AllThingsD » Web surfing

House Committee Asks Professor to Censor Facebook Remarks

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 08:00:07 +0000

In an unusual move, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection asked a Columbia University Law School professor to censor his remarks in a hearing about online privacy legislation.

“We as members of Congress are never inclined to censor testimony in open congressional hearings,” Rep. Zachary Space, an Ohio Democrat, said when introducing the professor, Eben Moglen. “But Congress tries to foster highest level of decorum. I would ask you to avoid personal attacks against any companies or company employees.”

The hearing focused on the possibility of legislation requiring data companies and Web browser makers to provide a “do not track” tool allowing people to opt out of having their Web surfing tracked.

In written remarks submitted before the hearing, Mr. Moglen did not mention “do not track” but talked generally about online privacy. He criticized Facebook Inc. extensively, describing the social networking site’s privacy settings as “mere deception.” Facebook “has uncontrolled access to everybody’s data, regardless of the so-called ‘privacy settings,’” he wrote.

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To Stem Privacy Abuses, Industry Groups Will Track Web Trackers

Emily Steel — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:00:54 +0000

A new system to police privacy abuses by companies that track consumers’ Web-surfing habits for ad targeting will be launched in coming months by groups whose members include heavy users of this type of information–Internet companies such as Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and advertising companies like WPP PLC.

The system is part of a broader push by Madison Avenue and the Internet industry to develop stricter self-regulation, in part to protect consumers’ privacy online. The self-regulatory push is aimed at warding off federal regulation of the $23 billion-a-year online-advertising industry.

“What we are really talking about here is trying to make the interactive advertising supply chain much more visible, more transparent to consumers, so that they have a much better ability to understand what is going on, and act on it,” says Randall Rothenberg, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade group of more than 460 media and technology companies, including Google Inc. (GOOG), Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo. A coalition of trade groups, including the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Direct Marketing Association trade group, is leading the effort.

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Wi-Fi on Wheels Is Steady, but Has a Speed Bump

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:04:05 +0000

Wi-Fi wireless Internet connectivity has become nearly ubiquitous. Whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or even on some commercial airliners, you can get online with a Wi-Fi-equipped laptop, smart phone or portable game machine.

Now, Wi-Fi is making its way into your car. A small California company, Autonet Mobile, has teamed up with Chrysler and others to sell a service that floods any brand or model of car or truck with Wi-Fi Internet connectivity that can be used by multiple passengers and devices simultaneously. It’s a dealer-installed option on Chrysler vehicles, but Chrysler dealers, and some independent auto electronic shops, will install it on any brand of car for a fee.

[ See post to watch video ]

The system works via a special wireless router, mounted in the trunk or rear cargo area, that draws Internet connectivity from cellphone towers and then converts it into an in-car Wi-Fi signal with a range of 100 feet. This router looks like a military device, because it is ruggedized to survive jolts and vibrations, and is shielded to avoid interference with the car’s electronics or with cellphone calls.

As long as they have built-in Wi-Fi, the laptops and smart phones used in the car don’t need any add-on hardware or software to use Autonet. To them, it looks like any other Wi-Fi signal. And no special car antenna is needed; the router uses its own large antennas.

I’ve been testing Autonet Mobile in a rented Saturn Vue SUV in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs, and found it worked well for most basic Internet tasks like email and Web surfing. The router turns on when the car does, and the Wi-Fi signal shows up about 30 seconds later. However, Autonet is relatively pokey. It’s too slow to be reliable for streaming video longer than brief YouTube clips, or for smooth video chatting.

Perhaps the biggest downside of in-car Wi-Fi is that it provides one more potential distraction for drivers. The company says the service is only for passengers, not drivers, but there’s no technical barrier to a driver using it.

The Autonet Mobile router

Of course, drivers already can court danger this way by using cellphone wireless connectivity on a laptop, iPhone, BlackBerry or other connected device. And that raises another question: Since you can already connect to the Internet from a car with a smart phone or a cellular data card for a laptop, why would you want Autonet?

There are three reasons. First, cellular Internet access is typically tied to a single device at a time. But Autonet’s Wi-Fi service works just like Wi-Fi in your house: Multiple people with multiple devices can use it at the same time. In fact, the company envisions that the service’s primary use will be to allow children in the back seat to use laptops for social networking, online games or homework; and multiple adult passengers to conduct online business or research routes and destinations.

Second, the monthly fees can be lower, at least for laptops. A typical cellular data card for a single laptop costs $60 a month. But Autonet’s service starts at $29 a month for the entire car, regardless of how many devices are being used. A premium plan costs $59. The plans differ by how much data you are allowed to consume monthly. And Autonet requires no special laptop cards or software.

Lastly, the company claims that it has invented a technology that keeps the connection steadier while moving than the typical direct cellular connection. Although some videos froze on me, I never lost Autonet’s Internet connection, whether moving slowly through downtown D.C. or moving faster on suburban highways and streets.

In my tests, with a laptop and an iPhone, Autonet’s speeds ranged from around 100 kilobits per second to around 500 kbps — far slower than a typical cable Internet service in a home. My average speed was between 400 kbps and 450 kbps.

There are some other drawbacks. First, the router costs $499, though that will soon drop to $399 in a holiday price promotion. Second, you have to sign at least a one-year contract, even if you pay monthly. Third, your Internet usage is limited. The $29 plan gets you just 1 gigabyte of data a month, while the $59 plan gets you 5 gigabytes. That should be plenty for most typical users, but not for those with large appetites for data.

These service fees are all-inclusive. You don’t have to pay anything to any cellphone carrier. But there is also a $35 “activation fee,” whose justification is murky, and installation costs are estimated at $50 to $75.

For security, you can set Autonet up with a password, but it doesn’t yet use the most advanced version of Wi-Fi security. The company says that, while it can track and manage your Internet connection, it cannot determine the content of what you are doing online.

Finally, because the router is hard-mounted, you can’t remove it for use in, say, a hotel room or second car.

If you’re willing to invest in the router and can tolerate the slow speeds, Autonet might be what you want — as long as you can resist using it while driving.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Turning Off Your Desktop PC

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:50:02 +0000

Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

At work I am told to turn off my desktop PC at the end of the day. My wife’s office tells her to leave her computer on overnight. My former employer said to turn off the monitor but leave the PC on. What’s right?

Given the energy, environmental and economic crises, my view is that you should completely shut down both your computer and your monitor any time they will be unused for more than a few hours. And, of course, you should set them to go into sleep mode after they are idle for far less time than that. To be honest, I myself am not always faithful to that advice, but I am resolved to get better at it.

Of course, there are some nuances to the issue of overnight shutdowns. If you, or your company, routinely perform important operations overnight, like backups or security scans or system tune-ups, then you have to leave the computer on, but you should still turn off the monitor.

How much memory do you recommend for a new computer running Vista Home Premium?

Two gigabytes minimum, and three gigabytes if your budget can handle it. The latter is roughly the maximum that popular consumer versions of Vista (called 32-bit versions) can use.

For smooth, quick operation in common tasks, it’s been my experience that Vista demands more memory than either Windows XP or Apple’s Leopard operating system. And the need for added memory rises if your PC uses “shared” video memory, which means your graphics system lacks its own dedicated memory and relies on draining the main memory. This arrangement is common in less expensive computers.

We are planning a trip to the British Isles this summer with a side trip to Brussels. We plan to bring our iPhone on the trip. What is the current situation with using European networks? Will my U.S. AT&T account just work or do I need to make pre-arrangements? I realize my iPhone won’t be able to access the faster 3G networks over there, but can I use slower networks? Being limited to Wi-Fi would be a bummer.

The iPhone 3G can indeed handle 3G networks in Europe, though the original iPhone can handle only slower networks. Both models can use Wi-Fi there.

You will need to call AT&T before you leave, though, and “provision,” or set up, your account, for international roaming. Note that such roaming is expensive, with very high rates for both voice use and data use. AT&T has some monthly add-on plans that cut these fees, but, if I were you, I would turn off data roaming until and unless I needed it; do most email and Web surfing via Wi-Fi; and consider downloading Truphone, a voice-calling program that uses Wi-Fi instead of cellphone networks.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Maximizing the iPhone 3G's Battery

Walter S. Mossberg — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:20:01 +0000

Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

In your recent review of the new iPhone 3G, you mentioned that it had weaker battery life between charges than the original iPhone, but that you learned various techniques to minimize this problem. Can you elaborate?

The biggest battery drain is the fast, but power-hungry, 3G cellular network, which lessens battery life on all phones. So, when you are able to use Wi-Fi instead for data, you can turn off 3G reception using a setting Apple provides. You will still be able to make and receive voice calls over older networks that won’t drain the battery as fast. The same is true in reverse. If you are using 3G for data, turn off your Wi-Fi capability.

Apple has a Web page with many more battery-saving tips at: apple.com/batteries/iphone.html. Turning these functions on and off, and worrying about battery life, however, is a pain. So if you hate the thought of learning and using these techniques, and suspect your usage pattern might push the new iPhone’s battery to its limits, you shouldn’t buy one. At the least, you might want to wait and see if Apple can tweak its software to squeeze more battery life out of the device.

You mention in your article that the iPhone 3G’s battery is not replaceable. Does that mean that, when it can no longer hold a charge, I’ll have to replace the entire phone?

No. Apple has a battery-replacement program for iPhones. If your battery drops to below 50% of its original capacity during the one-year warranty period, the company will replace the battery at no cost. After your warranty expires, Apple will replace the battery for $86. Of course, in both cases, you will have to do without your phone for however long it takes to complete the battery replacement. More details are at: apple.com/batteries/replacements.html.

In your column, you never mentioned the iPod Touch, which I own and use for email, Web surfing and music. Can the Touch be upgraded to the new 2.0 version of the iPhone operating system, and can it use the new third-party applications?

Yes, but with some qualifications. First, while the software upgrade is free for owners of the original iPhone, it costs $10 for owners of the iPod Touch. This has to do with Apple’s interpretation of accounting rules governing the addition of new features to different types of products.

Second, while most of the new iPhone programs available from the “App store” will work fine on the Touch, some cannot because of hardware differences between the two devices. For instance, voice-recording programs won’t work on the Touch, because it has no microphone. The App store indicates which programs are compatible with which device.

Since the new iPhone 3G includes a GPS chip and a speaker, can it be used as an audible, turn by turn, in-car navigation device?

Apple didn’t build such a function into the new iPhone, but some third-party companies are rumored to be trying.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online, free, at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.