Spam wastes enough electricity to power 2.4 million U.S. homes for a year
Yahoo!Tech writes that “[t]here are plenty of reasons to hate spammers. Add this to the list: They're environmentally unfriendly. A report [released today] by security company McAfee Inc. finds that spammers are a scourge to your inbox and the environment, generating an astounding 62 trillion junk e-mails in 2008 that wasted enough electricity to power 2.4 million U.S. homes for a year. The ‘Carbon Footprint of E-mail Spam Report’ estimated the computational power needed to process spam — from criminals [...]
EU sues UK over Phorm
According to Yahoo!Tech, “[t]he European Commission began legal action against the U.K. Tuesday over its failure to protect Internet users from Phorm -- a covert behavioral advertising technology tested by the U.K.'s biggest fixed line operator, BT, in 2006 and 2007. The move signals growing concern in Brussels over the way new Internet-based technologies are using people's personal data. In addition to taking legal action against the U.K., the Commission also issued a general warning to all 27 E.U. countries [...]
From “e”-Government to “we”-Government: ACT Open Government Event on Tuesday
ACT will host an event on open government on Tuesday, Apr 14 from 9:30 to 10:45am. It's at the newly opened Capitol Visitors Center, Congressional Meeting Room South (the new main entrance to the U.S. Capitol, is located on the East front at First Street and East Capitol Street, NE). Coffee and morning snacks will be served. Join us to discuss how we can move from merely posting information online (e-government) to a more participatory process (we-government). We’ll discuss core [...]
EU mulls granting tax breaks for cross-border research projects
According to the Financial Times, “cross-border research projects in Europe could be set for billions of euros in tax breaks under proposals that will be considered by European Union ministers in coming weeks. As part of a broader plan to step up EU investment in research, Brussels is proposing to create a group of schemes called “European research infrastructure” (ERI) projects. These would need to involve at least two member states, have legitimate research objectives, and be “non-economic” in nature. [...]
France adopts “three strikes and you’re out” law
The Register reports that the French National Assembly has now voted through its “three strikes law” designed to clamp down on file-sharing and illegal downloads. Yahoo!News reveals that “IBM cut its offer for Sun Microsystems Inc to $9.55 a share after a thorough vetting and may soon unveil details of its largest- ever takeover, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. But the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal, said that price [...]
Yep, That’s Their Business Model
Just a week after a widely read news story about how Twitter, three years in, doesn’t have a business model, here comes the news today is that Google is in late stage talks to buy Twitter. Gosh, I wish someone had suggested last week that lack of a business model is, actually, a form of a business model and means for cashing in.That’s all for now. I’m off to make some Lotto picks.