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Welcome, welcome, to day four of our no-punches-pulled gripe-a-thon, in which Doug, Graeme, Jared, Keith and I unfurl yearlong lists of longstanding disappointments, bellyaches and dependably tangential grievances (and hey, you may even find a few in the bunch tech-related).
Like people, companies are also capable of improving themselves, as long as they’re self-aware enough to understand their own weaknesses. With that in mind–and with New Year’s Day almost upon us–I’d like to politely suggest a few resolutions that would make great tech companies even better. (Judging from the behavior of some pretty big outfits in 2011, they could use the advice.)
Are you as excited about the new Hobbit trailer as we are? Apparently, the people at Google are also big fans because they installed a little Lord of the Rings Easter egg in Google Maps.
The Federal Trade Commission’s year-long investigation into Google’s user privacy practices only finished a few months ago, but two U.S. senators have decided that two months is too long, and have called for the FTC to look into Google all over again, this time focusing on the company’s dominance in the search industry.
Drones have been utilized by police in the past to monitor large crowds of protestors but this might be the first time a drone has been used by protestors to monitor the police. Tim Pool has modified a Parrot AR Drone to provide a live feed of Occupy Wall Street from above, offering an angle unique from all the other Occupy live feeds already providing footage of the protests across the globe.
If you’re a Verizon customer and you’re wondering what’s happened to your data service, you’re not alone. Verizon’s network has been affected by some unknown affliction overnight, leading to 3G and 4G outages across the U.S. The company has confirmed the problem, and is working on a solution.
Happy holidays early, Kindle Fire owners—the update you’ve been waiting for since Amazon’s Android-based tablet debuted has finally arrived. It’s free, over-the-air (no need for a cable or computer connection), should load in automatically and Amazon claims it fixes several of the complaints leveled at the device since its launch last month on November 15.
The government debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act may have taken a break for the holidays, with the hearings in the House of Representatives apparently delayed until an unspecified date next year, but just in case you thought the debate online might calm down, Anonymous has entered the fray.
If you thought the $4 billion charge that AT&T was left owing Deutsche Telekom after abandoning the merger with their subsidiary T-Mobile seemed a little steep, don’t worry—they’re only likely to pay a small chunk of that, thanks to the wonders of tax deductions.
It’s my turn to air some tech grievances, which is perfect because I’m about to go on vacation. If anyone has a problem with my beefs, too bad. I’ll be gone, enjoying some warm weather, not thinking about how the tech world continues to find new ways to be annoying even as technology improves our lives. Here’s what’s bothering me right now.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that hackers located in China managed to breach the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s information technology infrastructure.
