GA News Bulletin: Net Watch Edition

Internet Explorer 8: Privacy Mode

Privacy; sometimes it’s hard to come by on the internet. Spamming, phishing, hacking, cracking; why just the lexicon for such things seems to be burgeoning. But in this fast-paced market in which we persist problems often result in marketable solutions, which is precisely what Microsoft is planning on as they prepare to integrate a privacy mode into Internet Explorer.

Senior vice president of Microsoft's search, portal and advertising platform group, Satya Nadella announced to reporters in a recent interview that the Redmond based company will soon be offering a private browsing mode for their internet browser. Then Long Zheng of istartedsomething.com revealed two trademarks filed by Microsoft. One trademark, Cleartracks, revolves around “computer programs for deleting search history after accessing Web sites” according to the filing. Another, Inprivate, involves “computer programs for disabling the history and file caching features of a Web browser; and computer software for notifying a user of a Web browser when others are tracking Web use and for controlling the information others can access about such use.”

According to Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 is going to be specifically attuned to privacy and that “the larger challenge…is notifying users clearly about what sites they're disclosing information to and enabling them to control that disclosure if they choose”



Vice Presidential Candidate Biden no friend of the free ‘Net

Oh, what a nice segue. Moving from a company combating for privacy and the personal freedoms of the individual on the internet to a recently selected VP candidate with a questionable political approach to both. CNET’s Declan McCullagh has put together a nice little article detailing Joe Biden’s technology track-record when it comes to his political wheelings and dealings. According to McCullagh, Biden “has spent most of his Senate career allied with the FBI and copyright holders” and in CNET’s Technology Voters Guide (which assesses where politicians stand on net related issues) Biden ranks near the bottom of the list.

So what exactly did Joe Biden do that was so heinous that some ? Well, for starters, he’s steadfastly against encryption, has expressed interest in an internet tax, sponsored a bill that would have made it a felony to ‘trick’ certain devices from playing unauthorized content, such as illegally obtained music and games [this bill was halted in part due to lobbying from tech giants such as Apple, eBay, Microsoft, Verizon and Yahoo]. He’s also in tight with the MPAA and RIAA, being one of four senators invited to an exclusive event celebrating the highly criticized Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Oh, and if that’s not enough, he’s not too big on net neutrality either.

But then again, only time will tell how much that history factors into the democrats’ policy.

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