Forgot Your Password?

‘FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?’ MAY BE WEAKEST LINK

Almost everyone forgets a Web site password once in a while. When you do, you click on the familiar "Forgot your password?" link and, after entering your pet's name, identifying your high school mascot or answering some other seemingly obscure questions, you can get back into your account.

But there's a problem: A criminal can do that, too. With the help of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, personal trivia is getting less obscure all the time. You’d be surprised how easily someone can uncover Fido's name or your alma mater with a little creative searching.

False Advertising?

Side by side video comparison of the iPhone 3G TV commercial vs. replicating it on the real 3G network. I love my iPhone, but these guys raise a good point...



Random aside: The use of on-screen stickies as captions is pretty clever :)

(via TUAW)

Lost & Found

Thought this was pretty cool.

Just got an email from the Coachella festival. Starts off as a typical marketing "touching base" type email, but it includes this section:

LOST & FOUND
Once again we have successfully reunited many people with their lost items. We still have an assortment of random stuff so please email info@coachella.com if you are looking for an ID, Wallet or anything else and check out these links:

Cameras: http://coachella.com/cameras.html
Keys & Misc: http://coachella.com/keysmisc.html
Bags: http://coachella.com/bags.html
Glasses: http://coachella.com/glasses.html

Each link has a photograph to numbered items from lost and found, with a note that if it's yours to email the number and something that can prove it is yours (what's inside a bag, what photos may be on a camera, etc.)

A nice little above and beyond customer service touch.

(Though I don't know how one can describe: "Hey! That's my iPod dock and charger!" in a unique way...)

Won One!

One small step for man, one giant leap for modern technology...

FCC rules Comcast violated Internet access policy

WASHINGTON - A divided Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Comcast Corp. violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers and has ordered the cable giant to change the way it manages its network.
In a precedent-setting move, the FCC by a 3-2 vote on Friday enforced a policy that guarantees customers open access to the Internet.

The commission did not assess a fine, but ordered the company to stop cutting off transfers of large data files among customers who use a special type of "file-sharing" software.

Guessing Gender Based on Web History

Interesting in concept...

Using your browser URL history to estimate gender

...though it pegged me with an 83% likelihood of being female based on this history list:

Site - Male/Female Ratio

google.com - 0.98
myspace.com - 0.74
youtube.com - 1
wikipedia.org - 1.08
amazon.com - 0.9
facebook.com - 0.83
blogger.com - 1.06
flickr.com - 1.15
mlb.com - 1.33
time.com - 1.44
wamu.com - 0.85
snopes.com - 0.74
americanexpress.com - 0.98
linkedin.com - 0.94
amtrak.com - 0.75
godaddy.com - 1.17
metropcs.com - 0.77
lulu.com - 0.96
spinner.com - 0.8
abc.com - 0.47

Crowd Wisdom or Angry Mob?

When the 'wisdom of crowds' turns on itself: IMDB edition

Interesting article about how "The Dark Knight" became the #1 all time movie on IMDB - passing "The Godfather" in their rankings for the first time in 10 years.

People aren't just giving perfect ratings to Batman; they are intentionally tanking The Godfather's rating too...

Are Google Maps good or evil?

Are Google Maps good or evil?

Thought provoking, albeit a bit sensationalistic. All new technology can have its evil uses, though generally speaking the pros outweigh the cons in the end.

Should I Stay or Should I Tow?

I'll refrain from getting into the whole story for the moment and put out another opinion poll:

Car partially obstructing a narrow driveway. Need to leave for work and can't get out without jumping the curb (if at all).


Let it stay or have it towed? Vote in the comments.

(UPDATE 7/22 -- see comments)

Death to Voicemail

I've felt the same way for years...

Think Before You Voicemail

"Voicemail is dead. Please tell everyone so they’ll stop using it."

Walk This Way

The holy grail of mapping is about to get holier:

Google Maps takes steps toward walking directions

Quote of the Day

User comment on the BBC News story regarding ICANN relaxing top level domain names:

"Surely this will be nothing more than very, very irritating for people who want to use the internet?"

Server Room

Hilariously awkward...and allegedly true!

Stalled Server Room

(via The Daily WTF)

I...am totally...BLIND!!!

Online service lets blind surf the Internet from any computer, anywhere

Visions of future technology don't involve being chained to a desktop machine. People move from home computers to work computers to mobile devices; public kiosks pop up in libraries, schools and hotels; and people increasingly store everything from e-mail to spreadsheets on the Web.

But for the roughly 10 million people in the United States who are blind or visually impaired, using a computer has, so far, required special screen-reading software typically installed only on their own machines.

New software, called WebAnywhere, launched today lets blind and visually impaired people surf the Web on the go. The tool developed at the University of Washington turns screen-reading into an Internet service that reads aloud Web text on any computer with speakers or headphone connections.

"This is for situations where someone who's blind can't use their own computer but still wants access to the Internet. At a museum, at a library, at a public kiosk, at a friend's house, at the airport," said Richard Ladner, a UW professor of computer science and engineering. The free program and both audio and video demonstrations are at http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu.

Internet Easter Eggs

I never knew about a lot of these. Some pretty cool stuff, though they aren't Gino's famous Surfboard Etch-A-Sketch or the classic "BoRyan and the Magic Sword" Site Search easter egg.

10 awesome Internet Easter eggs

I'm actually wondering why I never tried entering the Konami code on a webpage, since I secretly do it on most DVDs...

And still nobody has found either of the two Timely Persuasion easter eggs, hint hint.

Sarcasm and Survival

Sarcasm Seen as Evolutionary Survival Skill

It's also easy to imagine how sarcasm might be selected over time as evolutionarily crucial. Imagine two ancient humans running across the savannah with a hungry lion in pursuit. One guy says to the other, "Are we having fun yet?" and the other just looks blank and stops to figure out what in the world his pal meant by that remark. End of friendship, end of one guy's contribution to the future of the human gene pool.

Dash Express GPS adds Twitter functionality

The Dash Express GPS has an open API. Since they opened it up a few weeks ago, several applications have come out, mostly weather and speed trap reporting. The social micro-blogging service Twitter has now been added. When you activate the application is sends out a tweet that marks your location. I think this is just a little taste of what's to come with new GPS enabled iPhone.

Checking In Outside The Box

Hustle & Flow
Alaska Airlines' Airport of the Future makes quick work of getting passengers through check-in.

The results? During my two hours of observation in Seattle, an Alaska agent processed 46 passengers, while her counterpart at United managed just 22. United's agents lose precious time hauling bags and walking the length of the ticket counter to reach customers. Alaska agents stand at a station with belts on each side, assisting one passenger while a second traveler places luggage on the free belt. With just a slight turn, the agent can assist the next customer. "We considered having three belts," White says. "But then the agent has to take a step. That's wasted time."

Alaska, then, is likely to save almost $8 million a year on the Seattle terminal if it converts customers the way it has in Anchorage. The Seattle makeover cost $28 million, a far cry from a new $500 million terminal.

(via SvN)

Dad's Day

In the spirit of Anti-Valentines (and to a certain degree, Married To The Sea), check out some father's day cards from someecards.com


For more:

SomeEcards: Father's Day

(indirectly discovered via CupKozy)

Google VP of Search Quality

Interesting behind the scenes interview, via Webware

At Google, a search guru's dream comes true

"I don't have to tell anybody around here that search is important. That's a very nice luxury to have,"

Pong!

Multitouch, Multiscreen iPhone Pong:



via TUAW