Google confirms its search business faces new investigation in Argentina and ongoing probe in Korea
Google has confirmed that its business practices are under investigation in South Korea and Argentina, according to a regulatory filing, reported by Bloomberg.
While the Korean investigation is ongoing, the probe Argentina is a new development, and the country’s anti-trust organisation is assessing issues around the use of paid-for ads on the search engine.
“The Argentinian Competition Commission notified us that they are conducting a preliminary inquiry into our search and search advertising services, and we are of course happy to answer their questions,” a spokesman told Bloomberg. Read more...
Google offering to pay web users to track their every move
Less than a month after announcing a controversial new privacy policy that shares user data across all its sites with no opt-out option, Google is introducing a system to monitor all online activity of those who participate in a program called Screenwise. In exchange for unrestricted access to information on your every online move, the search and software giant is offering financial compensation.
By signing up for Screenwise and installing a browser plugin (only Google Chrome is supported at present), you'll be given $5 in store credit on Amazon. For every three months you continue to provide Google with browsing data, you'll earn an addition $5 gift card, up to a total of $25. Only those over 13 can participate and, perhaps not surprisingly, signups are currently on hold due to overwhelming interest.
For those willing to make their online lives a completely open book, Google plans to offer a more elaborate tracking system that utilizes special hardware. The device, which connects to your broadband router, will monitor the online activity of all computers in your home. This program, which isn't available yet, will compensate participants $100 for signing up and $20 a month for up to a year.
While the idea of getting paid to browse the web might sound win-win, it's important to note that Screenwise will track private browsing data in its Chrome extension (though supposedly won't link it to you directly) and will share data with third-parties should you opt for the hardware-based option.
(Source: news.yahoo.com)
Sweden’s Tobii shows ‘gaze control’ on Windows 8 PC
We've had gesture control with Microsoft Kinect. Now get ready for gaze control. Swedish firm Tobii is at the Consumer Electronics Show this week to promote the use of its eye tracking technology in PCs and tablets, though it could be a couple of years before it's ready for mainstream use.
The technology uses a sensor built into the monitor which tracks eye movements and translates them into actions on the screen. Instead of moving the cursor with a mouse or touchpad to click a link on the screen, looking at the link makes the cursor appear there immediately.
The technology is being used by market research firms to monitor consumer behavior and by the disabled, but it's too expensive today for widespread consumer use, said Tobii spokeswoman Sara Hylen. A system with a clip-on gaze sensor can cost $6,000, she said. It's also too bulky to embed in laptops, and Tobii needs developers to build the required applications for consumer PCs. Read more...
Peter Cochrane’s Blog: What my mobile knows
After suffering yet another healthcare presentation that proposes littering the homes of the old and needy with sensors so their activities and health can be monitored, I decided to compile a list of what my mobile phone knows about me - and you.
I'm sure what follows is a modest list, but it is revealing all the same. Our smartphones routinely know the following:
Our smartphones are inherently capable of gathering information about our habitsPhoto: Ed Yourdon Read more...
Microsoft patents spy tech for Skype
A newly patented Microsoft technology called Legal Intercept that would allow the company to secretly intercept, monitor and record Skype calls is stoking privacy concerns.
Microsoft's patent application for Legal Intercept was filed in 2009, well before the company's $8.5 billion purchase of Skype in May. The patent was granted last week.
From Microsoft's description of the technology in its patent application, Legal Intercept appears similar to tools used by telecommunication companies and equipment makers to comply with government wiretap and surveillance requests. Read more...
Banks go social to collaborate, reach customers
Financial services firms are now using social media to get customers involved in online discussion forums, advertise services and monitor what's being said about their businesses.
"Every bank is already involved in social media... whether that's part of a conscious strategy or not," said Susan Feinberg, a commercial banking analyst at TowerGroup, a market research firm focusing on the financial services industry. "Your clients today are using social media all the time for both personal and business purposes."
Feinberg spoke at TowerGroup's annual financial services conference here last week.
Businesses need to master social media, she said, pointing out how powerful social networks have become as communications tools. Currently, Linked-In is the hottest social networking site for B2B communications, growing by a million new users every 12 days, she said. Read more...