Internet

Recently, the London Science Museum in the UK conducted a survey that asked 3,000 adults to consider the things that they could not live without on a day-to-day basis. Such a question generally causes us to consider the things necessary to ensure ... our survival: food, clean water, shelter, etc. The results of this particular poll, however, are very surprising. Technology: A Necessity or Luxury? According to the survey, Brits consider "sunshine" as their most essential item of value. Surprisingly, however, the next item in line is not clean water or food, but an Internet connection. ... (view more)

A Northern Ireland man is accusing Facebook of having a lackadaisical approach towards their age-identification system, even going so far as to sue the social network after his 12-year-old daughter began posting "explicit photos" of herself on ... multiple occasions. As it stands, the minimum age requirement for a new Facebook member is 13. The social network is currently designed for two age groups (13-17 year olds and 18+). Still, the company does not have a solid method of verifying (or even checking) a member's age. The lawsuit claims that Facebook is "guilty of negligence" and creates "a ... (view more)

Do you fancy a spin around town in Bruce Wayne's favorite ride? Then head on over to popular auction site eBay, which is reportedly selling a Batman's Batmobile for just a tad over $600,000. First off, the bad news. This Batmobile wasn't used in any ... of the Hollywood Batman movies; instead, it is a replica Batmobile built by Putsch Racing. Also, this particular Batmobile wasn't used by Christian Bale (as seen in the 'Dark Knight' version of Batman). Instead, it's a replica of the 1989 model Batmobile, which starred Michael Keaton as the masked crusader. (Source: espn1420.com ) And depending on ... (view more)

The goodwill service of "take a penny, leave a penny" appears to have undergone a hi-tech facelift thanks to a social experiment that blends the services of Twitter with the major coffee enterprise, Starbucks. A few months ago, Jonathan Stark ... purchased a Starbucks reloadable gift card. But what made "Jonathan's Card" different than the hundreds of others purchased on the same day is that he decided to post a photo of the card on his Twitter account and encouraged visitors to use it to purchase a coffee or snack free of charge. The concept is very unique. A visitor would simply have to upload ... (view more)

According to a new report, teens that spend considerable time using social networking sites are more likely to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco and marijuana. The study also provides some stunning statistics showing the extensive use of social ... networking amongst American teens. The report, which was produced by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) -- which is associated with Columbia University -- found that 70 per cent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 spend at least some time on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or another social networking site on an average day. ... (view more)

A significant increase in the number of Internet-related defamation cases in England and Wales has been blamed on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Law firm Sweet and Maxwell noted that the number of libel cases specifically referring to ... online postings rose from 7 to 16 between June 2010 and May 2011. Though that may seem low, this only includes cases that actually make it to trial, which is relatively rare given the high legal costs involved. Overall, there were only 86 such trials, meaning nearly one in five now involve the Internet rather than newspapers or other mainstream ... (view more)

Google has agreed to pay a penalty of $500 million for carrying advertising from Canadian pharmacies that illegally offer drugs to US customers. The fine will allow the company to avoid criminal charges over the issue. It is illegal to ship drugs ... into the US from outside the country as such medicines -- even when they are prescription drugs -- are not verified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the case of Canadian distributors, drugs shipped overseas also evade local regulation. In some cases such drugs may have been made outside of North America and have had no quality controls. ... (view more)

There have been numerous reports of children being bullied by classmates through online services. But now it appears that teachers are suffering similar treatment. New research by Professor Andy Phippen of Plymouth University in the United Kingdom ... found that 35 per cent of those questioned had suffered online abuse -- most notably in the form of online verbal attacks (also known as "cyber bullying"). Though the research noted that 60 per cent of the victims were female, around 70 per cent of all teachers are women, meaning the figures show men were slightly more likely to be ... (view more)

When an individual is incarcerated after committing a crime against another, their sentence is supposed to offer some peace of mind for the victims. However, in California jails, contraband smartphones are helping criminals keep tabs on their ... victims via social networking sites. This year, California corrections officials have reported receiving hundreds of complaints from victims who have been contacted by inmates from beyond prison walls. The most serious case concerns a convicted child offender who had viewed the Facebook and MySpace pages of his victim several times before mailing the ... (view more)

It might be the biggest retail company in the world, but Walmart has flat-out failed in its crusade to defeat digital music giants iTunes and Amazon.com. The company recently announced it will exit the market on August 29, 2011. Walmart opened its ... online doors to digital downloaders in beta form about eight years ago, not long after Apple first introduced its iTunes Music Store (a name since reduced to just iTunes). After some substantial testing, the final version of Walmart's digital store was unveiled in March 2004. Walmart's Low, Low Prices Not Enough Its main draw, unsurprisingly given ... (view more)