Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail users will be exempt from the (Irish) government’s new telecoms surveillance bill, according to industry experts. The Retention of Data Bill, published by the Minister for Justice to combat serious criminal offences, compels internet and telephone operators to retain customer data on calls, texts and e-mails for up to two…
Tiburon wants to photograph every car
Visitors should be prepared to have their pictures taken as they enter and leave this picturesque town of million-dollar views and homes along the San Francisco Bay. Officials want to photograph every car and use the license plate information to solve crimes in the town of 9,000. Critics see the plan as an intrusion into…
Amazon Kindles a debate
On Friday, The New York Times reported that Amazon had remotely deleted some digital editions of books from the Kindle devices of readers who had bought them. Ironically, the books were George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm. Amazon’s explanation was that the company that had provided the books didn’t have the rights to the books:…
Real ID — a real pain
If you’re planning on using up those frequent-flier miles, you might want to make the trip before the end of the year. Unless Congress or the Obama administration takes action on a shortsighted national security law approved in response to the 9/11 attacks, the nation’s air travel system will get turbulent on Jan. 1, 2010….