The iPod Battery Controversy Hits The Mainstream

The discussion about iPod batteries has entered the mainstream. You may recall posts on this blog a few weeks back about two brothers who took their complaint that Apple would not replace their worn out battery — saying the warranty had expired, and suggesting they buy a new iPod — public, via a video posted … Read more

Who Are The White Knights In The War On Spam?

I know this appallingly cynical of me, but I can’t help worrying about the most recent development in the War On Spam. That, in case you hadn’t heard, is the news of a ‘fighting cooperative’ as Jupiter Research’s Microsoft Monitor puts it, between Microsoft and New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer, who have together … Read more

Electronic Voting And The Criminal Connection

The story of electronic voting machines, and the company that makes many of them, continues to roll along. I wrote in a column a few weeks back (Beware E-Voting, 20 November 2003, Far Eastern Economic Review; subscription required) about Bev Harris, a 52-year old grandmother from near Seattle, who discovered 40,000 computer files at the … Read more

Scam Watch — Code Fish And The Phishers

One guy who’s done great stuff detailing and researching the efforts of spammers, scammers and phishers Down Under is Daniel McNamara of Code Fish, a site for students of Linux. He’s just launched a new site today dedicated to “to following and exposing spam scams” which will include some of his detailed dissections of some … Read more