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IP&TV World Forum, Day 2: The Future March 22, 2012 I'm attending the IP&TV World Forum, aka the Internet Protocol Television Show, at the Olympia exhibition hall in sunny London. I have been checking out technologies being deployed in Europe that we may be seeing state-side very soon. HbbTV is a hybrid television delivery system available now in some European countries that combines synchronized broadcast with broadband.

Taming That Spaghetti of Wires Taking Over Your Home March 22, 2012 New home construction and remodeling projects, from a multimedia wiring angle, have the advantage of incorporating cable management at the design stage. That design is structured into the build. Unfortunately, existing homes don't have this luxury -- tearing into walls is disruptive and expensive.

Nokia May Turn Tattoos Into More Than Body Art March 20, 2012 Today a tattoo is a popular way of showing off a little individuality, but historically tattoos were used as a form of communication. Roman soldiers and slaves were tattooed on the hands, arms or even face as a way to alert those around them to their status, allowing authorities to more easily keep track of those in bondage. Soon tattoos might be used for communication again -- but for a very different purpose.

Big Biker Hangout: The Web March 20, 2012 When biker Robert Swidersky learned about BikerOrNot.com from his son a few years ago, he decided he'd give it a shot. "The more I used it, the more I found things I liked," said Swidersky. "I was informed about rides and events around me, and I could also inform others about rides and events, meet people, and create a fan page as to where I can share my hobbies or interests, or join other peoples' fan pages."

Google's Great New Adventure March 20, 2012 Today we would say that the first implementation of PageRank was a form of crowdsourcing. The crowd was early webmasters, and they helped determine the relevancy of Web pages by linking to them. It didn't take long for "search engine specialists" to figure out how to game the system for fun and profit. For more than a decade, these self-styled SEO specialists have been manipulating search engine results with all sorts of tactics.

Newspapers May Find Salvation in Mobile Apps March 19, 2012 Despite 17 percent growth in monthly unique users at the top news sites in 2011, revenue remained an issue, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, which cites data from Nielsen Online. Online advertising grew by 23 percent in 2011, but just five big tech companies now account for about half of all display ad revenue, notes Pew in "The State of the News Media 2012."

Windows 8 and the Perception Game March 19, 2012 Windows 8 is likely the most ambitious UI project for Microsoft since Microsoft Bob, and we all know how that ended up. For what it was intended to do, Bob was both cutting-edge and very successful. However, the bar was set too high, and it failed spectacularly. We've since seen products like the RIM PlayBook -- which was a brilliant BlackBerry accessory but not designed to be a standalone product like the iPad -- fail for similar reasons.

Google's Big Fat Search Overhaul: Just Doing What Google Does March 15, 2012 Google is rumored to be at work on new technologies and methodologies that could significantly alter the way consumers search on the Internet, as well as how brands can expect to see their ads displayed. More emphasis will be placed on semantic search, a process that takes into account the meaning of the search term inputted rather than merely recognizing keywords.

AT&T Could Lose Big in David-vs.-Goliath Match March 14, 2012 AT&T and litigant Matthew Spaccarelli are engaged in a war of words that AT&T appears to be losing. The incident began when Spaccarelli sued AT&T in small claims court in California. He charged that the company had violated his unlimited data plan agreement for his iPhone by throttling, or slowing down, his data speed. The court agreed and awarded Spaccarelli $850 for his trouble -- and the situation quickly worsened for AT&T.

3D Printing Gets a Speed Injection March 14, 2012 The Gutenberg printing press, which was invented around A.D. 1440, truly revolutionized the world. It allowed more people to have access to books, which until that time had to be manually copied by hand. Today the world is seeing another revolutionary advance in printing technology, but this time in 3D printing. The concept of 3D printing isn't that far removed from the traditional printing technique of basically casting ink on a page.

Keeping a Lid on It: New Motorcycle Helmet Technologies March 13, 2012 It's extremely important to wear helmets when riding motorcycles, according to Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, but that's not just her personal opinion -- it's based on clear facts about what happens in the case of a crash. "We know from research that every time a state repeals its motorcycle helmet laws, there's an immediate jump in deaths and brain injuries from motorcycle crashes," Gillan said.

Journalists Battle Web Censorship With Internet 'Enemies' List March 12, 2012 While developments such as the Arab Spring show the power of the Internet, there remain news blackouts, harassment of bloggers, and even attempts to shut down social media in several nations. This is one of the key findings of Reporters Without Borders, which released its annual "Enemies of the Internet" report on Monday, listing countries that curtail access to the Web and freedom of expression.

'Kony 2012': World Connects to Smoke Out Evil Warlord March 09, 2012 "Kony 2012," 30-minute online video spotlighting the atrocities of Joseph Kony, head of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, has garnered support around the globe for his removal. In 2005, Kony was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, after decades of brutal actions against people -- children in particular.

What Does One Serve With Raspberry Pi? March 09, 2012 The ultra-cheap Linux computer on a circuit board has its roots in the classroom. But the bare-bones computer, dubbed "Raspberry Pi," has potential to teach industrial embedded programmers some new tricks. Raspberry Pi, a $35 credit-card-sized computer sold without keyboard or monitor, runs several Linux distros and can hook up to a mouse, keyboard, HDTV and Ethernet.

The Privacy Shell Game, Part 2 March 09, 2012 The White House has proposed a consumer privacy bill of rights, a step that could result in new laws regarding what companies can do with information about their online customers and users. Privacy advocates are cautiously optimistic, though some fear the result will be laws rendered toothless by lobbyists. Other critics already see problems in the way the proposal is structured.

OpenSUSE, Linus' Daughter, and a Question of Security March 08, 2012 There's nothing like a rant to get the conversational ball rolling here in the Linux blogosphere, and if it can be a rant from Linus Torvalds himself, well, it doesn't get much better than that. That, in fact, is just what last week afforded in the form of a Google+ post from the father of Linux on the topic of openSUSE security. "I don't think I can talk about 'security' people without cursing, so you might want to avert your eyes now," Torvalds began.

Smartphones Are Sucking Wireless Networks Dry March 08, 2012 There are currently two different realities we have to wrestle with if we are a customer of either AT&T or Verizon Wireless. Walk into any of their wireless stores, and they will happily tell you everything the wonderful and futuristic 4G phones can do. They'll sweep you off your feet with excitement, and you'll buy, buy, buy. However, when you get home and take your phone out of the box and turn it on, reality will hit you right between the eyes.

The Privacy Shell Game, Part 1 March 07, 2012 With much fanfare, the Obama administration recently unveiled a blueprint to improve consumer privacy protections online in the United States. Components of the plan include an online consumer privacy bill of rights and a stakeholder-driven process to specify how those rights apply in specific business contexts.

LulzSec Arrests Take a Few Heads Off the Hydra March 06, 2012 Authorities in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and in Ireland, have arrested five suspected hackers affiliated with Lulz Security, more commonly known as "LulzSec," a group of so-called hacktivists. Among those arrested is Hector Xavier Monsegur, the suspected leader of the group. Monsegur, who went by the nickname "Sabu," actually cooperated with the FBI to help track and arrest the other LulzSec members.

Riding on Electricity March 06, 2012 They don't make any noise. They don't vibrate. They don't rely on the many tiny controlled explosions of internal combustion. Electric motorcycles, in short, are completely different beasts from their gasoline cousins. "It's the magic carpet ride," said Abe Askenazi, chief technology officer for electric motorcycle manufacturer Zero Motorcycles.