John Lister

If regulators have their way, cellphone companies will have to warn customers before they incur unusually high charges. It's a new program designed to prevent situations where a customer unexpectedly receives a bill for $68,505, as was the case for ... one customer in the first quarter of 2010. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the mobile industry, is proposing three new rules regarding how and when companies should tell users about potential charges beyond their normal fees. Cell Phone Bill Shock: Shocking Statistics In May, the FCC released a report suggesting that ... (view more)

The mayor of New York City has advised teachers to have no contact with pupils on social networking sites such as Facebook. It follows reports that at least three teachers have been fired or suspended over inappropriate comments made online. The ... three teachers, all based in the city, had been accused of posting comments on pupils' profile pages that were clearly unsuitable. Another teacher had reportedly offered extra credits to students that added him as a friend on Facebook: that teacher wasn't disciplined. Although nobody has attempted to defend the behavior of those posting inappropriate ... (view more)

The company behind the upcoming Medal of Honor video game has renamed an option which previously let gamers play as the Taliban. Danger Close Games says the renaming of the game is controversial and is the result of older people not understanding ... current trends in gaming. Video Game Medal of Honor Popular Amongst Gamers The main gameplay of Medal of Honor involves playing as a United States soldier fighting in Afghanistan. However, the multiplayer option, in which players form two teams to compete with one another, had one set of players controlling Taliban characters. The developers said at ... (view more)

Acer has confirmed it will include both Windows and Google Android operating systems on all its future dual-core netbooks. While the idea of a twin-system machine isn't new, this represents the biggest commitment yet by a manufacturer to the ... concept. While many end users employ Linux and Windows together, relatively few manufacturers offer both on a machine fresh out of the box. That's understandable: the logic goes that most people who'd be happy to use Linux install it themselves or opt for a Linux-only machine rather than pay for a more expensive Windows model. Acer has offered a range of ... (view more)

Toshiba has unveiled the first commercial television set that allows viewers to see three-dimensional pictures without the need to wear special glasses. But the set is very pricy and comes in two relatively small sizes. Other manufacturers have ... produced 3D sets that work without glasses before, but only to show off the idea: these will be the first available for the public to buy. 3D HTDV Sans Glasses: Big Price, Small Screens The Japanese will be the first to get an opportunity to buy the Toshiba Regza GL1, and should be available there before the end of this year in 12- and 20-inch models. ... (view more)

The United States government is said to be considering plans that would force all communications firms to make their systems available for "wiretapping" in the event of a court order. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) lawyer says the idea ... would not mean expanding the ability of law enforcement and security officials to demand access to data through the court system. Instead, the changes would deal with cases where court orders are effectively meaningless because the communications firms concerned are unable to hand over the relevant data, either because it can't be intercepted ... (view more)

When you've got as much money as Google, you can afford to try out some crazy-sounding ideas. But none are quite as wacky as the company's latest project: self-driving cars. The search engine giant has been trying out the system in California ... recently. It involves a combination of robotics, road data and processing power. Self-Driving Car Use Lasers, Radar Sensors The technology includes video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder, all of which are designed to detect the position of other vehicles and adjust the car's movement appropriately. The data was collected by Google cars ... (view more)

Verizon will issue refunds to around 15 million customers after mistakenly charging them for non-existent data use. But the company may wind up paying a bigger price for the error. Phone Users Victims of 'Technical Errors' in Billing In a statement ... attributed to deputy chief counsel Mary Coyne, the company said the mistaken bills were issued over the past several years. It said the customers did not have data plans, but were victims of technical errors, either with phone software sending and receiving "minor" data, or being billed for following web links that shouldn't have incurred data ... (view more)

Viruses get their name because, like human diseases, they can spread and multiply quickly. Now, Microsoft believes some of the tactics used to protect public health should be applied to the world of technology. Computer Virus Prevention is Key to ... Deterring Further Infections The idea comes from Scott Charney, a senior figure in Microsoft's security team. He's just published a paper named "Collective Defense: Applying Public Health Models to the Internet." In Charney's paper, he argues that while preventing individual machines from getting infected -- for example through security software -- ... (view more)

Analysis of a major worm virus that specifically targets industrial control systems shows that three-fifths of the infected machines were in Iran. There's now speculation that the country's nuclear program was the target -- and that a national ... government might have been the culprit. It has been known since July that the Stuxnet virus targeted Iran. Over a three-day period that month, 58.85 per cent of all Stuxnet-infected machines were in the country. (Source: symantec.com ) Infrastructure Under Attack The virus is carefully crafted to breach SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) ... (view more)