11 posts and columns on cyberspace

Voices

Matzo Ball Soup, Check. iPad, Check. For Passover, Jews Try Techie Seders.

in News on April 6 at 1:02 pm PT

At a time of declining church and synagogue membership, Jewish leaders — from the Orthodox to the Reform — are embracing technology as a way to upload new energy into the hourslong Seder.

Will Secretary of State Clinton's "Internet Freedom Agenda" Finally Get Traction?

in News on February 16, 2011 at 7:09 am PT

Yesterday, in a major policy speech in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jumped on the Internet bandwagon again, unveiling a $25 million government investment for entrepreneurs to allow dissidents to thwart “thugs, hackers and censors.” Since that’s about the amount a third-string social photo-sharing site gets while walking down University Avenue in Palo Alto, Calif., from venture capitalists with bags of money to spend, let me just say the money is, well, underwhelming. Clinton’s speech, thankfully, was much better.

Voices

Real Tales from a Virtual Place Called the Well

in News on April 29, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

The Well, the online community that is the focus of a story in the Journal’s Bay Area section, taught many people about communicating and interacting with others in cyberspace. Their initial experiences have inspired some vivid writing.

And Now a Few Words of Happy Reassurance from National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair

in News on February 4, 2010 at 12:01 pm PT

Coming as it does after Google’s revelation that its network was compromised by malicious hackers, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair’s warning that the United States is not yet able to guard its national networks against cyber attacks seems to be, well, stating the obvious. That said, it’s well worth noting, because the sophistication of the attacks against Google obviously does not bode well for national security.

Will a Web Video Star Shine at Sundance?

in Media on December 7, 2009 at 2:55 pm PT

The next wave of media stars is supposed to rise up from the Web, but so far, examples have been few and far between (how’s that Fred movie coming along, by the way?). But here’s another Internet success trying to make the leap into the big time, which is still, like it or not, defined by traditional media outlets: Next New Network host Bobby Miller, who is going to try to dazzle the judges at the Sundance Film Festival.
Bobby Miller

Voices

Apology for Turing's Treatment Stirs the Twittersphere

in News on September 14, 2009 at 4:55 am PT

In life, Alan Turing helped win World War II and sowed the seeds for the modern computer industry. In death, the persecuted British mathematician may provide some lessons about how public opinion reverberates in cyberspace. Responding to a petition posted on the Web site for Number 10 Downing Street, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown late Thursday apologized for what he characterized as the “appalling” treatment of Turing 55 years earlier by British officials.

Jimmy Kimmel’s Shocking Upfront Rant Exposed! (Spoiler: Not So Shocking.)

in Media on May 21, 2009 at 11:47 am PT

Did you hear about Jimmy Kimmel’s shocking rant at ABC’s “upfront” sales presentation this week? The New York Times said the comedian’s routine, presented to an auditorium full of potential ad buyers, generated a “mixture of uneasy laughs and the occasional gasp.” But this was pretty tame stuff. See for yourself.
kimmel

Voices

Do You Want a New Internet?

in News on February 17, 2009 at 2:48 pm PT

The lack of security and privacy online has some technology experts pushing for a do-over on the Internet, according to a Sunday Week in Review article in the New York Times. “What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a ‘gated community’ where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety,” writes John Markoff.