CNetNews.com reports on an interesting study conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project which shows that “
In a different article, CNet points out that while “[i]t’s great that President-elect Barack Obama is delivering his regularly scheduled Saturday address in both audio and video form,” his decision to upload the video of his Saturday address to YouTube is somewhat questionable. “[W]hy,” the article’s author, Dan Farber, asks, “should the incoming president, or public official, favor one Internet video service over another? Yahoo, MSN, Blip, Veoh, and other video-sharing sites shouldn't have to lobby the White House for equal time or at least some time. I am sure the choice of YouTube was practical, and has nothing to do with Google CEO Eric Schmidt's very public support of Obama. […] [But] the Obama team can create its own branded, video-sharing service neutral video player that allows anyone in the world to embed the content. That might be a more equitable way for Obama to spread his message.”
Inc.com reveals that “[s]mall Business Administration guaranteed lending appears to be collapsing, and the agency is loosening the rules on the interest rates banks can charge in order to induce more lending. According to figures provided by the agency, the total number of loans funded in the 7(a) program dropped by 30 percent in fiscal year 2008. Meanwhile, the total amount of money approved fell 11 percent, to $12.7 billion. But because these are full-year figures, they mask the more dire immediate trend. In the first five weeks of fiscal year 2009, which began October 1, dollars loaned with 7(a) guarantees have plummeted nearly 40 percent, and the number of loans approved has fallen by more than half.”
The Guardian writes that “Internet users are being warned to stay vigilant by researchers who believe that next Monday could be the worst day the year for computer attacks. After analyzing information on viruses and internet worms taken from more than 500,000 machines around the world, security experts at PC Tools have pinpointed November 24 as the potential peak of malicious software activity for 2008. The company says the increase in virus activity could be the result of internet shopping in the run-up to Christmas, as millions of users begin going online to purchase gifts for their friends and family.”
According to the International Herald Tribune, “[t]he technology industry, which resisted the global economy's growing weakness over the last year as customers kept buying laptops and iPhones, has finally succumbed to the slowdown. In the span of just a few weeks, orders for both business and consumer technology products have collapsed, and technology companies have begun laying off workers. The plunge is so severe that some executives are comparing it with the dot-com bust in 2001, when hundreds of companies disappeared and Silicon Valley lost nearly one-fifth of its jobs.”