Edited by author 11-23-2007 08:52 AM

That database! Identity matters!

It's impossible to draw all the lessons we need from the child benefit database fiasco. But there were three relevant seminars in London that same week.

Wendy went to them all...
 

My New Best Friend

It's Facebook time. That's not like "face time" but it's equally embarrassing, says this week's net.wars column.

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The End of Hats As We Know Them

It's been an apocalyptic year, with too many air miles, says this week's net.wars column. Fancy starting a fight about energy?

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Ask me in Room 101

Big Brother - the ultimate nightmare is, surely, where The Government knows more about you than your family does.

Did you enjoy the movie Gattaca? Wendy says she did, in this week's net.wars column - "but I wouldn't want to live there..."

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Auto-invasion?

It's probably true that I'm happy to scratch my own arse - and yet would be really unhappy if the Government (or someone off Facebook!) tried the same operation on my sensitive spots. Is this a new law of the Internet?

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Linden dollars may not be gambled!

It's illegal to gamble online in the US (not that this actually stops the habit, but there...) and therefore it must be illegal to have an online Casino in Second Life.

But it's not illegal for paedophiles to access web sites. So is MySpace entitled to ban them from MySpace access?

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Too few votes cast?

It's a theory, sure: "Without passionate supporters there would be no candidates." If e-voting bores the pants off everybody, will there be politicians?

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I didn't write this...

Wendy was the one who mentioned Wayne Crookes on NewsWireless.

Nonetheless, if she offended him then (it turns out) It's All My Fault.

And if you linked to NewsWireless - no matter that you linked to an article on WiFi antenna design - then you're equally culpable.

I don't mind sharing my opinion on this subject with the world: I think that if Crookes really is sueing people on this grand a scale, then he has "issues" which are probably better resolved by a therapist than in Court. It's not that I don't sympathise with someone who has been libelled: I do! But surely, all you have to do is establish that the statement complained of is libellous and unfair? Why take down everybody else in a world war about it?

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Edited by author 06-01-2007 11:51 AM

The Whites - and the sunny side...

Always look on the sunny side - no, the bright side. No, dammit, that's the Pythons. Anyway, Google can make you feel cheerful.

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Britney Spears!

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Fie on levitation!

Can Uri Geller bend spoons? Can other people use his lessons to do so? Hard to say. But here's an easier question to answer: Does Geller own copyright in a 15-minute video, in which there is a three second quotation from some of his own footage?

Edited by author 05-11-2007 10:51 AM

Not just ID cards

Would British technology be further ahead, or further behind if we hadn't had a Blair in charge?

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Secret History

Or, a history of secrets. It's a good question as to whether secrets and freedom and privacy are compatible...

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Minute Life? Hour Life?

It's not just InfoSEcurity that fascinates our resident Second Life Coach this week. No, she's been sent to cover a second-world event...

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net.wars: two networks

Wendy summarises: because the two markets – wireless phones and the Internet – have developed from opposite directions, we have two network neutrality debates, not one. The wonder is that it took us so long to notice.

See this week's column...

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Power Voting!

Some people (get this) are still pretending that US voting machines are not thoroughly corrupt! This column suggests why you should ignore them...

 

Autonomy for Web users

Fancy doing a piece to the CFP audience next year?

Well, why not tell Wendy what your speech would cover? She might even get you in...
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