[Oz] Government to re-write Privacy Act Australian IT
The Rudd Government will rewrite the 21-year-old Privacy Act for the technology age, ending the fragmentation of state laws and streamlining the rules to apply to both private and public sectors. Special Minister of State, Senator Joe Ludwig, has released the government’s response to the first stage of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report, For Your Information, at a meeting of privacy professionals in Melbourne today. “As we find newer and faster ways to interconnect, the concern of individuals for the right to privacy and their desire to choose where their information goes will intensify,” he said. “Privacy involves information about who we are on an essential level, and sensitive identity matters such as health, race, sexuality, ability, disability and age. It also involves choosing who we share things with, and who we don’t. “It is vital to ensure we have a Privacy Act capable of facilitating the great opportunities (offered by technology) whilst protecting the individual privacy we hold dear.”

Review: Windows 7 strong, but don’t pay to upgrade Associated Press
Next week, Microsoft is releasing Windows 7, a slick, much improved operating system that should go a long way toward erasing the bad impression left by its previous effort, Vista. If you’ve been holding off on buying a new computer, Windows 7 will be a good excuse to get back into the game. And if you’ve been weighing a Mac versus a Windows PC, then you should know that “7″ makes Windows more attractive, though not a clear-cut choice for everyone. Windows is now easier to use and better looking than it was before, while maintaining its core advantage of cheaper, more diverse hardware. However, most PC users should not take the release of Windows 7 as a call to action, or feel that they have to run out and buy the software for use on a computer they’re planning on keeping. The upgrade will most likely not be worth the time or money, much less the effort of hosting a Windows 7 “launch party” as Microsoft suggests.

Google to upgrade Swiss Street View Swissinfo.ch
Google Switzerland says it will upgrade its software to improve the blurring of faces and car registration plates on its Street View service. The move is in reply to proposals by the Swiss data protection commissioner to improve privacy of the Swiss version of Street View. But Google has not taken on board all criticisms. The intenet giant refuses to lower the height of cameras fixed to masts on Google cars, which take pictures in Swiss streets. It wishes to continue to photograph buildings and road signs so that they can be recognised. [Also see Google Steet View at Swiss abortion clinics & Google Canada Street View faces and plates ]

The Pirate Party prepares a raid on Capitol Hill (from a ‘92 Buick) DailyFinance
Avast, ye hearties! Congress is about to get invaded by a pirate, if Stephen Collings has his way. Collings, 25, a Nashville-based design engineer, hopes to become the first U.S. Representative endorsed by the U.S. Pirate Party, which seeks to reform copyright laws and use technology to empower civic participation in government. Today, four leaders of Collings’s party are touring the country in a maroon 1992 Buick LeSabre, including administrative officer Ryan Martin, 28, who quit his job and sold most of his possessions to embark on the recruiting tour. On Wednesday, the Buick was in Atlanta. “The LeSabre is worth $100 and in terrible condition, but we’re using next-generation technologies like couchsurfing.org,” says Martin, whose possessions include a Nokia n800 internet tablet “in a military-grade housing,” the clothes on his back, and not much else.

Seduction on the streets of Stockholm The Local
“Excuse me. I just saw you across the road and had to come over and tell you how beautiful you are.” (Pause for response) “What’s your name?” Could this seemingly shifty chat-up line melt the hearts of Swedish ice maidens on a chilly afternoon in the capital? I had my doubts. Jeremy Soul was eager to contest them, confident that his school of thought allows him to meet women any time and any place. “I can help guys to get laid, to get girlfriends,” he says. “But what I’m teaching is control over their love life.” For which he usually charges a day rate of $1,500 to $3,000. Soul is a respected PUA (pick up artist) in the seduction community – a male kinship which began in 80s America – exposed and explored by US journalist Neil Strauss in his 2005 book The Game. On the outside he is a dating coach, who moved from England to Stockholm this year, and I catch up with him lending his expertise to a group of protégés. I, along with these men handpicked from across the world, am getting his services for free. The students, chosen from 300 applicants, are taking part in Project Rock Star, an initiative set up by US company Love Systems to guide men on the road to success in the areas of health, wealth and relationships and lead the ultimate lifestyle.

Microsoft Confirms Data Recovery for Sidekick Users Press Pass
On behalf of Microsoft, I want to apologize for the recent problems with the Sidekick service and give you an update on the steps we have taken to resolve these problems. We are pleased to report that we have recovered most, if not all, customer data for those Sidekick customers whose data was affected by the recent outage. We plan to begin restoring users’ personal data as soon as possible, starting with personal contacts, after we have validated the data and our restoration plan. We will then continue to work around the clock to restore data to all affected users, including calendar, notes, tasks, photographs and high scores, as quickly as possible. We now believe that data loss affected a minority of Sidekick users. If your Sidekick account was among those affected, please continue to log into the T-Mobile Sidekick forum at http://www.t-mobile.com/sidekick for the latest updates about when data restoration will begin, and any steps you may need to take. We will work with T-Mobile to post the next update on data restoration timing no later than Saturday.

Most Quebec MDs in favour of legalized euthanasia: survey Montreal Gazette
Doctors are ‘in sync’ with most of Quebecers on euthanasia, the Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists says. In a survey of its members, about 84 per cent of respondents said they are ready for a public debate on euthanasia and 74 per cent “would certainly favour or probably be favourable” to euthanasia within a legal framework.

Auschwitz museum launches Facebook page Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The state-run Auschwitz Memorial Museum in Poland launched its official page on Facebook. By Thursday, less than a week after the page debuted on the popular social networking Web site, the Auschwitz page had more than 1,400 members. The page was launched to reach out to a broader, younger public. “Auschwitz Memorial is experimenting with new ways of reaching and educating people — such as Facebook,” a note on the page said. “There are many contemporary issues connected with historical memory and there are contemporary problems that we must solve now, after 65 years. The question is, should Auschwitz Memorial, as an institution, be closed for such new possibilities as Facebook with millions of people?”

Get the Gory Details of David Letterman Search Warrants E! Online
David Letterman is no stranger to our living rooms. Now we’re getting a peek into his. Over the objection of prosecutors, a Connecticut judge today agreed to unseal search warrants related to police raids on the home of Letterman’s alleged blackmailer. And boy did they apparently fine some juicy stuff According to the document signed by NYPD Dets. Terrence Blake and Anthony Pasquarielao and obtained by E! News, investigators targeted “any and all computers and loose media, floppy disk, hard disc, cassette tapes, magnetic tapes, removable media, tape and/or data cartridges” while searching the residence of Robert “Joe” Halderman.

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October, 2009

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