Articles on What Do You Think?


Google’s New Related Searches “Wonder Wheel” Offers Terms Related to Your Search  379 Views (comments)
Some of you may have already seen the new option which Google offers when you do a Google search - it's called the Google WonderWheel. The Google Wonder Wheel offers you a graphical representation of related searches - that is, searches related to your initial search. It is similar to "mind mapping", which seems to be the newest info-fad.

Apple Media Pad Tablet Rumoured on the Horizon - and on Verizon  558 Views (comments)
Rumours of an Apple Media Pad - a cellular-enabled touch-screen device larger than an iPhone but smaller than a traditional laptop or tablet - are swirling. And it would seem that rumours of the Mac Media Pad are more than just rumours, as industry insiders confirm the imminant announcement of the Apple Media Pad (which may be or be the precursor to the much-awaited Apple Tablet), as well as that they are to be offered through Verizon, along with a Verizon iPhone light version. (Although it won't be called "iPhone Lite", it is rumoured to be a stripped-down version of the iPhone, modified to work on the Verizon CDMA network.)

BBC Rents a Russian Botnet and Spams and DOSes in Name of Journalism  471 Views (comments)
The BBC is under fire today for a stunt that it pulled a few days ago, in which it rented a Russian bot net (also sometimes called a spam bot), and then sent millions of pieces of spam, and DOSed a corporate server.

SpyPig: Another Service to Spy On Whether Someone Read the Email You Sent Them  1,615 Views (This article has 3 comments)
Even though we've heard hardly a peep about email tracking software service Did They Read It since they first burst on the scene more than four years ago, another email read tracking service has bellied up to the email tracking trough in the form of SpyPig.

New Facebook Terms of Service: All Your Content Are Belong to Us - Forever!  841 Views (This article has 6 comments)
Facebook (FB) has recently updated their Terms of Service (TOS), and among the new changes is this dandy: once you post something to Facebook you can't take it back. Meaning that even if you close your account, by using Face book you have granted them a perpetual, eternal license to do whatever they want with your content.

Offline Gmail Announced: Use Gmail Offline on Your Desktop or Laptop Even with No Internet Connection  610 Views (comments)
Google has announced today that a new feature is available in the Google Labs: Offline Gmail. With Offline Gmail you can access your Gmail email right on your own desktop or laptop computer, even when you are not connected to the Internet.

Proposed Law Would Require Cell Phone Cameras to Make “Click” Sound  663 Views (This article has 2 comments)
A new proposed Federal camera phone law would require all cell phone cameras to make a "click" sound when snapping a picture (to emulate the sound of a shutter snap), and would further require that there be no means of disabling the click sound. The proposed "Camera Phone Predator Alert Act", introduced by Republican Congressman Peter King, from New York, is presumably aimed at reducing the instances of upskirting, and of people surreptitiously using their cell phone to snap pictures of credit cards and other identity-stealing activity.

Is Cyber Sex a Viable Alternative to Risky Behavior for Teens?  1,378 Views (This article has 1 comment)
A new study conducted by the unlikely pair of Cosmo Girl and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has found that teens are "going sex crazy in cyberspace." Teens and cybersex are, apparently, a natural combination. So, why not encourage it as an alternative to in-person sex, which is so much riskier?

1500 Watch as Teen Commits Suicide in Front of His Webcam  1,636 Views (This article has 4 comments)
Abraham K. Biggs, known as Candy Junkie on the BodyBuilding .com forums that he frequented, had threatened to commit suicide many times. However, last week, he really meant it. And so it was that Abraham Biggs downed an overdose of anti-depressent medications, and hundreds of people watched his webcam while he died.

Woman Turns to Online Apple Community to Confirm Philandering Husband  991 Views (comments)
A woman whose husband sent a picture of himself, in a compromising position, to another woman, has turned to the online Apple community for help in confirming that her husband is cheating on her.

Email Autoresponder Leads to Embarrasing Road Sign  1,537 Views (This article has 1 comment)
Many accounts of what we're about to tell you are saying that it illustrates the dangers of email and autoresponders - but we think that it's really about the danger of not using your brain. It all started in Wales, when the Swansea council needed an English phrase translated into Welsch for a new road sign.

Website Lets You Tell People They’ve Been Exposed to an STD - Even If They Haven’t  1,370 Views (comments)
inSpot.org is a website which lets you anonymously notify someone by email that they have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as a venereal disease (VD) or even HIV / AIDS. Even if they haven't.

Is Your Yahoo Profile Deleted, Missing or Blank? Yahoo Did It on Purpose  1,473 Views (comments)
Over the weekend, Yahoo quietly "upgraded" their profile system, resulting, intentionally, in a great deal of user data - specifically profile and alias data - being removed.

Why You Should Have Redundant Backups of Your Computer Data  1,152 Views (This article has 1 comment)
You may have noticed that there was no new article on The Internet Patrol yesterday. That's because my hard drive crashed, which meant that a) I had no way to write and post an article, and b) I spent all day dealing with a dead computer. Long-time readers will remember that the same thing happened to me last year, and may wonder if I'd learned my lesson. You bet I did. And now I'm going to talk to you about why you need a redundant backup system, with a portable backup device as well as an online backup solution.

New Amazon Payments Checkout Program Gives Paypal and Google Checkout a Run for Your Money - with 1-Click Buying!  1,283 Views (comments)
Amazon has just launched a new Amazon payments checkout program called Checkout by Amazon. A direct competitor to Paypal and Google Checkout, Checkout by Amazon is Amazon's latest attempt to position itself as oh-so-much-more than just a place for you to buy books, and just about everything else. But Checkout by Amazon offers something else that nobody else has - the famous Amazon 1-Click payment button!

AT&T GPS Comes of Age with AT&T Navigator Global Edition  1,596 Views (This article has 1 comment)
AT&T has announced the roll-out of their AT&T Navigator Global Edition. This truly global cell phone GPS system allows AT&T customers to use their GPS-enabled AT&T phones to navigate with GPS all around the world.

Don’t Link to PDF Files Unless You Make Clear That it’s a PDF Download!  1,590 Views (This article has 6 comments)
You know what I can't stand? When I click on a link on a website - to go to another page - and it ends up being a PDF download instead. Now, I have nothing against PDF downloads, but I do have something against finding myself downloading and opening PDF files without warning. C'mon people, put a "download PDF file" or "read PDF file" link there, or at least a warning that says "clicking this link will download a pdf file." (In case you are wondering "What is a PDF file?" or "What does PDF stand for?", 'PDF' stands for "Portable Document Format", and it is a format that was developed by the Adobe corporation.)

eBay Slammed Over Sales of Fake Purses - Fined $74Million  1,533 Views (This article has 4 comments)
Auction giant eBay was recently fined more than 74million dollars for allowing the sale of knock-off designer purses to go unabated.

Family Guy MacFarLane’s Google Ads Videos Cause Big Stir  775 Views (comments)
There has been a big stir created by the announcement that Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has signed on with Google to create exclusive video cartoon content for their Adsense ad network. But we think that the big stir is no more than a tempest in a teapot.

When Emails Haunt You - The Saga of William Korman and Dianna Abdala  6,832 Views (This article has 60 comments)
Remember that when you commit something to writing, people may read it. A lot of people. This is a lesson which new law school graduate Dianna Abdala is in the process of learning after having declined a job with the law firm of William Korman in a series of unusual and bizarre emails.

What Do You Think ISPs Should Do About Their Customers with Infected and Infested PCs?  1,259 Views (This article has 17 comments)
We all know that a large amount of spam comes through personal computers which are connected to the Internet, and which have been hijacked - turned into "zombies" - by viruses, Trojans and the like. But did you know that, according to SpamHaus, nearly ...
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