bizwriter - Slashdot User

Submission + - Amazon Marketplace vendors sell swastika-bearing products (inc.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Monday December 15, 2014 @07:02AM

bizwriter writes: After Sears was criticized in October for allowing a swastika-bearing ring to sell on its marketplace, now Amazon has apparently allowed third parties to sell swastika and other Nazi-related products on its system. Except, instead of one product, there are dozens.

Submission + - Toxic Chemicals Taint Many Halloween Costumes, Products (dailyfinance.com) 1

Submitted by bizwriter on Thursday October 23, 2014 @06:46AM

bizwriter writes: Getting ready for a night of trick or treating with the kids or grandkids? Better check that store-bought costume or bag, because it may be packed with toxic chemicals, according to a study out today by the nonprofit Ecology Center's HealthyStuff.org project.

Submission + - 10 Most Unbelievable Excuses People Gave When Calling In Sick (inc.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Thursday October 23, 2014 @06:28AM

bizwriter writes: The top ten most ridiculous excuses that CareerBuilder.com heard on a survey conducted by Harris Poll of 3,103 workers and 2,203 hiring managers and human resource professionals.

Submission + - The Latest Climate Change Denial Fact Twisting (forbes.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Tuesday July 15, 2014 @06:41AM

bizwriter writes: A new report from libertarian think tank Heartland Institute claims that new government data debunks the concept of global climate change. However, an examination of the full data and some critical consideration shows that the organization, whether unintentionally or deliberately, has inaccurately characterized and misrepresented the information and what it shows.

Submission + - CEOs who make outragous pecentages of company revenues (dailyfinance.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Friday June 27, 2014 @12:50PM

bizwriter writes: Top earning Charif Souki of Cheniere Energy had a compensation package last year of almost $142 million, even as company revenue was $267 million with a loss of $554 million. His pay package was more than half company revenue. It turns out that hundreds of companies devote 1 percent or more — sometimes a lot more — of their revenue to pay their CEOs, including heads of such tech companies as Zynga, Splunk, TripAdvisor, Progress Software, and zulily.

Submission + - The 69 Words GM Employees Can Never Say (aol.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Tuesday May 20, 2014 @09:26AM

bizwriter writes: General Motors put together its take on a George Carlin list of words you can't say. Engineering employees were shown 69 words and phrases that were not to be used in emails, presentations, or memos. They include: defect, defective, safety, safety related, dangerous, bad, and critical. You know, words that the average person, in the context of the millions of cars that GM has recalled, might understand as indicative of underlying problems at the company. Oh, terribly sorry, "problem" was on the list as well.

Submission + - Facebook post engagement drops but monthly engagement up for companies (inc.com) 1

Submitted by bizwriter on Wednesday May 14, 2014 @09:12AM

bizwriter writes: PR and ad agency Ogilvy reported that the audience reach for unpaid company posts on Facebook is dropping significantly. It led to marketers panicking that all their efforts to get liked on the social network would be worthless. But a new report counter-intuitively shows that even as per-post reach drops, total monthly reach can grow.

Submission + - Lawyer Loses It in Letter to Patent Office (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Monday April 29, 2013 @08:04AM

bizwriter writes: If innovation is fascinating and has enormous implications for business, reading patent applications themselves will make most people's eyes glaze over. But every now and then something quirky happens. Take this attorney who, angry over a patent examiner's rejection of his client's application, wondering if the examiner is drunk or just mentally slow.

Submission + - USPTO has 89% patent allowance rate (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Tuesday March 26, 2013 @11:02AM

bizwriter writes: A new study shows that the US Patent and Trademark Office ultimately allowed 89% of patent applications last year, which likely means more bad and unreasonable patents. The rate, which was historically around 60%, started trending up when ex-IBM patent head David Kappos was put in charge of the USPTO. It's faster to allow a patent and the agency has been trying to at least stem the growth of its enormous backlog of applications.

Submission + - Swedish Language Council Pressured By Google (thelocal.se)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 26, 2013 @11:01AM

An anonymous reader writes: In December 2012 the Swedish Language Council, a semi-official body regulating the Swedish language, unveiled its customary annual list of new Swedish words. Among the words that Swedes had begun using in 2012 was "ogooglebar" ('ungoogleable'). The word was to be used to describe something "that you can't find on the web with the use of a search engine", according to the Language Council. Google soon got into a huff, asking the council to amend its definition. Google wanted the council to specify that the word's definition only covered searches performed using Google, and not searches involving other search engines. However, the language experts instead chose to remove the term altogether. According to Language Council's head Ann Cederberg, the Council could have compromised with Google's requests, but decided to instead spark a debate. "It would go against our principles, and the principles of language. Google has forgotten one thing: language development doesn't care about brand protection."

Submission + - GSA system showed SSNs for 183K contractors (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @10:34PM

bizwriter writes: A software glitch in the government procurement system for contractor work exposed significant amounts of sensitive data of individuals and companies registered as federal contractors — including Social Security numbers and bank account numbers for 183,000 individuals. The problem could leave many potentially open to a significant threat of identity theft.

Submission + - Amazon AutoRip: ripping off copyright? (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Wednesday February 20, 2013 @02:29PM

bizwriter writes: Amazon's new AutoRip feature puts digital versions of most CDs you buy from them (assuming they've negotiated the rights) into a cloud player. They won't if you mark the CD as a gift because they depend on court decisions that say you can rip CDs you buy for personal use. But if you don't mark the order as a gift although you plan to give it away, even if you're shipping it to someone else, they still put the tracks into your cloud player. And that technically puts you into the position of violating copyright and Amazon's terms of service.

Submission + - Google out patents Apple in 2012 (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Friday January 11, 2013 @10:45AM

bizwriter writes: The tech titans rank among the top 50 U.S. companies in the number of patents they racked up — but they're far from No. 1. Number 2? Samsung. Better not plan on an early end to the mobile patent wars.

Submission + - No, Apple doesn't own the mobile "page turn" (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by bizwriter on Monday November 19, 2012 @11:51AM

bizwriter writes: Nick Bilton at the New York Times reported that Apple owns the on-screen page turn because of a recent patent. Just one problem: it doesn't because Bilton and his editors misunderstood what they were reading and didn't do enough extra research to question the premise.

Submission + - How the SEC Almost Shut Down Wall Street (go.com)

Submitted by

concealment

on Monday November 19, 2012 @09:15AM

concealment writes: "Computers owned by the Securities and Exchange Commission Trading and Markets division were brought by SEC staffers to a hacker convention. They contained unencrypted, step-by-step instructions to shut down our financial trading system. Essentially: A Hacker's Guide to our Financial Universe.

Sophisticated algorithms or complex malware were not required to crash the world's largest exchanges (and with them the world economy). No need for security clearance. A common thief could have hit the lottery with these babies."

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