USA Today’s hip tech columnist Kevin Maney is taking a holiday break from his blog so I’m doing some guest posts for him. I’m in Argentina right now enjoying the summer and surfing the news. My hotel has WiFi everywhere and let’s just say that I’m not sitting in my room. Living [...]

continue reading.....

Those who claim that racism, sexism, and homophobia run rampant in the San Francisco Police Department got some high-powered ammunition last week. Videos posted on the Web showed police officers participating in outrageous acts – an embarrassment for the city and a strong demonstration of how technology is reshaping society
Although the videos have [...]

continue reading.....

Oh yeah – I want one of these.
Honda’s second-generation Asimo robot can run 6KM and hour (that’s 3.7 miles) and can carry drinks on a tray. Soon, it might be possible to feel as though you just landed in the middle of a Star Wars flick – bars with robot-waiters could be [...]

continue reading.....

I’m no fan of death, but a plan by a Brazilian mayor to fine people’s relatives when they die “too early” seems a little extreme. Would a stiff fine and jail time for Mom incentivize people to work out, eat right, and stop risky behaviors? hmmm….
According to this article “Gym memberships have reportedly [...]

continue reading.....

San Francisco supervisor Chris Daly is holding a hearing today “to discuss how the City can have a more consumer-driven rather than tech industry-driven process for establishing a TechConnect network in San Francisco.”
If you’d like to testify, the hearing starts at 1pm and is at City Hall, Room 263. The Pacific Research Institute will [...]

continue reading.....

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rocked the political world recently with the appointment of Susan Kennedy, Democrat and Public Utilities Commissioner (PUC) as his chief of staff. Republicans might feel snubbed, but Kennedy’s appointment is good for the technology sector.
A thriving technology sector is good for California, and next year key policy issues will [...]

continue reading.....

There’s a company called Riya that offers software to search personal photos using face recognition technology. Jennifer Granick of Stanford law school wrote a piece about it and its privacy implications, but her take is old and doesn’t see the big picture. Yes, face recognition technology changes society in ways that no longer [...]

continue reading.....

Sony used to be associated with the popular Walkman music player, but these days it’s more likely to conjure up images of nasty spyware. The company’s anti-piracy measures have created a security problem for unwary Sony customers — and highlighted the inadequacies of a key piece of federal legislation, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
On [...]

continue reading.....