Not a good week for privacy…
Canadian Big Brother
The Harper Government will be introducing a bill this week that will, if passed, allow police to better track Canadians' web habits. The law would require ISPs to install software and equipment to monitor their customers' online use. Lobbyists and even the Privacy Commissioner of Canada have warned the Harper Government that the law is invasive and a serious infringement of civil liberties. OpenMedia.ca has already started a petition against the bill. Meanwhile, Vic Toews, the Minister of Public Safety has fired back, saying that people opposing the bill (C-51) are aligning themselves with child pornographers. This will get nasty here and will probably be quashed by the Supreme Court in a few years if C-51 does pass. In the meantime, though, expect more polarization between the two sides.
American Big Brother
The FBI has placed a formal request for information about software that can mine social media. This is not going to be a great week for online privacy.
iPad3 Expected in March
AllThingsD reported that Apple will introduce the iPad3 in March. Although Apple declined to comment, the previous versions of the iPad were revealed in the first quarter of the year, January for the original iPad and March for iPad2. Maybe Apple will then reveal the proper capitalization for the iPad when the name leads a sentence.
Google Cleared to Buy Motorola
Google's $12.5 million bid for Motorola has been okayed by regulators in the US and the European Union. The only regulators left to chime in are China, Taiwan, and Israel before Google can buy the cell phone company. The purchase is to get access to Motorola Mobility's patents, though owning a company that uses Google's Android OS is a nice perk.
iPhone and iPad Factories iNspected
The Chinese factories that build Apple's iDevices are being inspected by the Fair Labor Association. The inspections follow reports of health and safety concerns and poor labour conditions in factories building the Apple products.
First Video Game's 50th Anniversary
MIT celebrated the first video game's 50th anniversary. Spacewar! was re-created during the celebrations on a computer the size of a business card. The original game was created by four students in 1961 on a Digital PDP-1 the size of a refridgerator. Hooray for progress!
App Creation App
Need an app? There'll be an app for that! A start up in Moncton, New Brunswick, is working on an app that allows users to create their own apps. Beta access has opened.
–Scott D
