Tag archive: Connecticut

If you're a teacher in Norwich, Connecticut, your free speech may be compromised. The local Board of Education plans to regulate what teachers and staff can say or do when school lets out. While social sites are already blocked on district computers, teachers and staff will have a code of conduct they must adhere to when using social media on personal time, reports WFSB. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are targeted, but… Read More

There's no denying that Apple's App Store has been wildly popular amongst iPhone and iPod touch users—“Shaking Baby” applications aside—and that Microsoft, RIM, Palm, Nokia, and others are all looking to emulate Apple's success with application stores of their own. Just to underscore how far they have to catch up, however, Apple has announced that customers have downloaded over 1 billion programs… Read More

MySpace can not only claim to be the world’s second-largest social networking site with 130 million users worldwide, it now holds a much more dubious distinction as well: former online playground for 90,000 sex offenders. The site quietly slipped the statistics to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper earlier this week after axing the profiles in question to comply with its own… Read More

Cable giant Comcast has very quietly launched a pilot program at 100 New Jersey Transit railway stations offering Wi-Fi service to rail commuters. The company hasn't informed local users about the service, and has described the Wi-Fi offering as a “beta” pilot program that's more of an experiment than a service offering. Still, if the program succeeds Comcast broadband subscribers might find the company offers them… Read More

Computer maker Dell has agreed to pay some $3.35 million to settle 34 states' allegations that the company's warranty, financing, and rebate offers were deceptive and misled consumers. The agreement has Dell paying $1.5 million into a restitution account; impacted consumers will be able to submit claims for compensation. The other $1.85 million will go towards the states' legal costs. “More than the money, this… Read More

San Francisco-based Craigslist, the popular Internet classified ads site with listings in 50 countries, has agreed to crack down on ads for prostitution after signing a pact with 40 states. Although the company says that its terms of service forbid the posting of such ads, it’s implementing new terms. Now, anyone advertising in the site’s Erotic Services section will have to pay a fee – most ads on Craigslist are free… Read More

Telecommunications operator AT&T has announced it will begin selling its U-verse broadband Internet and digital video service through retailers Circuit City and Walmart beginning this month. The offerings will be available in more than 600 retail locations in and near neighborhoods where U-verse services are available: right now, that includes regions of Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri,… Read More

In February the Bank of New York Mellon lost a number of unencrypted tapes containing details of customers, including names, address, Social Security numbers and birth dates. At the time it said 4.5 million customers has been affected, and in May Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell announced a probe into the data breach. Now, according to Reuters, the bank has admitted the real figure of those involved in 12.5 million, making it the largest US… Read More

Michael Dolan and five accomplices pounded untold hundreds of thousands of AOL users with fraudulent messages and phishing scams for between 2002 and 2006, pulling in more than $400,000 from at least 250 victims. Now, the 24-year-old Connecticut man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his actions, along with three years of supervised release. Dolan plead guilty to running the phishing scheme nearly a year ago. According to… Read More

The Free Press—which runs the Save the Internet campaign in favor of network neutrality—has accused cable provider Comcast of hiring people to fill the hearing room at the Harvard Law School where the FCC yesterday conducted a hearing looking into complaints Comcast blocks traffic from peer-to-peer file sharing applications. At the hearing, the FCC acknowledged that ISPs have a right to engage in reasonable network management,… Read More

CNN has reported that Connecticut will begin offering virtual high school classes this month.   State governor M. Jodi Rell announced the start of the CTVirtual Learning Center, which will take a double-pronged approach to learning.   One focus will be to help those with failing grades, enabling them to make up their grades and void summerschool.   The other will be to make more widespread the offer of elective courses which might… Read More

Back in 2002, Microsoft agreed to a landmark settlement in its huge antitrust case with the federal government. Part of the settlement was that Microsoft agreed to oversight of its business activities to ensure the company did not abuse its monopoly position in the computer operating system market. Most of those restrictions were set to lapse on November 12, 2007, but Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who is responsible for overseeing the… Read More

When July 1 rolls around, Californian teens will have to find new time to catch up with one another on their cell phones – because using electronic devices while behind the wheel will become a crime for those under 18. Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar signed the bill, known as SR33, into law on Thursday, banning the use of cell phones, laptops, PDAs, pagers and all two-way messaging devices while operating a motor vehicle for 16- and… Read More

With its founder already looking at a trial relating to the basic underlying code of the social network, Facebook has come under fresh criticism – that it allows child predators on its site.   Investigators working for the Connecticut attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, were checking on three cases where they allege convicted sex offenders registered on Facebook, and also “inappropriate images and content.” Connecticut… Read More

MySpace has discovered that more than 29,000 convicted sex offenders in the U.S. had profiles on the social networking site, a huge increase in the figure of7,000 given back in May.   The good news is that all of them have been removed.   With more than 80 million subscribers and massive popularity, MySpace could be seen as a natural forumwhere predators could prowl, using the social network to meet and groom young people.  … Read More