Internet

"You'll never get anywhere by watching TV all day." That has been a popular refrain uttered by mothers for generations upon generations. Today's mothers may even be saying the same thing about the Internet's version of television, YouTube. Only, ... this time, they're wrong. You can get somewhere by watching YouTube. Well, if you attend Pitzer College, that is. Pitzer has added a new course to its curriculum. The subject: YouTube. (Source: yahoo.com ) "The class is a lot of fun but it is also meant to be serious," stated the course's instructor, Professor Alexandra Juhasz. "It's a serious class ... (view more)

In the battle to become Masters of the Web Universe, there are good guys and bad guys. Those who might be considered He-Man-heroes are web sites like CastleCops.com, which offer help to online users who have been hit by irritating malware. On the ... other end, there's Skeletor's black hat baddies, who are right now doing everything in their power to take CastleCops and others right off the web. (Source: theinquirer.net ) The strategy of malware goons is to execute what's called a "distributed denial of service," where black hat malcontents attempt to shut down a site by hitting it with a massive ... (view more)

Ah, the cost of being second fiddle to Google. For the third time since December, Yahoo will be realigning its operations. This time, the restructuring comes from new Yahoo president Susan Decker via a memo issued to employees. In the memo, Decker ... outlined a shift in focus from ads to content. Specifically, she explained that the company's top sales executive will be leaving the organization and that a new global sales organization is being developed. "Building on the success that we have had in aligning our sales and distribution organizations around customers, rather than around advertising ... (view more)

For those of us who use Yahoo Mail instead of the stiff competition from Google and Microsoft, we've been waiting on the company's new version for some time. It's now ready, and there are plenty of new features to win over Gmail and Hotmail users. ... Before the Yahoo Mail beta was initiated, the original service was nothing less than an eyesore. To date, it's still used on my parents' old computer, which languishes behind in the ever-changing tech environment. However, I've personally been using Yahoo's beta since it started, and will be amongst the first who can use its many new features. So, ... (view more)

Wikipedia, known as the "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," allows users to correct false information and further develop informative articles. But, there is a flip side to anonymous edits, and one program is now showing just who's behind some ... of these critical changes. Virgil Griffiths created WikiScanner, a tool that identifies which IP addresses are making Wikipedia edits. WikiScanner has revealed that many top companies have been using Wikipedia to bash rivals while downplaying their own fumbles. Although WikiScanner cannot identify which people are making the edits, it can trace an ... (view more)

And now for a report that is sure to surprise no one but stimulate many: Facebook users expose themselves to identity theft and virus attacks. Wagging their fingers on this one is Sophos, a well-known web security company based in Boston, MA. Sophos ... has even gone so far as to set up their own fake account, in order to develop some interesting insights on the Facebook phenomenon. Although still trailing long-time society site MySpace, Facebook is one of the fastest-growing pages on the 'net. It allows a user to create his or her own mini-site, invite chums to become their online "friends" (it ... (view more)

Yahoo! is facing legal accusations for denying the fact that it provided Chinese authorities with information in order to help them pursue political opponents. According to the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Yahoo! released private data ... concerning a Chinese journalist, Shi Tao. As a result of Yahoo's tattle, Tao was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for posting on a website called Democracy Forum. Although Yahoo! denies knowing the charges, reports suggest that before it disclosed knowledge about Tao, Yahoo! officials received a document from the Beijing State Security Bureau. The ... (view more)

Call it inevitable. As Facebook continues to take over the computer screens of bored cubicle dwellers and exhausted college students, the site has become the target of investigation at Oxford university in England. (Source: upi.com ) For those ... familiar with Facebook, it's entirely understandable that the site could be used for investigating one's activities, relationships, or general personality. Many of these details are listed on a user's page, under windows for events, groups, or simple banter between friends. Unfortunately, the administration at Oxford university, according to a few, have ... (view more)

It seems the practice of Internet "flaming", or aggressively attacking another in the digital world, has now quite literally burned a Texas man. According to reports, a Virgina resident was so disgusted with a representation of him as a "nerd" that ... he drove more than 1,300 miles to Waco, Texas (how appropriate) in order to burn down the trailer of the man responsible. The Internet side of this "flaming" episode dates to 2005, when haunted house owner and Texas resident John Anderson, 59, began posting artwork outlining his political views on a Facebook-esque picture-sharing site. Although it' ... (view more)

While she might be considered a late bloomer in technological terms, 75-year-old Sigbritt Lothberg now surfs the Internet at a blistering speed. Lothberg is the owner of a 40 gigabits-per-second, fiber-optic connection on her home computer in her ... native Karlstad City, Sweden. It is believed to be the fastest residential uplink in the world, according to Karlstad City officials. In less than two seconds, Lothberg can download a full-length movie from the comfort of her own home. Her neighbors, like the majority of those who surf the Internet, are likely to be using a connection speed that is ... (view more)