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Firefox

Ads Based On Browsing History Are Coming To All Firefox Users 531

Posted by Soulskill from the just-what-you-wanted dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla has announced plans to launch a feature called "Suggested Tiles," which will provide sponsored recommendations to visit certain websites when other websites show up in the user's new tab page. The tiles will begin to show up for beta channel users next week, and the company is asking for feedback. For testing purposes, users will only see Suggested Tiles "promoting Firefox for Android, Firefox Marketplace, and other Mozilla causes." It's not yet known what websites will show up on the tiles when the feature launches later this summer. The company says, "With Suggested Tiles, we want to show the world that it is possible to do relevant advertising and content recommendations while still respecting users’ privacy and giving them control over their data."

Comment Re:Cursive (Score 1) 302

I would say that the skills I see lacking are reading, writing and basic math. Especially the first one will get you anywhere you want...

And I'd say you're right, but it's comprehension that's sorely lacking these days. Creative and critical thinking seem to lead to common sense, hence the reasons they're not taught --except to the very elite, both institutional and familial.
Education

Microsoft To Teachers: Using Pens and Paper Not Fair To Students 387

Posted by samzenpus from the are-books-still-allowed? dept.
Freshly Exhumed writes: Pens and paper have no place in the modern classroom, according to Lia De Cicco Remu, director of Partners in Learning at Microsoft Canada. "When was the last time you used a piece of chalk to express yourself?" De Cicco Remu, a former teacher, asked the Georgia Straight by phone from Toronto. "Kids don't express themselves with chalk or in cursive. Kids text." Given the Microsoft Study Finds Technology Hurting Attention Spans story posted to Slashdot in the last few days it would seem that Redmond's Marketing and R&D people are at cross-purposes.

Comment Re:call me skeptical (Score 1) 190

Fortunately, it's still up to the FBI to prove they're not lying. Now, what an American jury is willing to accept as proof is anyone's guess.

Unfortunately, you can't trust the general populace (hence, a jury of peers) to understand complex technical arguments. You also can't trust the government to offer up non-fabricated evidence.

If, at any time, a person is being watched by the gov, you can guarantee that the gov will make up any story (child porn is the easiest, I'd think) to strip you of any trust your friends and family may have had and make you look downright evil.

He probably got too close to a real exploit and they wanted to take him out.

IIRC, the real takeaway with CitizenFour was the ending where documents revealed there were open investigations on over 1.4M Americans.

Why so many? Justification of current resources/spending?
Businesses

FTC Recommends Conditions For Sale of RadioShack Customer Data 54

Posted by samzenpus from the rules-of-the-game dept.
itwbennett writes: The FTC has weighed in on the contentious issue of the proposed sale of consumer data by RadioShack, recommending that a settlement with failed online toy retailer Toysmart.com be adopted as a model for dealings going forward. Director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection Jessica L. Rich wrote in a letter to a court-appointed consumer privacy ombudsman that the agency's concerns about the transfer of customer information inconsistent with RadioShack's privacy promises "would be greatly diminished if certain conditions were met." These include: that the data was not sold standalone, and if the buyer is in the same lines of business, they agree to be bound by the same privacy policies.
Government

North Carolina Still Wants To Block Municipal Broadband 289

Posted by Soulskill from the because-competition-has-no-place-in-capitalism dept.
An anonymous reader writes: In February, when the FCC rolled out its net neutrality rules, it also voted to override state laws that let Texas and North Carolina block ISPs created by local governments and public utilities. These laws frequently leave citizens facing a monopoly or duopoly with no recourse, so the FCC abolished them. Now, North Carolina has sued the FCC to get them back. State Attorney General Roy Cooper claims, "the FCC unlawfully inserted itself between the State and the State's political subdivisions." He adds that the new rule is "arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act; and is otherwise contrary to law."
Government

GCHQ Officials Given Immunity From Hacking Charges 118

Posted by Soulskill from the government-in-CYA-mode dept.
An anonymous reader writes with news that members of British intelligence agency GCHQ have been granted immunity from prosecution for any laws they might have violated while hacking into citizens' computers or cellphones. The immunity was granted by changes to the Computer Misuse Act that weren't noticed until now, and not discussed or debated when implemented. While different legislation has long been thought to grant permission for illegal activities abroad, civil rights groups were unaware that domestic hacking activities were covered now as well. The legislative changes were passed on March 3rd, 2015, long after domestic spying became a hot-button issue, and almost a year after Privacy International and several ISPs filed complaints challenging it.
Privacy

House Votes To End Spy Agencies' Bulk Collection of Phone Data 142

Posted by timothy from the big-brother-has-his-eye-on-you-just-the-same dept.
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from a story at Reuters that gives a rare bit of good news for the Fourth Amendment: The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday that would end spy agencies' bulk collection of Americans' telephone data, setting up a potential showdown with the U.S. Senate over the program, which expires on June 1. The House voted 338-88 for the USA Freedom Act, which would end the bulk collection and instead give intelligence agencies access to telephone data and other records only when a court finds there is reasonable suspicion about a link to international terrorism.
Government

New Bill Would Repeal Patriot Act 188

Posted by Soulskill from the would-also-bake-cookies-for-every-citizen dept.
schwit1 points out a new piece of bipartisan legislation that aims to repeal the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act, which the NSA has used to justify broad domestic surveillance. House Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced the bill yesterday, calling it the Surveillance State Repeal Act (PDF). Pocan said, "This isn't just tinkering around the edges. This is a meaningful overhaul of the system, getting rid of essentially all parameters of the Patriot Act." The bill also attempts to dramatically strengthen whistleblower protections, so situations like Edward Snowden's and Thomas Drake's don't happen in the future. This legislation is not expected to get the support of Congressional leaders, but supporters hope it will at least inspire some debate about several provisions of the Patriot Act coming up for renewal in June.

Comment Re:Quote by Karl Popper (Score 1) 509

by thoughtlover (#48783479) Attached to: Anonymous Declares War Over Charlie Hebdo Attack

In short, I'm pretty sure the U.S. government is doing almost everything it possibly can to encourage extremist behavior. What I don't understand is why.

I'll tell you why... Weapons sales. Basically, that. Then Cheney's old buddies at Halliburton were given all the contracts to provide troop-support services and rebuilding contracts.

Are they trying to bring about the end of the world, or are they really that clueless?

I'd not say clueless, but shrewd. Since the inception of 'central banks', it's been the mission of the moneylenders to own every government they can. They finance both sides of an election. Those paid-for politicians are just talking heads that spew corporate FUD anywhere they can with talk of nameless, faceless people who will wage a continual war on Western nations. Who cares about the world when you have the modern-day's equivalent to 'bread and circuses'... Cheetos and YouTube.

It's pretty easy to fulfill 'prophecy' (all that end-of-the-world crap) if you already have a roadmap written out for you!
Businesses

Apple, Google Go On Trial For Wage Fixing On May 27 148

Posted by Soulskill from the get-your-tickets-now dept.
theodp writes: "PandoDaily's Mark Ames reports that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has denied the final attempt by Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe to have the class action lawsuit over hiring collusion practices tossed. The wage fixing trial is slated to begin on May 27. 'It's clearly in the defendants' interests to have this case shut down before more damaging revelations come out,' writes Ames. (Pixar, Intuit and LucasFilm have already settled.) The wage fixing cartel, which allegedly involved dozens of companies and affected one million employees, also reportedly affected innovation. 'One the most interesting misconceptions I've heard about the "Techtopus" conspiracy,' writes Ames of Google's agreement to cancel plans for an engineering center in Paris after Jobs expressed disapproval, 'is that, while these secret deals to fix recruiting were bad (and illegal), they were also needed to protect innovation by keeping teams together while avoiding spiraling costs.' Ames adds, 'In a field as critical and competitive as smartphones, Google's R&D strategy was being dictated, not by the company's board, or by its shareholders, but by a desire not to anger the CEO of a rival company.'"

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