Technology

Porn Industry Beats Hollywood to Internet DVDs

Staff / Truthdig May 16, 2006 Pornography titan Vivid Entertainment will sell adult films through the Internet that can be burned to DVDs and watched on TVs. "Leave it to the porn industry once again to take the lead on this stuff," says a think-tank analyst. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Free the Internet: The Movie

Staff / Truthdig May 11, 2006 If you're disturbed by the thought of Internet service providers deciding which websites you can have access to, watch this short, entertaining and disturbing movie that crystalizes the battle now being waged over this issue in Washington and the blogosphere. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Hacker Gets Five Years in Prison

Staff / Truthdig May 9, 2006 The 20-year-old set out to damage computer networks and send massive amounts of spam. Any computer user who has ever been the victim of a virus, worm or Trojan horse shall be excused the schadenfreude he or she feels at the news of this lengthy prison sentence. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The NSA: Fostering a New Generation of Code Breakers

Staff / Truthdig May 7, 2006 The presumed next head of the CIA, Gen. Michael Hayden, once ran the National Security Agency. Fine. It's got a cartoon picture that leads to a kid-friendly site called Cryptokids: America's Future Codemakers and Codebreakers. It's filled with decryption games and NSA employment resources. Huh? Cartoons appeal to 7-year-olds. How many of them are going to be surfing the NSA's website? And if the agency is trying to recruit high school students, why use a cartoon turtle as a roper? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Differing Views on Net Neutrality

Staff / Truthdig May 2, 2006 Rep. Ed Markey just introduced a net neutrality bill, which would prevent the creation of a two-tier Internet, with faster access for those Web companies that can pay for it. Check out the N.Y. Times' defense of neutrality, and a Washington Post Op-Ed argument against it. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Sex in a Spray’ Draws Concerns About an ‘Age of McNookie’

Staff / Truthdig Apr 24, 2006 PT-141, a nasal spray that is perhaps the world's first legitimate aphrodisiac, may hit the market in under three years. The Observer wonders whether such a "sure thing" will trivialize the emotional aspect of relationships. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Save the Internet (No Joke)

Staff / Truthdig Apr 23, 2006 A coalition of conservatives and progressives has formed to defeat a law that would allow Internet provider companies to decide which sites load up the fastest--based on who pays them the most. Such a law would upend the even playing field that every site on the Web now enjoys. Check it out and contact your congressperson. When a right-wing blog like Instapundit and a left-wing organization like MoveOn.org get together on something, it's worth paying attention to. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Future Sex: Gizmos, Robots, Teledildonics

Staff / Truthdig Apr 18, 2006 America's top sex researchers envision a mainstream adoption of technologies like "teledildonics," which allows remote mutual manipulation of devices like vibrators. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Republicans Defeat Net Neutrality Proposal

Staff / Truthdig Apr 12, 2006 Remember John Edwards' "Two Americas"? Well, a House subcommittee just moved us closer to a country of "Two Internets," in which only the wealthy will enjoy the fastest connection speeds. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Google’s Wi-Fi Plan Stirs Big Brother Concerns

Staff / Truthdig Apr 12, 2006 The company's free wireless service in San Francisco would allow Google to monitor all its users' whereabouts--ostensibly to serve up location-specific advertising. The feeling you just got? That would be the hairs on the back on your neck rising. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House

Staff / Truthdig Apr 11, 2006 Democrats say Republican officials made two dozen calls to the White House in 2002 as part of a plot to tie up get-out-the-vote efforts in New Hampshire's 2002 Senate race. There are already three federal convictions and a pending indictment in the case. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

White House Admits Lag in Bioterror Effort

Staff / Truthdig Apr 7, 2006 Bush & Co. still don't have a comprehensive plan to deal with bioterror threats--despite two years of planning and billions in appropriations. The alleged culprit: bureaucratic inertia. "I can't help but think we are not prepared if, God forbid, any of these catastrophes were to be visited upon the United States," says a congresswoman. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )