Category: Uncategorized

Reuters: Senate clears bankruptcy overhaul. “This bill is a wish list for the credit card industry and a nightmare for vulnerable families and vulnerable citizens in this country,'' said the legislation's chief foe, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone. “Bankruptcy has been a safety net. It is being shredded.'' You don't see much sense of responsibility… Continue reading Senate clears bankruptcy overhaul

USA TODAY – GAO testers got into e-filed tax data. In a test last year of e-filing systems at the IRS, congressional investigators were able to tap into taxpayers' electronically filed tax returns, according to a government report issued Thursday. The report by investigators at the General Accounting Office says the breach uncovered “serious weaknesses”… Continue reading USA TODAY

Pay for play.. Salon: Pay for play. “Why does radio suck? Because most stations play only the songs the record companies pay them to. And things are going to get worse.”… [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

ZDNN: Microsoft nabs scheduling service for .Net. The start-up's WebAppoint service was launched in the fall of 1999. It allows people to schedule appointments over the Internet. WebAppoint links consumers and companies, and it provides extra capabilities, such as confirmation of appointments via phone or fax. [Tomalak's Realm]

IBM developerWorks: Debunking the myths of UI design. Software development would benefit greatly from extensive study by sociologists, anthropologists, and clinical psychologists. As we await such analyses, let's document some beliefs embedded in the culture of software development, specifically about user interface design. [Tomalak's Realm]

William Safire has an excellent opinion piece in the New York Times, blasting “opt-out” legislation as a “fraud and a sham.” [free registration required] “We want a large red button next to the slot for our credit card at the checkout counter that says 'I consent.' If we choose not to push it, the store… Continue reading opinion piece

Technology News from Wired News – Smile, You're On Scan Camera. Do you know that face scans are being used at casinos, ATMs, and at the welfare office? Do you know that such technologies aren't 100 percent accurate? [ … ] The government is scurrying to work the kinks out of the existing technology through… Continue reading Wired News

David Strom: Weblogs, a Window on the Influential. “Now e-mailing a writer is common, and weblogs represent the next step.”

ZDNet: Interactive Week: Beware Of The E-Mail Joke Police. A new e-mail monitoring system from SurfControl that is set for release in mid-April is able to watch incoming e-mail and block commonly reported jokes, hoaxes, spam and image attachments, as well as stop sensitive outgoing data. The software scans incoming and outgoing messages, and can… Continue reading Beware Of The E-Mail Joke Police

David Winer, UserLand Software: Once upon a time, a very long time ago I said that one day I would ask you to run a Web server on your desktop. I promised it would it be interesting and fun and simple. Well, today is that day.