

    A US federal judge has refused to agree to a settlement between the SEC and IBM over charges dating back to 2011 alleging that Big Blue bribed Chinese and South Korean officials unless the company produces a whole new set of extensive compliance reports. Judge Richard Leon, who has been reviewing the settlement case for the …

    Law 29 Dec 11:03

  • UK.gov: You didn't trust us with your ID, so we gave it to private biz

    2012 review But the very next day, it gave it away

    Earlier this year your correspondent was standing tantalisingly close to Matt Smith in the ACTUAL TARDIS - long story, not gonna Facebook it, never gonna tweet it. However, many Brits are happy to noisily ricochet chunks of their private lives across any number of websites and systems, in a year in which the British government …

    Networks 29 Dec 12:28