Impact

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Impact assesses the role of technology and its effects on evolving industries, society and environment. It explores moral conundrums, environmentally friendly fixes, and revolutionary technological uses that tackle world issues. This section emphasizes how technology has the power to change people’s lives and create a lasting impact.

Taliban on Twitter: How congressional attempts to block them is asinine on 2 levels

Taliban on Twitter: How congressional attempts to block them is asinine on 2 levels

Twitter is used by different people for different things. It's a communication tool for some, a news aggregator for others,...

SOPA vote delayed

SOPA vote delayed

The House Judiciary Committee has ceased without a vote to try to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) out...

Visualizing SOPA, the internet blacklist bill

Visualizing SOPA, the internet blacklist bill

After last week's high-energy American Censorship Day flew through with amazing responses from websites everywhere, much of the buzz has...

The US government failed to uphold its own principles by unlocking WikiLeaks-related Twitter accounts

The US government failed to uphold its own principles by unlocking WikiLeaks-related Twitter accounts

The precedent has been set and it's a very bad one. A US judge ruled that Twitter must release all...

Six Privacy Concerns About Facebook’s Latest Features

Six Privacy Concerns About Facebook’s Latest Features

It's been over a month since Mark Zuckerberg unveiled many of the changes that have happened or will happen soon...

Fed to start monitoring social networks for sentiment

Fed to start monitoring social networks for sentiment

In December, the Fed will begin monitoring Facebook, Twitter, and much of the rest of the internet in an effort...

Cali. Gov. Brown to allow police to search phones without a warrant

Cali. Gov. Brown to allow police to search phones without a warrant

Despite heavy support from both parties and an outcry of the people, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill passed...

Amazon Silk is just another invasion of privacy

Amazon Silk is just another invasion of privacy

Amazon is getting a lot of attention based upon the Amazon Fire tablet, but now that buzz around the initial...

Twitter cashes in on the 2012 election

Twitter cashes in on the 2012 election

Twitter is already a popular destination for political discourse, but the social network wants to beef up its involvement in...

“The Circular Economy” makes sense, hits home in the tech world

“The Circular Economy” makes sense, hits home in the tech world

There are very few environmental perspectives that grab our attention. In 2011, we know we need to recycle, to not...

Interstate eCommerce taxes continue to spread state-to-state

Interstate eCommerce taxes continue to spread state-to-state

Seven states are currently taxing out-of-state online retailers. The practice, called the "Affiliate Taxes" or "Amazon Taxes", are spreading rapidly...

Neil deGrasse Tyson continues his onslaught on the government’s betrayal of science

Neil deGrasse Tyson continues his onslaught on the government’s betrayal of science

When Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson was on Bill Maher last week, he laid into the plans to slash NASA's budget....

Was Obama’s Twitter Town Hall effective or simply a stunt

Was Obama’s Twitter Town Hall effective or simply a stunt

When Jack Dorsey from Twitter brought President Barack Obama to answer questions on the social networking site on July 6th,...

The pros and cons of the new “social media credit check”

The pros and cons of the new “social media credit check”

Those funny pictures of your passed out on the lawn... harmless, right? What about your choice of joining the Facebook...

Two-thirds support Amazon’s bid to keep affiliates from paying state sales tax

Two-thirds support Amazon’s bid to keep affiliates from paying state sales tax

Regardless of which side of the debate you're on, one thing is clear: Jeff Bezos and Amazon are fighting with...

Mobile privacy at top of mind for users

Mobile privacy at top of mind for users

As Apple, Google, and Facebook face more scrutiny over their mobile privacy policies from the government, the concerns continue to...

Household gadgets take a toll on power grid, pocket books

Household gadgets take a toll on power grid, pocket books

Every computer, hair dryer, and electric car that needs juice to operate takes a toll on the infrastructure of the...

Users furrow their class-action brows at Google over privacy… again

Users furrow their class-action brows at Google over privacy… again

Good luck, guys. Two Michigan residents are filing a class-action suit against Google over the sudden location-tracking brouhaha that's been...

Will someone please give SETI $5 million so we can continue the pointless search

Will someone please give SETI $5 million so we can continue the pointless search

Between a budget shortfall in California and cuts in federal funding, the ongoing "Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence" is going into...

Navigating the Minefield: Facebook Settings

Navigating the Minefield: Facebook Settings

Facebook. If you have an internet connection and a pulse there's a good chance that you have an account. If...