The WELL: pre.vue.146: Business and Technology News for 2008

#72: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Wed 31 Dec 08 15:32

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:32:00 PST

And with that bit of japery I declare 2008 over; at least as far as Business & Technology News, anyway. 2009 has already reached Paris and Barcelona, and I predict with a high degree of confidence it will reach California around the end of the day. Time to roll this topic over. Happy New Year, everyone! [Read entire topic]

#71: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Wed 31 Dec 08 15:25

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:25:00 PST

> We once had an employer call us asking us to block an employee > from logging in to the WELL from work

Somebody named Joan Walsh, I think. [Read entire topic]

#70: Gail Williams (gail) Wed 31 Dec 08 15:08

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:08:00 PST

Funny. Obsession during worktime fuels all websites.

Gaming, news, conversation, hobbies, shopping... The chart for unique readers of Salon runs high from 9:00 am Eastern to 5:00 pm Pacific, then tapers off overnight, for example. Stolen time from employers keeps the 'net economy going, seems to me!

We once had an employer call us asking us to block an employee from logging in to the WELL from work! Then-manager Maurice told him he had to control his own employee. Everybody wants somebody else to play bad cop but that was hilarious!

Thanks for a great round of news tidbits for 2008, Ron. [Read entire topic]

#69: Autumn Storhaug (autumn) Mon 29 Dec 08 19:50

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:50:00 PST

I wonder what the people in <wow.ind.> would say about that item. [Read entire topic]

#68: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Mon 29 Dec 08 19:25

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:25:00 PST

Guild Master of the Unemployable

According to a story in today's paper (<http://tinyurl.com/7lwdtq>), "employers specifically instruct [recruiters] not to send them World of Warcraft players. ... there is a belief that WoW players cannot give 100 percent because their focus is elsewhere, their sleeping patterns are often not great ... Whether or not battling with a level 70 night elf hunter through dungeons in Outland translates to real-world talents is debatable, but with the popularity of multiplayer online games surging, it also may be unrealistic for employers to screen for applicants who participate in them. ... the number of subscribers to the title [exceeds] 11 million players worldwide. ... As one commenter put it rather bluntly, 'It's like telling them you*re into BDSM or something - once they know they*ll always look at you differently.'" [Read entire topic]

#67: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Thu 20 Nov 08 10:25

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:25:00 PST

Save A Tree

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/business/media/20mag.html>

PC Magazine will cease to appear in paper form after 27 years, according to publisher Ziff Davis. It joins a list that includes the Christian Science Monitor, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and CosmoGirl. [Read entire topic]

#66: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Wed 12 Nov 08 08:50

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:50:00 PST

High-speed Internet Access Over Power Lines, Back in the News

From <http://tinyurl.com/5ef9sc> or if you prefer <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h34ExZwCNNQ6JAorv-5jiHL3l_TwD94D69O80>,

"IBM to help build broadband network in power lines

NEW YORK (AP) - IBM Corp. is throwing its considerable weight behind an idea that seemed to have faded: broadband Internet access delivered over ordinary power lines. The technology has been around for decades, but most efforts to implement the idea on a broad scale have failed to live up to expectations." ..and so on.

Targeted at rural customers, this one may succeed where others have failed. Time will tell. [Read entire topic]

#65: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Mon 3 Nov 08 12:55

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:55:00 PST

Good News, Bad News

In <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/technology/companies/03security.html>

" On Security, Microsoft Reports Progress and Alarm Microsoft plans to report on Monday [in its twice-a-year 'Security Intelligence Report'] that the security of its Windows operating system has significantly improved, while at the same time the threat of computer viruses, frauds and other online scourges has become much more serious."

(More at <http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-03SIRv5PR.mspx>). [Read entire topic]

#64: Cleave the general ear (ronks) Thu 23 Oct 08 13:54

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:54:00 PDT

Not really business, but too interesting to pass up:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7687286.stm>

"Team records 'music' from stars: scientists have recorded the sound of three stars similar to our Sun using France's Corot space telescope."

There's an Olaf Stapledon novel from 1937 where that happens, but I never expected to see it as a news story. [Read entire topic]

#63: If gopod's on our side s/he'll stop the next war (karish) Tue 21 Oct 08 12:22

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:22:00 PDT

So, Van Eck phreaking can be done against keyboards. Should we be surprised?

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Eck_phreaking> [Read entire topic]