37 States Join Ongoing Google Investigation
Google’s “Street View” Cars Used To Gather Personal Data From Unsecured Wireless Networks?
For the last month, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has been leading an investigation into the improper use of Google’s Street View camera cars to gather personal information from unsecured wireless networks. These Street View cars are supposed to take photos of roads and buildings, and store these photos to digital servers for use in the company’s popular Google Maps online service. But the multi-state investigation, in which Blumenthal has been joined by the attorney generals of 37 other states, has uncovered that these cars were also used to improperly gather private information including e-mails, passwords and other personal data. The investigation follows similar cases in Australia and Germany, and may lead to changes in federal and/or state laws regarding the use of wireless technology to gather information from unprotected wireless networks.
Launched in 2007, Google Maps’ Street View feature uses cars to photograph street layouts and buildings in every direction, converting photos to digital environments that can be navigated virtually from any computer with an Internet connection. But Google did not disclose that these camera cars also detect Wi-Fi access points, in order to help the onboard computers determine their exact locations without the use of satellite-based GPS systems. While connected to these access points, the Street View cars collected approximately 600 gigabytes of data from unsecured wireless networks over a period of three years. According to Google, this gathering of information was accidental, but the attorney generals leading the probe are not so sure.
According to Blumenthal, Google’s responses “continue to generate more questions than they answer. Now the question is how [Google] may have used – and secured – all this private information.” A spokesman for Google said that the company made a mistake in including the code that collected the “payload data” from wireless networks, but that the company does not believe it has broken any laws, and is continuing to work with the “relevant authorities” to address their concerns. Last week, Blumenthal sent a third letter to Google, asking how much testing was done on the Street View software before it was put to use, and suggesting that adequate testing should have revealed the supposed “glitch” responsible for the Street View cars’ collection of personal data. At press time, Google had not issued a response.
The “Street View” feature of Google’s popular online maps service has raised some interesting questions when it comes to issues of privacy. While most Americans seem perfectly contented to have their homes, businesses, cars, and even themselves photographically mapped out in Google’s all-encompassing “mapplication,” residents of other countries, notably the UK, are less anxious to join the Google Maps party.
If you’re a Hollywood buff or photography enthusiast with cash to spare, you could be in for a treat this week. On March 26th and 27th, thousands of classic glamour photographs from Hollywood photographers like George Hurrell will be auctioned off by a respected dealer called Profiles in History, which specializes in vintage signed photographs and manuscripts, historical autographs, letters, and other guaranteed-authentic original documents. Classic photographs of movie stars from Jean Harlow to George Clooney will be available for auction to the public, but don’t expect to nab a classic photo on the cheap. The dealer expects to fetch over $20,000 for Hurrell’s iconic Vanity Fair portrait of Jean Harlow on a white bearskin rug.
As the makers of Guinness beer happily remind visitors to the brand’s Dublin museum, “everyone’s Irish on March 17th.” Indeed, St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated by Americans of various ethnic backgrounds, and annual St. Patrick’s Day parades in the U.S. date all the way back to 1737, when the first one was held in Boston. But for many Irish-Americans, St. Patrick’s Day is also part of Irish-American Heritage Month, which is a time to recognize and celebrate Irish history and family heritage. While many Irish and non-Irish Americans join in on the wearing of green and the merrymaking on March 17th, most of us miss out on the opportunity to explore and celebrate our family heritage throughout the month of March. One great way of doing this it to make a photo family tree on your computer.
With digital cameras and photo scanning becoming more and more common, many of us have large collections of digital photos. And though this trend of moving photos to digital has made life easier in many ways, it brings with it new complications. Sure, emailing photos is a piece of cake, but what’s the best way to display your digital photos in the kitchen? Or in the living room? And how should you show grandma the photos of your latest trip to Disneyland when you visit her this weekend?
One of the largest and most famous Spring Festivals anywhere in the United States, the San Francisco Chinese New Year celebration is a month-long affair, with pageants, parades, street fairs, and performances by Lion and dragon dancers. Each year, a new Miss Chinatown is crowned at the annual Pageant and Coronation Ball, and the Chinese New Year Run raises funds for the YMCA’s youth and teen programs. But for many San Franciscans, the biggest and most spectacular event is the well-known Chinese New Year Parade, which is one of the few remaining illuminated parades, and is always held at night.
The recent disaster of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has sparked an enormous response from Americans. Volunteers from across the globe continue to travel to Haiti to provide much needed health care, cleanup, and other services, while millions of Americans have donated money to aide the relief efforts. Even during this difficult time, the people of Haiti remain hopeful that there are better times ahead, and many world leaders, including President Obama, have expressed hope that the recovery process will grow into a full-fledged rebuilding process for the Haitian nation.
You never know what you’ll find in the attic – it could be a picture like this, dusty and crinkled from age, but rich with history.
Trailers are making a comeback.
Today, you can find tricked-out trailers and trucks selling just about every dish under the sun. Cupcakes, snow cones, waffles, crepes and even pork rib roast, rabbit and lamb. In Austin, there’s a parking lot in the ultra hip “SoCo” (South Congress) neighborhood that’s become ground zero for food trucks. In New York, trucks frequently change locations to make the most of the masses (and perhaps escape ticketing officers!).
Kogi, of course, isn’t the first food truck to appeal to mainstream America – we all remember the ice cream trucks of our youth, right? But Kogi is the first food truck to utilize social media so effectively to alert customers of its location, to introduce new menu items and get instant feedback on its dishes, and to generate intense buzz about its brand. That marketing innovation makes it a pioneer in this evolving field.
