Privacy and the moral hazard of surveillance
Whenever government surveillance is debated, someone inevitably pooh-poohs the subject as cause for alarm: after all, people overshare so much sensitive personal information with services like Facebook that there’s hardly anything to be gleaned from state surveillance that isn’t already there for the taking on “social media.”
I don’t question the assertion that people overshare on social networks – that is, people share information in ways that they later come to regret. The consequences of oversharing range [...]
Marks and Spencer sees profits fall
21 May 2013
Last updated at 02:21 ET
MS’s clothing division has been struggling in recent years.
Marks and Spencer has reported a big fall in profits, despite rising sales across the group.
Pre-tax profits fell to £564.3m, down from £658m last year, despite group sales rising 1.3% to £10bn for the year to 30 March.
While underlying sales of food rose 1.7%, sales of general merchandise – which includes clothing – fell 4.1% in the year.
Chief executive Marc Bolland described the market as “challengin [...]
The world’s best racquet-sport player?
By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport
When it’s put to him that he might be the most talented athlete in the world to hold a racquet, a bashful Ramy Ashour admits “that’s pretty great”.
The 25-year-old Egyptian is more than just the current squash world number one – his elastic, unorthodox brilliance and charisma could be the key to squash breaking out beyond its four walls and regaining a place on the wider sporting stage.
[...]
Cole: Tornado slams ‘my hometown’
Rep. Tom Cole grew emotional on CNN on Monday while surveying the damage of the tornado, which wreaked havoc in the neighborhoods surrounding Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma Republican, who calls the city of Moore his home, was shaken as he pointed out barely recognizable areas in light of the destruction.
Continue Reading
“This is actually my hometown,” Cole told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer over the phone, calling in from D.C. “I talked to my wife. I can literally recognize the homes and the businesses. I just saw my clean [...]
Opening doors to foldable electronics with inkjet-printed graphene
Imagine a bendable tablet computer or an electronic newspaper that could fold to fit in a pocket. The technology for these devices may not be so far off. Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that is highly conductive and tolerant to bending, and they have used it to inkjet-print graphene patterns that could be used for extremely detailed, conductive electrodes.
The resulting patterns are 250 times more conductive than previous attempts to print graphene-based electronic patterns and could be a s [...]
Boot up: Intel v big data, wearable and health, Apple on tax, Google Island and more
A burst of 9 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
Intel’s data economy initiative aims to help people capture the value of personal data MIT Technology Review
Intel is a $53bn-a-year company that enjoys a near monopoly on the computer chips that go into PCs. But when it comes to the data underlying big companies like Facebook and Google, it says it wants to “return power to the people.”
Intel Labs, the company’s RD arm, is launching an initiative around what it calls the “data economy [...]
IT firm sacks Indian chief executive
21 May 2013
Last updated at 02:14 ET
Phaneesh Murthy is one of India’s best-known IT executives
The Indian chief executive of outsourcing firm iGATE, Phaneesh Murthy, has been sacked “for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate”.
Mr Murthy had “violated iGATE policy” by failing to report this relationship, the firm said in a statement.
The firm said it had also investigated “a claim of sexual harassment” against Mr Murthy and found that he had not violated the firm’ [...]
Swansea must keep Williams
Midfielder Leon Britton says it is vital Swansea City captain Ashley Williams stays at the Liberty Stadium.
Williams, who has impressed during Swansea’s Premier League campaign, has been linked with a move to Arsenal and Liverpool this summer.
The 28-year-old signed a new three-year contract with the Swans in October.
“It is vitally important that we keep someone like Ashley. He has been fantastic since he joined us and he is the captain now,” said Britton.
ASHLEY WILLIAMS FACT FILE
[...]
Senate debates farm bill
The Senate’s farm bill debate opened Monday with the White House pledging its support but signaling that President Barack Obama still wants Congress to find more savings from the crop insurance program before the five-year package reaches his desk.
Indeed, the crop insurance title was the immediate target Monday of an amendment by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) seeking to eliminate taxpayer supported coverage for tobacco producers. Waiting in the wings are more broadly written Senate amendments, seeking to cut [...]
Intestinal bacteria protect against E. coli O157:H7
A cocktail of non-pathogenic bacteria naturally occurring in the digestive tract of healthy humans can protect against a potentially lethal E. coli infection in animal models according to research presented today at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, could have important implications for the prevention or even treatment of this disease. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen [...]
Fiat’s YouTube hit shows adverts breaking down borders online
Arianna featuring Pitbull’s Fiat promo Sexy People has been viewed about 5.5m times on YouTube in less than three weeks.
As technology slowly removes the distinction between content watched on a television and content viewed on a computer screen or mobile device, it’s increasingly difficult to draw an absolute distinction between programming and advertising.
Strictly enforced broadcasting regulations ensure that television viewers are protected from over-zealous advertisers, but it’s a different story i [...]
Vermont passes law allowing doctor-assisted suicide
By Jason McLure
Mon May 20, 2013 3:14pm EDT
(Reuters) – Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives.
The law, which includes a number of safeguards over the next three years as the state adapts, marked the first time a U.S. state has used the legislative process to make assisted suicide legal. Oregon and Washington have similar laws passed through ballot measures and a Montana court authorize [...]