Post I.T. -- A Technology Blog From The Washington Post - (washingtonpost.com) var SA_Message="SACategory=" + 'opinions'; if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & BANNER_FLEX_TOP ) == BANNER_FLEX_TOP ){ placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,1,'',true) ;} placeChannelNav(thisNode); makeBreadCrumbsUsingCss(thisNode); if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & TILE_RIGHT_TOP ) == TILE_RIGHT_TOP ){ placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,8,'',false) ;} if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & BIG_FLEX_RIGHT ) == BIG_FLEX_RIGHT ){ placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,6,'',true) ;}  Posted at 5:28 PM ET, 08/28/2008EA To Give Gamers a Virtual Crack at Real-World Sports Stars  Game publisher Electronic Arts and Gillette announced today that they have teamed up, with Tiger Woods, to sponsor a videogame tournament that will let the winners play sport-themed videogames against real-world sports stars.That's right: If you're good enough at Tiger Woods (the EA-published videogame), you'll get a chance to play against Tiger Woods (the man). Sports stars Roger Federer and Derek Jeter have also signed up for the event, which is scheduled to begin at the end of October.Gamers will be able to compete via Xbox 360 Live on five EA games: Tiger Woods PGA Tour, NASCAR, Madden NFL, NBA Live and FIFA Soccer. The game publisher is pitching the event as "the world's largest multisport gaming tournament."Golfer Woods has already appeared as a pitchman on Gillette commercials; the videogame franchise from EA bearing his name is about ten years old.Posted by Mike Musgrove | Permalink| Comments (0)Share This:  Technorati | if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & SKY_LEFT ) == SKY_LEFT ){ placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,3,'',true) ;} Posted at 2:37 PM ET, 08/28/2008Sprint Adds Location-based Apps to WiMax in Baltimore  Imagine walking down a Baltimore street and by using your WiMax-enabled Sprint phone, you are told a mile down on the left, you can get find your favorite Five Guys burger. But you may need to go down a different street to get there because roads are blocked by police because of an accident, according to your phone. While you are in the area, stick around for a couple hours because at 7 p.m. Kanye West will be playing at an outdoor concert by the harbor.That's the experience Sprint promises as it added today more location-based partners such as Yelp, a local business review site; Eventful, a local events guide done by map views; and Topix, a local news site. With the promise of faster access on WiMax, which the company compares to WiFi without the distance limitations of hotspots, the mobile experience around the corner is being described by carriers as one where your phone will know, based on where you are, how to direct you to any food, information, real estate and entertainment resources you may want nearby.Soon those promises can be tested as Sprint launches its faster-than-ever WiMax service that currently is projected to cover about 70 of metropolitan Baltimore.Posted by Cecilia Kang | Permalink| Comments (3)Share This: Technorati | Social Media Group Acquisition Called Off  A month ago, Livingston Communications, a local PR firm that focuses on social media, announced plans to be acquired by the Social Media Group in Toronto. Today, the two companies said, via their blogs, that the acquisition has been called off. Geoff Livingston said in a short video clip that the management styles were not a good fit and it became obvious that the combination would not work. But he said to look out for other new developments coming out of the firm soon. Posted by Kim Hart | Permalink| Comments (1)Share This: Technorati | Facebook Says It Has Contained Malware Threat Facebook says that it has put the brakes on the spread of a malicious software attack that was trying to propagate itself via the popular social networking site.In an e-mail sent last night, Facebook's director of communications, Brandee Barker, wrote:"The safety and security of our users is a top priority for Facebook. Over the past few days, we have received reports from users of spam and phishing attacks. We have also detected and contained a worm. We are investigating every report, removing false content, blocking bogus links and addressing the concerns of our users. These efforts have limited the affected users to a small percentage of those on Facebook. We encourage users with questions to check out the new Facebook Secuirty Page at www.facebook.com/security.Earlier this month, attorneys for the social networking site filed a lawsuit against a Canadian man, claiming that he had used the site's service to send over 4 million spam messages."We will continue to fight to keep Facebook safe, but also ask that users help us," wrote Barker.Posted by Mike Musgrove | Permalink| Comments (1)Share This: Technorati | Accidental Ad Blocker  Privacy advocates think the next version of Internet Explorer, the program that connects most of us to the Web, is a step in the right direction.Advertisers? Well, they're not so sure.The advertising industry is bracing for trouble from the next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, details of which were announced today, because it will offer a feature that blocks some ads and other content from third-parties that shows up on Web pages."It has the potential to undermine the economies of the Internet," said Mike Zaneis, vice president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.Most online advertising is served to Web pages by advertising networks -- third parties. Blocking the ads would cut into the money Web publishers rely on, he said. While other ad blockers have been around, this feature worries some because it would come built into the world's most popular Web browser.A Microsoft spokesman said that the feature, to be known as "InPrivate Blocking," was never designed to be an ad blocker, though "there may be ads that get blocked."Instead, it was designed to stop tracking "pixels" or pieces of code that could allow third-party sites to track users as they move around the Web."Today, sites that people don't know they visited are in a position to create a profile about where and how they browse," said Dean Hachamovitch , general manager of Internet Explorer. "People should be able to choose whether or not they want to be part of that exchange of information."Via email, Microsoft sent Web pages over for NYTimes.com, CNN.com and Washingtonpost.com showing that with or without "InPrivate Blocking," the ads came through."The new privacy controls are things we have been pushing for for a long time," said Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology.Posted by Peter Whoriskey | Permalink| Comments (24)Share This: Technorati | Facebook Reports Malware Attack Facebook is warning about a couple of scams directed at its users over the last few days.One nasty bit of malicious software attempts to lure users in with messages ranging from "You've been catched on hidden cam" to "Paris Hilton Tosses Dwarf On The Street." The messages contain a link that can take unsuspecting users to a Web page that looks like it's on YouTube. The page tells visitors that, to view the page's video, they need to click on another link to download and install updated software. Those who fall for the scam are actually installing malicious software on their systems.The worm, called "Koobface," turns compromised computers into "zombie" machines that can be used in other types of online attack. The malicious software may also include "keylogger" software which can records a computer user's keystrokes -- and potentially grab passwords when they are entered on a computer. The scam is also circulating on MySpace.Alexander Gostev, senior virus analyst at computer security firm Kaspersky Lab said in a statement that this type of attack could be a successful one for hackers. "Users are very trusting of messages left by 'friends' on social networking sites. So the likelihood of a user clicking on a link like this is very high", he said.Facebook has also been alerting users to a hoax message going around the site claiming that the site is overpopulated and that some accounts will soon be deleted.Facebook's security page offers a few common-sense suggestions for those worried about security. ("If a link or a message seems weird, don't click on it," is one tip.) The company is still investigating the malware attack, according to a PR person who responded to a query Monday.According to research firm Cloudmark, users of social networking sites are reporting that spam is on the rise. Users have reported an average of 64 spams over the last year, and 37 percent of users have noticed an increase in the number of unwanted messages received in the last six months.Posted by Mike Musgrove | Permalink| Comments (6)Share This: Technorati | Advertising Could Give Boost to Flagging Online Travel Agencies It's the height of summer vacation season, but online travel agencies are seeing a reduction in bookings thanks to the weak economy. Surveys by Forrester and Rand McNally showed that more than a quarter of travelers expect to cut back on their vacation plans this year. And the number of visitors to sites such as Expedia, Priceline, Travelocityy and Orbitz are down slightly, according to an analyst note put out this morning by Marianne Wolk, Internet analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group.Rising fuel costs and a reduction in the number of flights offered will likely dampen air bookings for these companies during the second half of the year. Fare hikes on major routes and increased surcharges for meals, extra bags and even pillows, may discourage travelers from taking to the skies. Hotel occupancy rates are also starting to decline, but online travel agencies are showing some benefits as more hotels are using their services to fill rooms. International bookings are also expected to drop slightly during the second half of the year. But there's an upside for these online travel agencies, which could see growth from advertising revenue as they monetize their traffic. Expedia is a top 25 site worldwide, and Orbitz is within the top 100 most-trafficked sites. "There is significant opportunity to increase growth and profits by monetizing this traffic--particularly lookers that do not book transactions," Wolk wrote in her note. Expedia has begun this process by generating ad revenue through its social network, TripAdvisor. But the per-user revenue is still well below that generated by sites like Shopzilla and Ebay. The goal for these travel sites is to generate advertising revenue from window-shoppers while not distracting bookers from actual transactions. Targeted, behavioral display advertising can also provide a lift to sites that have traditionally relied on revenue from transactions. Posted by Kim Hart | Permalink| Comments (2)Share This: Technorati | White House Emails go MIA Email: We can't live without it, yet we also can't seem to stay organized with it. Archiving email properly is a challenge for just about every corporation and government agency. Email messages, and how they're stored, have become critical to e-discovery in legal cases and network security as more and more sensitive information is exchanged via email. Federal law requires that all White House emails are preserved. But, as many of you know, the White House is having trouble locating millions of records that likely contain sensitive data.According to this online story by CIO Zone, an estimated 5 million White House emails have been lost. The story asks if the incident is the result of IT mistakes? Or is it a more deliberate attempt to leave no electronic fingerprint behind? Officials are investigating. Back in January, Post reporters Elizabeth Williamson and Dan Eggen reported this story about the White House's lack of a comprehensive email archiving system.A very interesting case of how important -- and elusive -- email can be.Posted by Kim Hart | Permalink| Comments (3)Share This: Technorati | In Virtual Worlds, a Sheriff Has Arrived I wrote a story today about the evolution of justice systems in virtual worlds such as Second Life, Cellufun, VZones and Google's Lively. The main gist: Some virtual worlds are developing more sophisticated codes of law and systems of punishment in order to police residents' activities. Some users applaud the efforts to hold residents accountable for their actions; others feel like it's a violation of free expression and goes against the very nature of these worlds, where people can express themselves more freely through their avatars. Is a lawless Wild West better than an orderly world that cracks down on residents?Posted by Kim Hart | Permalink| Comments (6)Share This: Technorati | Google Campaigns For White Spaces Google announced today that it is seeking to develop grass roots support for its "white spaces" campaign at the FCC, its lobbying effort to convert some radio airwaves in order to provide wireless broadband access.The "Free the Airwaves" campaign invites consumers to sign a petition, create their own video testimonials on the subject for posting to YouTube, and to contact their Congressional representatives.The consumer-oriented lobbying campaign may mark the first such effort by Google, a company that over the last year has expanded its presence in Washington, company officials said.Officials said that by creating easier broadband access, more people will use the Internet and, in turn, Google. That helps company profits. But company officials said said the white spaces campaign also serves the interest of consumers."We're optimistic the 'Free the Airwaves' will inspire consumer interest," said Minnie Ingersoll, product manager for Google's Alternative Access Team.Posted by Peter Whoriskey | Permalink| Comments (5)Share This: Technorati | Blog ArchivesRSS FeedSubscribe to The Post © 2008 The Washington Post Company if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & BANNER_FLEX_BOTTOM ) == BANNER_FLEX_BOTTOM ){ placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,2,'',true) ;} function getSPYear(date_string){ var re1 = new RegExp("\\w+,\\s(\\d{2,2})-(\\w{3,3})-(\\d{2,2})\\s(\\d{2,2}):(\\d{2,2}):(\\d{2,2})","g") ; date_string.match(re1) ; var year = (2000 + RegExp.$3/1) ; return new String(year) ;}var thisYear = 2005;var dateStr = getSPYear('Wednesday, 16-Mar-05 14:52:37 EST') ;if( dateStr.indexOf('2') != -1 ){ thisYear = dateStr;}function openWin(url){ var navWin = window.open(url,"NewWin", "scrollbars,toolbar=false,menubar=false,resizable=false,width=740,height=595,top=0,right=1000"); } placeChannelNav('article970');rs = (typeof thisNode != 'undefined')?thisNode.split("/")[0] + "/" + thisNode.split("/")[1]:null;DM_addToLoc("thisNode", rs);DM_tag();placeSiteMetrix(); |
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