Cyber-Bullying doesn't have an age limit

On September 22, an 18-year old Rutgers student named Tyler Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. What led him to this fate? Two fellow Rutgers University students, one being his roommate, decided that it was a good idea to videotape Tyler Clementi without him knowing while he was with his significant other, which happened to be another guy. One of the students posted on his Twitter feed information about what was happening and details on watching the acts live. It is clear in the situation that the people involved in this are cold-hearted individuals who do not value others privacy. It also shows that these people have no problem taking advantage of what technology offers for bad reasons. I agree with the author that these individuals should be frowned upon and convicted for involuntary manslaughter at the least, but I also think there is something more important to take from this story. There are people everyday that are victims of cyber bullying. I hope that any victims look at this story and know that there will always be people that will bully others. I also hope they learn that physical bullying or cyber bulling is never an excuse to kill yourself. This story teaches the value of life and the power of technology.

Can't get enough of Google!

Two nights ago, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric. E. Schmidt appeared on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. A few weeks ago, he made a controversial comments regarding information put up by young people on Facebook. He basically encouraged them to delete all their information and change their names. What the media didn't realize is that this was a joke and was taken out of context.

The Consumer Watchdog organization created a group called Inside Google. This group is promoting awareness to people about how Google intrudes in our privacy, and also encourages individuals to create and participate in "Do Not Track Me Lists." They recently played a video in Times Square regarding this situation, starring CEO Eric E. Schmidt.

Was this fair of Consumer Watchdog? I think they have an interesting idea but the CEO is not the one to blame. When discussing the internet, we can't blame companies like Google for exposing information when we are the ones dumping the information in the system.

Tech Today: Skyhook Wireless Vs. Google

The argument in the article "Competitor Sues Google Over Location Software for Smartphones" highlights the notion that Google stole certain technology patented by Skyhook Wireless. This article is interesting, but the unsettling information I took from it has to do with people and how little privacy technology gives us. Two years ago, CNN teamed up with Skyhook Wireless during elections to show where their correspondents were. At the end of the explanation, one of the anchors exclaimed, "That is creepy!" Although we all may think that we are safe since we don't have the required device to be tracked, WRONG. "Google has notified cellphone makes that they need to use Google's location service as a condition of using Google's Android smartphone operating system." So far all of you with smartphones/android phones, I would make sure you are not currently being tracked, unless you want to...