Internet

An upcoming revamp of Microsoft's search engine Bing will allow users to pose queries on Facebook. It's the first visible partnership of its type between the two Internet companies. The new tools will come in the form of a separate sidebar. As long ... as users are signed in to Facebook (meaning they must have an account), the sidebar will be active each time a Bing search is made. Bing, Facebook Coordinate Search Results Once users have typed in their query, the sidebar will come up with a list of Facebook friends that Bing believes may be able to help out. For example, if users search on a ... (view more)

Facebook has unveiled a plan that it hopes will encourage people to register as organ donors. It's an important move, because less than half of all American adults are currently signed up as organ donors, leaving a shortage of organs for ... transplants. At the moment, the most common way to formally consent to organ donation is to register when applying for a driver's license. A doctor quoted by the New York Times said this wasn't the best situation for everyone, however, because drawing the connection between driving an automobile and donating organs makes for an eerie feeling. (Source: nytimes ... (view more)

These days there are fewer and fewer people who say they don't regularly use the world wide web. According to a new report from Pew, which frequently studies the evolving relationship between people and technology, in 1995 about one in ten adult ... Americans used the web. Today, the ratio is closer to 4 in 5. (Source: eweek.com ) Nevertheless, nearly everyone knows someone, somewhere, who outright refuses to go online. The new study reveals that a large chunk of those 'no-Net' people stay away because they simply have no interest in using the Internet. Bored With Online Technology According to ... (view more)

A man who wants to launch an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that puts privacy first has raised more than $40,000 in a single day. However, he says it will take at least $1 million before the company can get off the ground. The project, known as the ... Calyx Institute, was stimulated by a 2004 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) request for an ISP to provide information about its customers, accompanied by an order not to reveal that such a demand had been made. Nicholas Merrill was running that ISP, and he was stunned by the request. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ... (view more)

Facebook has launched a new tool that allows its users to compare how much electricity they consume and compare the number with their Facebook friends. The idea is to give millions of people some added incentive to cut down on their wasted ... electricity. The free application allows users to link their Facebook memberships to their power company accounts. As long as they give permission, they'll automatically have their total monthly power consumption published on their Facebook pages. The new tool will then rank each user against all their friends with the power-counting app installed. This ... (view more)

Imagine you could walk into any bar, cafe or club and immediately identify which women were single, learn their names, and instantly send them a message via smartphone. For many of us, that might seem a dream come true. But a surprising number of ... people find the idea at least a little creepy. No Hacking Required To Uncover Personal Data Perhaps the most surprising thing about the new "Girls Around You" tool is that it doesn't involve any hacking, snooping, or other illegal behavior. The software works entirely by mining information that women have made publicly available, although ... (view more)

Mozilla has unveiled the first version of a new browser specially tailored to work with Microsoft's upcoming operating system (OS), Windows 8. The new edition of Firefox utilizes the Metro interface, which is expected to become a central element of ... the new Windows 8 user experience. The Metro feature is primarily designed for effective use of touchscreen devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, and any PCs that incorporate a touchscreen display. The Metro interface is most notable for displaying information in special "tiles" that can easily be moved around on the screen and ... (view more)

Congress has rejected a bill that would have barred employers from demanding workers reveal their passwords for social networking sites. The vote won't have any immediate effect, but could lead to further legal cases on the issue. The U.S. House of ... Representatives considered the topic as part of a wider bill that aims to limit the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by restricting the way it makes new regulations. There's no guarantee the bill itself would ever become law. Even if it passed the House, it may be rejected by the Senate or vetoed by the President. Representative ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it wants consumers to know exactly what private details about them a company is collecting, storing, using, and sharing. The new regulations would be part of a plan to encourage businesses to be more ... transparent, open and honest about how they treat their customers' personal information. The FTC already has sufficient powers to establish mandatory regulations about how businesses treat their customers. In this matter, however, the agency has sought approval from Congress, suggesting that the contemplated changes would be substantial enough to go beyond ... (view more)

A new survey suggests social media users frequently engage in political discussions with their friends online, and although they don't always agree on the subject, their differences rarely prompt a break in the relationship. The study, which ... involved interviews with 2,253 adults, comes from the Pew Internet ... (view more)