Brandon Dimmel

For those of us who follow the tech and specifically gadget industry closely, Time's recent announcement that the iPhone represents 2007's invention of the year comes as little surprise. Although the device may not have some of the long-term ... benefits associated with its competition, its commercial success is hard to deny. Released during the last days of June, demand for the iPhone led to many sweaty retail lineups. The only thing different between the iPhone launch and last winter's Wii lines was the total absence of toques. With that in mind, the iPhone has had its fair share of controversy ... (view more)

Just weeks after Microsoft made a big score by buying up part of rising web titan Facebook, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has now stated that it will be clamping down on Internet advertising. It's a measure the group hopes will ... reduce the amount of user tracking associated with the practice. According to John Leibowitz, the FTC's commissioner, the initiative is meant to keep children safe while they're clicking around online. If Mom or Dad views a not-so-appropriate site, there's a chance that marketing tools custom-designed for the individual and his or her tastes will pop ... (view more)

The government doesn't understand cybercrime. For many, that might not be much of a surprise, but the fact alone is enough to prevent any real measures in defending against the rapid growth of malicious activity on the Internet. According to a ... report last week by Toronto, Ontario's International Perspectives research group, the most significant barrier between government bodies and their ability to do something about cybercrime is simply their ignorance on the topic. Alicia Wanless, executive director of International Perspectives, argues, "I think it's difficult for the average person to get ... (view more)

The kids are are raging about two websites these days, with both boasting enough addictive content to distract them from homework, chores, and life in general. As popular as the two may be, Facebook and YouTube may be headed in very different ... directions. In past weeks, it's been announced that Facebook will be infused with Microsoft money and all-new mobile features from BlackBerry developer Research in Motion. That's good news for the social networking site that is creeping up fast on MySpace. The news hasn't been so hot for YouTube, which was recently sued for its rather natural display of ... (view more)

Tucked away behind that Iron Curtain, for a long time we didn't hear much from Eastern Europe. With the fall of the Soviet Union less than twenty years ago, travelers began to uncover more than just the area's brooding discontent. Unfortunately for ... the web's security companies Russia remains a bit wild; in fact, some might consider it a hacker haven. That's certainly the impression after the discovery of a new website that uses an impressive botnet to infect vulnerable PCs -- on demand. Although the website itself hasn't been bookmarked for immediately filling a visitor's system with malware ... (view more)

Last week, Microsoft proudly announced it was the new papa of the web's hippest and most powerful young site, Facebook. Now, even as they battle it out in other spheres, it appears both the Redmond-based company and Waterloo firm Research in Motion ... will be major contributors in shaping Facebook's future. Elsewhere in the tech world, Microsoft and Research in Motion, or RIM, are at each other's throats. Microsoft is currently unveiling its own server-based tool for managing Windows Mobile devices, dubbed "System Center Mobile Device Manager". It should provide direct competition for RIM's ... (view more)

Just last week, I happily reported that a University of California researcher had provided firm evidence that the dreaded Storm Worm virus was drying up under the heat of security companies and new, protective programs. Unfortunately, it appears to ... be a rare case. Other research suggests malicious code is instead on the rise, increasing five-fold throughout the first half of 2007. (Source: zdnet.com ) According to research conducted and released by Microsoft, the maliciousness associated with Trojans, phishing schemes, keyboard logging, and other nasty habits made an impressive jump during ... (view more)

If you're cruising along the flea market lines in the next month or so and happen upon a library of brand new video games for dirt-cheap prices, I might have an idea as to where they came from. Not long before the early morning commute a Toronto ... band of thieves made off with a whopping $300,000 worth of gaming goodness. The heist was actually made just west of Toronto in the oversized suburb of Mississauga. Well before the sun could rise on a chilly Friday morning, a thief (or two or three or enough for a good multiplayer match) broke into a freight yard on North Line West in the city. In ... (view more)

As if social networking site Facebook wasn't already enough of a titan on the web, it's about to become even more powerful. Why? Because the Redmond gods have just injected it with $240 million bucks. That's right, Microsoft recently purchased a ... minority stake in Facebook, which accepted the bid over another from search engine giant Google. The deal with Microsoft will lead to an expansion of social networking services (as if Facebook didn't already have enough), and, sigh, more advertising. For those of you who have yet to dabble in Facebook -- and that number continues to dwindle every day ... (view more)

Forget Operation Barbarossa, Overlord, or any other of those critical events that have shaped modern human history. The new attack to watch is "Operation Cyberstorm," and it's already incurred its first casualties. Launched by the Federal Bureau of ... Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Cyberstorm has been a two year undercover investigation of software fraud. It recently crushed its first four victims, Mirza Ali, his wife Sameena, Keith Griffin, and William Glushenko, all convicted of ripping off Microsoft. The quadruplet, hailing from California, Oregon, and places unknown ( ... (view more)