internet / Top Stories
Not enough Facebook friends? Buy themSYDNEY (Reuters) - Who says you can't buy friends? An Australian online marketing company is selling friends and fans to Facebook members after offering a similar service to Twitter users.
Reuters Thursday, September 03, 2009Jetstar unveils thin client, BYO laptop visionJETSTAR plans to replace its entire fleet of airport computers with thin clients, buy netbooks and look at a bring-your-own laptop scheme.
Australian IT Thursday, September 03, 2009Virtual detectives stalk in-game spammersLAS VEGAS, Nevada (Reuters) -
gamers
competing against rivals around the globe in online multiplayer games have a new force protecting them -- teams of virtual detectives.
Reuters Thursday, September 03, 2009Global CIO: Citrix CEO Templeton On Killing IT Inertia Before It Kills YouColumn about Citrix philosophy of virtualization, optimization and centralization to help CIOs lower IT costs and increase business agility.
Information Week Thursday, September 03, 2009Nokia Netbook Tips Price ScaleThe Booklet 3G has a 10-inch display, 12-hour battery life, Windows 7 OS, and will cost more than double most other mini-laptops.
Information Week Thursday, September 03, 2009Nokia seeking developers' help in Apple rivalrySTUTTGART (Reuters) - Nokia Oyj said on Thursday it would start to open its software platforms to external developers in a bid to boost the quantity and quality of software for Nokia phones.
Reuters Thursday, September 03, 2009Salesforce.com Aims Service At Individuals, Smallest BusinessesThe service, priced at $9 per user per month, allows users to store and manage contacts and accounts online.
Information Week Thursday, September 03, 2009Monitor: Only humans allowedComputing: Can online puzzles that force internet users to prove that they really are human be kept secure from attackers?ON THE internet, goes the old joke, nobody knows you’re a dog. This is untrue, of course. There are many situations where internet users are required to prove that they are human—not because they might be dogs, but because they might be nefarious pieces of software trying to gain access to things. That is why, when you try to post a message on a blog, sign up with a new website or make a purchase online, you will often be asked to examine an image of mangled text and type the letters into a box. Because humans are much better at pattern recognition than software, these online puzzles—called CAPTCHAs—can help prevent spammers from using software to automate the creation of large numbers of bogus e-mail accounts, for example.Unlike a user login, which proves a specific identity, CAPTCHAs merely show that “there’s really a human on t
Economist Thursday, September 03, 2009Journalists in jail: The price of truthFor reporters, a moment of fear SRI LANKA was always a hard place for hacks; but by any standards, 20 years’ jail is a harsh penalty for a newsman doing his job. That term was meted out this week to J.S. Tissainayagam on terrorism charges, after he criticised the army’s treatment of Tamil civilians. The government says he stoked ethnic discord with false reports; human-rights groups say the state is cracking down harder in an already dire environment. Some 14 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since 2006. All in all, this is proving a bad year for journalists. More are in jail than at any time since the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based advocacy group, began keeping records. Of the 174 held, some may go free soon; but as a crackdown in Iran demonstrates, there is also a risk that more will join them. ...
Economist Thursday, September 03, 2009Selling designer goods online: When cheap is exclusiveHard times for luxury retailers are good times for discount fashion websitesTHE racks of expensive gowns and shoes sit, serene and mostly untouched, on the floors of Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s and almost every fancy department store. In a sign of how consumers’ newfound thrift has hurt luxury retailers, Saks Incorporated, the
parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, recently announced losses of more than $50m in the three months to July. Sales are down more than 20%. The recession, it seems, has spelt an end to Americans’ appetite for luxury—at department-store prices, at any rate.Yet luxury e-tailers, which sell designer goods online at discounted prices, are flourishing. The slowdown has actually helped them, simultaneously producing seemingly endless supplies of unsold inventory and forcing consumers to tighten their belts. That has let American e-tailers such as Gilt Groupe, HauteLook and Rue La La, and their French rival Vente-privee.co
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