Information Age

Microsoft Protests NSA Taps (I Hear The Crinkly Sounds Of A Bag Being Pulled Over My Head)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Microsoft Protests NSA Taps (I Hear The Crinkly Sounds Of A Bag Being Pulled Over My Head)

That the NSA might have tapped into Microsoft’s “cloud” services, along with Google’s and Yahoo’s, turned into a publicity nightmare. Now Microsoft, which collaborates tightly with the NSA and other agencies on a host of projects, counter-attacks. With very mixed results.

Why Bitcoin Is Such Dizzying Fun

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Why Bitcoin Is Such Dizzying Fun

Even as the world was still desperately trying to figure out what exactly Bitcoin is, it was inducted into the Wall Street hype factory today by an analyst who touted it as the best thing since sliced bread – just when all heck was re-breaking out.

How Much Is My Private Data Worth? (Google Just Offered Me Money)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on How Much Is My Private Data Worth? (Google Just Offered Me Money)

The first thing I noticed after I’d removed the glossy brochure from the envelope was the crisp $5 bill. I’m a sucker for free money. After peeling it off the letter, I started reading. It was from Google and involved a lot more money – in return for just about all my private data.

Seems The NSA Spied On Me When I Lived In Belgium

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Seems The NSA Spied On Me When I Lived In Belgium

Another Edward Snowden revelation indicates that I, a humble, incoherent, harmless, and (mostly) law-abiding American, may have gotten tangled up in the NSA’s vast spying dragnet for inexplicable reasons of national security. It’s getting personal.

Use Bitcoin As A Currency, Get Wiped Out (The Government Likes It That Way)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Use Bitcoin As A Currency, Get Wiped Out (The Government Likes It That Way)

Four years after its creation, folks are still arguing over what bitcoin is: “investment opportunity of the millennium,” “part of a societal revolution,” a security, a currency, a casino token? Whatever. But US regulators now have a strategy for killing it as a currency.

NSA Spying Crushes US Tech Companies in Emerging Markets (“An Industry Phenomenon,” Says Cisco’s Chambers)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on NSA Spying Crushes US Tech Companies in Emerging Markets (“An Industry Phenomenon,” Says Cisco’s Chambers)

Cisco CEO John Chambers had a euphemism for it during the earnings call: “challenging political dynamics” in China, without ever naming the NSA. Then there was India and others, including Russia where Snowden is holed up, and where sales outright collapsed.

Nobel Peace Prize, Asylum for Snowden: Germans Turn Up Heat

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Nobel Peace Prize, Asylum for Snowden: Germans Turn Up Heat

While the US government wants to get its hands on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and crucify him properly, the German government remains red-faced and tangled up in its own underwear. Yet among Germans, and their politicians, support for him is surging.

NSA’s “MUSCULAR” Secretly Breaks Into The Cloud Of US Tech Companies, Siphons Off Data, Fouls Up Revenues Overseas

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on NSA’s “MUSCULAR” Secretly Breaks Into The Cloud Of US Tech Companies, Siphons Off Data, Fouls Up Revenues Overseas

The seamless, borderless surveillance society has a new dimension: MUSCULAR. Under it, the NSA and British GCHQ secretly break into the “clouds” of US companies to syphon off user data on a large scale. Illegal in the US. But the cloud is a worldwide phenomenon.

Politicians Are All Jabbering About Creating Jobs (Doing What?)

by James Murray •  • Comments Off on Politicians Are All Jabbering About Creating Jobs (Doing What?)

By James Murray: Computer power has reached the point where almost anything can be automated, and computer pricing has reached the point where it is profitable to do so. The world is undergoing a mega shift, and governments have no clue how to handle the problem.

OMG, Those “Who Truly Rule The World”

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on OMG, Those “Who Truly Rule The World”

Most powerful person in the world? Putin! Sez Forbes. At least, it wasn’t Merkel, who has been throwing her weight around when she found out that her Handy had been bugged by the NSA, just like our cellphones. We have to take it; she gets to make a big stink and gripe to Obama on the (bugged) phone.