Commentary on the New “Culture of Secrecy”
Spawning a Culture of Secrecy, by Mark Tapscott, July 28. [Secrecy News]
Amazon Changes Policy For Online Product Reviews
Amazon Prods Reviewers To Stop Hiding Behind Fake Names (WSJ, $$): “Amazon changed its rules to end anonymous customer critiques in a bid to bring greater integrity to its rating system.” From Amazon: Frequently Asked Questions about Real Names
Overture’s Patent Infringment Suit Against Google
From internetnews.com an analysis of the issues involved in Overture’s patent infringement suit against Google. System and method for influencing a position on a search result list generated by a computer network search engine
Privacy Issues and Searching for Lawyers Online
Paid Listings Complicate Search for Quality Lawyers Online: “Consumers searching for a local lawyer, especially a specialist, may find little more than advertising-based listings and nothing resembling thoughtful advice online. More troubling: While some sites, like FindLaw.com, are legitimate, ad-supported directories, others such as The BestLegalServices.com collect personal information and fail to disclose …
Maryland County First in Nation With Cable Customer Service Protections
Earlier this month I posted Maryland County Considers Regulating Cable Modem Service, and as a follow-up from today’s Washington Post, this article (reg. req’d) reports that Montgomery County has passed new consumer protections requiring that “cable companies must answer the phone within 30 seconds, complete repairs within 36 hours, and refund customers for Internet service …
Website on Clinical Trials Data in the Spotlight
ClinicalTrials.gov, launched in early 2000, “provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research in human volunteers.” Users may browse for information by condition, status or sponsor, as well as search the database using keywords. This Washington Post article (reg, req’d) reviews the positive features of the service while noting that it does …
Google Prepares Website for IPO Related Docs.
The site, located here, currently states, “This page is not yet ready.”
E-Mail Fraud Continues to Lure Unsuspecting Readers
Consumers still falling for phish: “Fake e-mails fool users 28 percent of the time, study finds.” See these additional resources: MailFrontiers Email Threat Information Center The MailFrontier Phishing IQ Test FTC pushes e-mail standard
Beta Version of MSN Newsbot
“The MSNBC Newsbot (beta), powered by MSN Search Technology, is an experimental, automated news service. Newsbot gathers news from over 4,800 sources on the Internet to speed your discovery of the information you care about most. Enter a topic, interest, or news story you want to learn more about and MSNBC Newsbot will bring you …
The Challenges of Digital Data Preservation
Life has gotten even shorter in digital age Related posting, What is the Life Span of Ditigal Content on CDs & DVDs?
Two Legal Publishers Dominate Global Market
Publishers Dueling for No. 1
Google and Domain Name Disputes
From Susan Kuchinskas, interesting news of the continuing saga concerning Google’s domain name challenges, as documented in Of Boobles, Froogles and Googles. See also Google’s challenge of Froogles.com name rejected.