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Google says it will allow users to decide what should happen to their data after they die. It will allow users to have data deleted or passed on to somebody else. The new feature is called 'Inactive Account Manager' and is accessed through the main ... account settings page for your Google account. It's an opt-in service, so it will only take effect if you actively set it up. (Source: google.com ) The feature isn't triggered by your death, but by you failing to carry out any actions that require you to be logged into an account, such as checking emails. You can set the feature to activate after ... (view more)

China has launched an attack on the way Apple treats consumers through a government-controlled television station. The criticism appears to have sparked a coordinated social media campaign designed to embarrass the tech giant. Apple was among the ... companies featured on this year's installment of the "Ides of March," an annual broadcast marking World Consumer Rights Day on China Central Television Station (CCTS). CCTS is watched by hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens. Each year it examines shady practices by major businesses operating in the country. Volkswagen, which is expected ... (view more)

Facebook was recently forced to temporarily switch off a New Year's Eve messaging feature after a report suggested that private messages could be easily accessed and read by strangers. The feature is called "Midnight Delivery." It allowed Facebook ... users to send a 'Happy New Year' message to a friend. Unlike a normal message, however, the New Year's message would be "delivered" at precisely midnight. Furthermore, the message wouldn't arrive in the usual Facebook inbox. Instead, the recipient would get a link taking them to a special website called "Facebook Stories," where ... (view more)

Facebook is testing a new messaging system that will cost people $1 to send a message to a stranger. It's designed to deter spammers from using the site to annoy Facebook members, but some analysts have suggested Facebook could also be looking to ... profit from the new system. Right now you can send a Facebook message to another user for free, even if they aren't your 'friend' on the site. However, in most cases, this message will not find its way into the recipient's 'Inbox.' Instead, it will go into a separate message folder marked 'Other.' Because you won't get alerted in the same way as you ... (view more)

A U.S. senator wants to close a legal loophole that allows law enforcement officials to read private emails without first obtaining a warrant. If successful, the change would mean users of webmail services, such as Gmail and Hotmail, will receive ... extra protection against prying eyes. Private email content is currently protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986. However, email usage is far greater today than it was then, and new procedures leave open the opportunity for officials to read private emails in secret. Years ago most email users downloaded their messages, which ... (view more)

Users of Microsoft's Hotmail email service weren't welcomed by holiday greetings from their friends this past weekend. In fact, they didn't get any messages at all. Recent reports state that many users of the service found their entire email history ... deleted without warning. The deletions don't appear to be a few select cases. Instead, a significant number of Hotmail users complained of the issue on Microsoft's Windows Live support web forum. Those affected by the problem are reporting that their "Sent," "Deleted," and "Inbox" folders have been completely wiped out. Entire Hotmail Accounts ... (view more)

Microsoft representatives have promised that the forthcoming Windows 7 Phone system will be based around the way customers use their phones in their everyday lives. But when Microsoft speaks to the marketing world, it tells a different story. Kostas ... Mallios, who oversees Microsoft's Strategy and Business Development unit, recently spoke at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He spoke about the way in which Windows Phone 7 is designed to be a seamless experience for the user such that everything from social networking to multimedia is linked together smoothly. However, he also ... (view more)

Hallmark has been forced to pull a popular graduation card from its store shelves this weekend after complaints that the card makes a racist reference. Given that the electronic greeting is a little fuzzy, opinion is mixed on the legitimacy of the ... complaint. The card is a space-themed greeting for graduates of high school, or -- given the card's fairly childish tone -- public/elementary school. There are two characters speaking in the message, one named "Hoops," the other "Yoyo". Their declaration is that the world should look out for the card's recipient, who is bound to do big things. Card ... (view more)

Late last week, a number of Windows 7 users lit up Microsoft's TechNet forums with complaints that they were experiencing a dramatic decline in the battery lives of their laptop computers after upgrading from XP or Vista to Windows 7. In a recent ... statement, however, Microsoft denies the charge and has stressed that these issues are strictly hardware-related. Windows 7 Not Poisoning Batteries In some cases, un-tethered notebook PCs were going into hibernation or shutdown mode after an incredibly short period of time, leaving recent Windows 7 adopters wondering if the operating system (OS) was ... (view more)